1. 1 Student Financial Aid What High School Seniors & Parents Should Know Dan Robinson Pace University Campus Director - Pleasantville

2. 2 What is Financial Aid?  Funds that help pay the cost of attending college  Financial aid may awarded based on  Financial need (need-based)  Other criteria, such as academic or athletic ability (merit-based )

3. 3 Different Types of Aid  Scholarships  Grants  Work Study  Loans Free Money Self-help aid

4. 4 Sources of Financial Aid  Federal government  New York State  Colleges – Institutional aid  Other sources  Businesses  Foundations  Clubs/Organizations

5. 5 Need-based Financial Aid  Need-based Aid  Your family’s ability to pay for educational costs is evaluated  Determined from information collected on financial aid applications  FAFSA, CSS Profile

6. 6 How Financial Need is Determined Cost of Attendance (COA) – Expected Family Contribution (EFC) = Financial Need

7. 7 Cost of Attendance (COA) Direct Expenses  Tuition and fees  Room and board Indirect expenses  Books and supplies  Transportation  Miscellaneous expenses COA – EFC = Financial Need

8. 8 Examples of Need Determination CollegeACollegeBCollegeC COA COA $ 15,000 $40,000$60,000 - EFC 5,000 5,000 = Financial Need $ 10,000 $ 35,000 $55,000

9. Financial Aid Programs

10. 10 Federal Student Aid Programs  Pell Grant – free money  Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) – free money  Work-Study – earned money  Direct Stafford Loan – borrowed money  Direct PLUS Loan – borrowed money

11. 11 Federal Aid Eligibility  To qualify for federal student aid a student must  Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen  Have a valid Social Security Number  Register with Selective Service, if student is male

12. 12 Federal Aid Eligibility  Students also must  Have a high school diploma or recognized equivalent, such as a GED/TASC  Be enrolled, or accepted for enrollment, in an eligible degree or certificate program  Maintain satisfactory academic progress requirements

13. 13 NYS Student Aid Programs  Tuition Assistance Program (TAP)  Scholarships for Academic Excellence  New York Achievement & Investment in Merit Scholarship (NY-AIMS)  STEM Incentive Program  Math & Science Teaching Incentive Program  Veterans Tuition Award

14. 14 NYS Student Aid Eligibility Requirements  Students must:  Be New York State residents  If dependent, parents must also be NYS residents  Attend and be matriculated at an eligible college in New York State  Meet other eligibility criteria for specific programs

15. 15 NYS Student Aid Programs  Tuition Assistance Program (TAP)  Undergraduates  Need-based, up to $5,165/year  Full-time and part-time study in NYS  Based on NYS net taxable income (must be below $80,000)

16. 16 TAP Award Determination  TAP award amount determined by  Type of institution and the tuition charge  Financial status (dependent or independent)  Other family members enrolled in college  Combined family NYS taxable income

17. 17 Other NYS Student Aid Programs  NYS Achievement & Investment in Merit Scholarship (NY- AIMS)  $500 annual award for study in New York State  For students must achieve two of the following criteria –graduate with a GPA of 3.3 or above –graduate “with honors” on a NYS Regents diploma –receive a score of 3 or higher on two or more AP examinations –graduate within the top 15% of high school class  Apply online on hesc.ny.gov in May 2016

18. 18 Other NYS Student Aid Programs  NYS STEM Incentive Program  Provides full SUNY tuition scholarship at SUNY/CUNY colleges only  Must be ranked in top 10% of class  For undergraduate programs leading to a degree in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics  Must execute service agreement  Apply online at hesc.ny.gov in January

19. 19 Institutional Aid  Depends on funding at each college  College determines eligibility criteria for need- based and non-need-based programs  Academic, athletic, and other talent-based scholarships and grants  May require an additional application

20. 20 Research College Financial Aid Websites

21. 21 Use Net Price Calculators

22. The Application Process

23. 23 How to Apply To be considered for student aid, a student must complete all forms required by a college  Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)  NYS Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) Application  Institutional Forms  Other as required

24. 24 Apply for Federal Aid- FAFSA Filing  Apply starting January 1st of senior year*  Available online at fafsa.gov  Skip-logic for faster filing  Check status, make corrections online  Be sure to check your colleges’ FAFSA filing deadlines

