HOW TO COMPLETE THE PARENTS FINANCIAL STATEMENT (PFS) ONLINE

Transcription

1 Isidore Newman School partners with School and Student Services (SSS) By NAIS in our financial aid process. To begin your financial aid application, you will complete Parents Financial Statement (PFS) on the SSS website. The PFS should be completed in time for Newman to receive it by Friday, February 13, The PFS is a comprehensive application that will take some time to complete. Give yourself the time you need by not waiting until the deadline to begin. You ll need your most recent tax return before beginning the PFS. We also recommend that you review the wide range of materials that SSS has put together to help families with the financial aid process. They can be found at sss.nais.org/parents. We will communicate our financial aid decision to you. To make our decision, we use the information from the PFS as a starting point but also consider our school policy, practices, and available budget. HOW TO COMPLETE THE PARENTS FINANCIAL STATEMENT (PFS) ONLINE Beginning November 1, 2014, go to sss.nais.org/parents. Create your PFS Online account with your address and a password. If you applied for financial aid last year, simply log in to the PFS Online as a Returning Family, using the address and password you set up last year. Begin a PFS for Academic Year You can log out of the PFS Online at any time, then return later to complete it. After you have pressed submit, you ll be brought to a payment screen. The fee of $42 is nonrefundable. Once your PFS is submitted, it cannot be withdrawn from the SSS system. About 24 hours after you pay for and submit your PFS, you ll have access on the PFS Online to a section called Manage Documents. You can upload the additional documents we require there. HOW TO SUBMIT ADDITIONAL REQUIRED DOCUMENTS ONLINE Newman requires families to submit copies of their 2013 and 2014 tax documents including all W2 forms, and form 1040 with all applicable attachments. Prepare your documents to be uploaded. Make sure the documents are on your computer, each saved as a separate file. They can be saved in any of the following file formats: Microsoft Word, Excel, Adobe pdf,.jpg,.gif, or.tif. Remove any security or password protection from your pdfs. Return to the PFS Online and log in. Select the Academic Year button. From your PFS Online Dashboard, click on the Manage Documents tab. On the Manage Documents page, under Upload Documents, click Browse, then locate the place the document is on your computer. Click Upload Documents. Once you have uploaded a document, it will NOT appear immediately in the Received Documents section on this page. It can take up to 48 hours for it to be received and then validated. If you wish to submit required documents by mail, send to School and Student Services, PO Box 449, Randolph, MA For overnight service, use: School and Student Services, 437 Turnpike Street, Canton, MA If you need help completing the PFS, contact SSS customer service at (800)

2 Financial Aid Isidore Newman School offers financial assistance to families who demonstrate financial need and whose children are enrolled in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. The primary responsibility for financing education rests with the family. If after the family has evaluated the potential family contribution, it is less than the cost of tuition, parents may wish to apply for financial aid to make up the difference. Applying for financial aid will not affect one s chances for admission; applications are accepted for admission on a need-blind basis. Once accepted, candidates for financial aid are referred to the Financial Aid Committee which awards aid to families who demonstrate financial need as determined by the guidelines of the School and Student Services for Financial Aid (SSS) and Newman s own policies. Financial need is determined by taking into account many factors including income and taxes, medical and basic living expenses, parental and student assets, debts, family size, and the number of children attending tuition-charging schools and colleges. Because the Financial Aid Committee recalculates all financial aid applications to correct errors and to apply Newman School s policies, the family contribution we determine may differ from the one indicated on the SSS Family Report and from figures determined by other schools. For the academic year, 21% of the student body is receiving aid totaling approximately $2 million. Because financial aid funds are limited, we are unable to meet fully the increasing demand for financial assistance. It is imperative that families (both returning and new to the school) who wish to be considered for financial assistance for the upcoming academic year, complete the financial aid process, including allowing time for Newman s receipt of the SSS report, by February 13, Applications completed after that date will be considered only after all applications received on time have been acted upon. Committed to enrolling the best students in the greater New Orleans area regardless of socioeconomic status, Isidore Newman School admits students of any race, color, religion, sex, national and ethnic origin, or sexual orientation. Despite our strong commitment to our financial aid program and to the enrollment of an economically diverse student body, it is possible that the number of students who qualify for financial aid is greater than Newman School is able to support. Therefore, some students who have been admitted to the school could be denied aid and placed in the financial aid waiting pool. Please see below for more information on the financial aid waiting pool. Newman will provide instructions for applying for financial aid to families who indicate an interest in financial aid on the admission application. Instructions for applying for aid are also available on Newman s website under the Admissions tab. All information received by the Financial Aid Committee is held in the strictest confidence. To complete the application process, parents must submit the following: 1) A financial aid application, formally called the Parent s Financial Statement (PFS), must be completed online through School and Student Services by NAIS (SSS) at SSS will provide Newman, and other schools you may designate, the financial analysis that helps the schools determine an appropriate financial award.

