Paying for CollegePaying for College

James HammarAssistant Director of Financial AidUniversity of St. Thomas

Financial Aid Financial Aid BasicsBasicsBeyondBeyond&

The best thing you can do…

Outside scholarships

Free Application for Federal Student Aid

Special Circumstances

Agenda

Who pays for college?

Financial Aid Basics How America Pays For College 2013 : Sallie Mae/IPSOS

One less thing to worry about

Gives the student more time to focus on searching for scholarships and preparing for the FAFSA

Gives schools the information they need to start the financial aid process and keep students informed

The best thing Seniors can do…just apply!

Apply early.

Scholarships offered at the time of admission may be less generous the closer we get to the May 1 decision date.

Schools may have other opportunities that they only invite accepted students to apply for.

Students should not wait to apply because they are planning to retake a test.

Timing is everything

Apply early.

Do your homework

Plan to take/retake ACT or SAT test this summer

Talk to seniors about applying to colleges and searching for scholarships

Work over the summer and save for college

Visit every college you are seriously considering and meet with admissions and financial aid

What can Juniors do right now?

Financial Aid Basics

Most scholarships for high school seniors will have deadlines in Jan. – April

Start locally, think globally

Make college and scholarships part of every conversation you have with adults over the next year

Set realistic goals and stick to them

Outside Scholarships

Outside Resources

Set up a new, free email account to use for your scholarship search

Answer optional questions. This will yield more/better results.

Students should never pay for scholarships or services that “guarantee” they will find the student scholarships

Use college websites whether you plan to attend or not

Using Free Scholarship Search Engines

Outside Resources

Universal application

97% of students file online

Students must re-apply each year

Determines Expected Family Contribution (EFC)

Regardless of EFC, all students are awarded financial aid

Free Application for Federal Student Aid

The 2014-2015 FAFSA is now available online at www.fafsa.gov

Prepare taxes early and file electronically if possible

The student and one parent need a PIN to sign FAFSA electronically

Talk with schools about priority filing date and school code

FAFSA Continued…

PIN Site

www.pin.ed.gov

Fill Out Your FAFSA

Look up federal school codes

Print a Paper FAFSA

fafsa.gov

Taxpayers may choose to transfer their IRS data directly to the FAFSA.

Tax data should be available within 10 days after taxes are filed electronically with the IRS.

For best results :1.File taxes early and electronically2.Wait two weeks3.File FAFSA using IRS data transfer

If you file with estimated data you should update FAFSA using IRS transfer when possible.

Students should always try to meet each schools priority filing date. This is the only time it is advised they estimate.

It is more important that high-need students meet priority filing dates

Estimating will increase student’s chances of being selected for verification, slowing the whole process down

An award based on estimated information is really just an estimate. It is subject to change when actual data is available

Parents may not be able to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool if:

• They owe taxes

• They file as “head of household” or “married filing separately”

• They amended their taxes

• They filed a foreign tax return

Should you estimate?

Reporting Assets on FAFSA

•Investment real estate

•Trust funds

•Money market funds

•Mutual funds

•Certificates of deposit

•Stocks and bonds

•529 College savings plans

•Business value (if you employ 100+ people)

Only “unprotected” assets must be reported on the FAFSA

List your name and SSN on the FAFSA exactly how it appears on your social security card.

Don’t leave any fields blank. If entry is zero or none, enter 0.

Enter all school code(s).

Both student and one parent must sign a dependent student’s FAFSA.

Other FAFSA Tips

Types of Financial Aid

Scholarships (merit-based)

Grants (need-based)

Work-study (must be earned)

Student loans (must be repaid)

Education Tax Credits (claimed)

Financial Aid BasicsFinancial Aid Basics

How is financial need determined?

Special Circumstances

If you have a special circumstances, you should:

1.File the FAFSA using previous tax year data

2.Contact each school to talk about their process

3.Collect necessary documentation and provide copies to each Financial Aid Office.

4.The federal government allows schools to adjust FAFSA results for:

Changes in household size (divorce, death, etc.)

Medical expenses not paid or reimbursed by insurance

Private education expenses (K-12)

Reductions in income or unemployment of a parent

How student pay their share

Past earnings (savings) Every dollar saved for college could earn you a dollar after college in the form

of reduced interest payments

Current earnings (work-study) Working while in college should not be seen as optional. Whether on-campus

or not, working while in school helps students build valuable skills, connections, and a resume of experience.

Future earnings (student loans) For every $10,000 a student borrows while in school, they will repay

approximately $100 per month over a standard 10-year repayment.* If a first-choice institution costs $50,000 more than a second option offering an

equivalent degree, the student needs to earn $6,000 more in a starting salary for that degree to be ‘worth it’.

* Assuming a fixed interest rate of 5.0 percent

Net Price Calculators Estimates your EFC

based on a few questions

Estimates aid from the school and government sources

Compares cost and aid to provide “net price” or true cost to student/family

Useful planning tool but the estimate is only as good as data provided

Other Questions?