1. Financing Your Education
A Partnership between Government, School and Family.

2. Financing Your Education
Government
HOW IT WORKS
Government
School
Family
HOW TO GET IT
FAFSA
Financial Need
Budget
FastWeb
Scholarships
Loans
More
The government works to determine overall aid for students.
Your eligibility for aid is also established by the government.
Aid regulations apply to all schools.
State financial aid may also be available. Check with your state’s Department of Education.

3. Financing Your Education
School
HOW IT WORKS
Government
School
Family
HOW TO GET IT
FAFSA
Financial Need
Budget
FastWeb
Scholarships
Loans
More
Institutional assistance depends upon funding at each school.
Financial aid eligibility will vary from school to school.
School sets own eligibility requirements.
Check with your school’s financial aid office for additional aid forms you may need to complete!
Check with your school’s financial aid office for additional aid forms you may need to complete!

4. Financing Your Education
Family
HOW IT WORKS
Government
School
Family
HOW TO GET IT
FAFSA
Financial Need
Budget
FastWeb
Scholarships
Loans
More
Your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is established by FAFSA.
Your EFC is the amount of money you and your parents can be expected to contribute to your college costs each year.
(FAFSA information is on the next slide.) A student’s EFC can change each year, depending on his/her family circumstances (parent’s income, other siblings in college, etc.)

5. Financing Your Education
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
HOW IT WORKS
Government
School
Family
HOW TO GET IT
FAFSA
Financial Need
Budget
FastWeb
Scholarships
Loans
More
Eligibility for aid is determined based on your FAFSA results.
Complete the FAFSA on the Web at:
Submit your FAFSA as soon as possible after January 1st.
Students can pick up a paper version at their high school, college or library. Check out FastWeb’s Step-by-Step Guide to the FAFSA (January 2007 Student Bulletin).

6. Financing Your Education
FAFSA - Verification
HOW IT WORKS
Government
School
Family
HOW TO GET IT
FAFSA
Financial Need
Budget
FastWeb
Scholarships
Loans
More
About 1 in 3 FAFSAs are chosen for verification.
When this happens, you must supply additional information as requested.
Any requested information should be submitted to your prospective college as soon as possible, to prevent delays in your aid.
If your FAFSA is NOT picked for verification, there is nothing else to do but wait for your Student Aid Report to come in the mail. This takes approximately 3-4 weeks.

7. Financing Your Education
Financial Need
HOW IT WORKS
Government
School
Family
HOW TO GET IT
FAFSA
Financial Need
Budget
FastWeb
Scholarships
Loans
More
Definition of Need
Need is the cost of attendance (COA) minus your expected family contribution (EFC):
COA – EFC = NEED
The cost of attendance varies for each school, so a student’s financial need will also vary for each school.
Use FinAid’s online calculators to help you determine your need:
The cost of attendance varies for each school, so a student’s financial need will also vary for each school. Make sure to compare financial aid offers!
Submit your FAFSA as soon as possible after January 1st

8. Financing Your Education
Budget
HOW IT WORKS
Government
School
Family
HOW TO GET IT
FAFSA
Financial Need
Budget
FastWeb
Scholarships
Loans
More
Cut Costs by Curbing Expenses
Take advantage of free campus activities.
- Buy used textbooks.
Exercise credit card restraint.
Carpool or take a bus when going home.
Manage Money Wisely - Make a budget and stick to it!
Be a Student Worker
- Save as much as possible from a summer job.
- Work part-time while in school.
Consider Alternative Sources. . .
Students who work part-time while in school tend to do better academically and manage their time better than students who do not work.

