FAFSA APPLICATION& FINAL COLLEGE PREPARATION

Coach Rob Frias, CCA

Certified College Advisor and Financial Aid Expert

College Funding Solutions of California, Inc.

A non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization www.CFSCALIFORNIA.com

The information contained herein is for educational purposes only. College Funding Solutions of California, Inc., owns all rights to the presentation materials. Any use or redistribution of the materials contained in this presentation are prohibited.

AGENDA

• Introduction of Speaker/Company

• Statistics You Need to Know

• FAFSA application

• CSS/Profile

• Financial Aid, Grants, Scholarships, Loans

• Common Mistakes

• Summary and Q&A

Introduction

Coach Rob Frias, CCA

Certified College Advisor with College Funding Solutions, Inc. CFS has over 24 years of experience and close to 50,000 satisfied customers. Rob has over 14 years in the Financial Services industry and specializes in college savings, tax mitigation strategies, retirement income and insurance protection products. Rob is a local travel baseball coach and has raised a son who is a high school Baseball and Water Polo player at El Toro high school.

National Statistics

• US faces $1,400,000,000,000,000 in student loan debt

• Average Student Graduates in 6 years

• Over $35,000 in debt for typical student

• Over 8,000,000 student loans currently in default

• 98% of families saved $10k for college or less

• Parents spend 76-99 + hours preparing for college

• 75% of FAFSA applications are filled out incorrectly

• Over 98% of families qualify for additional grants, scholarships and gift aid they were not aware ofSources: Collegedebt.com, Department of Education, Sallie Mae Study, New York Times, Time Magazine, Washington Post

FAFSA Application

www.FAFSA.ed.gov

The FAFSA Application

FAFSA – Free Application for Federal Student Aid

Open Window: October 1st of Senior Year

Due by: March 2nd (California), June 30th (Federal)

Why? Virtually all Financial Aid Awards use FAFSA (Federal, State, Institution)

Aid: Grants, Scholarships, Student Loans and Work Study

Important Items to Prepare

• Social Security Number – Mom, Dad, Student

• Drivers License Number (optional)

• Taxes of Parents and Child – 2015 year (18 months)

• Current Income Information – Mom, Dad, Student, Step Parents

• All Financial Assets – All bank, savings, trust, investments, retirement accounts, life insurance, business, real estate

• Current and correct addresses and emails

Getting Started www.FAFSA.ed.gov

Filling Out the FAFSA Application

• Schedule about one hour to fill out FAFSA

• Register online – Get FSA ID#, get SAVE key

• Make sure all information is correct

• Be aware of correct income and assets• How the assets are categorized

• Have taxes ready – online Data Retrieval Tool, links IRS

• FAFSA Forecaster (FAFSA4CASTER)

• Assistance 800-4-FED-AID

Major Sections of FAFSA

1. Introduction

2. Student Demographic

3. School Selection

4. Dependency Determination

5. Parents Demographic

6. Parent Tax/Financial Information

7. Student Tax/Financial Information

8. Review, Sign and Get Confirmation

Next Steps

Submit FAFSA

Get back Student Aid Report (SAR)

Review for accuracy

Expected Family Contribution (EFC)

This determines your Financial Need

College will Award based on FAFSA findings

Final Award letters sent in March, April and May

COA

(Cost of Attendance)

-

EFC

(Expected Family

Contribution)

=

FINANCIAL NEED

Formula

Data on FAFSA

Data on FAFSA

• Make sure name is spelled correctly

• Make sure social security number is correct

• All data is accurate as possible

• Have the family review one last time to make sure all data is complete and accurate

• 75% of FAFSA applications have errors that cause families to delay and miss out on grants, scholarships and special programs

Finance Section

Finance Section on FAFSA

• Enter taxes by Data Retrieval Tool (DRT link to IRS)• Note (Taxes are submitted for previous year, income now)

• Enter Income of Family

• Enter all Assets (Assessed and Exempt)• Assessed (all money in bank, college savings plans, all

investments, trust accounts, child support, investment property, stocks/bonds, CD’s, business ownership 100+ and farms

• Exempt (retirement accounts, annuities, cash value life insurance, primary residence, boats/cars/furniture/electronics

Tip: How to avoid listing out all Assessed assets

Advice: Pay down bills, defer income and compensation, save money or reposition assets into exempt investments

Benefits of the FAFSA

• Necessary for all scholarships and grants

• Academic, Athletic, Merit, Achievement and Need Based

• Families have nothing to lose

• Family makes too much money is a Myth

• Annual process, money available annually

• Multiple students in college, families benefit

• Most colleges use them as their primary source for making financial offers

CSS/Profile

CSS/PROFILE

• Administered by College Board (SAT administrators)

• About 300 Private Universities

• Institutional Methodology (not Federal aid)

• Fee for CSS/Profile (fee waiver codes available)

• Financial Information is collected (limited exemptions)

• Fill out form at www.Css.collegeboard.org or on the University website if they request it

CALIFORNIA DREAM ACT

• Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors

• For AB540 Eligible Students (undocumented and non-resident documented) to receive scholarships and CC fee waivers

• Must have attended high school 3 years or more, Graduated GED, High School Equivalency Test or Test Assessing Secondary Completion

• Must register in a California accredited college and if applicable, to complete an affidavit to legalize immigration status as soon eligible

• Supporting documentation must be filled out in the spring or summer before attending college

www.Dream.Csac.Ca.Gov

How Do Colleges Award Aid?

