1. Paying For College: Getting Started
Newfield HS
Nov 7th 2016
Gene Rogers
Financial Aid officer, Student Financial Aid
Molloy College

2. Molloy College

3. Molloy College Fast Facts Undergraduate- 3200 (est)
Majors include
Nursing, Education and more than 50 others
Located in Rockville Centre
Res Halls opened in 2011.
Student-athletes compete in East Coast Conference (D2)
Molloy campus life includes more than 40 student clubs

4. Equal Opportunity
In our democracy every young person should have an equal opportunity to obtain a higher education, regardless of his station in life or financial means. – President John F. Kennedy

5. Warren Buffett
“Investing in yourself is the best thing you can do”

6. Sources of Financial Assistance

7. College Graduation May 2021
College Graduation May Will YOU be here as a Student or a Proud Parent?..Lets hope so!

8. Remember the saying
“Save for a rainy day”?

9. Well..I have news for you…it’s POURING!

10. SO YOU THINK YOU DON’T QUALIFY ?..THINK AGAIN!
Avg Financial aid package for incoming freshman
$19,867 (includes loans, work study and grants)
$16,100 (includes grant and scholarship money only)

11. Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
Family’s personal and financial information required to perform need analysis is collected on FAFSA
Paper versions of FAFSA
“Regular” FAFSA
Renewal FAFSA
Electronic version of FAFSA
FAFSA can be processed after Oct 1st

12. Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
U.S. Department of Education form that collects demographic and financial information
Federal aid eligibility determined by FAFSA
Must be filed annually
Some schools may use the results to award their own institutional aid
File on-line at .
Available in English and Spanish

13. DACA students?. What can they do?
DACA students can not receive federal grants/loans
DACA students can complete the FAFSA in order to determine need (money directly from the college, and depends on college as well )

14. The PIN is no longer IN!

15. FSA ID info Website: www.studentaid.gov/fsaid
Sign FAFSA electronically
Not required, but speeds processing.
May be used by students and parents throughout aid process, including subsequent school years

16. Big Changes for 2017-2018 (current HS Seniors)
FAFSA can be filed as early as Oct 1st 2016
Tax info from 2015
State aid to be based on 2015 info as well.

18. NEW
FAFSA
Report income for the 2015 tax year

19. FAFSA continued…
For the academic year, the FAFSA may be filed beginning Oct 1st, 2016
High School seniors would fill out FAFSA anytime after Oct 1st 2016
You may list up to 10 colleges to receive the results of your FAFSA

20. FAFSA on the Web Apply Reapply English and Spanish options
Apply
Reapply
English and Spanish options
Access PIN Web site
Check status of application
View SAR information
Make corrections

21. Frequent FAFSA Errors Social Security Numbers Date of birth/Name
Income earned by parents/stepparents- married/divorced?
Untaxed income
U.S. income taxes paid
Household size
Number of household members in college
Real estate and investment net worth

22. FAFSA on the Web Good reasons to file electronically:
Built-in edits to prevent costly errors
Skip-logic allows applicant to skip unnecessary questions
Option to utilize tax information directly downloaded thru IRS Data Retrieval tool.
Corrections to FAFSA application is quicker.
Instant “help” online for common questions available.

23. School Deadlines Don’t Drop the Ball (like our Mets did..
Check with colleges directly!..March 1?April 1?..

24. Key elements to FA eligibility
Primary income
Savings (both)
Investments (both)
Real estate (Not your Home)
Household size (who lives with you )..if you are lucky like me to have your in-laws living with you..that could help FA eligibility.

25. Saving Vehicles, what impact do they have to Fin Aid?
Child assets are assessed at 20%
Parent assets are assessed at 5.64%

26. Parent’s assets Parent’s income reported
Parent’s assets reported (with exception of home value, and retirements savings)
Generally speaking, 1st 45K of parents savings and investment value does not count in formula
Assessed at 5.64% (after the 1st 45K )
Business value (less than 100 employees..business value does not count

27. How does Child support factor into FAFSA??
Child support paid is included on the FAFSA
If parent or step parent pays child support , info is included on FAFSA
Child support rec’d (all children in household) is included.

28. Pension income?.
Pension income IS included on the FAFSA..if it’s untaxed it’s listed on a special section of the form.

29. Some schools may require CSS/Profile Form
Check if College requires form
Profile form digs deeper in family’s situation
Form costs $ to file $25 for 1st college…$16 for every additional college
Will be using prior-prior in 17/18 as well.