9. Financing Your Education
FastWeb
HOW IT WORKS
Government
School
Family
HOW TO GET IT
FAFSA
Financial Need
Budget
FastWeb
Scholarships
Loans
More
Use the Internet to find scholarship opportunities
FREE personalized scholarship matches
Over 1.3 million scholarships
$3 billion dollars in aid available
On-line applications
alerts when new awards become available and deadlines approach
Helpful articles, bulletins, and how-tos
Expert advice on financial aid

10. Financing Your Education
Scholarship Scams
HOW IT WORKS
Government
School
Family
HOW TO GET IT
FAFSA
Financial Need
Budget
FastWeb
Scholarships
Loans
More
Warning! Beware of companies that do any of the following:
Require a fee of any kind (including and up-front fee for a loan).
Refuse to release their telephone number and provide only a P.O. Box where you can mail your check.
Offer an award for which you did not apply.
Promise to do all the work.
If you think you are the victim of scam, contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Submit an online complaint form or call toll-free: FTC-HELP ( ) for help. Website:

11. Financing Your Education
Scholarship Scams
HOW IT WORKS
Government
School
Family
HOW TO GET IT
FAFSA
Financial Need
Budget
FastWeb
Scholarships
Loans
More
Guarantee you will win a scholarship.
Claim you cannot get the information they have and supply anywhere else.
Require personal information to “hold” the scholarship (like your banking or credit card information.
If you think you are the victim of scam, contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

12. Financing Your Education
Loans
HOW IT WORKS
Government
School
Family
HOW TO GET IT
FAFSA
Financial Need
Budget
FastWeb
Scholarships
Loans
More
FACT: Two/thirds of students (65.7%) graduate with some student loan debt.
Rule of thumb: Do not borrow more than your projected first-year salary.
Example: If your income will be $40,000/year, then you should try not borrow more than $10,000/year.

13. Financing Your Education
Loans
HOW IT WORKS
Government
School
Family
HOW TO GET IT
FAFSA
Financial Need
Budget
FastWeb
Scholarships
Loans
More
Federal Student Loans provide lower fixed interest rates, subsidized (government pays the interest while you are in school and the six month grace period after graduation), and offer a choice of repayment options.
Federal Parent PLUS Loans can help supplement a student’s loan. The repayment obligation is on the parent.
Private student and parent loans have variable but competitive rates, are credit-based, and have a higher loan limit than federal student loans.

14. Financing Your Education
Tax Credits and Deductions
HOW IT WORKS
Government
School
Family
HOW TO GET IT
FAFSA
Financial Need
Budget
FastWeb
Scholarships
Loans
More
Hope Scholarship Tax Credit
Provides a $1650 tax credit per student that is enrolled full-time.
A reduction of your calculated tax for qualified, out-of-pocket expenses and expenses during the first two (tax) years of college.
Financial aid/scholarships do not count towards qualified tuition.
Lifetime Learning Tax Credit
Up to a $2,000 tax credit.
Applicable for students enrolled less than half-time.
May be claimed for an unlimited amount of years.
Student Loan Interest Deduction
Up to a $2,500 deduction, even if deductions are not itemized.
Loan origination fees and capitalized interest count towards the deduction.
Students and parents can claim the deduction for past years by filing amended income tax returns.
Hope & Lifetime are non refundable

15. Financing Your Education
Savings Plans to Finance Your Education
HOW IT WORKS
Government
School
Family
HOW TO GET IT
FAFSA
Financial Need
Budget
FastWeb
Scholarships
Loans
More
IRA Early Withdrawal Provision for Education
No penalty for early withdrawal of IRA funds to pay qualified educational expenses.
Coverdell Education Savings Account
Type of IRA in which contributions are made until the beneficiary reaches the age of 18.
Prepaid Tuition Programs
College savings plans guaranteed to increase in value at the same rate as college tuition.
529 Plans
Contributions to this kind of savings plan earn money on a tax-deferred basis (like a 401k) and are also tax-exempt when used to pay for qualified education expenses.
Speak with your financial planner about an IRA with education benefits and college savings plans!

16. Financing Your Education
Best wishes for your success!
HOW IT WORKS
Government
School
Family
HOW TO GET IT
FAFSA
Financial Need
Budget
FastWeb
Scholarships
Loans
More
This presentation was created by FastWeb
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