Winston-Salem, NC | November 13, 2014

Paying for College:

Merit and Need Based Scholarships

Financial Aid Presentation

Tom Benza

Associate Director Student Financial Aid

Wake Forest University

Website: http://financialaid.wfu.edu/ Email: financial-aid@wfu.edu

Phone: (336) 758-5154

1. What is financial aid?

2. Cost of attendance (COA)

3. The Expected Family Contribution (EFC)

4. What is financial need?

5. Categories, types, and sources of financial aid

6. Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

7. Special Circumstances

Financial aid consists of funds provided to students and families to help pay for postsecondary educational expenses.

• Direct costs

• Indirect costs

• Direct and indirect costs combined into cost of attendance

• Vary widely from college to college

Direct Costs

•Tuition

•Required Fees

•Room

•Meals

•Books and Supplies

Indirect Costs

•Transportation

•Personal Expenses

•Loan Fees

•Study Abroad Costs

•Books and Supplies

• Amount family can reasonably be expected to contribute

• Stays the same regardless of college

• Two components

• Parent contribution

• Student contribution

• Calculated using FAFSA data and the federal need analysis formula

Cost of Attendance

– Expected Family Contribution

= Financial Need (aka Demonstrated Financial Need or Need)

• Need-based

• Non need-based

What is Financial Aid

• 3 Types of Financial Aid

• Athletic

• Merit

• Need Based

• Scholarships

• Grants

• Loans

• Employment

• Money that does not have to be paid back

• Awarded on the basis of merit, skill, demonstrated need, or a unique characteristic

• Money that does not have to be paid back

• Usually awarded on the basis of financial need

• Money students and parents borrow to help pay educational expenses

• Repayment usually begins after education is finished

• Only borrow what is really needed

• Look at loans as an investment in the future

• Allows student to earn money to help pay educational costs

• A paycheck

• Non-monetary compensation, such as room and board

• Federal government

• States

• Private sources

• Civic organizations and churches

• Employers

• Largest source of financial aid

• Aid awarded primarily on the basis of financial need

• Must apply every year using the FAFSA

•Federal Pell Grant

•Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant

•Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grant

•Federal Perkins Loan

•Stafford Loans

•PLUS Loans

•Federal Work-Study

• Residency requirements

• Award aid on the basis of both merit and need

• Use information from the FAFSA

• Deadlines vary

• For NC, see College Foundation of North

Carolina’s website: www.cfnc.org

NC State Grants

• North Carolina Need Based Scholarship • North Carolina Educational Lottery Scholarship • NC Community College Grant Program • Nurse Education Scholarship-Loan Program • Nurse Scholars Program • Forgivable Education Loans for Service • Visit www.cfnc.org for full details and descriptions

• Foundations, businesses, charitable organizations

• Deadlines and application procedures vary widely

• Begin researching private aid sources early

• Research what is available in community

• To what organizations and churches does student and family belong?

• Application process usually spring of senior year

• Small scholarships add up!

• Companies may have scholarships available to the children of employees

• Companies may have educational benefits for their employees

Merit Scholarships

• Varying Criteria • Academic achievement

• Public service

• Artistic talent

• Athletic ability

• Highly Competitive

• Visit college websites for application process

• Be aware of deadlines

Need-based aid:

Who is eligible?

1. Not dependent upon ability

2. ANY student is potentially eligible

3. Strictly based upon a family’s “demonstrated need”

Free Application for Federal Student

Aid (FAFSA)

• Collects demographic and financial information about the student and family

• Must be completed for each year that aid is desired

• May be filed electronically or using paper form

-- Available in English or Spanish

• Used to calculate the Expected Family Contribution (EFC)

• Colleges use EFC to award need-based financial aid

• Contact colleges of interest to determine FAFSA filing deadlines

• March 1 is the deadline for the 16 UNC campuses

Free Application for Federal Student

Aid (FAFSA)

• Information used to calculate the Expected Family Contribution or EFC

• The amount of money a student and his or her family may reasonably be expected to contribute towards the cost of the student’s education for an academic year

• Colleges use EFC to award financial aid

Free Application for Federal Student

Aid (FAFSA)

May be filed at any time during an academic year, but no earlier than the January 1st prior to the academic year for which the student requests aid

For the 2015–16 academic year, the FAFSA may be filed beginning January 1, 2015

Most colleges set FAFSA filing deadlines– check each school’s financial aid website for deadlines

Web site: www.fafsa.ed.gov

2015-16 FAFSA on the Web available on January 1, 2015

www.FAFSA.gov

Good reasons to file electronically: •Built-in edits to prevent costly errors

•Skip-logic allows student and/or parent to skip unnecessary questions

•More timely submission of original application and any necessary corrections

•More detailed instructions and “help” for common questions

•Ability to check application status on-line

•Simplified renewal application process

•Web site: www.pin.ed.gov

•Sign FAFSA electronically

•Can request PIN before January 1, 2015

•Not required, but speeds processing

•May be used by students and parents throughout aid process, including subsequent school years

•Social Security Numbers

•Divorced/remarried parental information

•Income earned by parents/stepparents

•Untaxed income

•U.S. income taxes paid

•Household size

•Number of household members in college

•Real estate and investment net worth

•Central Processing System (CPS) notifies student of FAFSA processing results by:

• Paper Student Aid Report (SAR) if paper FAFSA was filed and student’s e-mail address was not provided

• SAR Acknowledgement if filed FAFSA on the Web and student’s e-mail address was not provided

CPS notifies student of FAFSA processing results by:

E-mail notification containing a direct link to student’s on-line SAR if student’s e-mail was provided on paper or electronic FAFSA

Student with PIN may view SAR on-line at www.fafsa.ed.gov

Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) sent to colleges listed on FAFSA approximately 10 to 14 days after FAFSA submitted

College reviews ISIR

May request additional documentation, such as copies of federal tax returns

VERIFICATION

IRS Data Retrieval Tool or Tax Transcript

Untaxed income

Assets

Family size

Family members attending college

IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT)

•DRT is available within the FAFSA on the Web (FOTW)

• Available in February 2015 for 2015-2016 FOTW

• Within several days for electronic tax filers

• Within several weeks for paper tax filers

• Available to those who have filed 2014 federal taxes and

now are:

• Completing the FAFSA

• Correcting their FAFSA (updating with IRS data)

• DRT not available when:

• Married filing separately tax filing status is used

• Marital status changed after 12/31/14

• Amended or foreign tax returns filed

DRT Continued

• To use the Tool, must have:

• A valid Social Security Number • Filed a 2014 federal tax return (usually available 6 weeks after) • The exact street address and filing status used on the tax return

• Filtering question on FAFSA helps determine if you can use DRT

• IRS Data Retrieval Process meets verification requirements

• Secure and FAST option

• Students (and parents) not using the “Tool” and selected for verification:

• In most cases, must submit an IRS Tax Return Transcript rather than a Tax Return

If necessary, corrections to FAFSA data may be made by:

• Using FAFSA on the Web (www.fafsa.ed.gov) if student has a PIN;

• Updating paper SAR (SAR Information Acknowledgement cannot be used to make corrections); or

• Submitting documentation to college’s financial aid office

SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES/Appeal

Process

•Unemployment of parent

•Death in family

•Change in parents’ marital status

•Medical expenses not covered by insurance

Make direct contact with the financial aid office of each school to which you are applying.

Be prepared to document changes.

• Cannot report on FAFSA

• Send explanation to financial aid office at each college

• College will review special circumstances

• Request additional documentation

• Decisions are final and cannot be appealed to U.S. Department of Education

Where’s the money?

Offers to help get aid are everywhere:

• In the mail

• Over the Internet

• In newspapers

• In magazines

• Over the phone

Offers may be:

• Legitimate offers of information and assistance

– Example: CFNC.org and FAFSA Day

• Misleading offers from individuals or companies

trying to make money off of unsuspecting parents

and students

What to avoid?

• Organizations that say they can help you locate more aid and then charge you a fee

• Anyone who charges you a fee:

• for information about financial aid

• to complete the FAFSA

• to apply/receive a scholarship

Scam Examples:

• “The scholarship is guaranteed or your money back.”

No one can guarantee your scholarship before it is awarded.

• “Come to our seminar and we’ll show you how to get more financial aid.”

This is a sales pitch. Don’t pay for information that you can get elsewhere for free.

Other Misleading Offers

• “The scholarship requires a small fee.”

Never pay a fee to get a scholarship.

• “You are a finalist” for an award you never applied for.

If you did not apply, it is not a legitimate offer.

• “You can’t get this information anywhere else.”

Everyone has access to the same information.

So What’s Legit?

• Contact College Foundation of North Carolina at CFNC.org or toll free at 866-866-CFNC

• Service of the State of North Carolina

• Talk to a financial aid administrator at the college of choice

• Ask your high school counselor or visit the local library

• Apply for federal financial aid at FAFSA.ed.gov

• not FAFSA.com!

Advice!

• Meet Earliest Deadlines

• Complete Applications Accurately

• Copy student’s SSN from SS card

• Estimate If Necessary

• Don’t Wait To File

• Keep Photocopies of All Documents

Advice!

• Don’t let sticker shock deter you, but DO pay attention to the amount of loan debt included in your financial aid award.

• Maximize your eligibility: complete a general Merit Scholarship application AND financial aid application.

• Be prepared to submit your U.S. tax returns to schools upon request:

• Pay attention to e-mails from schools requesting additional information and be prepared to respond promptly

• Follow up with university’s financial aid office if you do not have an award with the published timeframe.

Advice

• Know that financial aid application is not a one time process; it is a yearly application process

• Be wary of anything requiring you to ‘pay’ for help

1. FAFSA

2. Scholarship scams

Additional Information

The Financial Aid Information Page www.finaid.org

FAST Web Scholarship Search www.fastweb.com

The College Board www.collegeboard.com

College Foundation of North Carolina www.cfnc.org

Additional Information

Dept. of Ed. Student Financial Assistance www.ed.gov/finaid.html

VA Benefits www.gibill.va.gov

FAFSA on the Web www.fafsa.ed.gov

CSS PROFILE Online http://student.collegeboard.org/css-financial-aid-profile

Tom Benza

Associate Director Student Financial Aid

Wake Forest University

Website: http://financialaid.wfu.edu/

Email: financial-aid@wfu.edu Phone: (336) 758-5154