30. What is the Expected Family Contribution (EFC)?
Amount family can reasonably be expected to contribute
Stays the same regardless of college
Two components
Parent contribution
Student contribution
Calculated using FAFSA data and a federal formula

31. + Miscellaneous Expenses
How Financial Need is Determined Cost of Attendance - Expected Family Contribution = Financial Need
Tuition and Fees
Books and Supplies
Room and Board
Transportation
+ Miscellaneous Expenses
= Cost of Attendance
Expected
Family Contribution
Parent’s Contribution from Income
Parent’s Contribution from Assets
Student’s Contribution from Income
Student’s Contribution from Assets

32. Sample award package ABC university (private) COA= 50,000 EFC = 25,000
FN= 25,000
DEF university (public)
COA = 25,000 EFC = 25,000
FN=
You could be eligible for need based aid at one college but not another

33. Sample EFC’s Family of 4.. Family of 5
Mom and Dad have combined incomes of
$150K
60K in savings
Own their home
EFC = $33K
Mom and Dad have combined income of $200K
No savings
Own their home
EFC 47K

34. Sample EFC’s Family of 3 Family of 6 Single parent home
Parent earns 70K
No savings
Rents
EFC = 9K
One income family = 65K
15K in savings
Owns home
EFC = 4K

35. Principles of Need Analysis
To the extent they are able, parents have primary responsibility to pay for their dependent children’s education
Students also have a responsibility to contribute to their educational costs
Families should be evaluated in their present financial condition*****
A family’s ability to pay for educational costs must be evaluated in an equitable and consistent manner, recognizing that special circumstances can and do affect its ability to pay

36. Special Circumstances
Change in employment status
Medical expenses not covered by insurance
Unusual dependent care expenses
Natural Disaster

37. IRS-FSA Concept
Federal Student Aid (FSA) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have developed a collaborative solution to simplifies FAFSA completion.
Tax filer Retrieves Their Own Data
No Consent
Voluntary
Will allow some applicants that use FAFSA on the Web to retrieve their income tax data from the IRS.
IRS data can be automatically transferred to FOTW.
The IRS Data Share Project takes a different approach to doing a match, and it’s this approach that has enabled us to make the significant progress we have made over the past few months.
Through collaboration between ED and the IRS – at the highest levels – we’ve been able to develop an IRS solution that will make completing the most difficult part of the FAFSA – which is providing income information – much simpler for many students and parents.
The new process will allow students using FOTW (and their parents if they’re dependent) to request and receive their income tax data directly from the IRS while they’re in their FOTW session.
Once tax data have been received by the taxpayer from the IRS, he or she will be given the option to have that IRS data automatically transferred into his or her FOTW application.
So, the big difference between the process we’re working on now and past projects is that taxpayer data will be presented to the taxpayer directly, not to ED, and the taxpayer can choose what to do with that data – in other words, the taxpayer gets to decide whether to share the information with ED by transferring it into FOTW -- or not.
Past solutions have relied on a more mandatory approach, and I think it’s for that reason that we’ve run into obstacles in the past.
So, putting the taxpayer in the driver’s seat – so to speak – has really helped to get us beyond some of the stickier policy and legal issues, and opened the door for making some real progress here.
Now, the data share process we’ll talk about today is still a work in progress.
We’ve accomplished an enormous amount of work in a very short amount of time, but there are some details that still need to be worked out. But these details are relatively small at this point, so what you see today should be very close to the final process we’ll be implementing.
And, as you’ll see, the process only involves two IRS screens and should be quite simple for applicants and their parents to get through.

38. 529 College Savings Plan www.nysaves.org www.savingforcollege.com
A 529 college savings program is a tax-advantaged savings plan that enables you to invest for college free of federal and, sometimes, state income taxes. You can use this investment to pay for tuition, certain room-and-board expenses, books, supplies, and other qualified higher-education expenses.

39. Independent Student Definition
At least 24 years old by December 31 of award year covered by FAFSA;
Graduate or professional student;
Married;
Has legal dependents other than a spouse;
Orphan or ward/dependent of the court;
Veteran of U.S. Armed Forces

40. Who’s data on the FAFSA Scenario 1 Student Mom Dad Scenario 2
Student lives with Mom ( Mom is divorced from Birth Father).
Student and Mom only.

41. Who’s data on FAFSA? Scenario 3
Student lives with Dad (dad is divorced from birth Mom)
Student and Dad
Scenario 4
Student lives with Mom and Mom is remarried
Student, Mom and StepDad..

