financial resources intended to help pay for college expenses. scholarships/grants = free money ...

Financial resources intended to help pay for college expenses. Scholarships/Grants = Free Money Work Study = Must work to earn funds Loans = Must pay back What is financial aid? Grants Work Study Loans Scholarships

Who is eligible to receive financial aid? Must be enrolled in (or accepted for enrollment in) an approved program of study Must be pursuing a degree or certificate Must be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen Must have a valid Social Security number Must be registered with Selective Service (if male and required) Must be making Satisfactory Academic Progress (as defined by the school)

1. File the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). www.fafsa.gov 2. If required, file the CSS/PROFILE. www.collegeboard.org 3. If required, file an Institutional Financial Aid Application. 4. If required, submit tax documents and other forms requested by the school. Every school is different. Check the schools website to confirm requirements! FAFSA: Free Application for Federal Student Aid How do students apply for financial aid?

Schools use the expected family contribution (EFC) to determine eligibility for need-based financial aid and to prepare an award package. Cost of Attendance (minus) EFC (equals) Financial Need DETERMINING FINANCIAL NEED

Cost of Attendance Direct + Indirect Costs = Cost of Attendance Direct Costs Tuition and Fees Room and Board Indirect Costs Books and Supplies Transportation Costs Personal Expenses Loan Fees Computer Expense

Financial Aid Packages Because Cost of Attendance varies by institution, so does financial need. Financial aid offices attempt to meet a students financial need with various types of financial aid available to them.

Sample Financial Aid Package Cost of Attendance $26,000 EFC $3,200 Financial Need$22,800 Federal Pell Grant $2,495 Perkins Loan $3,000 University Grant $11,805 Federal Subsidized Loan$3,500 Federal Work Study$2,000 TOTAL AID PACKAGE $22,800

Sample Financial Aid Package Financial Aid Award Letter Federal Pell Grant $2,495 Perkins Loan $3,000 University Grant $11,805 Federal Subsidized Loan$3,500 Federal Work Study$2,000 TOTAL AID PACKAGE $22,800 *Note: This students school has met all of his demonstrated financial need. All schools are different in this way.

LETS TRY ONE! Luke is applying to a school where the COA is $28,405. He completes his FAFSA and all other application requirements, and his EFC is determined to be $8,100. What is Lukes demonstrated financial need?

LETS TRY ONE! Lukes need is the COA minus the EFC: Luke has $20,305 in demonstrated financial need. $28,405 - $8,100 $20,305

Need Based Aid given to a student based on the amount of demonstrated need, as determined by information within the application. Examples include the Pell Grant, Subsidized Loans and Federal Work Study. Non-need Based Aid given to a student not based on need. Examples include credit-based loans or regional scholarships. Merit Based Aid given to a student based on scholastic or talent achievement. Examples include awards based on GPA, extracurricular activities, unique talents, and/or leadership potential. Types of Financial Aid

Federal Grants (need-based) Pell Grant SEOG (Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant) Federal Work Study (need-based) Part-time jobs for students through eligible employers, such as their school, or even federal, state or local public agencies Even though this is a federal program, schools set eligibility criteria Federal Direct Loans Subsidized Loans are need-based Unsubsidized Loans are non-need-based Federal Financial Aid

Subsidized Loans Available to undergraduate students with financial need Loan is in the students name, guaranteed by the Federal government through the Department of Education The government pays the interest while the student is in school Fixed interest rate for 2013-2014 is 6.8% Unsubsidized Loans Non-need based loan in the students name, guaranteed by the Federal government through the DOE Federal Government does not pay the interest while the student is in school Fixed interest rate for 2012-2013 is 6.8% SUBSIDIZED VS. UNSUBSIDIZED

Perkins Loans (need based) Federal government pays the interest while the student is in school Fixed interest rate of 5.0% Direct Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) Credit-based educational loan in the parents name guaranteed by the Federal government Fixed interest rate of 7.9% The government does not subsidize this loan Maximum amount a student can borrow is the cost of attendance minus all other financial aid OTHER LOANS

