Tips for Planning, Timeline & How To Make College Affordable - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Tips for Planning, Timeline & How To Make College Affordable

FINANCIAL AID WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW

1. Merit Based Scholarships - Money that is awarded based on credentials students submit through their application process – SO IMPORTANT to put your best possible foot forward - Some schools have a separate application and some schools don’t - Which also means there could be separate deadlines for these - You don’t typically have to pay these back

2. Need-Based - Grants, work-study, and loans awarded based on a family’s financial ability - FAFSA information - Grants – money you don’t have to pay back – State, federal, and institutional monies available - Work-study – wage paid directly to the student for working 8-10 hours in an on-campus job - Loans – federal loan offerings at educational rates in the student’s name unless you choose a PLUS loan which is in the parent’s name

1. Resume or talent based scholarships - Many schools have additional scholarship opportunities that students can apply for - They can be related to anticipated major, involvements in high schools, sports or fine arts talent 2. Outside scholarships - fastweb.com - finaid.org - myscholly.com - When in doubt, fill it out

§ Questions to ask about resume or talent based scholarships: § If I no longer participate in activity X or change my major will I lose my scholarship § What are the GPA or class rank requirements § Is this renewable all 4 years § Are there participation or curricular requirements and if I don’t meet them do I have to pay the scholarship back § Is this stackable or will it erode my merit scholarship

§ Fafsa.ed.gov § It’s called the FREE application for federal student aid for a reason – NEVER pay to file a FAFSA The FAFSA is available and you can submit it starting October • 1 of your senior year You can now use 2-year old tax information to file the FAFSA – • it’s called Prior Prior Year – 2018 grads are using 2016 tax returns The IRS Data Retrieval Tool will allow you to port your • information from the IRS database over to the FAFSA – use it, it’s secure and minimizes errors

You file the FAFSA This will generate your EFC or Expected Family Contribution

You file the FAFSA The Feds send your EFC to all schools that you list on the FAFSA. It’s the same as every school. SCHOOL SCHOOL SCHOOL A B C

You file the FAFSA Each school then creates a comprehensive financial aid package A B C according to both federal and institutional regulations. FA PACKAGE FA PACKAGE FA PACKAGE MERIT MERIT MERIT GRANT—State & GRANT—State & GRANT—State & Federal Federal Federal LOANS LOANS LOANS WORK-STUDY WORK-STUDY WORK-STUDY

§ What if I get selected for verification § PPY sounds great but my financial situation has drastically changed since 2016 § I think I might have a special circumstance § Useful tools: § Net Price Calculators § Fafsa4caster § College Scorecard § College Factual

Thanks for your time tonight!