PRESENTED BY: VIRGINIA TECH

HIGH SCHOOL NIGHT

TOPICS

• Financial Aid 101• Types of Aid Available• Application Process• Effect of Outside Aid • Special Circumstances

FINANCIAL AID 101DEFINITION OF NEED

Cost of Attendance (COA)- Expected Family Contribution (EFC)

Financial Need

TRAVELOTHER

ROOM/BOARD

TUITION/FEESBOOKS

PERSONAL

Each school’s COA will be Different

COST OF ATTENDANCE

EXPECTED FAMILY CONTRIBUTION (EFC)

• Amount family can “reasonably” be expected to contribute• Two Components• Parent contribution• Student contribution

• Calculated using FAFSA data • Stays the same regardless of college

CLARIFICATIONS

• Cost of Attendance • Estimate of all possible expenses• Direct and indirect costs

• Not the college/university bill

• Expected Family Contribution• Not what you must pay/contribute• Figure used to determine aid eligibility

WHAT IS FINANCIAL AID?

Cost of Attendanc

e

Family’s Contributio

n

WHERE DOES IT COME FROM?

• Federal Government• State Government• College/University• Private Sources

TYPES OF FINANCIAL AID

• Scholarships• Grants• Employment• Loans

SCHOLARSHIPS

• Money that does not have to be paid back• Based on merit, skill, or a unique

characteristic• Some require financial need

SCHOLARSHIPS

Sources• Civic Organizations• Churches• Employers• Schools

Free on-line web searches• www.finaid.org• http://apps.collegeboard.org/cbsearch_ss/welcome.jsp

GRANTS

• Money that does not have to be paid back• Typically based on financial need

• Funded by: • Federal funds• State funds• College/University funds

GRANTS – FEDERAL

• Pell Grant• Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant

(FSEOG)• Teacher Education Assistance for College and

Higher Education (TEACH) Grant• Not all schools participate • Not all programs at a school qualify

GRANTS - STATE

• Virginia Guaranteed Assistance Program (VGAP)• Commonwealth Award• Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant (TAG)• Private schools only

• Virginia Transfer Grant

EMPLOYMENT – WORK STUDY

• Must work to earn aid• On and off-campus jobs • Payment Method varies:• Paycheck• Credit to account• Room and board

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LOANS

• Money borrowed for educational purposes• Must be repaid

• Borrower - Student or Parent

• Repayment begins:• Student • After graduation • After enrollment drops below full or half-time

• Parent • Sixty days after disbursement• May request deferment while the student is in school• Interest will accrue

FEDERAL LOANS – STUDENT

• Federal Perkins • Interest deferred while enrolled at least ½ time• 9 month grace period prior to repayment• Interest at repayment - fixed 5%

• Federal Subsidized Stafford• Interest deferred while enrolled at least ½ time• 6 month grace period prior to repayment• Interest at repayment - fixed 6.8%

• Federal Unsubsidized Stafford• Interest accrues from disbursement• 6 month grace period prior to repayment• Interest – fixed 6.8%

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FEDERAL LOANS - PARENT

• Federal Parent PLUS• One parent is the borrower• Option to defer repayment• 7.9% Fixed interest rate• On-line application • Credit check required

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APPLICATION PROCESS

• Know all college deadlines• Request a PIN (personal ID

number)

• Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

• Complete any other required applications

• Submit any requested documents

PIN

• www.pin.ed.gov• Electronic FAFSA signature• Electronic signature for master

promissory noteStudent – unique to the studentParent – unique to the parent, may be

used with multiple children in college

• May request any time

FREE APPLICATION FOR FEDERAL STUDENT AID (FAFSA)

• www.fafsa.gov • 2012-2013 application available January 1st • Collects demographic & financial data • Free application • Used to calculate the EFC• Meet all deadlines• File with estimated tax figures• File prior to admissions offers

GENERAL STUDENT CRITERIA

U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen Registered with Selective Service

(if male and required) Valid social security number (SSN) Eligibility not terminated due to drug-related

conviction Enrolled or accepted into an eligible

degree/certificate program

FAFSA ON THE WEB NAVIGATION

SCHOOL INFORMATION

Can search for code if needed

DEPENDENCY

• Assume that student is dependent

• Assumption may be wrong if:• Both of student’s parents are deceased• Student was placed in foster care

at age 13 or older • Student is a ward of the court• Student has a legal guardian

PARENT INFORMATION

• The student’s biological parent(s) or adoptive parent(s) should be reported on FAFSA• Grandparents, legal guardians, etc. should not

provide FAFSA information

• Divorce/Separation • Who did the student live with

the most in the past 12 months?• If neither parent, which parent

provided the most financial support (ex. health insurance)?

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PARENT MARITAL STATUS

Marital status as of the day the FAFSA is complete

HOUSEHOLD SIZE

HOUSEHOLD SIZE

• Student• Parent(s)• Dependents • Others who live with you and your parents are

providing more than half their support and will continue to provide more than half their support from July 1, 2012 – June 30, 2013

FEDERAL MEANS TESTED BENEFITS

• Supplement Security Income (SSI)• Food Stamps – may be required to verify amounts

received in 2010 or 2011• Free or Reduced Lunch• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)• Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for

Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)

DISLOCATED WORKER

• Considered dislocated if: • Lost job• Laid off or have received a lay-off notice • Self-employed but unemployed due to

economic conditions or natural disaster• Dislocated homemaker

• Not a dislocated worker if you quit your job – even if you receive unemployment benefits

EARNINGS & ASSET INFORMATION

STUDENT PARENT

INCOMEOTHER FINANCIAL INFORMATION

ASSETS

TAX INFORMATION

• What income tax return did you parent’s file or will file for 2011?• IRS 1040• IRS 1040A or 1040 EZ• Foreign tax return• Tax return with Puerto Rico, another U.S. territory or a

freely associated state

• Are you eligible to file a 1040 EZ?