Alternative/Private Loans for Students available through banks or other financial institutions Loan in the students name Credit check required, student may need a credit-worthy cosigner May borrow up to the Cost of Attendance minus other financial aid Other LOANS

College Scholarship Assistance Program Public & private colleges, need-based Virginia Commonwealth Award Public colleges, need-based Virginia Guaranteed Assistance Program Public colleges, need-based Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant Program Private colleges, non-need-based, separate application required. Estimated :$3,100. Types of VA State Financial Aid

Some colleges and universities offer their own institutional scholarships, grants, and loans. Check out their individual school websites for deadlines and required applications. Outside Scholarships Know what kinds of scholarships students can apply for locally. Encourage them to pay close attention to deadlines, and to contact donors with any questions. Other Types of Financial Aid

LETS TRY ANOTHER ONE! Desiree will be attending a school with the following costs: Tuition: $24,800 Fees: $3,200 Dorm: $5,640 Meal Plan: $4,400 Books and Supplies: $1,250 Other Expenses: $2,935 She completes her FAFSA and all other application requirements, and her EFC is determined to be $44,615. What is Desirees demonstrated financial need?

LETS TRY ANOTHER ONE! The schools COA is $42,225. Desirees EFC ($44,615) is higher than the COA. Therefore, Desiree has no demonstrated financial need. Can Desiree still receive financial aid?

LETS TRY ANOTHER ONE! Although Desiree has no financial need, there are non- need-based resources available to her! What are they?

Obtain and review admissions and financial aid information from each school. Submit all applications and requested documentation by the deadlines. Investigate other sources of aid every year. Talk to financial aid offices if you or the student has questions or special circumstances. Helpful Tips FOR STUDENTS

Net Price Calculator

College ABaCus

July 2014

EFC Expected Family Contribution The number used to determine the students eligibility for financial aid; it results from information provided within the application. FOTW FAFSA on the Web Online version of the FAFSA, available at www.fafsa.gov, its faster and easier than the paper version. So what does FAFSA stand for? FINANCIAL AID ACRONYMS

SAR Student Aid Report A summary of the information that the applicant submitted on his or her FAFSA, its available to the student a few days after the FAFSA has been processed. AGI Adjusted Gross Income Reported on a tax filers return (1040, 1040A and 1040EZ), the number represents gross income minus specific deductions and is asked on the FAFSA. FINANCIAL AID ACRONYMS

FAFSA ON THE WEB www.FAFSA.gov

To create an application, the student will enter his or her Name Social Security Number Date of birth IMPORTANT: ALL of these must be correct since this data is matched with information on record with the Social Security Administration. If the application is submitted with an error in one of these fields, the student must start a new, correct application, per guidance from the US Dept. of Education. LOGGING IN

Currently, applicants can apply for a Federal PIN from this screen: However, this spring the Department of Education will be retiring the FAFSA PIN and will transition to user IDs and passwords. LOGGING IN

Spring 2015 implementation of new login process for the Department of Educations student websites (FOTW, NSLDS, studentloans.gov & studentaid.gov) User name and password will replace the PIN as the method of authentication used to access student aid information Will not be in place until about April, so the FAFSA season will begin with the current authentication method in place. More guidance will be available before the unveiling! LOGGING IN

The student answers a series of yes or no questions to determine if they are dependent on their biological or adoptive parent(s), or independent for financial aid purposes. How the student responds here will determine the content of the rest of the application. It is very important that all students answer this section with 100% accuracy. DEPENDENCY DETERMINATION

Here are the questions currently in use in the 2014-2015 FAFSA: DEPENDENCY DETERMINATION

Legal Guardianship: A legal guardianship is a relationship established by the court where one person acts for the benefit and protection of another personguardianship This student is an Independent Custody: is granted to one or both parents of the child. In contrast, a legal guardian is not the parent of the child, and is usually a close relative of the child or parent. This student is a dependent Legal Guardianship and Custody

What is skip logic ? Skip logic is a sophisticated tool that allows respondents to be directed to a future question or page based on the answer or answers they select for an earlier item. Skip logic is a feature in both FOTW and the CSS PROFILE (but not the paper FAFSA!). POP QUIZ!

