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Financial Aid For College

Rossford Guidance Dept.

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Financing Your Education Who is eligible?

What is financial aid?

When do I apply?

Where does it come from?

Why apply?

How do I apply?

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FAFSA on the Web

Web site: www.fafsa.ed.gov 2009-10 FAFSA available on or after

January 1, 2009 FAFSA On the Web Worksheet & built-in

edits to help prevent costly errors Paper FAFSA only available as a download

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PIN Registration

Web site: www.pin.ed.gov

Can get PIN before January 1, 2009Both student and one parent will

need a pin

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CAUTION! Avoid being charged a fee to file the Free Application for

Federal Student Aid Processes of completing & processing FAFSA are

FREE If filing via FAFSA on the Web, be sure to go directly to

www.fafsa.ed.gov Contact financial aid office for help completing FAFSA Do not go to www.fafsa.com New www.FAFSA4caster.ed.gov 

Estimate of cost, comparison between public/private, up-loads to your FAFSA form

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Don’t mix and match families!

Choose the primary custodian family.

Who are the Parents?

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College Goal Sunday

2nd Sunday in February annually Owens Community College – Toledo

and Findlay BGSU Firelands Terra Community College

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To extent they are able, parents have primary responsibility to pay for dependent child’s education

Students also have responsibility to contribute to educational costs

Families should be evaluated in their present financial condition

Family’s estimated ability to pay for educational costs must be evaluated in equitable & consistent manner, recognizing that special circumstances may affect family’s ability to pay

Principles of Need Analysis

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What is Financial Aid?

Grants

Loans

Employment opportunities

Scholarships

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Types of Need-Based Aid

Gift aid: Grants & scholarships (need-based or merit-based)

Self-help aid: Loans & employment (need- or non-need-based)

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Definition of Need

Cost of attendance (COA)

– Expected family contribution (EFC)

= Financial Aid need

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Cost of Attendance

Tuition & fees Room & board Books, supplies, transportation, &

miscellaneous personal expenses, including documented costs for personal computer

Loan fees Study abroad costs Dependent care expenses Disability-related expenses Cooperative education program costs

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EFC – Expected FamilyContribution

Federally determined formula The EFC does not measure

willingness to pay! The EFC is a measure of your family’s

financial strength The EFC is not the amount of money

that your family must provide. Rather, you should think of the EFC as an index that colleges use to determine how much financial aid you would receive if you were to attend their school FAFSA4Caster

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Need Varies Based on Cost

X

Y

Z

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

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2

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EFC EFC

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Grants

Federal Pell Grant

Academic Competitiveness Grant

National Science and Math Access to Retain Talent Grant

TEACH Grants

Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant

Ohio College Opportunity Grant

Ohio Choice Grant (subject to cancellation annually)

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Federal Pell Grant

Awarded to eligible undergraduates pursuing first bachelor’s or professional degree & certain students enrolled in post-baccalaureate teacher certification or licensing programs

Portable

Maximum award for 2008-09 = $4,800?

Still being determined by Congress

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Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG) First and second year undergraduate

students Federal Pell Grant recipient U.S. citizen Full time Completed rigorous secondary school

program Award amounts:

$750 first year students $1300 second year students

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National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) Grant

Third and fourth year undergraduate students

Federal Pell Grant recipient U.S. citizen Full time Eligible major 3.0 GPA Award amount:

$4,000 for third and fourth year of study

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Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)

Eligible students Undergraduates pursuing first

baccalaureate or professional degree Awarded first to students with exceptional

financial need (Federal Pell Grant recipients)

Each school own priority deadline Annual award amounts

$100 minimum $4,000 maximum

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Ohio College Opportunity Grant Ohio resident Based max EFC of $2,190 with a

total family income of $75,000. Application deadline October 1,

2009 Students qualify for OCOG by

completing FAFSA Max. award Public - $2,496, Private -

$4,992 and Proprietary - $3,996

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Ohio Choice Grant Ohio resident Attend private Ohio college Eligibility not based on need or

academic merit Contact Financial Aid Office Currently around $700, but this may

be eliminated by State legislature Not approved for 2009-10 so far

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Loans

Student is the borrower Federal Perkins Loan Federal Stafford Loan

Parent is the borrower Federal PLUS Loan

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Federal Perkins Loan

Eligible students Undergraduate and graduate students Priority to students who show “exceptional

need,” as defined by school Loan amount varies (max. $5500/yr)

Depends on need, other aid, available funds Each school has their own priority

deadline 5% fixed interest rate 9 month grace period after graduation

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Stafford Loans

Available under: Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL)

Program with funds provided by lenders(e.g., banks or credit unions)

Federal Direct Student Loan (Direct Loan) Program with funds provided directly by federal government via participating schools

Fixed 6.8% rate (Subsidized may be less) 6 month grace period after graduation Between 10 to 25 years to repay

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Stafford Loans

Subsidized: For students with financial need

EFC < COA Interest free when in school and grace

period

Unsubsidized: Eligible regardless of need EFC > COA Student pays interest while in school or

allows it to accrue

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Stafford Loans Base annual loan limits (combined

subsidized & unsubsidized): $5,500 for 1st year undergraduates $6,500 for 2nd year undergraduates $7,500 for each remaining undergraduate year

Loan Fees Perkins – No Stafford – Yes, up to 3%, taken at disbursement

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PLUS

Parent loan program for parents of dependent undergraduate students

Repayment begins 60 days after loan is fully disbursed for parent borrowers

Fixed interest rate FFEL or Direct: 8.5%

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Alternative LoansSignature Student Loans, Private Student

Loans Credit check required Interest rates vary Repayment different “Branded”

Universities may have agreements with loan providers to offer private loans to students

These may look like university-approved loans or even like federal loans

Read the fine print – rates may be variable and there may be no limit to how much you borrow!

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Federal Work-Study (FWS)

Employment may be on or off campus Receive paycheck, does not reduce bill

owed to college Not counted as income on FAFSA following

year Each school own priority deadline

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Scholarships

Federal and State Ohio Academic Scholarship Robert C. Byrd

Personal Affiliations Churches, Fraternal Organizations

Scholarship Searches Public Library www.fastweb.com Guidance Counselors

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College Specific Scholarships

Websites Almost every college has a webpage

dedicated to scholarships Go to Financial Aid page Only some will apply to you Scholarships go to students who

apply! Deadlines

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Avoid Being Scammed

Do not pay to complete FAFSA Spend the time, not money If it sounds too good to be true, it

probably is! Never invest more than a postage

stamp No guarantees

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Keep in Contact

The college Financial Aid Office may be your greatest resource!

Complete school financial aid application if required

Respond to any requests for information from a financial aid office

Return award letter if required

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Cost Comparison

Don’t ASSUME you can’t afford it!

Compare Financial Aid Packages.

Apples are NOT oranges!!

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Thank you for your time! Questions

Guidance website