Why Do You Want to Attend?
Insurance Investment
Curriculum Value Student to Faculty Ratio
Completion Rate Advisor Load
Student Aid Support Services
Job Placement Services Academic Resources
Consumption Tournament
Atmosphere Admissions Policies
Size Quality
Quality of Life Research Opportunities
Extracurriculars
alchemy of tuition
• Colleges participating in federal student aid programs are obligated to aid
you in estimating what your net price will be by providing calculators on
their web sites.
Estimated net price = EFC + Self Help Aid + Unmet Financial Need
• EFC – Expected Family Contribution based on information provided in
FAFSA
• Unmet Financial Need – (Official Cost of Attendance – EFC)
• Self Help Aid – Loans or Work Study
.TIP:Grant aid is the best type of aid to receive because along with scholarships it actually
reduces college costs. Self-help aid merely provides assistance with paying for college
with loans you are expected to pay back or employment via a work study job.
options.
Financial AID Shopping
Sheet
• The financial aid shopping sheet is a helpful tool to aid
comparisons of the packages of schools you are considering.
• The sheet provides a standard format for colleges to
summarize their Cost of Attendance and Financial Aid offers
so you can you can easily compare the colleges you are
interested in.
• Currently over 2000 schools report on their aid packages with
the format.
Tip:
Adoption of the sheet is voluntary so it is possible some of the schools
you are interested in won’t provide a sheet with their financial aid offer.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau maintains a comparison tool so you can
easily compare schools you are interested in that have not adopted the sheet.
Free Application for federal
student aid
• File your FAFSA as close to October 1 during your senior year as possible.
Filing early maximizes your chances for receiving aid.
• If you are filing to attend a state school in your state of residence make
sure to list it first in your FAFSA. In many states this is a requirement to be
considered for state aid.
• Both students and parents will need to establish an FSA, Federal Student
Aid, ID prior to filing. The FSA ID is used to sign government financial aid
documents electronically.
• List the other schools alphabetically so it does not appear you have a
preference for one
Tip:
Use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to automate the process of
including the required financial information in your FAFSA filing.
It is accessible for the prior tax year starting the first Sunday in February.
Student aid report
• Provides a summary of your eligibility for federal student aid
and provides a record of the answers in your FAFSA filing.
• Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is the primary factor in
determining how much aid you will be offered.
• It is calculated using the details provided regarding assets and
income in your FAFSA application.
• Represents the minimal amount you can expect to pay to
attend college
• Colleges use this figure to determine your eligibility for aid.
TIP:
The lower the EFC the more grant aid you will be eligible for. If you have a
high EFC expect most of the offered package to be loan aid.
Maximizing Aid Eligibility
• To maximize the quantity and quality of aid you receive
minimize your EFC
• Two options to lower EFC
– Reduce income in years when you are seeking aid
– Increase your allowance of protected assets.
• The less assets a student has in their name the better their
prospects for aid
• Check out this FinAid calculator to evaluate EFC reduction
strategies
TIP
To reduce income included in FAFSA make larger contributions to retirement
funds
Need Based Financial AID
Programs
• Need-based federal student aid programs
– Pell Grants
– Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)
– TEACH Grants
– Federal Work-Study Program
– Perkins Loans
– Direct Subsidized Loans
• Grants are generally most valuable aid because they do not
need to be repaid.
• Pell Grants are the most commonly awarded grants.
TIP:
To qualify male’s must register for selective service
Loans for students
• Federal Student Loan Programs
– Perkins Loans
– Direct Subsidized Loans
– Unsubsidized Loans
• Private Loans
*State Loans are considered private because they are not sponsored by
federal government
• Institutional Loan Funds
TIP:
Generally, students should leverage federal loans first because federal
student loans are the safest type of loan to take for financing an education.
They tend to have the lowest interest rate, are readily available, and have
better repayment terms than other loan types.
Loans for Parents
• PLUS loans are federal loans parents of dependent
undergraduate students can use to help pay for education
expenses not covered by financial aid.
• The maximum loan amount that can be borrowed reflects the
difference between the student’s cost of attendance minus
any other financial aid received.
• To be considered a parent for purposes of the PLUS program
the student must be the biological or legally adopted child of
the parent
TIP:
It is generally best to exhaust loans available to the student first and assist
them with payment if needed. Federal student loans have lower interest
rates and fees than PLUS loans.
Aid for military service
• ROTC Scholarships
• GI Bill
– Programs sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs to help
Active Duty, Reserves, and National Guard military members and their
family’s pay for educational expenses or other types of training.
• Loan Assistance
• IRAQ or Afghanistan Service Grant
• Scholarship Programs
– a wide variety of organizations offer scholarships to veterans, active
duty personnel, and their families for military service.
TIP:
To receive loan assistance benefits you generally need to contact your loan
servicer and provide documentation to confirm you qualify.
Other Ways to Fund
educational expenses
• Work Study Employment
– Offered in work related to course of study to those who demonstrate financial need on
FAFSA.
• Working Part Time
– Generally better paying than work study opportunities
• Tuition Waivers
– Resident Assistant
– Exchange programs for out of state students
– Other State Programs
– Varies by university ask for a list of programs offered
TIP:
Scholarships from organizations outside of the University you are attending
reduce the aid you are awarded. Because colleges are required to reduce
your financial need. Colleges that reduce gift aid only after loan aid has been
subtracted are preferable to ones that reduce them equally.
Factors to consider when
selecting a school
Academics Experience
Graduation Rate Retention Rate
Accreditation Location
Student to Faculty Ratio Support Services
CLA Results Atmosphere
Advisor Load Size
Academic Resources Living Arrangements
Availability of Intended Major Extracurriculars
Availability of Backup(s) Majors Transportation Options
Safety and Security
Post Graduate Finances
Job Placement Rate Loan Default Rate
Graduate/Professional School Rate Financial Situtation of School
Alumni Network Refund Policy
Selectivity
Admissions Rate
Admissions Criteria
Picking a major
• Career Based
– Focus on obtaining skills and knowledge appealing to employers
– Examples • Business
• Engineering
• Nursing
• Education
• Subject Based
– Focus on area of study that is interesting
– Examples• Philosophy
• History
• English
• What to Consider
– Is a high variety of course work offered
– Do the professors providing instruction have their PHDs
– Does the department have an adequate number of full time faculty assigned to it to ensure a quality educational experience?
College prep checklist
Pre Application
Set Up FSA ID (Student)
Implement EFC Reduction Strategies
Application
Obtain FAFSA Deadline for State School
File FAFSA
File CSS Profile (if required)
Review Student Aid Report
Release SAR to schools not included in FAFSA filing
Selecting a School College One College Two College Three
Obtain Copy of Financial Aid Shopping Sheet
Research State Aid Programs
Research State Loan Programs
Research Availability of Institutional Loan Funds
Compare Costs Between Schools
Identify Differences in Your Cost of Attendance Versus Average Student
Research Economic Value of Major(s)
Estimate Your ROI
Post Decision
Register for Selective Service (Males)
Complete Entrance Counseling for Loans
Sign Promissory Note
To modify the checklist copy it from Google Sheets here.
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College is about expanding your options while taking on debt narrows them. Every
dollar you have to take on in debt to finance your education narrows your choices
after school and should not be taken lightly.
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Steve Miller
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