1. W HAT YOU N EED TO KNOW ABOUT FINANCIAL AID Valerie Culler & Renee Drouillard Monroe County Community College

2. T OPICS FOR TODAY How much does college cost? What is financial aid? Categories, types, and sources of financial aid Getting the financial aid process started – file the FAFSA! Important dates

3. H OW MUCH DOES COLLEGE COST ? Right now, many high school seniors have already started to submit college applications. High school seniors who haven’t started the admissions application process need to start soon! Is your son or daughter applying to multiple schools? If so, one of the important things for the family to look at is the cost of each school the student is considering.

4. C OMPARING COSTS Here are the main costs you should compare between schools: Tuition & Fees Room & Board (for students who intend to live on campus) Where can you find this information? The school’s website The school’s admissions office The school’s financial aid office

5. C OMPARING COSTS – EXAMPLES Let’s look at some examples. Here are three schools that we’ll compare. I took the tuition/fee and room/board information directly from their websites. University of Toledo (UT) – 4 year public university Lourdes University (LU) – 4 year private university Monroe County Community College (MCCC) – 2 year community college

6. C OMPARING C OSTS - E XAMPLES UT – in stateLUMCCC – in county Average Tuition/Fees $ 9,242$18,153$2,603 Average Room/Board $10,094$ 9,700 N/A Notice these are average costs!

7. C OMPARING C OSTS – T HINGS TO NOTE Does a school charge tuition per credit hour, or do they charge a flat rate? Many schools have several options to choose from for room/board plans, and the costs vary. A single room will cost more than a double room. How many meals per week do you want on the plan? The more meals, the higher the price. Most 4 year public schools charge different tuition rates for in- state and out-of-state students. In-state students are charged less. Most community colleges charge different tuition rates for in- county, out-of-county, and out-of-state students. In-county students are charged less.

8. C OMPARING C OSTS – G ETTING H ELP A school’s website will have great information about the costs, but if you find that you need help understanding the charts and graphs that outline the information, don’t hesitate to contact the Admissions Office or Financial Aid Office of each school your son or daughter is considering.

9. P AYING FOR C OLLEGE Now that you have an idea about how much a postsecondary education costs, the next thing to consider is how the family will pay for college. Some families will pay the entire cost out-of-pocket. Some families will rely on financial aid to help pay for college.

10. W HAT IS F INANCIAL AID ? Financial aid consists of funds provided to students and families to help pay for postsecondary educational expenses. There are different types of financial aid available. Scholarships Grants Loans Work Study

11. S CHOLARSHIPS Scholarships don’t have to be paid back. Scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic merit, skill, or a unique characteristic. Different scholarships have different requirements, so check the conditions of scholarships before applying.

12. H OW D O S TUDENTS APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIPS ? Directly through the college or university. Check with the Admissions Office or Financial Aid Office of the school the student is applying to for instructions on the application process. The student’s high school may have a listing of local scholarships. Community organizations often offer scholarships. Search for scholarships on the web.

13. S CHOLARSHIP WEBSITES www.fastweb.com https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/scholarship- search A word of caution about searching for scholarships online – NEVER pay to do an online scholarship search. There are lot of FREE scholarships search engines available. In my experience, students have the greatest success being awarded scholarships through their schools or community organizations.

14. A PPLYING FOR S CHOLARSHIPS Students should be prepared to write some essays! Students should ask someone to proof-read their work before submitting applications. Students should highlight community service activities or anything else that will help them stand out in the applicant pool. Students should be prepared to dedicate time to the scholarship application process. Check application dates! Most scholarship applications have very early deadlines. (e.g. April 2015 deadline for the Fall 2015 semester).

15. A PPLYING FOR F EDERAL FINANCIAL AID The Federal Government is the largest source of financial aid. Federal financial aid is awarded primarily on the basis of financial need. Students must apply for federal financial aid every year using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). www.FAFSA.gov For the Fall 2015 semester, students need to complete the 2015-2016 FAFSA. The 2015-2016 FAFSA became available January 1, 2015.

16. E XPECTED F AMILY C ONTRIBUTION (EFC) By completing the FAFSA, the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) will be calculated. The EFC is determined using the income information, number in household, number in college, investment information and number of wage earners you provided on your FAFSA. The EFC is an amount the student and the parent(s) are expected to be able to contribute toward the student’s education. If the EFC is low, the student may be eligible for a Pell Grant.