From the FAFSA help screen: PARENT DEMOGRAPHICS

New in 2014-2015, continues in 2015-2016 Applicants must report the information of both legal (biological or adoptive) parents, regardless of their marital status, if the parents live together. PARENT DEMOGRAPHICS

New in 2014-2015, continues in 2015-2016 The Supreme Court holds that Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional because it violates due process and equal protection. What does this mean for financial aid? A couple whose marriage is recognized as valid in any domestic or foreign jurisdiction is considered married for all FAFSA and EFC calculation purposes. This applies to opposite- sex and same-sex couples, regardless of where the couple resides. DOMA: THE DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT

New in 2014-2015, continues in 2015-2016 Applies to both parents and students A student who does not meet any of the other independent criteria will be considered independent for financial aid purposes if he or she is legally married, without regard to whether the student is in a same-sex or opposite-sex marriage. DOMA: THE DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT

What is verification? Verification is the process that schools use to confirm that the data reported on an applicants FAFSA is accurate. It may involve requesting additional documentation to corroborate the information reported and authenticated by the applicant (and, if dependent, the applicants parents). Students can be selected by the school, or by the US Department of Education. VERIFICATION

How does verification work? When the student submits the FAFSA, the application is processed by CPS (the Central Processing System), who analyzes the data and may or may not select the application for verification. Contrary to what many believe, selection is not random. CPS uses a complex algorithm to identify applications that may be more prone to errors than others. The Department of Education does not discuss the selection algorithm. VERIFICATION

What information must the school verify? The list of possibilities is quite long! Verification is organized into certain tracking groups (V-1, V-3, V-4, V-5 and V-6) and the information to be verified is specific to the group. In most cases, its a piece or pieces of data reported directly on the FAFSA. It can be anything from only one field like child support paid (V-3) to a lengthier range of tax return data (either V-1, V-5 and V-6). It could also be the students identity and educational purpose (V-4). VERIFICATION

How does verification work? A student can only be selected for one tracking group. He or she may or may not be selected in subsequent years, and if selected, the tracking group may differ from year to year. The school has the right to ask for any documentation that it feels would be necessary to complete verification. If the family does not supply the required documentation, the school is prohibited from disbursing federal aid to the student. VERIFICATION

How does verification work? Example: A dependent student who filed a tax return, and whose parents also filed a tax return, is selected for V-1 verification. The school must verify: Adjusted Gross Income US Income Tax Paid Untaxed Portions of IRA Distributions and Pensions IRA Deductions and Payments Tax Exempt Interest Income Education Credits Number of Household Members Number in College SNAP, if reported on the FAFSA VERIFICATION

What documentation may be required? A tax return transcript, or successful usage of the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) in FOTW Not available until February A signed statement to confirm the number in the students family and where any other dependents may be attending college All W-2s received by the student and parent(s) A signed statement to certify that any Federal student financial assistance received will only be used for educational purposes and to pay the cost of attending the school VERIFICATION

Why does this matter to you? As College Advisers, you may be called upon to help the student navigate the documentation that is being requested. Though all schools listed on the students FAFSA can see that the applicant was selected, the documentation that each school requires may be slightly different from one to the next. Therefore, completing verification for students entering college can be complex, confusing, and sometimes intimidating. VERIFICATION

18,827,577 The number of applicants who filed the FAFSA between January 1 and November 1, 2013 5,722,505 The number of those that were selected for verification (about 30.39%) VERIFICATION BY THE NUMBERS

Three tax forms, all different lengths. What difference does it make, and why is it asked on the FAFSA? 1040 vs. 1040A vs. 1040EZ

Have you ever seen a FAFSA that essentially skips all of the asset questions? Maybe even the entire student portion, too? The response to the tax return questions may be used in part to determine which EFC calculation formula through which a students data feeds. In other words, based on the response, the applicant may qualify for a formula that doesnt use asset data or student data! 1040 vs. 1040A vs. 1040EZ