25. 25 FAFSA.gov

26. 26 Before Starting the FAFSA  Student and parent should apply for a Federal Student Aid ID at FSAID.ed.gov

27. 27 Common Documents Needed to complete FAFSA  Social Security Numbers/Cards  US Permanent Resident Card, if non-citizen  Student, Parent Income Tax Information  2015 Federal tax return & 2015 W-2  Can use prior year taxes as estimate  Records of untaxed income  Such as child support received, interest income  Cash, savings and checking account balances  Investments, including stocks, bonds, real estate  Excludes retirement accounts, value of primary residence

28. 28 FAFSA: Student Section  Student Information & Eligibility  Basic info: address, email, name of high school, citizenship status  Student Income information  College Information  Up to 10 colleges may be listed; can be updated by correction; must choose housing option  Dependency Determination  Questions that will determine student’s dependency status

29. 29 FAFSA: Parent, Income, & Signature Section  Parent Information & Income  Marital status, name, date of birth, SSN, state of residence  Household size, Number in college  Income reported on 2015 tax return (or estimate),  untaxed income, asset information  Signature Section  Sign using the student and parent’s FSA ID

30. 30 Reporting Income: IRS Data Retrieval Tool  Connects to IRS for tax data of completed tax returns  Data usually available 2 weeks after filing taxes electronically  Can be used at first FAFSA submission or during updates/corrections

31. 31 IRS Retrieval Tool  Transfers required tax data to the FAFSA  May avoid submitting copies of tax transcript

32. 32 Common Questions: Eligibility  We don’t think we qualify for need-based financial aid, do we still file the FAFSA? YES!!!  Schools cannot determine institutional grants without the FAFSA  At some schools, FAFSA may be needed for merit-based aid

33. 33 Common Questions: Dependence  Can a student apply for financial aid without reporting their parent’s information?  In most cases, students under 24 will be required to report parent information  For special circumstances, consult with the financial aid office

34. 34 Common Questions: Parents  If a student’s parents are divorced or separated, whose info is provided?  Custodial Parent  What if both biological parents are living together but unmarried?  Both parents file together  Do stepparents report their income?  Yes

35. 35 Common Questions: Assets  Do you report your home value or retirement accounts on the FAFSA as an asset?  No, your primary residence and tax deferred retirement accounts are excluded from FAFSA  How are 529 college savings plans treated?  The value of 529 Plans, for all children, need to be reported as a parent investment on the FAFSA

36. 36 Frequent FAFSA Errors  Student’s Social Security Number  Student’s name  Unmarried/divorced/remarried parent information  Parents/ stepparents earned income  Untaxed income – pre-tax contribution to retirement fund  Household size  Number in postsecondary education  Real estate and investment net worth

37. 37 How to Apply- New York State Aid

38. 38 The TAP Application

39. 39 CSS Profile  Additional application used by some colleges to award institutional aid  Check with college  Collects more detailed income and asset information and non-custodial parent info  Application Fee, waivers may be available  Apply starting October 1 st of senior year online at collegeboard.org

40. Next Steps

41. 41 After Applications are Filed…  Schools listed on FAFSA receive an electronic record – cannot see other schools listed on FAFSA  Schools begin financial aid packaging process  Student may be required to provide additional documentation at this time  When processing is finished, an award letter is sent to student

42. 42 Financial Aid Award Letter  College award letter contains  Amount of federal aid for which students are eligible, including loan options  Estimate of state aid for which students are eligible  Institutional aid (Merit awards, grants, etc.)  Breakdown of costs

43. 43 Award Letter Comparison Tool HESC.ny.gov/CompareAwardLetter s

44. 44 Scholarship Searching  Online scholarship search websites  Fastweb.com  Collegeboard.org  Scholarships.com  Check local library, employer or union  Avoid scholarship scams  Unnecessary fees, ID theft  www.studentaid.ed.gov/types/scams

45. 45 StartHereGetThere.org

46. 46 StartHereGetThere.org

47. 47 Big Changes for 2017-18

48. 48 Questions??? Thank You!