3 2) A copy of the parents 2013 Tax Return, as filed with the Internal Revenue Service (Form 1040/1040A with all schedules and all W-2 forms), must accompany the application. This information can be uploaded directly to SSS or hard copies can be mailed to SSS. Specific instructions on submitting your tax forms are available on the SSS website. An application for financial aid is not complete and will not be acted upon until the Financial Aid Office has received all of the documents. In addition, any falsification of any information on the financial aid application will result in immediate withdrawal of the financial award for the year. A copy of the parents 2014 Tax Return, as filed with the Internal Revenue Service (Form 1040/1040A with W-2 and all schedules), must be sent to School and Student Services by NAIS (SSS) by Friday, May 1, 2015, to verify income and finalize the financial aid award. Families who file for an extension on their federal tax deadline should provide the school with appropriate documentation. In some cases, the committee may not be able to make a final award until the actual tax forms are completed. Student Applications Priority I: Returning students who received financial assistance in prior years and qualify for aid in the upcoming school year will receive first priority in the financial aid award process. Priority II: Returning students who were not receiving financial assistance in prior years but who qualify for aid in the upcoming school year will receive second priority in the financial aid award process. Priority III: New students who qualify for aid in the upcoming school year will receive third priority in the financial aid process. Before financial aid can be offered to a new student, the student must be accepted for admission to Newman, and the child s parent(s) must also have made a commitment for the child to attend Newman by submitting an Enrollment Agreement and paying a refundable tuition deposit. A specific date by which the aid must be accepted or declined will be included in the financial aid award letter. If the aid is declined in writing on or before that date, the tuition deposit will be refunded and the enrollment agreement becomes null and void. If the family deems the aid insufficient, procedures for an appeals process are outlined in the information below. Parents Who are Separated, Divorced or Who Were Never Married Financial need is determined by a family s ability to meet educational expenses, not by a willingness to pay. In most cases, the Financial Aid Committee will make an award only after considering the financial resources of both parents. Therefore, each parental household must complete the full application process. If either parent remarries, the financial information of the stepparent must be included on the financial statement in order to allow us to assess the true financial position of the applicant family. We will take into consideration individual financial arrangements as well as obligations of the parent and stepparent to their other children as we process financial information.

4 If one parent is not involved in the child s life, a statement to this effect from a third party who is aware of the situation in a professional capacity (a lawyer, social services agent, school official, for example) should be submitted to the School. Please contact the Financial Aid Office to discuss this situation. Appeals Process Families who feel they are unable to meet the financial expectations outlined in the financial aid award agreement may request a second review of their financial aid application. In order to initiate the appeals process the parent should call Sally Uzee, Director of Stewardship and Financial Aid ( ) and prepare the following: a detailed monthly or annual budget showing all income and expenses a statement of changes, if any, in financial circumstances since the financial statement was completed detailed explanations of unusual expenses and/or debts that were not fully explained on the original financial statement(s) Financial Aid Waiting Pool Qualified financial aid applicants whom the budget is unable to support will be placed in a financial aid waiting pool. As funds become available, students in the waiting pool will be considered, and we will offer aid according to the current enrollment needs of the school. To remain in the financial aid waiting pool, families should submit a letter to the Admission Office noting that they are unable to enroll due to insufficient aid and requesting to be placed in the waiting pool. Should funding become available, families in the waiting pool will be notified by the Financial Aid Office. Parents will be notified of financial aid awards as soon as possible after the enrollment contract is submitted. If other means of paying the tuition become available, please contact the Admission Office. Isidore Newman School reserves the right to require additional financial information as needed to determine financial aid awards. Admission decisions at Newman are made without regard to a family s financial situation. Questions regarding the financial aid process may be addressed to Sally Uzee, Director of Stewardship and Financial Aid at

