Paying for College- College Costs

2. Paying for College- College Costs Direct Costs Tuition Required Fees Room Meals (Board) Indirect Costs Books and Supplies Transportation Personal and Miscellaneous Expenses Possible Health Fees

3. Cost of Attendance AVERAGE (mean) cost of attendance for NC campuses Community UNC Campus Private College $12,882 $19,291 $40,366 Community College average is for a student living at home with parents. For a student living away from home, the average is $16,287 UNC and Private (independent/not-for-profit) averages are for a student living on campus

4. How do you pay for that? • Gift Aid – Grants & Scholarships • Self Help – Employment (work study) & loans • Merit-Based Aid – Based on student attributes • Need-Based Aid – Family’s financial circumstances • File the FAFSA every year to determine need

5. Application Process Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) fafsa.gov or use the FAFSA mobile app Signature FSA ID (fsaid.ed.gov) – Student and one parent

6. FAFSA – Dependency Status (for 2020-21) Dependent student answers NO to all of these questions Born before January 1, 1997? Married? Working on Masters or Doctorate in 2020-21? Has or will have children or other dependents of his/her own that he/she supports (more than 50%) in 2020-21? On active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces (for purposes other than training)? A veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces? At any time since student turned 13, were student’s parents deceased, student in foster care or was the student a dependent or ward of the court? As determined by a court, is/was an emancipated minor? As determined by a court, is in a legal guardianship? At any time on or after July 1, 2019 was student homeless or self-supporting and at risk of being homeless?

7. Dependency Questions

8. Who are the parents & who files FAFSA? • Biological or adoptive parents married to each other • Biological or adoptive parents who are not married to each other and are living together • A single parent who is widowed or never married • Separated/divorced parents not living together – list the parent with whom the student lived most often AND include stepparent information if the parent has remarried. If student lives with each equally, list the parent that provides the most financial support.

9. Who Are NOT Considered Parents on the FAFSA? • Foster parents • Legal guardians who have not adopted the student • Relatives, such as grandparents, older brother/sisters, and uncles/aunts who have not adopted the student

10. Citizenship – Student Status U.S. citizen Eligible noncitizen Permanent resident with Permanent Resident Card (I-551 or I-551C) Arrival – Departure Record (I-94 form) with one of these designations Refugee Asylum Granted Parolee Victim of Human Trafficking Cuban-Haitian Entrant If parent is not a citizen, he/she puts in all zeroes for SS number and signs and mails signature page.

11. Parents’ Household Sizefor 2020-21 FAFSA Who is included in the household? Student Student’s parent(s) Parent(s)’ other children if they receive more than half of their support from the parent(s) or would be considered “dependent” if they filed a FAFSA Other people who live with the parent(s) and who receive more than half of their support from the parent(s) and will continue to receive that support between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021 How many will be college students? (Not parents)

12. Parent and Student Financial Information – EFC • Student and parent(s) adjusted gross income, earnings from work, tax liability - from IRS form • Students get $6150 allowance for income. 50% above considered student contribution • Parents get allowances according to state, number in household, etc. • Parent and student untaxed income • Other financial information – (SNAP, TANF, SSI, Medicaid, food stamps, free/reduced lunch)

13. IRS Data Retrieval Tool Transferring datadirectly from the IRS,if eligible, is the fastest and easiest way to complete the tax information. (student and parents)

14. Student Assets on the FAFSA20% considered student’s contribution • Cash, savings, checking accounts, bonds, trust funds (not house or retirement information) • Other real estate and investments • Business (Small family business – not reported) • Investment Farm (Family farm – not reported)

15. Parent assets on the FAFSA • Threshold based on age of older parent and parents’ marital status • Assets include: • Cash, savings, checking accounts (money market, mutual funds, CDs, stocks, bonds, 529 accounts) • Other real estate and investments • Business (small family business with less than 99 employees is not reported) • Investment farm (family farm – not reported) • Assets do NOT include: • Home you live in • Value of life insurance, retirement plans, 401 plans, pension funds, annuities, and others.

16. Financial Information – Assets Depending on the amount of adjusted gross income, type of tax return filed, and other answers, students and parents may be required to answer the asset questions.

17. Expected Family Contribution Parent Contribution (Divided by number of students in college) + Student Contribution EFC

19. Determining financial “need” on FAFSA Cost of Attendance (COA) at institution - Expected Family Contribution (EFC) Eligibility for Need-Based Funds at institution A family’s ability to pay must be evaluated in an equitable and consistent manner while recognizing special circumstances that may alter a family’s ability to pay. The FAFSA is used for this purpose for federal student aid programs.

20. College ACollege BCollege C 12,882 COA 19,291 40,366 - 4,000 EFC - 4,000- 4,000 8,882 Need 15,291 36,366 EFC remains the same. Changes in cost equals changes in eligibility. Need is met through: Federal Grants 2. State Grants/Scholarships3. Scholarships from college 4. Work-Studyand loans. * Some colleges replace loans with outside scholarships the students receive and some replace their need based funds. Eligibility Determination for Need

21. Financial Aid Programs – Federal Aid Federal Pell Grant Federal Supplemental Grant (FSEOG) Federal Work Study William D Ford Federal Direct Loans Subsidized Stafford Loan (4.53) Unsubsidized Stafford Loan (4.53) Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (7.08) GradPLUS (6.08)

24. North Carolina Financial Aid Programs UNC Need-Based Grant NC Community College Grant NC Need-Based Scholarship NC Education Lottery Scholarship

25. Residency Determination Service (RDS) Centralized residency service for all students seeking admission to, and in-state tuition rate at, a North Carolina public college or university seeking to be eligible for the North Carolina state grant as part of their state financial aid package Complete an online interview at ncresidency.org or via CFNC’s Application Hub

26. Online Financial Aid Portal View

28. Savings Program – Never too late Aid from your Campus Grants, Scholarships, Endowments, Work - Check with Financial Aid Office - Payment Plan – Can make payments each month. Outside Agencies – Private scholarships Last resort – Private loans. Some can raise interest rates quarterly to 18%! Is there Anything ELSE?!? What if I have no need and only qualify for loans?!?

30. Questionsand More Information 866-866-CFNC (866-866-2362) Visit CFNC.org Laura Misner Laura.misner@cfnc.org 828-712-9840