1. Jim Anderson Director of Financial Aid Montclair State University
What You
Need to Know
About Financial Aid

2. Topics We Will Discuss Tonight
What is financial aid?
How do you apply? Forms? Deadlines?
How is eligibility determined?
Expected Family Contribution and Establishing Need
Types and sources of financial aid
Financial aid packaging; Comparing offers
Special circumstances; Appeals
Consumer issues
Review of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid – FAFSA

3. Prior, Prior Year – New This Year
Aid will be determined looking at tax year income for 2015
Timetable for award process; some schools will act sooner than in the past, others not
State of New Jersey deadlines have been moved up
Increased incidence of changes in circumstances; Professional Judgment

4. What is Financial Aid??
Generally speaking, financial aid includes all funds made available to students that are not provided by their family
Federal, state, institutional, private
Grants, scholarships, loans, work

5. What Forms are Required and When?
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
Institutional aid application
College Board Profile Form
Verification (Federal and State)
Tax Documentation
Business Supplement
Non-Custodial Parent information
KNOW YOUR SCHOOL’S REQUIREMENTS!

6. Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
Amount that a family can be reasonably expected to contribute
Includes parent and student contribution
Federal EFC
Institutional EFC
EFC Calculator: Available on College Board web site

7. Deadlines
FAFSA can be filed any time on or after October 1st for the academic year that begins the following September
You MUST pay close attention to each school’s preferred deadline
DO NOT MISS DEADLINES

8. How Eligibility is Determined
Cost of Attendance (COA)
Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
Federal EFC vs. Institutional EFC
Differences in need assessment, public vs. private colleges
Special Circumstances

9. Need - Expected Family Contribution = Financial Need
Cost of Attendance
- Expected Family Contribution
= Financial Need

10. Types of Aid
Scholarships
Grants
Loans
Student Employment

11. Scholarships Money that does not have to be paid back
Awarded on the basis of academic, artistic, athletic or other merit

12. Grants Money that does not have to be repaid
Usually awarded based on need

13. Loans Must be repaid Federal Loans Private Loans
Terms vary significantly
Borrow only what is needed
Education is a good investment

14. Student Employment Job on or off-campus Receive a paycheck
Typically cannot be applied to the bill

15. Sources of Financial Aid
Federal government
State government
Institutional
Private sources

16. Federal Government Largest source of assistance
Aid awarded primarily on the basis of need
Must apply each academic year by filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

17. Federal Programs Federal Pell Grant Federal Stafford Loan Program
PLUS Loan Program
Campus-Based Programs
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
Federal Work-Study

18. State of New Jersey Programs
Tuition Aid Grant (TAG)
Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) Grant
NJSTARS I and II
NJ CLASS Loan Program

19. Other Sources
Foundations, businesses, charitable organizations, employers
Start research early; free internet search
High school guidance office

20. Financial Aid Packaging
Entitlement/formula driven awards
Pell Grants
Tuition Aid Grants (TAG)
Federal Stafford Loans
Other Federal aid programs
Campus-Based Federal aid programs
Institutional Aid

21. Financial Aid Packaging
Institutional grants and scholarships; Need-Based or Merit-Based
Schools meeting full need
Differential/Preferential aid packaging
Need gaps
What is your bottom line?
Difficult decisions

22. Additional Resources Federal Parent Loan (PLUS) New Jersey CLASS Loan
Private lenders
Payment plans

23. Appeals Need-based; make your case, remember who you are speaking with
Merit-based; be sure you have a case
Disclosing offers from other schools
Set the right tone; do not use the word “negotiate.”

24. Consumer Issues Need? What happens if need increases after year one?
Renewability of awarded aid
Need? What happens if need increases after year one?
GPA requirements?
Treatment of outside scholarships
Scholarship scams
Use of consultants
Award Letters

25. Where to Start?

26. Questions

27. Completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
Jim Anderson
Director of Financial Aid
Montclair State University

28. What We Will Cover Who Must Complete the FAFSA
How and When the FAFSA Should Be Filed
IRS Data Retrieval Tool
Avoiding Common Errors
NJ HESAA Supplemental Questions
Review of the Form

29. Who Must Complete the FAFSA
All students wishing to apply for funding from Federal, State, and most often institutional financial aid programs
Often required even for students offered academic merit awards
Must be filed each year for each student in the family

30. When To File
Forms can be filed at any time on or after October 1st for the academic year that follows (after October 1, 2016 for the academic year)
Review the filing deadlines for all schools
File the form by the deadline of the school with the earliest deadline
Meet state program deadlines (April 15th for renewal applications)