5 Applying for Financial Aid at Our School for the Academic Year We partner with School and Student Services (SSS) by NAIS in our financial aid process. To begin your financial aid application, you will complete SSS s Parents Financial Statement (PFS). The Parents Financial Statement (PFS) is the cornerstone of our financial aid application process. By submitting a PFS, you re granting SSS by NAIS permission to analyze your financial information. Using their unique methodology, they estimate the amount you can contribute to school expenses and forward that estimate to the appropriate schools. It s one form, for one fee, for any number of siblings, for any number of schools. How to complete the Parents Financial Statement (PFS) online Beginning November 1, 2014, go to sssbynais.org/parents to enter the PFS Online. Create your PFS Online account with your address and a password. If you applied for financial aid last year, simply login to the PFS Online as a Returning Family, using the address and password you set up last year. Begin a PFS for Academic Year You can log out of the PFS Online at any time, then return later to complete it. After you have pressed submit, you ll be brought to a payment screen. The fee of $42 is nonrefundable. Once your PFS is submitted, it cannot be withdrawn from the SSS system. NEXT STEPS After you pay for and submit your PFS, you ll have access on the PFS Online to a section called Manage Documents. You can upload the additional documents we require there. We will communicate our financial aid decision to you directly. To make our decision, we use the information from the PFS as a starting point. We also consider our school policies and practices, as well as the budget we have available. Find the Parents Financial Statement online at sssbynais.org/parents

6 The PFS is a comprehensive application that will take some time to complete. Give yourself the time you need by not waiting until the deadline to begin. It s important to note the difference between the deadlines for admission and financial aid applications. You ll need your most recent tax return before beginning the PFS. We also recommend that you review the wide range of materials that SSS has put together to help families with the financial aid process. They can be found at sssbynais.org/parents. Top 10 Tips for Completing Your Financial Aid Application Complete only one PFS per household. You can apply for aid to any number of schools for any number of children using just one PFS for the same flat fee. Use your legal name. Make sure your name on your Parents Financial Statement (PFS) appears exactly the way your name appears on your tax documents. Enter whole numbers. When entering numbers, do not enter decimals or cents simply round to the nearest whole number. Understand that all monetary values must be in US Dollars. Differentiate applicants from dependents. Questions about student applicants refer to your children who are applying for financial aid via the PFS. Questions about other dependents refer to the children (or adults) for whom you provide support but ARE NOT applying for financial aid. Separate salary from profit. If you are a business owner or farm owner, you will be asked about your salary in the Family Income section. Enter only the amount you actually draw as salary (as reported on your W-2). You will provide information about profit/loss elsewhere in the PFS Estimate your taxes. We realize most tax forms are not available until late January. If you don t have your current year s taxes available, it s okay to estimate your answers based on your prior year s tax return. Don t forget the cover sheet. If you mail additional required documents to SSS, please include the SSS cover sheet. Your documents will then be properly matched to your application and you ll avoid delays. Give yourself at least 10 days before the deadline to allow for mail delivery and SSS processing time. Tell your story. Offer explanations when requested, so your story or situation is clear and understandable to those reviewing your application. Calculate debt and unusual expenses. When asked to report your credit card debt, enter your total outstanding balances and use the Notes section to specify the types of purchases you used these cards for. When asked to total your unusual expenses, you ll find a list of the types of expenses you should and should not include. Be honest. Take time to carefully consider how much you think you can pay towards tuition on your own. Make a budget of income and expenses and see how much you can include for school costs. If you have questions, contact the SSS Customer Service Center at (800) or [email protected]