Financing your Education - Traversing the Financial Aid

Maze

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

• Web site: www.fafsa.gov• Family’s personal and financial information is

required to perform need analysis and is collected on the FAFSA

• The FAFSA allows you to apply for both federal and state aid

• Must be completed EACH year!• School deadlines may vary - check with the school

you are interested in attending• Paper applications available call 1-800-4FEDAID

Student Financial Aid Personal Identification Number (SFA PIN)

• Web site: www.pin.ed.gov• Sign FAFSA electronically• Can request PIN before January 1,

2011• Can select own personalized pin• Not required, but speeds processing• Can be issued in real time so FAFSA

can be signed immediately. It can not, however, be used for MPN immediately as it must go thru Social Security checks. The wait time will be approximatly 3 days.

• May be used by students and parents throughout aid process, including subsequent school years for FAFSA, MPN, NSLDS, etc.

Redesigned Homepage

Simplified options

Updated graphics

An updateable announcement section

Access to FAFSA4caster

Access to FAFSA PDF and paper FAFSA information

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FAFSA Filing Options

Three student options for applying:

OnlinePDF FAFSA Paper FAFSA

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Deadline Results

Year specific

Federal deadline for initial FAFSA submission and FAFSA corrections

State specific deadline

Standard message for college deadline

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…One Log-in for all Functionality Name re-ordered to first name and full last name.

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Reconfirmation of Identifiers

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“My FAFSA” page – New Student

Dynamic messaging guides the applicant through all phases of the application experience

Application Status

PIN Status

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Introduction Page

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Student Eligibility Question

A High School question will be presented to students who indicate a high school diploma

and

Never attended college / 1st yr.

or Attended college

before / 1st yr.

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High School Question

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Student enters the name, city and state of the high school they attended

Student selects Confirm to retrieve the results

• If the student’s parent is single, divorced, or widowed, the student will only see questions for the one parent.

• The Virtual Keyboard icon is present for the parent’s Social Security Number and Date of Birth.

• The parent financial information is collected on two Parent Financial Information pages.

• The questions display dynamically based on how the user answers each question.

• For example: If the parent indicates they filed a 1040A or 1040EZ we do not display the question asking whether they are eligible to file a 1040A or 1040EZ

• Please note to use your 2010 tax information

Financial Information

The IRS Data Retrieval continues in 2011-2012 beginning January 30, 2011.

Also available in Corrections Electronically filed tax return

information will be available from the IRS in 1-2 weeks, data from paper tax returns will be available in 6-8 weeks.

You will be asked the same questions for the student financial section.

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IRS Data Retrieval

Once the applicant has successfully authenticated, tax data will be presented and the applicant will have the option to “Transfer” the tax information to the FAFSA

Transferred data will have a notation - “Transferred from the IRS”

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Parents of dependent students and independent students will be presented with the asset net worth threshold question, if they are not eligible for auto-zero or simplified needs test; and if the student’s state of legal residence allows the applicant to skip the asset question.

You will answer the same questions under the student financial section

Asset Net Worth Threshold

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Asset Net Worth Threshold

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If answer is “yes”, the three asset questions will display.

If answer is “no”, the asset questions will not display, as we do not need to count the asset value in the calculation of the EFC.

School Selection Step

Student may enter up to 10 colleges by entering Federal School Code or Searching on State, City or School Name

New – Re-ordering Schools

The student may move the position order of schools by placing the cursor in the row of the school they want moved.

Then by using the up and down arrows can change the position of the school.

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Detailed School Information

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View FAFSA Summary

The View FAFSA Summary button takes the student to a summary of their data.