Financial aid regulation provides a simplified EFC calculation, as well as an automatic-zero EFC calculation, for a student who meets certain income and tax filing requirements. If the applicant is eligible, the Central Processing System (CPS) will exclude assets from the calculation, and the applicant may not be asked asset or student questions. 1040 vs. 1040A vs. 1040EZ

Note: For the purposes of determining the EFC calculation, being eligible to file a 1040A/EZ instead of a 1040 is the same as filing one. Thats why the FAFSA asks if the parent was eligible to file a 1040A/EZ! So if the parents filed a 1040, but were eligible to file a 1040A, they may qualify for one of the alternative formulas! 1040 vs. 1040A vs. 1040EZ

A VERY OVER-SIMPLIFIED EXAMPLE: What tax form did your parent file in 2014? 1040EZ What was their AGI in 2014? $19,849 Possible Outcome: ASSETSSTUDENT INFORMATION EFC = 0 1040 vs. 1040A vs. 1040EZ

In general, you are eligible to file a 1040A or 1040EZ if you: Make less than $100,000 per year Do not itemize deductions Do not receive income from your own business or farm Do not receive self-employment income or alimony Are not required to file Schedule D for capital gains If you filed a 1040 and were not required to file a tax return, you should answer "Yes" to this question. 1040 vs. 1040A vs. 1040EZ

The 2015-2016 CSS PROFILE is now available at www.collegeboard.org! It hasnt changed much from last year, but a reimagination is currently taking place that will enhance the look and functionality of the application for 2016-2017. CSS PROFILE REIMAGINATION

$9 for the application, $16 for each school Same username and password as SAT 2016-2017 reimagination will involve the ability to upload a tax document and through Optical Character Recognition (OCR), prefill certain fields CSS PROFILE: LOGISTICS

5 schools in Virginia currently require the CSS PROFILE: The University of Virginia The University of Richmond Washington and Lee University College of William and Mary Patrick Henry College VIRGINIA PROFILE SCHOOLS

The logic is built into the application. A student will know if he or she has received a waiver because there will be no charge at the end. Allows the student to submit the application to a maximum of six schools free of charge. Fee Payment Codes, provided by the school, allow a student to submit their application free of charge to that particular school. UVa generally does not offer these. FEE WAIVERS

Registration 21-item Registration section Applicants must submit the Registration before proceeding to the application. The application builds around the responses to the Registration. Therefore, if the student alters Registration questions, the application part may alter in accordance with the changed Registration questions. HOW IT WORKS

Application The application section may consist of about 50 to 130 questions. Help codes are available throughout by selecting the question mark icons or the blue links near the questions. Students should use whole numbers and enter a zero for questions that will not have an amount. HOW IT WORKS

Many people find that the PROFILE is more extensive and may be longer in number of questions asked. The PROFILE does not have simplified EFC or automatic-zero EFC calculations. The PROFILE provides an opportunity for students and families to provide additional written information in the Special Circumstances section. FAFSA VS. PROFILE

When the CSS PROFILE asks for the current marital status of the students biological or adoptive parents, the options are the following: Married Separated Divorced Never married, living separately Never married, living together Widowed Single adoptive parent (at time of adoption) Single parent of donor conceived child (at time of conception) FAFSA VS. PROFILE

REMINDER The FAFSA and the PROFILE define parents in the SAME way. They also define the custodial parent in the SAME way. But unlike the FAFSA, if a student has a legal guardian, then all of the parent questions on the PROFILE apply to the students legal guardian. FAFSA VS. PROFILE

http://fafsademo.test.ed.gov/ http://fafsademo.test.ed.gov/ Username: eddemo Password:fafsatest FAFSA Practice

financial resources intended to help pay for college expenses. scholarships/grants = free money ...

Documents

financial need slide

financial aid packages

financial aid offices

demonstrated financial

students financial need

nonneed based aid

financial resources

school slide