Tax Information

Have your parents completed a 2011 IRS income tax return or other income tax return?

• Already filed• Will file• Will not file

IRS DATA RETRIEVAL

• Electronic transfer of data from IRS database to FAFSA

• Available to most parents and students

• IRS Data Retrieval available Feb 1, 2012• Approximately 2 weeks after

filing electronically• Approximately 6-8 weeks

after submitting tax return by mail

IRS DATA RETRIEVAL

• To be eligible you must have: • Valid SSN• Have filed 2011 federal tax return• Have an unchanged marital status since Dec 31, 2011

• Not eligible if: • Tax filing status is Married Filing Separately• If indicated ‘Married’ on the FAFSA

• Tax filing status is Head of Household• If indicated ‘Married’ on FAFSA

• Filed an amended tax return• Filed a Puerto Rican or foreign tax return

IRS DATA RETRIEVAL– FILTER QUESTIONS

IRS DATA RETRIEVAL

• Accessable through FASFA corrections link• File FAFSA early to meet deadlines• Submit corrections once information is available • PIN is required

• If filing status is ‘already filed” on FAFSA – link to IRS site will be available

UNTAXED INCOME

• Tax deferred payments to pension and savings plans• IRA deductions, SEP, SIMPLE and Keogh• Child support received• Untaxed portions of pensions• Housing, food, and other living allowances

ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL INFORMATION

• Educational Credits• Child support paid (documentation may be

required)

• Taxable portion of scholarships and grants• Combat pay or special combat pay only if

included in your adjusted gross income

Check all items that

apply

Will prompt for amounts on selected

items

ASSETS

• Report net values• Net = current value minus debt

• Investments include Trust funds Real estate CDs, stock, money market accounts Coverdell savings account 529 college plans

• Investments do not include• Primary home• Retirement accounts• Life insurance plans

ASSETS – BUSINESS OR FARM

• Value includes:• Land• Buildings• Equipment• Inventory

• Debt includes:• Debt for which the business/farm was used as

collateral

ASSETS – BUSINESS OR FARM

• Do not include:• Value of family farm

that you live on and operate• Value of small

business that you own, control, and has fewer than 100 full-time or full-time equivalent employees

Asset Threshold

• Asset information is not required if amounts are less than threshold• Threshold amount is different for everyone • If unsure, provide asset information

SIGNATURES

STU

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NT S

IGN

ATU

RE

PA

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ATU

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CONFIRMATION PAGE

ERRORS CAN BE COSTLY

Errors on the FAFSA or other forms may DELAY application processing and result in LOSS of financial aid funds.

Read the instructions and complete the form carefully!

FREQUENT FAFSA ERRORS

• Incorrect social security number• Incorrect parent

marital status• Incorrect supporting

parent information• Asset reporting errors• Missing FAFSA

signature(s)

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ROLE OF THE FINANCIAL AID OFFICE

• Requests additional information, if needed• Determines aid eligibility • Awards aid depending on fund availability • Sends award notification (electronic or paper)

including:• Award amount for each eligible program• Disbursement methods and time frames• Terms and conditions of each award

VERIFICATION

• Schools may request:• Verification of tax information• If information was estimated or data retrieval was not used• If data retrieval was used but information was changed• Must submit tax transcript or use data retrieval option

• Verification of household size/number in college• Verification of Child Support paid• Verification of receipt of food stamps (SNAP)• Documentation of dependency questions• Other information needed to clarify FAFSA data

IMPACT OF OUTSIDE AID

• Notify school of all outside scholarships

• May cause changes in other aid• Need based aid (grants,

scholarships, work study, Federal Perkins and subsidized Stafford loans) cannot exceed unmet need

• Total financial aid cannot exceed cost of attendance

EXAMPLE

COA = $24,000

WE

CF

S

GRANTS

LO

AN

S

Dear Financial Aid Office:

I will be receiving the following awards:

Civic Scholarship $2000

Band Boosters Scholarship $1000

Church Scholarship $3000

Sincerely,

Student

COA = $24,000

WE

CF

S

GRANTS

LO

AN

S S

S

S

COA = $24,000

WE

CF

S

GRANTSS

LOANS S

S

School is required to send a revised award notification

CHANGE IN CIRCUMSTANCES

• Loss or significant reduction in income • Loss of child support • Divorced/Separation after

FAFSA filed• Unusually high medical

expenses

• Appeal options and process differs at each school

WHAT NOW?

• Review Admissions and Financial Aid web sites and materials for each school • Check for Social Media options • Know and meet all deadlines• Complete FAFSA and other application materials• File FAFSA with estimated tax information• File FAFSA prior to knowing admissions offer

• Submit all required follow-up documents• Investigate other sources of aid

SUMMARY

• Start early • Know deadlines and submit all forms promptly• Make copies of everything• Follow-up – normal processing time is 4-6

weeks• If you don’t know ask!

QUESTIONS