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Understanding Your Financial Aid Award Letter

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What is the Award Letter?

The award letter is the document sent to you by our office notifying you of your financial aid eligibility based on the results of the Free Application for Federal Aid (FAFSA)

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What is the Award Letter (con’t)

• The Award Letter is not a contract nor does it obligate you to accept the awards

• You may accept or reject awards on an individual award basis

• We ask that you respond to your award offer by May 1, 2010. You may certainly accept or reject your awards as soon as you have made your decision

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The Award Guide• The online Award Guide

has helpful information about:• Award Details• Costs• Terms to Know• Cost Worksheet• Payment Process

www.baylor.edu/sfs/awardguide

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Understanding Costs

• It is important to understand the Cost Of Attendance (COA) as you evaluate your award offer.

• The (COA) includes both direct and indirect costs associated with going to school.Direct Costs are tuition, fees, room, and board

that Baylor will bill you for each semester Transfer students who live off campus will be

billed for only tuition and fees

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Understanding Costs

Indirect Costs are books, supplies, transportation and personal expenses and are not billed by Baylor With the exception of books, these expenses

are incurred throughout the semester and you may already be prepared to pay for these items through your own resources

Many students choose to utilize work-study to help them meet these indirect costs

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• In the Award Guide you have an Undergraduate Costs Worksheet This tool will help you estimate of how much of

your Direct Costs your aid will cover – it is located on page 5 of your Award Guide

Reminder – don’t include Federal Work Study since that is an eligibility amount only and should not be deducted from your estimated charges

If you pursue a campus job you will receive a paycheck every two weeks for the actual hours you worked in that pay period

Understanding Costs

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Undergraduate Costs for 2010-2011• Tuition $26,966• Required Fees 2,758• Room 5,102• Board 5,042• Total (fall and spring) $39,868

• Baylor charges tuition at a flat rate of $26,966 per academic year (fall and spring) for students taking 12 hours or more per semester.

Understanding Costs

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• Undergraduate Costs for 2010-2011 (Con’t)• The cost on the previous slide is an average figure for all

residence halls. Less costly housing is available.

• Includes the 16 meal plan, plus an average allowance for 5 additional meals for a total of 21 meals per week. Other meal plans are available.

• The total cost does not include the following (estimated annual costs in brackets): books and supplies [$1,398], transportation [$1,992], or personal expenditures [$1,890].

Understanding Costs

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Other aid Options • Outside Scholarships – these are the

awards you earn and bring with you to BaylorWe reduce any unmet need first, then need-

based loans and work-study eligibility so most of our students do not have gift aid reduced because they bring in outside awards

We do not reduce merit scholarships or other gift aid awarded through Baylor funds and the federal Pell Grant (if you have that award) would not be reduced due to an Outside Scholarship

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• If you are a Baptist, please check our Baptist Scholarships located at www.baylor.edu/admissions/finaid and then select Types of Aid

• The Cashier’s Office offers an Installment Plan that allows you to pay your remaining balance over 5 months of each semester instead of paying the full amount of the bill in July and December for each semester There is a $60 per semester fee to set up the

Installment Plan but no interest is charged on the balance

Other Aid Options (con’t)

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Special Circumstances

• If you have circumstances that affect your ability to contribute toward college expenses that are not reflected in the information on the FAFSA please contact scholarships@baylor.edu and describe your situation

• We are not able to allow for all situations, but below are some examples of situations we can review for an adjustment to the aid offer Change in employment status or other loss of income Private School expenses for siblings Change in parent marital status Unusual dependent care expenses Paid out of pocket medical expenses

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What are the next steps?• Respond promptly to any requests from our office

for additional documentation• Return your award acceptance by May 1st or as

soon as you have made your decision • If you accept the Direct Loan we will notify you

when it is time for you to complete the online application process

• If you decide to use alternative loan funding you need to keep your eye posted on our website where we will update you on the new process.

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Contact Information

Office of Academic Scholarships & Financial Aid

E-Mail: Financial_Aid@baylor.edu

Phone: 1-800-BAYLOR-U, option 8, 2, 3 or 254-710-2611, opt. 3

Location: Clifton Robinson Tower 700 S. University Parks Dr., Suite 150 Waco, TX 76706

Office Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 8am-5pm

Thursday 9:30am – 5pm

Websites: www.baylor.edu/admissions/finaid

To download this webinar go to www.baylor.edu/sfs And click on 2010-2011 Webinars

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Questions?