42. What should I expect after I file??
Student files FAFSA
Student and FA office rec’d data
FA office reviews data
FA office sends student “award” letter
Student needs to respond to accept or decline
In certain instances, colleges may require financial documents to process aid

43. Net Price Calculator
COLLEGES ARE NOW REQUIRED TO HAVE ESTIMATING TOOLS ON THEIR WEBSITE ALLOWING FAMILES TO GET A REASONABILE ESTIMATE ON NET COSTS.

44. Show me the Money

45. What Makes Up a Package Federal Grants State Grants
Intuitional Grants and Scholarships
Federal Loans
Federal Work-Study
Outside Scholarships
Private/Alternative Loans

46. Types of Scholarships Consider all types of scholarships:
Academic merit
Athletic ability
Field of study
Ethnic background
Religious affiliation
Special interests
Consider all types of scholarships:
Acdemic merit
Athletic ability
Field of study
Ethnic background
Religious affiliation
Special interests

47. Private Sources Foundations, businesses, charitable organizations
Deadlines and application procedures vary widely
Begin researching private aid sources early
The Internet

48. Social media sites!
Check with the colleges directly..follow their twitter, facebook, instagram
You never know what could be coming around the bend.

49. C’,mon even the pope has a twitter account!
Social media is not going away!
Get on the bus!

50. Civic Organizations and Churches
Research what is available in community
To what organizations and churches do student and family belong?
Application process usually occurs during spring of senior year
Small scholarships add up!

51. Employers
Companies may have scholarships available to the children of employees
Companies may have educational benefits for their employees

52. Pell Grants Pell is an entitlement Based on need
Max award could be upwards of $5,000
Does not run out
Deadline June 30th or last day of enrollment

53. SEOG Federal Grant Based on need Up to 4,000 per year
Limited Fund (it can run out)

54. Institutional Grants Academic Based Scholarships
Talent Based Scholarships (Athletic, Music, etc)
Need Based Grants/Scholarship

55. TAP State Grant Based on net taxable income (less than 80k)
Full time/Part-Time enrollment status
Student can receive TAP for 8 semesters then he or she could be considered TAPPed Out (you like that one...I just made it up..)
May 1st deadline (APPLY VIA LINK AFTER FAFSA OR DIRECT AT

56. William D Ford Direct loans
Unsubsidized
3.76% fixed interest
Not based on need
Student is responsible for interest while in school
$5,500 for Freshman
Subsidized
3.76% fixed ( )
Based on need
Federal government pays interest while student is in school
$3,500 for Freshman

57. Direct Plus Loan for Parents
For parents of dependent students
Borrow up to entire cost of college less financial aid
No adverse credit (parent must pass credit check)if you are denied…student can borrow additional unsb direct loan for $4K
Interest Rate 6.31%

58. Federal Education Tax Credits and Deductions
American Opportunity Credit
It is available to a broader range of tax payers and covers up to four years of post-secondary education with a maximum tax credit of $2500 per student.

59. American Opportunity Tax Credit
Individual taxpayers with modified adjusted gross incomes of $80,000 or less and joint filers with incomes of $160,000 or less are eligible for the tax credit.

60. Lifetime Learning Credit
For those beyond first two years of college
The lifetime learning credit may be particularly helpful to graduate students, students who are only taking one course and those who are not pursuing a degree.

61. Lifetime Learning Credit cont.
For the tax year, you may be able to claim a lifetime learning credit of up to $2,000 for qualified education expenses paid for all students enrolled in eligible educational institutions. There is no limit on the number of years the lifetime learning credit can be claimed for each student.

63. Changes in the future to college aid???
All I have to say on this subject is
I HAVE NO IDEA!!

64. 2017-18 FAFSA on the Web Preview Presentation
September 2016

65. FAFSA Home Page
FAFSA on the Web home page (

66. Login (continued)
“Login” page.

67. 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.

68. 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.

69. Student Demographic Information
“Student Demographic Information” page.

70. School Selection
“School Selection” page.

71. Dependency Determination
“Dependency Determination” page.

72. 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.

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

74. 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.

75. 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.

76. 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.

77. 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.

78. 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.

79. 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.

80. DON’T FORGET TO APPLY FOR TAP
NY residents planning on attending a NYS public or private college should apply
If you miss the link..apply at

81. This is my final slide!..YES!
Encourage parent and students to FILE EARLY!
Advise parents and students to AVOID using websites, consultants that charge money to apply for financial aid. Questions?