Discussion Topics. Funding Your Education Wisely Taking A Closer Look at the Various Types of Aid and the Financial Aid Process 1/6/15. !

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1 Funding Your Education Wisely Taking A Closer Look at the Various Types of Aid and the Financial Aid Process Discussion Topics! Financial Aid Overview ª Types and sources of aid ª Federal and state programs ª Other aid options! FAFSA Terminology (DC, COA, EFC and Need)! FAFSA Sections ª Online process and benefits ª Key elements of the various sections! Next Steps 2 1

2 TITLE SLIDE BLUE Financial Aid Overview Goals of Financial Aid! Primary goal is to assist students in paying for college and is achieved by: ª Evaluating family s ability to pay educational costs ª Distributing limited resources in an equitable manner ª Providing balance of gift aid and self-help aid 2

3 Role of the Financial Aid Office! Determines aid eligibility using federal formula! Packages aid depending on availability of funds! Sends award notification including: ª Cost of attendance (COA) ª ª ª ª ª ª Expected Family Contribution (EFC) Amount of financial need Source of aid (Fed, State, College, Private) Type of program and amount from each for which the student is eligible (grant, loan, work) How and when aid will be disbursed Terms and conditions of student s award! Gift Aid: ª Grants Types of Aid ª Scholarships (need-based or merit-based)! Self-help Aid: ª Employment ª Loans 3

4 Sources of Aid! Federal Government! State Government! College/University! Private Donors Federal Title IV Programs! Federal Pell Grant (Max: $5,730)! Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) ($1k $4k)! TEACH Grant ($4,000)! Federal Work Study! Federal Perkins Loan (5%)! Federal Stafford Direct Loan (4.66%)! Federal Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) (7.21%) 4

5 State of Indiana Programs! Frank O Bannon Grant Program ª Higher Education Award ª Freedom of Choice Award! 21st Century Scholars Program! Child of Certain Veterans and Public Safety Officer Supplemental Grant (CVO)! For additional information on grants available visit State of Indiana Resource! Web portal where students and colleges can view and update information pertaining to state financial aid awards. ª Access to Indiana residents who have filed a FAFSA ª First time FAFSA filers will be able to begin accessing system mid February (usually within 3-4 days of filing the FAFSA). ª Monitor edit notifications. ª View State grant amounts ª Change school choice State of Indiana Deadlines: March 10, 2015 (eligibility) ~ May 15, 2015 (edits) 5

6 State of Indiana Credit CompleEon! Students must complete 30 credit hours each year to maintain eligibility for: ª 21 st Century Scholar Awards ª Frank O Bannon On-Time awards (maximum eligibility)! If student completes between 24 to 29 credit hours may be eligible for full-time awards Other Sources of Funds! Institutional Aid ª Need Based Scholarships/Grants ª Athletic and other talent-based Scholarships! Private business scholarships ª Wal-Mart, Cummins, Gates Foundation! Civic organization scholarships ª Lions Club, Elks Club, etc.! Ask around ª Student s Place of Employment, Parent s Place of Employment, Guidance Counselor, Church Groups, Local Businesses, and Organizations Outside scholarships must be reported to the Financial Aid Office at the college so that they may be included in the student s Financial Aid package. 6

7 Private Scholarship Search Free Internet scholarship search engines:! FastWeb: CollegeNet: Scholarships: FAFSA Overview 7

8 The Importance of the FAFSA! Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)! Currently the the Most Important form when applying for Financial Aid! Basis for determining eligibility for: ª Federal Funds (Grants, Scholarships, Loans and Work Study) ª State of Indiana (Grants and Scholarships) ª Potential Institutional Funds (Need-Based)! Determines EFC 15 What is EFC?! EFC = Expected Family Contribution.! Two components: ª Parent contribution ª Student contribution! Amount family can reasonably be expected to contribute to the student s education.! Stays the same regardless of college.! Calculated using data from the FAFSA and a federal formula. 8

9 DC versus COA! Direct Costs What the student pays directly to the institution (Tuition, fees, and possibly room & board)! Cost of Attendance Includes direct costs above plus federal required estimates for books/supplies, transportation, living expenses, etc. Direct Costs Cost of Attendance Tuition 10,000 Tuition 10,000 Room & Board 7,500 Room & Board 7,500 Total Direct Costs 17,500 Books & Supplies* 1,000 Transportation* 500 Living Expenses* 600 * Denotes Estimate Total COA 19,600 What is Need?! Need = Cost of Attendance EFC.! Need could be different at each school Cost of Attendance - EFC = Need Need 4 Year Private 4 Year Public 2 Year Public EFC Need EFC Need 9

10 Need Examples 35K 5K 40K 13K 18K 10K 5K Cost of Attendance - EFC = Need 30K 5K 40K 18K 10K 10K 8K 10K 5K FAFSA 10

11 ApplicaEon Process! Submit FAFSA prior to the college or state deadline, whichever comes first. ª State of Indiana: Received on or before March 10 th ª Institutional: Check with each school! Some institutions require students to complete additional application requirements, such as: ª College Scholarship Service (CSS) Profile Form ª An institutional financial aid application FAFSA on the Web! Good reasons to file electronically: ª Built-in edits to help prevent costly errors ª Skip-logic allows student and/or parent to skip unnecessary questions ª More timely submission of original application and any necessary corrections ª More detailed instructions and help for common questions ª Ability to check application status on-line ª Simplified renewal application process 11