17. G RANTS Grants don’t have to be paid back. Some schools offer institutional grant money. Students could qualify for federal grants by filing the FAFSA. Grants are awarded to students who have financial need. Financial need is determined based on how much it will cost the student to attend the school and how much the family can afford to contribute to paying for college. The Financial Aid Office will use information from the FAFSA (the EFC) to determine if a student has financial need.

18. F EDERAL G RANTS Federal Pell Grant Awarded to students based on their EFC on the FAFSA. Students who qualify for a Pell Grant can receive that grant at any school (as long as the school participates in the Federal Student Aid programs). Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG) Awarded to students based on their EFC on the FAFSA. No guarantee that a student will be awarded this grant, since funds are limited at each school.

19. L OANS Loans are money students and parents borrow to help pay college expenses. Repayment on the loans usually begins after the student finishes school. We encourage students to only borrow what is really needed. Look at loans as an investment in the future.

20. S TUDENT L OANS The most common type of student loan available is the Stafford loan. The student qualifies to borrow a Stafford loan by filing the FAFSA. The loan is in the student’s name only. The parent is not responsible for repaying a Stafford loan. There is a cap on how much a student may borrow every year from the Stafford loan program, so know that funds are not unlimited. A freshman is usually limited to borrowing $5,500 in Stafford loans for the first year of school.

21. S TUDENT L OANS Another type of student loan is the Perkins Loan. Not all schools participate in the Perkins Loan program. There is a cap on how much a student may borrow from a Perkins loan each year, and it will vary from school to school. The loan is in the student’s name only. The parent is not responsible for repaying a Perkins loan.

22. P ARENT L OANS Parents of dependent undergraduate students may borrow a Parent PLUS loan to help pay for college costs. Approval for a PLUS loan is subject to a credit check. The parent is responsible for repaying this loan, not the student.

23. W ORK S TUDY / E MPLOYMENT Work study or on-campus jobs allow a student to earn money to help pay for college. Students either earn a paycheck or receive non- monetary compensation, such as room and board. Students who file the FAFSA may qualify for work study funds as part of their financial aid package. Sometimes schools have on-campus jobs that students can apply for, even if they don’t qualify for work study money.

24. C OMPARING F INANCIAL A ID A WARD L ETTERS Step 1: How much total financial aid was the student offered? Step 2: What type of financial aid was offered? If part of the financial aid package is a student loan, does the student want to borrow that loan? If part of the financial aid package is a parent loan, does the parent want to borrow that loan? Step 3: How much will it cost the family for the student to attend that school? Tuition/fees Room/board (if your son/daughter wants to live on campus)

25. F INANCIAL A ID A WARD L ETTERS - E XAMPLES School A Grant:$10,000 Pell Grant:$ 5,730 Stafford Loan: $ 5,500 PLUS Loan: $15,000 Total Aid:$36,230 Tuition/Fees:$25,000 Room/Board:$10,000 Total Costs:$35,000 Only $15,730 of the financial aid package is gift aid that doesn’t have to be repaid. The rest is loans. Pell Grant:$ 5,730 SEOG:$ 500 Stafford Loan: $ 5,500 Total Aid:$11,730 Tuition/Fees:$ 7,000 Room/Board:$____ 0 Total Costs:$ 7,000 There is $6,230 in gift aid, so the student would only have to borrow $770 in loans to pay the direct costs for the year. School ASchool B

26. F INANCIAL A ID A WARD L ETTERS - E XAMPLES School C Grant:$10,000 Scholarship:$20,000 Pell Grant:$ 5,730 Stafford Loan: $ 5,500 Total Aid:$41,230 Tuition/Fees:$30,000 Room/Board:$ 8,000 Total Costs:$38,000 There is $35,730 in gift aid, which is $2,270 short of direct costs. Pell Grant:$ 5,730 Stafford Loan: $ 5,500 Total Aid:$11,230 Tuition/Fees:$ 10,000 Room/Board:$____ 0 Total Costs:$ 10,000 There is $5,730 in gift aid, but that is still $4,270 short of covering the direct costs. School CSchool D

27. F INANCIAL A ID AWARD LETTERS Why will a student be offered a total financial aid package that is more than the cost of tuition/fees and room/board? Because some students will have educational expenses above and beyond tuition/fees and room/board that they might need money to cover. Books Transportation Computer

28. F INANCIAL A ID A WARD L ETTERS o You will see a number on the award letter and on a school’s website for the Cost of Attendance. The Cost of Attendance is an estimate of how much it will cost for a student to attend that school for the year. The Cost of Attendance is the sum of the different costs we’ve already talked about: Tuition Fees Room/Board Books/Supplies Transportation o Don’t be alarmed if you see a school’s Cost of Attendance is $50,000. Those costs may be greatly offset by grants and scholarships offered to the student through the school.