Main Sources of Financial Aid

FEDERAL AID

• Over $150 Billion

available each year

• Grants, Scholarships,

Work-Study and Loans

• Pell Grant, FSEOG,

Teach, Military Grant

Iraq/Afghanistan

STATE AID

• States offer grants,

scholarships, loans and

work-study programs

also

• Cal Grant A, B and C

THIRD PARTY

• Third party grants that do

not have to be paid back.

• Companies,

organizations, awarded

by applying

INSTITUTIONAL

• Largest source of funds available

• Merit, Need Based and Athletic Scholarships

• Endowment Funds and Departmental funds

Awards are generally sent

in late March and must be

accepted by mid May

Grants and Loan Maximum Amounts

Federal Grants:

• Pell Grant $5,815 maximum (limited to 12 semesters)

• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) $4,000 max.

• TEACH Grant $4,000 max. (requirements and agreement)

• Iraq/Afghanistan Service Grant (up to $5,815, not to exceed COA)

State Grants: www.webgrants4students.org

Cal Grant “A” $12,240/UC, $5,472/CSU and $9,084 for Independent Schools

Cal Grant “B” $1,656 applied toward living expense at 2 or 4 year schools

Cal Grant “C” $547 toward books, tools and equipment and $2,462 more toward tuition and fees (not valid for Community Colleges who do not charge tuition to Cal Grant recipients)

Middle Class Grant for families who earn $156,000 in AGI (maximum 10-40% of tuition)

Grants and Loan Maximum Amounts

Institutional Grants:

• Based on individual basis (University, Departmental, Athletic Department)

3rd Party Scholarships:

There is NO limit and they do not have to pay them back (Must disclose)

Student Loans:

Freshman maximum loan $5,500, $3,500 max for subsidized

2nd year loan maximum $6,500, $4,500 max for subsidized

Third year and beyond loan maximum $7,500, $5,500 max for subsidized

Total limit on loans $31,000 maximum, $23,000 max for subsidized

Parents – Direct PLUS loans, Perkins loans (school), 3rd party loans

What Do Colleges Look For?

1. High GPA

2. Rigor of Courses

3. SAT and ACT Scores

4. Overall College Resume

5. Exceptional Qualities

Most Common Mistakes in the FAFSA Process

Incorrect Social Security Number on FAFSA

Misspelling of Name on FAFSA

Transpose Numbers

Incorrect Income and Financial Data entered

Too much “Liquid” assets listed on FAFSA

Applications are Late or Not turned in at all

Not organized, no long-term strategy, not educated on process

PROCRASTINATION!!!

Final

Planning

for College

Senior Checklist

Savings Plan for College in Place

Applications are submitted on time (to all schools)

SAT, ACT exams have been take and re-taken, maintain GPA

Campus Visit has been planned or completed

Schools have been researched (major, cost, career paths, aid given)

FAFSA documentation prepared and submitted (assets in place)

Review acceptance letters and send letters of regret

Review and accept award letters (appeal if necessary)

Register for housing

Final preparation for moving to college

THINGS YOU WILL NOT MISS WHEN THE KIDS ARE AT SCHOOL

5. Hearing your siblings fight over the bathroom

4. Doing the laundry everyday for their favorite t-shirt or skinny jeans

3. Finding your new outfit balled up in the corner of the room (mom) or finding

crushed up Cheetos between the leather seats of dad’s new car

2. Going to the grocery store twice a day to feed half the senior class

1. Hearing your child say, “Mom/Dad, is the tank to the car full, can I get more

money for tonight, 11pm is my curfew, yeah whatever?!?

In Summary

• Get organized, create a comprehensive plan

• Do not miss any deadlines

• Complete an accurate FAFSA application (focus on data)

• Review savings and financial options

• Maintain GPA, take SAT and ACT to achieve highest scores

• Carefully review award letters and select best college that matches degree/career path at affordable price

• A family that has a solid plan will graduate the student faster than the national average, receive more awards and save your family money on college expenses

www.CFSCALIFORNIA.coma non-profit 501 (C) (3) organization

Contact

Coach Rob Frias, CCA

Certified College Advisor

(949) 438-3570 direct

info@cfscalifornia.com

College Planning

Financial Savings Plans

College Test Prep

Career Counseling

College Selection

Complimentary Consultation

(up to 1 Hour Meeting)

Questions and

Answers

www.CFSCALIFORNIA.com