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FAFSA ABC’s. Senior Seminar 03 July 2008. A - Apply. For all but extreme cases, you need to apply for Federal, State and institutional financial aid (including loans,) and scholarships, ( etc., et al). So, APPLY, APPLY, APPLY!. B – Balances, Benefit Statements.
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FAFSA ABC’s Senior Seminar 03 July 2008
A - Apply • For all but extreme cases, you need to apply for Federal, State and institutional financial aid (including loans,) and scholarships, (etc., et al). • So, APPLY, APPLY, APPLY!
B – Balances, Benefit Statements • Benefits Statements are summaries of any aid (SSI, W2) that a student’s family received the year before they fill out the FAFSA. • Balances are any bank balance (savings, checking, CDs), cash on hand or investment (non-IRA) assets.
C - COA • COA, which is "Cost of Attendance." Simply stated, all the things you have to pay for. More complicatedly stated, a COA covers tuition, room and board, student fees, segregated fees, user fees and other surcharges. (Obviously, each campus is different...like, duh!)
D - DN • Demonstrated Need (DN) is the balance, if any, when you subtract what your family can afford to pay, if anything, from the Cost of Attendance (COA) • PK calls this a “DaN”
E - EFC • The Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is the total amount of their collective assets and income that a student and his/her family are expected to contribute towards the cost of college. The federal government determines the amount of the EFC based on the information you supply on the FAFSA and the total cost of attendance for the college of your choice. (The total cost includes tuition, room and board, books, transportation, and other personal expenses.) You will fill out the FAFSA each year and will thus get a unique EFC for each year of college.
F - FAFSA • The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is used to apply for federal student financial aid, including grants, loans, and work-study. In addition, it is used by most states and schools to award non-federal student financial aid. The form is a snapshot of your family's financial situation including income, debt, assets, etc., for both the parents and the student. You will have to fill out the FAFSA every year that you are in college.
G – Grants • Grants are gift aid; they do not have to be repaid, nor do they have to be earned. Scholarships are generally considered to be grant aid; thus they too do not have to be earned or repaid.
H – Hope Scholarship • The Hope Scholarship is a tax credit, not a scholarship. Tax credits are subtracted from the tax your family owes, instead of subtracting them from taxable income like a tax deduction. • Your family may claim a tax credit up to $1,500 for each eligible dependent for up to two tax years. The Hope credit is available only until the first two years of postsecondary education are complete.
I – Institutional Aid • Many schools also provide need-based and non need-based aid to their students. This type of aid is usually referred to as institutional aid and varies by school. The importance of institutional aid has increased in recent years as educational costs have increased. Remember, your application for admission to a school might not automatically trigger consideration for institutional aid. Always read the school's catalog to find out what aid the school offers and what additional forms or applications are required. If you have questions, contact the school's financial aid office.
J* - FSEOG • Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG) are for undergraduates with exceptional financial need. Pell Grant recipients with the lowest EFCs will be the first to get FSEOGs. Just like Pell Grants, FSEOGs don't have to be paid back. • You can receive between $100 and $4,000 a year, depending on when you apply, your financial need, the funding at the school you're attending, and the policies of the financial aid office at your school.
K* – Pell • A Federal Pell Grant, unlike a loan, does not have to be repaid. Pell Grants are generally awarded only to undergraduate students who have not earned a bachelor's or a professional degree. • The maximum Pell Grant award for the 2006-2007-award year (July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2007) will be $4,050. The amount you get, however, will depend not only on your financial need, but also on your costs to attend school, your status as a full-time or part-time student, and your plans to attend school for a full academic year or less.
L- Loans • An education loan is a form of financial aid that must be repaid, with interest. (Scholarships, on the other hand, do not have to be repaid.) • PK says, “’Loan is not a bad four-letter word!”
M – Merit-Based • In general terms, merit-based aid is any form of financial aid not based on demonstrated financial need. Merit-based aid, which can take the form of grants, scholarships, or loans on favorable terms, is generally granted by each school and/or its alumni associations and wealthy benefactors. You may qualify for it by meeting a certain academic requirement, such as grade point average, test scores, or career goal. Alternatively, you may qualify through an essay competition or the like. Your financial aid package may include both need- and merit-based aid.
N – Need-Based • When students do not have sufficient financial resources to pay for their education beyond high school, they are generally considered to have "financial need." Having financial need is the primary requirement for receiving need-based aid, although students must meet other eligibility criteria as well. Whether or not you and your family have sufficient resources to pay, the cost of sending you to college is usually determined by collecting financial data about you and your parents, and having that data analyzed.
O – Office of Financial Aid, FAO • The Office of Financial Aid (name may vary) is the office that processes all Financial Aid data and determines financial aid awards. The Financial Aid Officer (FAO) makes determinations on extenuating circumstances and exigencies.
P – Perkins • The Perkins Loan is awarded to undergraduate and graduate students with exceptional financial need. This is a campus-based loan program, with the school acting as the lender using a limited pool of funds provided by the federal government.
Q* – Talent Incentive Program (TIP) • The Talent Incentive Program Grant provides grant assistance to the most needy and educationally disadvantaged resident students attending eligible colleges and universities in the state of Wisconsin. The grant is designed to improve the opportunity for access, retention, and graduation and lessen the burden of student debt • Initial Awards from $600 to $1,800 per year for Wisconsin residents enrolled as first-time freshman students..
R* – Student Aid Report (SAR) • The official notification sent to the student four to six weeks after filing the FAFSA. This report explains your EFC in relation to your school's expected cost of attendance. Students may be required to submit this document to the financial aid office at the college they decide to attend.
S – Stafford • All Stafford Loans are either subsidized (the government pays the interest while you're in school) or unsubsidized (you pay all the interest, although you can have the payments deferred until after graduation). To receive a subsidized Stafford Loan, you must be able to demonstrate financial need.
T – Tuition • Tuition is the amount of money charged for classes.
U – Unsubsidized, Subsidized • Unsubsidized loans are not need-based, so all students are eligible to receive them. Interest payments begin immediately on unsubsidized loans, although you can waive the payments and the interest will be capitalized. • Subsidized loans are based upon financial need. With these loans, the interest is paid by the federal government until the repayment period begins and during authorized periods of deferment afterwards.
V – Verification • A process where the FAO will require a student to submit all copies of her/his and her/his families tax forms (benefit statements) and W-2’s to verify the data submitted on the FAFSA.
W – (Federal) Work Study • Federal Work-Study (FWS) allows schools to provide jobs for students who need to work to meet some of their educational expenses. • You can use Federal Work-Study earnings to pay for expenses that come up throughout the school year. Think of your earnings as a way to help you meet those expenses. You might even be able to save some of your earnings to help pay tuition for a later registration period.
X – eXtra Funding Sources • Options include ROTC and Army Reserves/National Guard, Americorps and other service-related programs, forgivable teaching and other loans and getting a potential or current employer to pay or reimburse for tuition. • (Strings usually attached.)
Y – Years, Earning & Academic • You and your family’s earning year is 2008. (What you all earn this year will determine your financial aid eligibility.) • Your academic (school year) for receiving financial aid disbursements is 2009-2010.
Z – Zero EFC • After completing the FAFSA form, the central processor determines that your Expected Family Contribution is $0. Meaning you are eligible for substantive financial aid. (Maximum)
