PRESENTER. USC Lancaster Kenneth T. Cole Director of Financial Aid USC LANCASTER

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1 PRESENTER USC LANCASTER USC Lancaster Kenneth T. Cole Director of Financial Aid

2 What is Financial Aid Sources of Financial Aid When to Apply How to Apply Scholarships Filing the FAFSA (FAFSA Walk-thru) What does the FAFSA tell us After the FAFSA Verification The Financial Aid Office Special Circumstances CSS Profile Important Dates

3 It is assistance in paying your Tuition, Fees, Room, Board and other college expenses It most likely will not pay your entire bill

4 Federal Government (Grants & Loans) State (Grants & Scholarships) Institution (Grants, Scholarships & Loans) Private Agencies (Grants, Scholarships & Loans)

5 Scholarships: Starting October By February Federal Aid: For Fall 2016: Starting January By March For Fall 2017: Starting October By December After that, limited funds may be gone

6 Institutional Scholarships: Contact the admissions office Contact the financial aid office Contact the department of your major Private Agencies: Contact them directly Check with your High School Guidance Counselor Search on-line: Fast Web Good Call Federal and State Aid: FAFSA Free Application for Federal Student Aid (not.com) Applying is FREE (there is no fee)

7 Common Requirements: 3.0+ GPA SAT (Math+Verbal) or 22+ ACT Applications: Essay Letters of Recommendation Hi-light your extracurricular activities Explain how your experiences will lead to your educational goals Search Engines: Fastweb.com Schoolsoup.com When to apply? Start: October-January of your Senior Year

8 When should I file? For Starting January 1 st For Starting October 1 st Both years use the 2015 Taxes For , you can estimate your tax information (don t have to wait) For , you should already have taxes done.

9 Do I need to file the FAFSA? If you want student loans Federal loans have no credit check Loans are in student s name If you want need based grants Incomes <= $50,000 are often eligible If you want Lottery Tuition Assistance going to attend a 2 college/tech are not receiving LIFE Scholarship Income is not a factor

10 high school diploma or GED. working toward a degree or certificate US citizen or eligible non-citizen. Social Security Number. registered with the Selective Service There are other eligibility criteria, but rarely an issue.

11 1. Get Ready: Taxes, SSNs, Dates of Birth 2. Log on to 3. Click on Start FAFSA 4. Create an FSA ID for yourself 5. Answer questions about yourself 6. Choose schools to send FAFSA to 7. Answer Dependency Status questions 8. Answer questions about your parents 9. Answer income information 10. Create an FSA ID for your parents and sign 11. Submit the FAFSA, and print Confirmation 12. Make corrections or IRS Data Retrieval

12 What will I need to file my FAFSA? Taxes Your Federal Taxes (2015) Your Parents Federal Taxes (2015) Current account balances and net worth of investments You can use the IRS Data Retrieval to import your tax information (at least 1 week after filing taxes) SSNs and DOBs Your s and your parent(s) Names and SSNs must match SSN Cards

13 FSA IDs For electronic signatures You A Parent Go to Create an ID and password Must use a valid address, one per ID Enter SSN, DOB, Full Correct Name and Address Can be created within the FAFSA

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28 Am I Independent?: Over 23 years old? Veteran or on Active Duty? Parents Deceased and not adopted? Married? Children or other dependents for whom you the student- provide 50% of their support? Foster youth, emancipated minor, in legal guardianship, or unaccompanied youth who are homeless. If NO to all of these, you are Dependent Note: Living on your own doesn t qualify you as Independent (you will need your parents taxes)

29 I have a Legal Guardian, do I put my guardian s information the FAFSA? No, you would be Independent In South Carolina, there is not a Guardian status established by the courts. I am in Legal Custody, do I put my custodian s information on the FAFSA? No, you would need to request a Dependency Override by the school

30 What is a Dependency Override? When a Financial Aid Officer approves of Special Circumstances that allows them to use Professional Judgment to make you Independent. What qualifies someone for a Dependency Override? Abusive family situation; Mentally, Physically, Drug One parent deceased the other cannot be found Note: Parents refusal to file the FAFSA does not allow a Dependency Override. But, student may be able to borrow Unsubsidized Loans.

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34 My parents live together, but aren t married, who s information do I put on the FAFSA? Both parents information, if they live together My parents are Divorced, whose information do I use? Custodial Parent and Step-Parent (if remarried) My grandparents/aunt/uncle/friend raised me but did not adopt me, can I put their information on the FAFSA? No, you must have your parents info If you can not reach your parents, put zeroes in their section Ask for a Dependency Override from the school.

