Financial Aid Training

Transcription

1 Financial Aid Training

2 Discussion Items Merit Scholarships Filing for Financial Aid Cost of attendance (COA) Expected family contribution (EFC) Financial need Categories, types, and sources of financial aid NYS Standardized Award Letter & Disclosure Special circumstances

3 What merit scholarships are available as of fall 2015 this upcoming year are TBD Henry Wells Scholarship valued at $25,000 per year for four years AND a guaranteed internship in the first-year and one-time $3,000 stipend to support internship work in the student s upperclass years. If student was JLA award recipient, $10,000 JLA award and $15,000 HWS. Presidential Scholarship valued at $20,000 based on the student s academic achievement. If student was JLA award recipient, $10,000 JLA award and $10,000 Presidential Scholarship. Dean s Award valued at $15,000 based on academic performance. If student was JLA award recipient, $10,000 JLA award and $5,000 Deans Award. FAFSA Grant: We will offer students/parents who accepted and file the FAFSA by December 1 st a $1,000 FAFSA grant. This grant is for 1 st time 1 st year students only. PTK Scholarship is awarded to Transfer students who are members of Phi Theta Kappa (a two-year college honorary society) and is valued at $15,000 per year for every year they attend Wells. Transfer Scholarships are awarded to students who have cum gpa s of 3.0 or better and are valued at between $5,000 and $15,000. International Student Scholarships awards are between $10,000 and $15,000 in aid to international students once they are admitted.

4 How does a student apply for Financial Aid? Complete Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Complete online at If the student prefers to complete by paper application, they will need to call Federal Central Processor at

5 When can students begin to apply for financial aid? FAFSA s can be completed on or after October 1, 2016 at No application fee to file FAFSA Ask that 1 st time 1 st year students complete FAFSA by December 1 st to take advantage of $1,000 FAFSA Grant offered by Wells

6 Prior prior year Last September, President Obama announced that beginning with the academic year, students will be able to complete their application for federal student aid (FAFSA) beginning October 1, 2016 rather than having to wait until January 1, 2017

7 What is Prior Prior Year and what does it mean? Since students will be able to complete FAFSA s beginning October 1, 2016, they will use the prior prior year s tax information. Academic Year FAFSA Begin Date Tax Filing Year August 2017 May 2018 August 2018 May 2019 October 1, October 1, Prior prior year is another way of saying that you are reporting tax information on the FAFSA from the previous two tax years

8 How does prior prior year benefit the student? Students will not have to consider estimated tax information or wait for taxes to be prepared in order to complete their FAFSA IRS Data Retrieval (IRS DRT) will be available for many students/parents since tax information will be based on 2015 taxes By completing the FAFSA earlier, students will have more time to review their financial aid award letters and research financial options for payment of their net costs

9 What will students need to complete the FAFSA? FAFSA ID (replaces Federal PIN) Dependent Students both student and parent sign with FSA ID Independent Students student FSA ID only Social Security Numbers Dates of birth Actual 2015 tax information Total 2015 earnings Value of net assets - current

10 How does a student or parent create a FSA ID? Visit the federal FSA ID website at (It takes 1-3 days for your FSA ID s to be activated)

11 What is IRS DRT? As students/families are completing the FAFSA, they can have their actual 2015 tax information transferred. This process can be completed using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) on the FAFSA - typically takes 2-3 weeks after the individuals submit their electronic tax return for this to become available. If the individual mails their tax return, it takes at least 6 weeks for the DRT to become available. Using the IRS DRT can help to reduce the chance of the FAFSA being selected for verification.

12 What happens after the student completes the FAFSA? All schools listed on the FAFSA will receive an electronic notification of the completed FAFSA based on their federal school codes you will be able to see this date on EX once we begin to load FAFSA s anticipate mid-october Student s EFC will be calculated so that schools can determine financial aid eligibility Accepted students can expect to receive their award letters by mid-december

13 How is financial aid determined? Depends on: Cost of attendance Expected family contribution Demonstrated need

14 What is cost of attendance? Direct Costs (Billing Charges) Full-time Tuition Required Fees Room and Board

15 Cost of attendance (con t) Indirect Costs Estimated Books and Supplies Estimated Personal & Travel Expenses Direct Costs + Indirect Costs = Total Cost of Attendance

16 What is Expected Family Contribution (EFC)? This is what the government calculates that the family can pay based on household size, income and number of college students enrolled at least half time Stays the same regardless of the college the student is applying to Calculated using data from a federal application form and a federal formula

17 What is Demonstrated Financial Need? Cost of Attendance Expected Family Contribution (determined by the FAFSA) = Demonstrated Financial Need Demonstrated need is what the Financial Aid Office uses to determine the financial aid award.

18 Financial Aid Programs offered Federal Pell Grants ( awards not yet released current awards range from $588-$5,815) Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG) typically award $500 to students with zero EFC New York State Tuition Assistance Grants (NYS TAP) NYS residential requirement to qualify, NYS Net taxable income must be $80,000 or less. Awards range $500-$5,165 Institutional Need-based Grants Federal Student Loans max loan for freshmen is $5,500 Student Employment average job award is $1,850 (students are paid $9 minimum wage and they work on about 7hrs/wk)

19 Current Direct Loan Rates/Fees Direct Student Loans Interest rate = 3.76% Origination fee = 1.068% Direct PLUS Loans for Parents Interest rate = 6.31% Origination fee = 4.272% Interest rates and fees are due to expire on June 30, 2017 so these may not be what the Class of 2021 will be paying.

20 Award Letter Example Not Board Approved Costs 2016/2017 Financial Aid Award Letter ID: Student Name Street Address City, State, Zip BILLING CHARGES FALL 16 SPR 17 Total Tuition & Fees 19,265 19,265 38,530 Room & Board 6,680 6,680 13,360 TOTAL BILLING CHARGES 25,945 25,945 51,890 Other Expenses In addition, you should plan on an expense of $1,800 - $2,000 for books, personal expenses and travel that is not covered by financial aid. FINANCIAL AID APPLIED TO BILLING CHARGES Source: FALL 16 SPR 17 Total Presidential Scholarship 10,000 10,000 20,000 Wells Grant ,800 FAFSA Grant ,000 NYS TAP Grant Direct Subsidized Loan 1,750 1,750 3,500 Direct Unsubsidized Loan 1,000 1,000 2, Total Awards: 14,400 14,400 28,800 Amount you are expected to pay for the school year 23,090 To determine the amount you will be required to pay for each semester subtract total financial aid for the semester from total billing charges for the semester. ADDITIONAL SOURCES OF FINANCIAL AID

21 NYS Standardized Letter Beginning , Governor Cuomo has mandated that all New York State schools use a Standardized Financial Aid Award Letter Students will receive the Wells College award letter format as well as the NYS award Wells is easier to understand what the family be paying s/shopping_sheet_default.pdf

22 Special Circumstances Please refer student to Financial Aid Office Full guidance has not yet been given on professional judgment for the year, but known considerations are Change in employment status Unusual medical expenses not covered by insurance and exceed 11% of AGI (must have filed itemized deductions) Change in parent marital status Unusual dependent care expenses Student cannot obtain parental information

23 Ways to pay net costs Wells College payment plan Four quarterly payments per semester fee of $50/semester Parent Direct PLUS Loan Private Education Loans Home Equity Loans 529 Savings Plans Borrow from 401K or Retirement Savings Employer Benefits? Outside Scholarships

24 Are there other places students can look for scholarships? Local agencies and High School Guidance Offices

25 QUESTIONS?