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Student Financial Aid

What High School Seniors & Parents Should Know

Dan RobinsonPace University

Campus Director - Pleasantville

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What is Financial Aid?

Funds that help pay the cost of attending college

Financial aid may awarded based on Financial need (need-based) Other criteria, such as academic or athletic

ability (merit-based)

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Different Types of Aid

Scholarships Grants Work Study Loans

Free Money

Self-help aid

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Sources of Financial Aid

Federal government New York State Colleges – Institutional aid Other sources

Businesses Foundations Clubs/Organizations

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Need-based Financial Aid

Need-based Aid Your family’s ability to pay for educational

costs is evaluated Determined from information collected on

financial aid applications FAFSA, CSS Profile

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How Financial Need is Determined

Cost of Attendance (COA)

– Expected Family Contribution (EFC)

= Financial Need

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Cost of Attendance (COA)Direct ExpensesTuition and feesRoom and board

Indirect expensesBooks and suppliesTransportationMiscellaneous expenses

COA – EFC = Financial Need

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Examples of Need Determination

College A

College B

College C

COA $ 15,000 $40,000 $60,000

- EFC 5,000 5,000 5,000

= Financial Need $ 10,000 $ 35,000 $55,000

Financial Aid Programs

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Federal Student Aid Programs

Pell Grant – free money Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant

(FSEOG) – free money Work-Study – earned money Direct Stafford Loan – borrowed money Direct PLUS Loan – borrowed money

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Federal Aid Eligibility

To qualify for federal student aid a student must

Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizenHave a valid Social Security NumberRegister with Selective Service, if student

is male

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Federal Aid Eligibility

Students also must Have a high school diploma or recognized

equivalent, such as a GED/TASC Be enrolled, or accepted for enrollment, in an

eligible degree or certificate program Maintain satisfactory academic progress

requirements

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NYS Student Aid Programs

Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) Scholarships for Academic Excellence New York Achievement & Investment in Merit

Scholarship (NY-AIMS) STEM Incentive Program Math & Science Teaching Incentive Program Veterans Tuition Award

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NYS Student Aid Eligibility Requirements

Students must: Be New York State residents If dependent, parents must also be NYS

residents Attend and be matriculated at an eligible college

in New York State Meet other eligibility criteria for specific programs

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NYS Student Aid Programs

Tuition Assistance Program (TAP)Undergraduates Need-based, up to $5,165/yearFull-time and part-time study in NYSBased on NYS net taxable income (must be

below $80,000)

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TAP Award Determination

TAP award amount determined by Type of institution and the tuition charge Financial status (dependent or independent) Other family members enrolled in collegeCombined family NYS taxable income

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Other NYS Student Aid Programs NYS Achievement & Investment in Merit Scholarship (NY-

AIMS) $500 annual award for study in New York State For students must achieve two of the following criteria

– graduate with a GPA of 3.3 or above– graduate “with honors” on a NYS Regents diploma– receive a score of 3 or higher on two or more AP examinations– graduate within the top 15% of high school class

Apply online on hesc.ny.gov in May 2016

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Other NYS Student Aid Programs NYS STEM Incentive Program

Provides full SUNY tuition scholarship at SUNY/CUNY colleges only

Must be ranked in top 10% of class For undergraduate programs leading to a degree in

Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics Must execute service agreement Apply online at hesc.ny.gov in January

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Institutional Aid

Depends on funding at each college College determines eligibility criteria for

need-based and non-need-based programs Academic, athletic, and other talent-based

scholarships and grants May require an additional application

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Research College Financial Aid Websites

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Use Net Price Calculators

The Application Process

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How to Apply

To be considered for student aid, a student must complete all forms required by a college Free Application for Federal Student Aid

(FAFSA) NYS Tuition Assistance Program (TAP)

Application Institutional Forms Other as required

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Apply for Federal Aid- FAFSA Filing