31. FAFSA Tips Establish a User Name and Password; https://fsaid.ed.gov
File FAFSA on-line; http.fafsa.ed.gov
IRS Match – Data Retrieval Tool
NJHESAA Supplemental Questions
List a New Jersey school
Student Aid Report (SAR)

32. IRS Data Retrieval Tool
Should utilize if available
Benefits of using – Verification
Cannot be used if:
Married Filing Separately
Married, Filed Head of Household
If an amended return has been filed
If a Puerto Rican or foreign return was filed

33. FAFSA – Avoiding Common Errors
Social Security Numbers
Divorced/remarried parental information
Untaxed income
Household size
Number of household members in college
Real estate and investments net worth
Misreporting retirement savings

34. Avoiding Common Errors
Reporting parent information in the student section
Listing parental marital status incorrectly
Listing incorrect Social Security Number or driver’s license number
Reporting wrong date of birth
Not using correct legal names
First and last names in the wrong places
Transposing digits or letters
Using commas or decimal points, adding zeros

35. Avoiding Common Errors
Entering the incorrect address (permanent, home address should be listed)
Incorrectly claiming head of household (if student or parent filed tax returns with wrong filing status, they will have to file amended return before receiving federal aid)
Failing to sign the FAFSA
Filing the wrong year’s FAFSA
Forgetting to list colleges

36. NJ HESAA (Higher Education Student Assistance Authority) Supplemental Questions
Link is provided at the end of the FAFSA process, easy to miss
What if you miss it?
Tuition Aid Grant (TAG) Program
Available only if you attend a NJ school
List at least one NJ School on the FAFSA

37. 2017-18 FAFSA Preview Dependent Student
September 2016

38. Login with Student Data Entered
“Login” page with the applicant’s data entered.

39. My FAFSA 2017-18 “Get Started” page.
This page was revised to provide clarification on which school year the applicant should apply for based on the school year they are planning to attend college.
The applicant can view the status of his/her FSA ID in the FSA ID section of the My FAFSA page.

40. Create a Save Key
The “Save Key” allows an applicant to save his/her FAFSA application and return at a later time to complete and submit the application. The application is saved for 45 days or until the student submits his/her application for processing. Additionally, the Save Key allows applicants a way to share their application with their parents.

41. Introduction
“Introduction Page”.

42. Student Demographic Information
“Student Demographic Information” page.

43. Student Eligibility 2017-18 “Student Eligibility” page.
The word “college” was added to the question “What will your college grade level be when you begin the school year?”

44. Student Eligibility/High School Search
“Student Eligibility continued” page.

45. School Selection
“School Selection” page.

46. School Selection Summary
“School Selection Summary” page.

47. Dependency Determination
“Dependency Determination” page.

48. Dependency Status Results
“Dependency Status Results” page.
This page only displays if the applicant has been determined to be dependent.

49. Parent Demographics
“Parent Demographic Information” page.

50. Parent Tax Information
“Parent Tax Information” page.
New for , the 2015 tax information will be requested instead of the 2016 tax information. To emphasize this change for students and parents, an alert message will display indicating “Attention! You must provide financial information from your parents’ 2015 tax return on the following pages.”
Additionally, the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) section of the application has been revised to make the following changes:
The “Did you, the parents, file taxes electronically in the last 3 weeks (or by mail in the last 11 weeks)?” question has been removed.
Parents will not be requested to provide their FSA ID (if not already provided) on the “Parent Tax Information” page prior to clicking “Link to IRS”
The Amended Tax Return and Foreign Tax Return questions have been revised to include 2015 as part of the question.
The definition of the 1040 X amended tax return can be found by following the link that was added to the question.

51. Parent Tax Information (continued)
“Leaving FAFSA on the Web” page.
The “Leaving FAFSA on the Web” page has been revised to provide information on how to utilize the IRS DRT and what will occur if they opt to not use the IRS DRT. This page has been revised to request the parent’s FSA ID to access the IRS DRT.

52. IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT)
Warning text appears as the IRS DRT site is displayed.

53. IRS DRT (Parent) with User Information
These fields are pre-filled based on FAFSA responses
IRS DRT (Parent) with User Information
IRS Data Retrieval Tool, page 1, containing user demographic information.
Even though the fields at the top are pre-filled based on FAFSA responses, the first name, last name, date of birth, and the filing status can be updated on this page. The Social Security Number cannot be updated.

54. IRS DRT (Parent) Submit and Return Options
IRS Data Retrieval Tool, page 1, containing user demographic information (continued, updated with user information). The user can click “Submit” to retrieve IRS data, or “Return to FAFSA” to discontinue use of the IRS DRT and return to FOTW.