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41 Do my parents need to File Taxes? Most likely Yes, if A single person s income is more than $10,000 A married couple s income is more than $20,000 their taxable unearned income more than $950 they re untaxed Self employed income is more than $400

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44 If you don t know what it is, you probably don t have it! 44

45 Check your W-2s If your retirement savings are taken out before taxes you have to report them as untaxed income

46 If you don t know what it is, you probably don t have it! 46

47 Some information can be transferred from the IRS 47

48 Assets: Parents have an Asset Protection Allowance (about $18,000 for ages 45-48). After that only 12% are counted as part of available income.

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53 Do I need to File Taxes? Yes, if your total income is more than $5700 your unearned income more than $950 you re Self employed earning more than $400 Can I, the student, work and still be eligible for Financial Aid? Yes, up to $6310 a year is ignored Anything over that reduces your eligibility

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55 If your parents claim you on their taxes, do not claim yourself. 55

56 If you don t know what it is, you probably don t have it! 56

57 Only the student is asked this question.

58 You may have these starting your 2 nd year of college 58

59 Assets: Students do NOT have an Asset Protection Allowance. 20% are counted as part of available income

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62 Be sure to hit the Submit My FAFSA Now follow ALL instructions.

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66 What does the FAFSA tell me? It determines the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) It determines eligibility for Federal and State Grants It replaces a credit check for Federal Student Loans What is the EFC? What your family could contribute towards the total cost of living and paying for college What is the Cost of Attendance? Estimate of ALL costs to attend college Usually based on 9 months living expenses Tuition, Fees, Books, Supplies, Room, Board, Transportation Other miscellaneous expenses How do you calculate the Need? Need Formula: COA-EFC = NEED Need limits need based aid Grants Subsidized Loans

67 Update your Tax Info Do the IRS Data Retrieval as soon as possible If you Amend your taxes, update your FAFSA You can t use the IRS Data Match if you amended taxes The FAFSA will be sent to the colleges you listed They will receive an electronic copy Check with the college 2 weeks later You may be selected for Verification You will receive a Student Aid Report By (secure link) or by mail (paper form) You may be selected for Verification

68 What is Verification? A review and correction of your application information Applications are randomly selected The schools will notify you Each school will need to verify you What will you need to do? Complete, sign and return the Verification Worksheet ; Complete IRS data-retrieval (student and parent) OR provide a Federal IRS Tax Return Transcript The college may be require you to send copies of other forms: W-2s,1099-R, 1099-G, tax schedules, etc You must do this promptly You may order a TAX RETURN TRANSCRIPT from the Internal Revenue Service online at or by phone at

69 The FAFSA is available to the college in 2-3 business days. It may take 2 weeks for the Financial Aid Office to process the application. They will notify you if you need to provide more information (ie verification) Once your application is complete with the college, they can award you financial aid. Every college has their own process, learn it! You may be required to set up an online account to access your information. If you have a Special Circumstance contact a Financial Aid Counselor at the college.

70 Any circumstance that could change your eligibility for financial aid Change in income Change in living expenses/housing Change in dependency status Each college has their own policies and procedures Contact the Financial Aid Counselor at your college Be prepared to provide evidence No college is required to approve such a request

71 A supplemental Financial Aid Application Not required for Federal or State Aid Used by many private colleges For Institutional Scholarships and Grants. Application fee of $25, plus $16 per college Some fee waivers are granted Administered by the College Board The Financial Aid Office will inform you if they want you to complete this.

72 October: Apply for Scholarships November: Schools begin admitting January: Scholarships awarded January 1 FAFSA available February 27 th College Goal SC -USCL March 1 st Have FAFSA filed April Schools begin awarding April 15 th Tax Filing Deadline June 30 th SC Tuition Grant Deadline July Missing Information Letters sent August 1 st After this date, FAFSA is late August Bills due, School begins October 1 st File FAFSA for

73 You must reapply for financial aid each year by renewing your FAFSA If you change schools: Add the School Code on the FAFSA Contact their Financial Aid Office to get it started You will lose out on First Come, First Serve awards You will keep Pell, Loans and private scholarships (in most cases) There are many other sources of Aid. Search for scholarships in your community. Search the Web Don t pay for a scholarship or grant application

74 Thank you for your attention! Contact Us! USC Lancaster Kenneth Cole BY MAIL: PO Box 889 Lancaster, SC BY PHONE: (803) Visit Us: 127 Starr Hall, Hubbard Drive BY WEB: A presentation like this is available at the USC Lancaster Financial Aid Office Website