Apply starting January 1st of senior year* Available online at fafsa.gov

Skip-logic for faster filingCheck status, make corrections online

Be sure to check your colleges’ FAFSA

filing deadlines

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FAFSA.gov

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Before Starting the FAFSA

Student and parent should apply for a Federal Student Aid ID at FSAID.ed.gov

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Common Documents Needed to complete FAFSA

Social Security Numbers/CardsUS Permanent Resident Card, if non-citizenStudent, Parent Income Tax Information

2015 Federal tax return & 2015 W-2 Can use prior year taxes as estimate

Records of untaxed income Such as child support received, interest income

Cash, savings and checking account balancesInvestments, including stocks, bonds, real estate

Excludes retirement accounts, value of primary residence

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FAFSA: Student Section Student Information & Eligibility

Basic info: address, email, name of high school, citizenship status

Student Income information College Information

Up to 10 colleges may be listed; can be updated by correction; must choose housing option

Dependency Determination Questions that will determine student’s dependency

status

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FAFSA: Parent, Income, & Signature Section Parent Information & Income

Marital status, name, date of birth, SSN, state of

residenceHousehold size, Number in college Income reported on 2015 tax return (or estimate), untaxed income, asset information

Signature Section Sign using the student and parent’s FSA ID

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Reporting Income: IRS Data Retrieval Tool

Connects to IRS for tax data of completed tax returns

Data usually available 2 weeks after filing taxes electronically

Can be used at first FAFSA submission or during updates/corrections

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IRS Retrieval Tool

Transfers required tax data to the FAFSA

May avoid submitting copies of tax transcript

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Common Questions: Eligibility

We don’t think we qualify for need-based financial aid, do we still file the FAFSA?

YES!!!Schools cannot determine institutional

grants without the FAFSAAt some schools, FAFSA may be needed

for merit-based aid

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Common Questions: Dependence

Can a student apply for financial aid without reporting their parent’s information? In most cases, students under 24 will be

required to report parent informationFor special circumstances, consult with the

financial aid office

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Common Questions: Parents If a student’s parents are divorced or separated, whose info is

provided?Custodial Parent

What if both biological parents are living together but

unmarried? Both parents file together

Do stepparents report their income? Yes

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Common Questions: Assets Do you report your home value or retirement

accounts on the FAFSA as an asset?No, your primary residence and tax deferred

retirement accounts are excluded from FAFSA How are 529 college savings plans treated?

The value of 529 Plans, for all children, need to be reported as a parent investment on the FAFSA

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Frequent FAFSA Errors Student’s Social Security Number Student’s name Unmarried/divorced/remarried parent information Parents/ stepparents earned income Untaxed income – pre-tax contribution to retirement fund Household size Number in postsecondary education Real estate and investment net worth

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How to Apply- New York State Aid

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The TAP Application

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CSS ProfileAdditional application used by some colleges to award

institutional aid Check with college

Collects more detailed income and asset information and

non-custodial parent infoApplication Fee, waivers may be availableApply starting October 1st of senior year online at

collegeboard.org

Next Steps

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After Applications are Filed…

Schools listed on FAFSA receive an electronic record – cannot see other schools listed on FAFSA

Schools begin financial aid packaging process Student may be required to provide additional

documentation at this time When processing is finished, an award letter is

sent to student

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Financial Aid Award Letter

College award letter contains Amount of federal aid for which students are

eligible, including loan options Estimate of state aid for which students are

eligible Institutional aid (Merit awards, grants, etc.) Breakdown of costs

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Award Letter Comparison Tool

HESC.ny.gov/CompareAwardLetters

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Scholarship Searching Online scholarship search websites

Fastweb.com Collegeboard.org Scholarships.com

Check local library, employer or union Avoid scholarship scams

Unnecessary fees, ID theft www.studentaid.ed.gov/types/scams

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StartHereGetThere.org

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StartHereGetThere.org

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Big Changes for 2017-18

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Questions???

Thank You!