Pathways to college Financial Aid overview January 28, 2015 Maral Sousani, Lead FYAP Counselor

Important Upcoming Events January 1st – Financial Aid Application Period Begins FAFSA Cal Grant Dream Act CHAFEE January 31st – Super Saturday Cash for College Visit CSAC website to locate a workshop a near you May 2015 – FYAP Celebration

Financial Aid - TYPES Financial Aid is funding that is intended to help students pay education-related expenses including tuition, fees, room and board, books, and supplies for education at a college, university, or vocational school. Types of Financial Aid: Grants  TODAY Scholarships – College Resource Guide/Will send to students & Counselors as become available Work Study Loans

PRIORITY Deadline: March 2, 2015 Grants Federal and state monies available to students that do not need to be paid back. PRIORITY Deadline: March 2, 2015 Types of Grants: Pell Grant (FAFSA) – Federal Student Aid California Dream Act Application – AB 540 students (CA) Chafee Grant – up to $5,000 for current or former Foster Youth (CA) Cal Grant A, B, & C – California Student Aid Commission (CA) Must attend a College in California Cal Grant A: min. 3.0 GPA, low/middle income Cal Grant B: min. 2.0 GPA, disadvantaged/low income Cal Grant C: Vocational Programs

FAFSA – Important things to know Question #53 Section 2 “At any time since you turned age 13, were both of your parents deceased, were you in foster care or were you a dependent or ward of the court?” “A student is considered independent if he or she is a ward of the court, or was a ward of the court, at any time when the individual was age 13 or older. If the student’s ward of the court status changed before the student reached age 13, the student may be considered dependent on your parent.” Why is this important? A student is considered independent and therefore isn’t required to submit parent income tax information

California Dream Act The California Dream Act allows undocumented and nonresident documented students who meet certain provisions to apply for and receive private scholarships funded through public universities, state-administered financial aid, university grants, community college fee waivers, and Cal Grants. The CA Dream Act Application is used by undocumented students who meet the eligibility requirements of AB 540. The application can be found at www.caldreamact.org. The California Student Aid Commission processes the application and any aid received can only be used at eligible California public or private institutions. March 2, 2015 Priority Deadline Non-SSN GPA Verification Form

Chafee Grant Free money for current or former foster youth to help pay for college or career or technical training. Qualifications: Be a current or former foster youth The court must have established dependency between the 16th and 18th birthday Not have reached your 22nd birthday as of July 1st of the award year An application must be filled out and verification of foster care status must be confirmed by CSW Students ARE NOT required to • Have a Social Security Number • Meet selective service requirements • Be a California resident or go to a California school

Cal Grant – Important Things to Know The Cal Grant Program is a state-funded educational opportunity grant program to assist students in paying for a college education in California. How to Apply Submit the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and submit a verified Cal Grant GPA. If students meet the income, eligibility, and GPA requirements, they receive free money (up to $12,192 a year) To submit a verified Cal Grant GPA, check with your school counselor because they may have already done it for your students.  If not, you can go online to http://www.calgrants.org/ and download a GPA Verification form, have the student fill out the student section and academic/college counselor will fill out the school section

Pathways to College Program In order for Pathways to College to be a success, we need all FYAP Counselors’ support Thank you to all counselors who have sent me their seniors with their e-mail address Still counselors needing to send seniors names/email addresses for celebration count