District 51 Financial Aid Overview Curt Martin Colorado Mesa University

Show Me the Money! Need-Based Grants Merit-Based Grants o Academic Achievement o Athletics o Talent o Community Service o Only applicant Loans Savings Work

Prepare! Things to gather for need – based aid – Name, SSN, DOB – Federal Tax forms – Other Income – Assets Find Out the cost of the college

Cost of Attendance Billed Expenses College A College B Tuition $7,000 $28,600 Fees Room 5,194 6,500 Board 3,430 3,450 Total Billed $15,892 $38,850 Out-of-pocket Expenses Books & Supplies $1,698 Transportation 1,200 Personal Expenses 1,942 Total Out-of-Pocket $4,840 Total Cost of Attendance $20,732 $43,690

Preparing for Scholarships Do well academically Join Groups Become civic-minded Keep a diary

Look! High School Guidance Counselor College Web Sites College Financial Aid Offices Local Businesses & Banks Your Place of Employment (Parents Too) Clubs and Churches Magazines, Newspapers, TV, Soda Cans, Wrappers The Web in General

Student Debt Is Real So smart, so successful – so broke? Don’t become a statistic! For students ages 18-24, one-third of their income is spent on debt Average student loan debt is $23,200 Average student credit card debt is $5,400 at graduation More 21-to-24-year-olds are declaring bankruptcy than graduating from college

What’s your Plan? Starting Salary: $40,000 per year Take Home:$2400 per month Payments: Rent ($750) Student Loan($225) Car payment($400) Utilities($350) Credit Card($125) Food($350) Insurance($150) Emergencies($ 50) (dates, clothes, etc.)

Financial Aid Process January – March Complete FAFSA Complete scholarship applications If attending college in Colorado, complete COF at Verification documents requested by college

Financial Aid Process April – July Award notification sent to student Complete Master Promissory Note (MPN) and loan entrance counseling Parent needs to complete credit check and MPN for Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS)

Financial Aid Process August – October Check in with Financial Aid office to verify that everything has been completed Financial Aid will be disbursed either 3 days before class or 2 weeks after classes start November – December Search for scholarships for next academic year Repeat process each year

Time to Split

Financial Aid FAFSA Overview Curt Martin Financial Aid Director

Federal Student Aid Pin

PIN Useful as an e-signature for FAFSA completion Parent and student may both apply for PIN

FAFSA on the Web’s Homepage

Student Identifiers

Enhanced Functionality

Student Eligibility

High School Question

College Selection Step

Financial Information

FYI IRS data retrieval continues Also available in Corrections Electronically filed tax return information will be available from the IRS in 1-2 weeks, data from paper tax returns will be available in 6-8 weeks. Check in with Financial Aid office to verify that all has been completed

IRS Data Transfer Once the applicant has successfully authenticated, tax data will be presented and the applicant will have the option to “Transfer” the tax information to the FAFSA Transferred data will have a notation - “Transferred from the IRS”

Untaxed income & Assets

Sign & Submit

Helpful Web Sites College in Colorado: Scholarship Search: FAFSA: PIN: MPN: U.S. Department of Education: General financial aid information:

Questions? Mesa State College Financial Aid Office: – MESA (Main Line) – (970) (Financial Aid) – Financial Aid Counselors: – Ashlee Caddy – Jim Ciha – Patty Diekman – Rose Willett – Carol Lawrence – Sally Schuman

Thank You