College Financial Aid- An Introduction KNOWING THE PROCESS IS THE BEST WAY TO BEGIN!
Financial Aid Basics: Terms There are two types of aid: Need-based and Merit-based IMPORTANT: Not all schools MERIT AID NEED BASED AID give MERIT aid. Based on grades/test FAFSA = starting point scores (sometimes Gov’t formula decides essays) what you can afford Some schools also Some schools require have talent-based add’l info awards
Financial Aid Basics: Terms COA = Cost of Attendance (tuition, books, room and board, travel) FAFSA = FREE Application for Federal Student Aid EFC = Expected Family Contribution SAR = Student Aid Report – the e-mail you get from Dept of Ed several days after submitting the FAFSA Grants = Based on need Scholarships = Based on merit “Self - help” awards: • Loans = subsidized/unsubsidized means interests is either deferred until graduation or not • Work-study = student will work at an on-campus job for 5-15 hours/week
FAFSA: The First Step o FAFSA.ed.gov (not .com) o FAFSA is the gateway to all need-based financial aid o Available October 1 of your student’s senior year o Uses data from the year prior to your student’s senior year (ie. if you have a junior now, who will be a senior and apply to college in fall, 2019, you will submit your 2018 income information) o Both student and parent must submit information o FAFSA help: https://fafsa.ed.gov/help.htm
What Do We Need to Fill Out the FAFSA? To complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), you will need: • An FSA ID to sign electronically (you should obtain this before you begin the FAFSA) • Your Social Security Number (or Alien Reg # if you are not a U.S. citizen) • Your federal income tax returns, W-2s, and other records of money earned. ( Note: You may be able to transfer your federal tax return information into your FAFSA using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool.) • Bank statements and records of investments (if applicable) • Records of untaxed income (if applicable) • Here’s an article that describes the things you need to fill out FAFSA If you are a dependent student, then you will also need most of the above information for your parent(s).
What Does FAFSA Consider? o Parents’ income o Family size o Number of students in family attending college o Age of oldest parent (parents on the older side closer to retirement contribute less for education) o Student savings and earnings Some colleges o Parent savings (cash vs. retirement accts) (mostly private) also require the o Value of home/farm/business CSS Profile and use a different calculation
What Will Our EFC Be? The result of submitting your FAFSA will be your EFC, Expected Family Contribution. It will come by e-mail in a message called the SAR, Student Aid Report. You can get a good estimate of what your EFC will be on the College Board’s EFC Calculator: https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/pay-for-college/paying-your- share/expected-family-contribution-calculator
Some Schools Need More Info o About 250 colleges require that you fill out the CSS Profile, which can be accessed here: https://cssprofile.collegeboard.org/ o Here’s the list of colleges that require the Profile: https://profile.collegeboard.org/profile/ppi/participati ngInstitutions.aspx Colleges that use o These schools dig a little deeper into your the CSS Profile use financial situation and retirement accounts; a different formula to calculate what your EFC using this methodology you can afford. may be higher.
Financial Aid Deadlines Be sure to check each individual school’s website to find out what forms are required and when they must be filed. Failing to file by the If you apply Early deadline may impact Action or Early Decision, financial your financial aid award! aid deadlines may be earlier!
The Formula This is the formula the federal government and colleges use to determine your family’s financial need:
The Formula COA – EFC = NEED o Most public universities will use the “Federal Methodology,” requiring only the FAFSA. o College that use the CSS Profile use their own “Institutional Methodology.” o Your need will be different at each college, depending on their cost of attendance.
COA-EFC=NEED This number is different at each college!
How Does Each College Fill That Need? … and do they fill 100% of it?
GRANTS NTS ➢ Based on Need ➢ Federal Pell Grants (provided to every student with very low income) ➢ Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants (FSEOG) (Limited funds; provided to very low income students who apply early) ➢ State Grants ➢ Institutional Grants ($ directly from colleges)
SC SCHOLA OLARSHIPS RSHIPS ➢ Academic (based on grades, test scores and sometimes talent) ➢ Athletic, Leadership, Theatre, Music (talent-based) ➢ Usually highly competitive ➢ Institutional (from the colleges directly) ➢ State, Local, Corporate or Civic (small amounts, not renewable)
WO WORK-STUDY STUDY ➢ Based on demonstrated need ➢ Student is provided an on-campus job ➢ 10 – 15 hours per week and paid directly to student ➢ Generally above minimum wage
LOA OANS NS ➢ Direct Subsidized & Unsubsidized ➢ Perkins ➢ PLUS (Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students) ➢ Private Loans
Does Each College Fill 100% of Your Need? NO. All colleges DO NOT fill 100% of need. And remember, need is the amount ABOVE your EFC. SO PEOPLE ALWAYS ASK NEXT… WHERE DO WE FIND OUTSIDE SCHOLARSHIPS? (why is this a ‘trick’ question?)
What If We Have Low/No Need? ➢ If you are not likely to qualify for need-based aid, you probably want to focus on colleges that have a track record of giving merit-based scholarships. ➢ “Safe” schools are more likely to give you merit scholarships ! ➢ Resource for finding this info: http://www.collegedata.com/
Who Gets Merit Aid? o Some schools offer automatic scholarships for out of state students o BE OVERQUALIFIED – top of the pool gets more money o BE REALISTIC about where you are in the applicant pool o Start thinking about this part early!!!! o Don’t expect to get merit aid from colleges that don’t have a track record of giving it. THERE’S MONEY IN THE LIST o o Consider removing colleges from your list if they don’t give money and you aren’t willing to pay full price.
Looking Deeper COA = Cost of Attendance (tuition, books, room and board, travel) UCLA Tulane Johns Hopkins Tuition 12,918 51,010 50,410 Room/Board 15,069 13,700 14,976 Travel 600 2,500 1,975 Books 1,635 1,200 1,220 Misc Expenses 3,825 * 1,050 1,544 TOTAL $34,047 69,460 70,125 * Health insurance is required at all UC campuses and costs between $2,400-$3,000 What will the cost be when my child goes to school? Use the College Board’s Cost Calculator: https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/pay-for-college/college-costs/college-costs-calculator
Screenshot taken from www.CollegeData.com Tulane University Screenshot taken from Magellan’s college planning software, www.CollegePlannerPro.com
Screenshot taken from www.CollegeData.com Johns Hopkins University Screenshot taken from Magellan’s college planning software, www.CollegePlannerPro.com
Questions? Evelyn Alexander Magellan College Counseling evelyn@magellancounseling.com 310-351-9309 www.MagellanCounseling.com Facebook: MagellanCounseling Twitter: EvelynMagellan
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