Finding Money for College

July 18, 2008

2

We will discuss:

• What is financial aid?• Who can get it?• How much is available?• How do you apply?• What happens after you apply?• Where can you get more info?

3

What is financial aid?

• Money to pay for college or career school– Scholarships

– Grants

– Work-study

– Loans

4

Who can get federal and state student aid?

• Must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (“FAFSA”) annually

• U.S. citizen or permanent resident• High school graduate/GED holder• Valid Social Security number

5

Who can get other kinds of financial aid?• States, colleges, and private

scholarships have their own eligibility criteria.

• Be sure you know what you need to do to apply (FAFSA, Profile, Institutional Applications). Deadlines are important !

6

When Is Financial Aid Awarded?

• The General Process is :

– Students are Accepted for Admissions– Students are Awarded Institutional

Merit Scholarships (if available)– Students are then considered for

“need-based” aid

7

How does the school award aid?

• Financial Aid Packages normally combine federal grants, loans, and work-study with any available state programs (like TOPS) and any institutional aid awarded.

8

FASFA4Caster http://www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov/ FAFSA4caster will:

Automatically generate a Federal Student Aid PIN for use when signing the FAFSA

Instantly calculate eligibility for federal student aid

Generate a FAFSA—a FAFSA populated with student FAFSA4caster data will be available when the student is ready to file the official FAFSA

9

Who Complete the FAFSA ?

• For students under 24 years old, parental information is required on the FAFSA.

• The student’s custodial parent and that parent’s current spouse must complete the form.

11

How much aid can I get?

In general, depends on your financial need.• Financial need determined by Expected

Family Contribution (EFC) and cost of attendance (COA)

• EFC comes from what you report on FAFSA• COA is tuition, fees, room and board,

transportation, etc.COA – EFC = financial need

12

Need Varies Based on Cost

X

Y

Z

Cost of Expected Family NeedAttendance Contribution (Variable) (Variable) (Constant)

1

2

3

EFC EFC

Calculating Your “Expected Family Contribution”

• “Federal” Methodology used by all schools for federal and state aid programs

• “Institutional Methodology” can be used for institutional funds– http://www.finaid.org/calculators/

14

How muchfederal student aid

can I get?

Example: first-year student in 2008-09

Maximum amounts allowed: • Federal Pell Grant: approx. $4,731• Academic Competitiveness Grant: $750• Federal Subsidized Stafford Loan: $3,500• Federal Perkins Loan: $4,000• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity

Grant: $4,000• Federal Work-Study: depends on funds available

at school• Federal PLUS Loan (for parents): COA minus

other aid received 15

16

How much state, school and

scholarship money can I get?

Louisiana Office of Student Financial Aid

http://www.osfa.state.la.us/

Depends on the program: do your research! Total aid cannot exceed Cost of Attendance La. “TOPS” scholarships:pay tuition at state schools or AVERAGE state tuition at private schools. ($2,686 for 2008-2009)La. “Go” Grants:New Program for 2007-2008. $2,000 annual award for full-time study. Must be eligible for Pell Grant

18

19

How do I apply for aid?• Federal student aid: fill out Free Application for

Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at www.fafsa.ed.gov

• State aid: Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance web site at http://www.osfa.state.la.us/

• School aid: contact financial aid office at schools you are considering

• Scholarships: visit scholarship Web site or call contact number for information

Beware of Direct Marketing Offers of Assistance• Don’t get hooked by misleading offers• The scholarship is guaranteed or your

money back.” (No one can guarantee your scholarship before it is awarded.)

• “You can’t get this information anywhere else.”(Everyone has access to the same information.)

Beware of anyone who says….

• “We need your credit card information to hold your scholarship.”(You should never have to give this information to legitimate providers.)

• “The scholarship requires a small fee.”(Never pay a fee to get a scholarship.)

Other Misleading Offers

• “You are a finalist” for an award you never applied for.(If you did not apply, it is not a legitimate offer.)

• “Come to our seminar and we’ll show you how to get more financial aid. You only have to pay a small fee.”(This is a sales pitch. Don’t pay for information that you can get elsewhere for free.)

Remember

You should never have to pay:

• For information about college financial aid

• To apply for federal financial aid

• To receive financial aid for college

24

Contact information:

Cathy Simoneaux Director Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid E-mail: cmsimone@loyno.edu www.loyno.edu/financialaid