55. IRS DRT (Parent) Data Transfer Options
IRS Data Retrieval Tool, page 2, containing user-specific IRS data.
The user can check the “Transfer My Tax Information…” box and click “Transfer Now” to carry this data back into FOTW.
The user can check the “Do Not Transfer…” box and click “Do Not Transfer” to discontinue use of the IRS DRT and return to FOTW.
The user can click the “Print this page” icon in order to print the data that is displayed on this page.

56. Parent Financial Information
“Parent Financial Information” page.
“Medicaid” has been added as an option under the Federal Means Tested Benefits. On all output documents, this will be listed as part of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) response.
“School” has been added as part of the “Free or Reduced Price School Lunch” question.

57. Parent Financial Information (continued)
This is the top half of the “Parent Financial Information continued” page. The bottom half of the page is continued on the next slide.
The “Additional Financial Information” section was updated to include “2015” for clarity.

58. Parent Financial Information (continued) – Text Change
This is the bottom half of the “Parent Financial Information continued” page.
The “Untaxed Income” section was updated to include “2015” for clarity.

59. Parent Financial Information (continued) – Tax information verification
This is the bottom half of the “Parent Financial Information continued” page.

60. Independent Student, Student Tax Information
“Student Tax information” page.
New for , the 2015 tax information will be requested instead of the 2016 tax information. To emphasize this change for students and parents, an alert message will display indicating “Attention! You must provide financial information from your 2015 tax return on the following pages.”
Additionally, the IRS DRT section of the application has been revised to make the following changes:
The “Did you file taxes electronically in the last 3 weeks (or by mail in the last 11 weeks)?” question has been removed.
Students will not be requested to provide their FSA ID (if not already provided) on the Student Tax Information page prior to clicking “Link to IRS”
The student should click “Link to IRS” rather than “Next” on this page.
The Amended Tax Return and Foreign Tax Return questions have been revised to include 2015 as part of the question.
The definition of the 1040 X amended tax return can be found by following the link that was added to the question.

61. Independent Student, Leaving FAFSA on the Web
“Leaving FAFSA on the Web” page, displayed when the student is going to the IRS Web site.
The “Leaving FAFSA on the Web” page has been revised to provide information on how to utilize the IRS DRT and what will occur if they opt to not use the IRS DRT.
In this case, the FSA ID for the student was entered when logging into their FAFSA, so it is not requested on this page.

62. Independent Student, IRS DRT
Warning text appears as the IRS DRT site is displayed.

63. Independent Student, IRS DRT with user information
These fields are pre-filled based on FAFSA responses
Independent Student, IRS DRT with user information
IRS Data Retrieval Tool, page 1, containing user demographic information.
Even though the fields at the top are pre-filled based on FAFSA responses, the first name, last name, date of birth and the filing status can be updated on this page. The Social Security Number cannot be updated.

64. Independent Student, IRS DRT Submit and Return Options
IRS Data Retrieval Tool, page 1, containing user demographic information (continued, updated with user information). The user can click “Submit” to retrieve IRS data, or “Return to FAFSA” to discontinue use of the IRS DRT and return to FOTW.

65. Independent Student, IRS DRT Transfer Options
IRS Data Retrieval Tool, page 2, containing user-specific IRS data.
The user can check the “Transfer My Tax Information…” box and click “Transfer Now” to carry this data back into FOTW.
The user can check the “Do Not Transfer…” box and click “Do Not Transfer” to discontinue use of the IRS DRT and return to FOTW.
The user can click the “Print this page” icon in order to print the data that is displayed on this page.

66. Independent Student, Student Financial Information
“Student Financial Information” page.

67. Independent Student, Student Financial Information (continued)
Top half of the “Student Financial Information continued” page. Bottom half of the page is continued on the next slide.
The “Additional Financial Information” section was updated to include “2015” for clarity.

68. Independent Student, Student Financial Information Text Changes
This is the bottom half of the “Student Financial Information continued” page.

69. Sign and Submit
This is the top half of the “Sign & Submit” page, where the student signs and actively acknowledges the Certification Statement. Applicants must still actively agree with the certification statement.
Since the student entered his/her FSA ID to go to the IRS to transfers data, he/she is not requested to provide his/her FSA ID Username and Password again to sign the application.

70. Sign and Submit, Parent Signature
This is the bottom half of the “Sign & Submit” page for the dependent student, with the parent signature options and the active confirmation for the parent Certification Statement.
Since the student entered his/her FSA ID to go to the IRS to transfer data, he/she is not requested to provide his/her FSA ID Username and Password again to sign the application.

71. Confirmation Page 2017-18 “Confirmation Page”
Parents of dependent students are offered the option to transfer the parents’ data into another student’s new FAFSA. The link is found on the “Confirmation Page.”
If the applicant leaves the confirmation page before they click this link they will not be able to return to transfer data to the application of a sibling.