12 FAFSA on the Web FAFSA on the Web available January 2015 GeRng Started 12

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14 ! Skip Logic Example: ª If No to driver s license ª If Yes to driver s license then opens box to provide info State ApplicaEon Alert! Link to state grant application is on confirmation page! Only used if student plans to attend part-time 14

15 Student Eligibility! Main Questions to consider: ª Citizenship must be U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen ª Selective Service (male only) ª Grade level for upcoming college year Student Eligibility! Main Questions to consider: ª Degree you are pursuing for the upcoming college year ª Will you have your first bachelor s degree by July 1 st 15

16 ! Indiana school must be listed as your #1 school Dependent vs. Independent 16

17 Parent Demographics! Key elements: ª ª ª ª Marital status & date SSN, DOB, Name federal data matches Number in Household ² Student, parent(s), other dependents Number in College ² Parents excluded on student s FAFSA 17

18 Financial InformaEon Filing Status! Tax completion options: ª Will File Use if you have not completed taxes ² Use previous year s tax return to estimate numbers ² Allows you to meet filing deadlines ² Correct FAFSA once taxes are filed ª Already Completed Use once taxes filed ² Potentially use IRS Data Retrieval Tool ² Best option for families and colleges ª Not required to file Financial InformaEon! Main data elements: ª Filing status (Single, married filing joint, married filing separate, head of household and qualifying widower) ² Will be cross referenced with marital status ª Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) ª Income Tax Amount (NOT taxes withheld) ª Exemptions ª Parent Income ² Separate parent 1 & parent 2 income if both parents are working ª Dislocated Worker 18

19 AddiEonal Financial InformaEon! Two Sections ª Additional Financial Information ² Child support paid ² Taxable earnings from work-study ² Grant and scholarship aid reported to IRS ª Untaxed Income ² Payments to tax deferred pensions or retirement accounts ² Child support received ² Untaxed portions of IRA or pension distributions ² Housing, food, living allowances ² Money received or paid on your behalf (Student section only) Asset InformaEon 19

20 Investments! Investments do not include: ª The home you live in ª Cash, savings and checking accounts ª The value of life insurance ª Retirement plans (401[k] plans, pension funds, annuities, non-education IRAs, Keogh plans, etc.).! Investments include: ª Real estate (not the home in which you live) ª Rental property (includes a unit within a family home that has its own entrance, kitchen, and bath rented to someone other than a family member) ª Trust funds, money market funds, mutual funds, certificates of deposit, stocks, stock options, bonds and other securities ª UGMA and UTMA accounts (considered assets of the student) ² Note: Do not include UGMA and UTMA accounts for which your parents are the custodian but not the owner. ª Qualified educational benefits or education savings accounts such as Coverdell savings accounts, 529 college savings plans and the refund value of 529 prepaid tuition plans. ² Note #1: Recorded as part of the parental assets for dependent students. ² Note #2: Distributions from 529 plan owned by someone other than parent(s) listed on FAFSA are included in untaxed income under student as Money received or paid on your behalf. Investment Farm / Small Businesses! Business and / or investment farm value includes: ª The market value of land, buildings, machinery, equipment, inventory, etc. ª Business and / or investment farm debt means only those debts for which the business or investment farm was used as collateral.! Business value does not include: ª The value of a small business if your family owns and controls more than 50% of the business AND ª Business has 100 or fewer full-time or full-time equivalent employees. ² Note: your family includes (1) persons directly related to you such as a parent, sister, or cousin or (2) persons who are or were related to you by marriage such as a spouse, stepparent, or sister-in-law.! Investment farm value does not include: ª The value of a family farm that you or your parents live on and operate. 20

21 Key Elements:! Confirmation Number! Option to transfer parent info if multiple students! Start application link (only if part time)! Next Steps 21

22 ConfirmaEon Page ConEnued TITLE SLIDE BLUE Next Steps 22

23 FAFSA Processing Results! Student Aid Report (SAR) ª Print from ª Identifies any issues you need to address! Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) ª Sent to colleges listed on FAFSA! Make Corrections ª Update tax information once you file taxes ª Correct any errors IRS Data Retrieval! Tax completion status Already Completed ª Tax Filing Statuses Eligible for IRS DRT ² If one parent (single, head of household or qualifying widower) ² If two parents (married filing joint) ª 3 Questions ² Did you file amended return? ² Did you file a Puerto Rican or foreign tax return? ² Did you file electronically in the last 3 weeks? ª If eligible then click on Link to IRS icon 23

24 IRS Data Retrieval Tool IRS Data Retrieval Tool 24

25 Data Transferred to FAFSA! DO NOT change any items that says Transferred from the IRS! You may have enter income from work amounts Special Circumstances! If a special circumstance occurs make sure you talk with the Financial Aid Office at the college/university you plan to attend.! Special Circumstances may include: ª Change in employment status ª Medical expenses not covered by insurance ª Change in parent marital status ª Unusual dependent care expenses ª Student cannot obtain parent information 25

26 College Goal Sunday! February 22 nd, 2015! 2:00 PM! www

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