WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

ABOUT FINANCIAL AID2012-2013

Financial aid is money provided to students and families to help pay for educational

expenses.

WHAT IS FINANCIAL AID?

Grants- do not need to be repaid, based on financial need

Loans- money that must be repaid, parents/students can qualify

Work-study- employment on campus to off-set the cost of college

Some Scholarships- do not need to be repaid, awarded on merit, and some on financial need

TYPES OF FINANCIAL AID?

Apply for a PIN number

Fill out Free Application to Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

Expected Family Contribution is determined (EFC)

Information only sent to those colleges the student selected

College’s Financial Aid determines financial need

College notifies student of Financial Aid Award Package

Bring copies of Award Letters/Offers to the High School Counselor

Accept or Deny the offers with the College

THE PATH TO FINANCIAL AID

fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid

send to the colleges student applied to

meet the deadlines (first come first serve)

display financial need

HOW TO QUALIFY FOR FINANCIAL AID?

Cost of Attendance

– Expected Family Contribution

= Financial Need

WHAT IS FINANCIAL NEED?

Tuition & Fees

Room & Board

Books, supplies, transportation, and misc. personal expenses

Varies widely from college to college

WHAT IS COST OF ATTENDANCE (COA)?

Amount family is expected to contribute

Calculated using data from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED FAMILY CONTRIBUTION (EFC)?

must complete FAFSA to qualify for Financial Aid fill out electronically/paperEnglish or Spanish it is freebeginning January 1, 2013colleges have their own FAFSA deadlines

FREE APPLICATION FOR FEDERAL STUDENT AID

(FAFSA)

form collects demographic & financial information federal government calculates the Expected

Family Contribution or EFC colleges use the EFC to determine aid eligibility

and award financial aid

FAFSA

Website: www.pin.ed.gov

sign FAFSA electronically

speeds processing

FEDERAL STUDENT AID PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION

NUMBER (FSA PIN)

Website: www.fafsa.ed.gov

Benefits:

use Internal Revenue Service data retrieval

timely submission

detailed instructions and “help”

check application status on-line

FAFSA ON THE WEB

WWW.FAFSA.ED.GOV

Click Here >

STUDENT

Demographic Information

Help &

Hints

STUDENT PORTION

STUDENT PORTION

Heard this before?

“I am not sure which college!”

List up to 10!

PARENT PORTION

Did Parents File Taxes?

PARENT PORTION

Link to IRS

• quick, easy • reduces documents

requested by financial aid office

• no need to order TAX TRANSCRIPT

• avoid delays

student notified of FAFSA processing results on-line or email

review Student Aid Report (SAR) data for accuracy

update tax information- can now link to IRS

meet all deadlines

follow up with financial aid office at colleges

turn in any other documents requested by college

wait for Award Letters

bring copy of all Award Letters to Counselor’s accept or decline Award offers

FAFSA PROCESSING RESULTS

Student takes SAT or ACT (send scores directly to college) Check College Application Deadlines Complete College Applications (send scores, transcript, essays,

etc.) Work on Scholarships Attend College Forums, Scholarship meetings, Apply for PIN numbers for FAFSA (parents and students) Plan on doing taxes early in order to use IRS Link on FAFSA FAFSA opens January 1st

Attend FAFSA nights

WHAT TO DO NOW…

QUESTIONS?