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FAFSA Summary Report

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Student Signature with PIN

Parent Signature with PIN

Confirmation PageRedesigned for clarity. Includes -

Confirmation NumberData Release Number (DRN)EFC estimatePell Grant and Direct Loan estimatesOption for parents to transfer info to an application for a siblingOption to transfer info to a state application if state participates in APIRates for each college on the FAFSA

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State API Expansion Will allow students to transfer information from the FAFSA to a

state application Option offered on confirmation page only

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Making Corrections

If necessary, corrections to FAFSA data may be made by: • Using FAFSA on the Web (www.fafsa.gov) if

student has a PIN;• Updating paper SAR (SAR Information Acknowledgement cannot be used to make corrections); or• Submitting documentation to college’s financial aid office

www.FAFSA4Caster.ed.gov Features and Benefits

Students instantly receive their EFC

Students receive customized aid award estimates (lists federal student aid programs and estimated award amount a student may be eligible for)

Can be calculated for 12 different school scenarios

Automatically generates FAFSA PIN to electronically sign the FAFSA

Pre-fills many of the questions on the FAFSA

Sends reminder notices to student in early January to complete the FAFSA

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NY State Grantwww.hesc.com

Applying for TAPDeadline for filing the FAFSA is June 30, 2011

Timeline

• File the FAFSA by the deadline required for your school

• SAR is rec’d by student/ISIR rec’d by school (read over the info you receive!)

• Info sent to state agency• School sends award letters (March-May)• State agency sends award letter in May

How awards are made...

• Schools try to meet your “need” w/ various types of FA

• Aid cannot exceed the budget• You must report all aid to the FA Office; if you

get an outside award it may affect your other aid, but not usually dollar for dollar

What is the Expected Family Contribution (EFC)

• Definition - Index used to determine your eligibility for federal student aid

• Amount family can reasonably be expected to contribute

• Stays the same regardless of college• Two components

– Parent contribution– Student contribution

• Calculated using data from a federal application form and a federal formula

Definition of Need

Cost of Attendance (COA)- Expected Family Contribution (EFC)

--------------------------------------------------= Financial Need

Verification

• Is a process whereby the school verifies the information on your FAFSA

• May be chosen randomly or because of a discrepancy in the info you provided

• HESC vs. Institutional - NY State Grant Form Website – www.hesc.org

What is Financial Aid?Funds provided to students and families to

help pay for postsecondary education.Examples:• Grants• Loans• Employment Opportunities• Scholarships

Gift Aid Grants• Federal

-Pell-SEOG-TEACH

• State (not PA)• Institutional• Private

Federal site-www.studentaid.ed.gov

Scholarships• Federal

-Byrd• State www.hesc.com

– Math and Science Teaching Scholarship

– NYS Scholarships for Academic Excellence

• Institutional• Private - lots of free

scholarship search services.

Self-Help Aid

Loans• Federal Perkins Loans• Federal Direct Stafford

Loans- Subsidized- Unsubsidized

• Federal Direct PLUS - (parent loan) www.studentloans.gov

• Alternative Loans

Employment• Work Study

-Federal-State-Institutional

Satisfactory Academic Progress

• In order to receive aid you must be making progress towards the completion of your degree

-usually 24 credits per year must be completed-must maintain a 2.0 GPA

Tax credits• Lifetime Learning Credit - no minimum enrollment

necessary. No limit to number of years you can claim it; up to $2000.

• New American Opportunity Credit – for first 4 years of college (must be degree seeking and at least ½ time) – 40% of this credit can be refundable, credit max is $2500 – supplies and equipment do not need to be purchased from the school. (Only for undergraduate students)

• See publication 970 for more info.• www.irs.gov

Avoid Being Scammed

• To check legitimacy of scholarship searches or individual, for information about financial aid scams, and tips to avoid being scammed visit Web sites:– U.S. Department of Education:

http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/publications.jsp

– Federal Trade Commission: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/index.shtml

– Better Business Bureau:www.bbb.com

Tips

• Be aware of the financial aid deadlines and don’t miss them!

• Look at “out of pocket cost” not just the awards you are offered

• Understand the different types of aid• Remember free aid is ALWAYS better than

loans!

Tips cont.• Talk about credit, credit cards and smart

borrowing• CSS Profile• ROTC, AmeriCorps, Nat’l Guard are other

ways to help pay for college• Borrow only what you need!• Plan for the future!• Be aware of Private Education Loans. Read

all information first! Not all loans are the same.