Financial Aid 101

Racquel Smith, M.EdUniversity of Nevada, Las VegasFinancial Aid Counselor

What is Financial Aid?Money for educational expensesTypes of Aid

Grants : do not have to be repaid; “gift aid”

Loans: can be Federal or private, must be repaid with interest

Scholarships: do not have to be repaid, based on varying criteria

What is the FAFSA?

Free Application for Student Aidwww.fafsa.ed.govDetermines eligibility for Federal AidData collected and analyzed by the United States

Department of EducationFile in January for the next academic year -example January 2014 for Fall 2014/Spring 2015

Who can get Federal Student Aid?US Citizen or permanent residentHigh school graduate/GED holderEligible degree/certificate programValid Social Security numberMales must be registered for Selective ServiceMust make Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

Meet requirements set by college/university

Undocumented StudentsUndocumented students are eligible for the Millennium

Scholarship if academically qualifiedUndocumented students are not eligible for federal aid, but

there are resources available to assist students with financing higher education http

://www.nygearup.org/collegesense/students/scholar_undoc.htm http://e4fc.org/images/E4FC_Scholarships.pdf http://www.dreamactivist.org/faq/education/scholarships/ https://www.scholarshipaid.net/app/univision/ http://www.latinocollegedollars.org/ http://www.salef.org

Undocumented ParentsStudents who are US citizens or permanent residents, but

have undocumented parents should complete the FAFSAUNLV’s Financial Aid office is not a reporting agency

Families should not be concerned about providing the information requested on the FAFSA

Parent(s) Social security number should be entered as all zeros on the FAFSA

Example: 000-00-0000 - do not use invalid SSN!

Federal Maximum Amounts Federal Pell Grant: $5730/year

0 EFC; amount decreases as EFC increases; based on enrollment

Federal Stafford Loans: $5500 (freshman) 3 kinds of loans:

Subsidized; no payment & no interest until graduation or less than half time enrollment (less than 6 credits/semester)

Unsubsidized; no payment until graduation or less than half time enrollment, interest begins to accrue when loan “pays”

Parent Plus; approval is based on parent’s credit report; payment can begin while student is enrolled; a deferment can be requested

All students are eligible for some type of Stafford Loan

Federal Work Study: very limited at UNLV, consider regular student employment

Federal Parent PLUS loan: COA minus other aid

Completing the FAFSA Apply online

www.fafsa.ed.gov

Include school codes (UNLV: 002569) SUBMIT your application

Both student & parent must sign electronically using the pin (dependent student)

Most students are NOT independent On or after January 1 Pay attention to Priority DeadlinesUNLVs Priority Date is FEBRUARY 1st

Verification

Verification Verification is a process used to verify certain information on the

FAFSA to ensure its accuracy

The Federal government selected approximately 7,300 students for the 12/13 academic year and 7,150 students for the 11/12 academic year for verification

We are required to make sure that all aid is awarded to students according to federal, state, and institutional regulations. If selected, the verification process must be completed before financial aid can be awarded

Why students are selected and what is being verified? While there are several reasons why a student may be selected for verification

some leading causes are: The submitted FAFSA application has incomplete data The data on the FAFSA application appears to contradict itself The FAFSA application has estimated information on it Random selection

You and/or your parents may be asked to submit documentation or clarification of information for one or more of the following data elements on your FAFSA: Adjusted Gross Income Taxes Paid Income Earned from Work (for non-tax filers) Certain Untaxed Income Items Number of family members in the household Number of family members enrolled in college (excluding parents for a dependent student) Receipt of Food Stamps/SNAP Benefit Child Support Paid Citizenship status Compliance with Selective Service registration requirement Any other inconsistent or conflicting information (including name, date of birth, social security number, etc.)

Financial Aid Awards

How Student need is determined Expected Family Contribution

Amount family can reasonably be expected to contribute Stays the same regardless of college Two components

Parent contribution Student contribution

Calculated according to a federal formula using FAFSA data

Cost Of Attendance Includes

Tuition & Fees Room & Board Books, supplies, transportation, and misc. personal expenses Sometimes can include

Loan fees Study abroad costs Dependent care expenses

How Student need is determined

Cost of Attendance – Expected Family Contribution

____________________________________

= Financial Need

Accepting Awards

Award or Financial Aid Package is the amount of assistance you have been assigned for the academic year

Accept loans on MyUNLVComplete Entrance Counseling & Master Promissory Note

www.studentloans.govMoney sent to cashiering first then refunds to student if there

is an overage

Maintaining Eligibility

Scholarships: know renewal procedures specific to each scholarship

GPA and completion rates are measures for Satisfactory Academic Progress 2.0 GPA 70% completion rate 186 credit limit

Scholarships-Millennium Nevada resident for at least two high school years

Must have graduated from a Nevada high school

Must complete high school with a 3.25 cumulative gpa

Must pass all Nevada High School Proficiency Exams

Must have the following core units: English 4 Math (including Algebra II) 4 Natural Science (two labs) 3 Social Science 3

Will pay up to $960/semester for classes over 100 level at University

Will pay up to $480/semester at a Community College

Renewable with a 2.6 (first two semesters) & 2.75 following semesters

No FAFSA is required

UNLV Scholarships President’s Scholarship: $23,000 per year (approximate ; resident) or

$38,000 per year (approximate ; non-resident) National Merit Finalist

Provost’s Scholarship: $3,250 per year 3.8 unweighted GPA and 1340 SAT/30 ACT minimum Complete the FAFSA

UNLV Excellence Scholarship: $2,250 per year 3.5 unweighted GPA and 1220 SAT/27 ACT minimum Complete the FAFSA

Rebel Achievement Scholarship: $1750 per year 3.2 unweighted GPA and 1150 SAT/25 ACT minimum OR 3.7 unweighted GPA and 1070 SAT/23 ACT minimum Complete the FAFSA

Additional Scholarships

Valedictorian Scholarship: $7,350 per year (resident) or $11,900 per year (non-resident)

Top 10%: $1,000 per year

Clark County Housing Scholarship: $2,000 1st year, $3,000 2nd year

Faculty Senate ScholarshipsDepartmental AwardsExternal Scholarships

Return to Title IV Funds

What is Title IV Aid?

Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended in 1998, (Title IV, and HEA program) establishes general rules that apply to the student financial assistance programs.

For purposes of Return of Title IV Funds, these programs include: Pell Grant Federal TEACH Grant Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) Federal Direct Loans (Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans) Federal Perkins Loans Federal PLUS Loans

Who this Applies to

Students who:Withdraw from all classes, or switched to audit in all

classes

Receive all non-passing grades

Any combination of withdrawal, non-passing grade, or ineligible courses for Title IV aid

What is Return to Title IV Funds?

When a financial aid recipient withdraws from classes the Financial Aid Office must calculate the amount of financial aid the student has earned prior to withdrawing.

The unearned financial aid must be returned to the respective programs.

In most cases the student will owe money back to UNLV cashiering and/or the Department of Education.

How you Can HelpWhen interacting with a financial aid recipient who is in

jeopardy of failing or withdrawing from all classes inform them of the financial consequences

On average we perform the R2T4 calculation on 350-400 students per semester

Fall 2012: Our office performed 385 R2T4 calculations. As a result UNLV had to return $481,434.00

Advise them to visit our office for further counseling if needed

Questions?