29. N ET P RICE C ALCULATOR The Net Price Calculator is a tool that a family can use to estimate how much it will cost the student to attend a certain college or university. Every college and university that administers federal financial aid must have a Net Price Calculator on the website. The easiest way to find the schools’ Net Price Calculator is to “Google” it. Type “Net Price Calculator” and then the name of the school.

30. N ET P RICE C ALCULATOR, CONT.

31. You’ll answer a series of questions about family income on the Net Price Calculator. The output will show you the projected costs of attending that school, and the potential financial aid package the student could be offered. Note: The Net Price Calculator shows the family ESTIMATES, not the official financial aid offer.

32. N ET P RICE C ALCULATOR : E XAMPLE OF O UTPUT

33. Net Price Calculator: 2 nd Example of Output

34. F ILING THE FAFSA The student will file the 2015-2016 FAFSA, to apply for federal financial aid for the Fall 2015 semester. Each year, students may file the FAFSA as early as January 1st. File the FAFSA online at www.FAFSA.gov.www.FAFSA.gov Students must file the FAFSA every year!

35. F ILING THE FAFSA Need help with the FAFSA? On Sunday, February 8 th, there are 33 schools in Michigan that will be hosting sites for College Goal Sunday. College Goal Sunday is an event where financial aid administrators help students and parents complete the FAFSA. http://www.micollegegoal.org/

36. F ILING THE FAFSA File the FAFSA early! Schools have different priority filing deadlines for the FAFSA. Institutional financial aid is limited. Students who file the FAFSA early have a better chance of qualifying for institutional grants and scholarships than students who file late.

37. F ILING THE FAFSA Information students and parents will need to complete the 2015-2016 FAFSA: Student’s 2014 income information (from W2s and federal tax return) Parent(s)’ 2014 income information (from W2s and federal tax return). If the school the student is applying to has a very early priority deadline for completing the FAFSA, the student DOES NOT have to wait to complete the FAFSA until the student / parents file taxes for the year. Students can complete the FAFSA using estimated income information and make corrections later, so that they don’t miss the school’s deadline.

38. FILING THE FAFSA – A PPLY FOR A PIN A tip for filing the FAFSA – the student and the parent should each apply for a Federal Student Aid PIN. The PIN can be used each year to electronically sign the FAFSA. The PIN allows the student to access his / her FAFSA to make corrections.

39. F ILING THE FAFSA – IRS D ATA M ATCH There is a feature on the 2015-2016 FAFSA that allows students and parents to import their tax information onto the FAFSA directly from the IRS database. The Department of Education strongly encourages the use of this feature for accuracy in reporting income information. If you submit your taxes electronically, you should be able to import your tax information onto the FAFSA within two weeks of submitting your federal tax return to the IRS. If you complete the FAFSA using estimated income (before your 2014 tax return is completed) the student / parent can later make a correction to the FAFSA and import the tax information once it is available.

40. I MPORTANT D ATES January 1, 2015: The 2015-2016 FAFSA will be available to complete at www.FAFSA.gov.www.FAFSA.gov Check with every school the student is applying to for the school’s priority filing deadline for the FAFSA. Now – January 2015: Check scholarship application deadline dates and complete those applications! February 8, 2015: College Goal Sunday – plan on attending if you want help filing the FAFSA.

41. F INAL N OTES Many schools issue students a school e-mail address upon acceptance, and e-mail is a primary form of communication with the student. Students need to check their school e-mail accounts regularly! Students may receive requests from the school’s Financial Aid Office for additional documents. Submit any documents requested right away! Schools will request these documents because they need them to finalize a student’s financial aid offer.

42. F INAL N OTES Schools have to comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) for disclosing information about a student’s file. Per FERPA, detailed information about a student’s financial aid account can only be discussed with the student! It doesn’t matter if the parents pay the bill – information can only be discussed with the student. Some schools will allow a student to sign a FERPA release. Purpose is for the student to give representatives of the school permission to discuss the student’s academic record with specific people. If you are helping your son or daughter with the financial aid process, the staff in the financial aid office cannot give you details about your child’s account unless your child is with you, or there is a signed FERPA release on file. Check with the school to find out if the school allows students to complete a FERPA release.

43. Q UESTIONS ?