Financial Aid 101

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“The Guide”

• Throughout this

presentation “The Guide”

refers to The Guide to

Federal Student aid.

• “The Guide” is

available free to

download from

www.fsapubs.gov.

• A hard copy can also

be requested for free

from the same

website.

Today’s Agenda

• Deadline and FAFSA Overview

• The Calculation-EFC and Financial Need

• Update on Federal Aid Programs

• Update on State Aid Programs

• The Calculation-EFC and Financial Need

• Review of Resources

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Deadline and FAFSA

Overview

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FAFSA Filing Statistics

• Numbers provided for the first two

quarters of the year due to

availability (courtesy Federal

Student Aid Data Center,

www.federalstudentaid.ed.gov)

• FAFSA filing for the first two

quarters in 2011-2012 (14.96

million) are up approximately 8%

when compared to 2010-2011

(13.86 million), and are up

approximately 24% when

compared to 2009-2010 (12.03

million).

• If 8% increase stays consistent for

2011-2012, over 22.8 million

FAFSA’s will be completed by the

end of the academic year!

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0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

TwoQuarter

Total

1stQuarter

2ndQuarter

2011-2012

2010-2011

2009-2010

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Detailed College Info and

Comparison

• College’s website

• School type

• Tuition and fees

• Net price average

• Graduation rates

• Retention rates

• Transfer rates

Frequent FAFSA Errors

• Social Security Numbers

• Divorced/remarried parental information

• Income earned by parents/stepparents

• Untaxed income

• U.S. income taxes paid

• Household size

• Number of household members in college

• Real estate and investment net worth

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What is the significance of

SAP?

• During this time of heightened fiscal scrutiny at

the federal level, there is increased pressure on

institutions to be mindful of their responsibility to

be sound stewards of Title IV funds, and have

policies and procedures in place that directly

reflect the guidance and regulations set forth by

The U.S. Department of Education (ED).

• Essentially, ED is mandating schools monitor

student progress more closely, in an effort to cut

down on exploitation of federal financial aid.

What is verification?

Verification (definition): the act or process of

verifying.

Verify (definition): to establish the truth,

accuracy, or reality of.

Financial Aid Verification is the process of

establishing the accuracy of the

information submitted on the FAFSA.

Verification

Verification

Tax Filers

• Adjusted Gross Income (AGI)

• U.S. Income tax paid

• Untaxed Income

• Untaxed IRA distributions

• Untaxed pensions

• Education credits

• IRA deductions

• Tax exempt interest

Verification

• Food Stamps-Supplemental Nutrition Assistance

Program (SNAP); • Documentation from the agency that issues the Food Stamps

benefit

• Child Support Paid – Signed statement from the

individual who paid the child support listing; • The amount of child support paid

• The name of the person to whom the support was paid

• The name of the children for whom the support was paid

Verification

Documentation of Tax Information

• IRS Data Retrieval Process • If a student/parent(s) tax information is transferred using

the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, they will not have to submit an

IRS Tax Return Transcript.

• IRS Tax Return Transcript • Transcript is free

• Request on-line at http://www.irs.gov

• Request by calling 1-800-908-9946

Note: In some cases signed copies of the IRS

Federal Tax Form may be required.

Special Circumstances

• Common examples of special circumstances reported to

financial aid offices:

• Medical bills

• Parent or student loss of income

• Unusual debt or one-time income

• Tuition expenses at an elementary or secondary school

• Parent in College

• The financial aid administrator must have a compelling

reason to use professional judgment.

• The financial aid administrator’s decision regarding

professional judgment is final, and cannot be appealed

to ED. 13

Net Price Calculator

(NPC)

• All Title IV institutions enrolling full-time, first-time degree or certificate seeking undergraduate students are required to have an NPC posted on their website by Oct. 29, 2011.

• Using both student-entered and institution-provided data, the NPC allows prospective students to calculate their estimated net price at an institution based on the following basic formula: • Price of attendance minus grant aid

• Schools may use ED’s NPC template, create their own template, or purchase a template from a third party.

Net Price Calculator

• Benefits

• Designed to provide

accurate and timely

information about the

net price of a college.

• Can assist families in

comparing colleges

based on net price and

financial aid.

• Weaknesses

• Inclusion of direct and

indirect costs in “price

of attendance”

component can

significantly inflate the

price tag.

• Institution’s flexibility to

customize template

could make college

costs comparisons an

extremely complex

process.

Determining Need

• What is an EFC

• Expected Family

Contribution

• Financial Need

• Cost of Attendance –

EFC = Financial Need

Federal Pell Grant 2012-

2013

• Maximum award

amount remains the

same as 2011-2012

• $5,550 maximum

award for full-time

enrollment and an

Expected Family

Contribution (EFC) of

zero

• Year-round Pell (two

Pell awards within the

same academic year)

has been eliminated.

• Effective date July 1,

2011

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Campus Based Programs,

2012-2013

All of the above programs will see a reduction in funding for 2012-2013. However, the decrease will

vary from school to school, and exact funding amounts have yet to be announced.

Federal Perkins Loan

Federal Supplemental

Education Opportunity

Grant (FSEOG)

Federal Work Study

Direct Loans, 2012-2013

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Subsidized Unsubsidized

Need based Not based on financial need

Interest is fixed at 6.8% for all

new undergraduate loans

disbursed after July 1, 2012.

Interest is subsidized while

the student is in school and

during deferment.

Interest is fixed at 6.8% for all

new loans disbursed after July

1, 2006. Interest accrues from

time of disbursement of the

funds.

• Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized

Loans are two separate, unique types of

loans that are awarded separately.

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Direct Loans, 2012-2013

• Independent Students and Dependent Students whose

parents have been denied the PLUS Loan are eligible for

additional Unsubsidized Stafford Loans ($4,000 as

Freshmen and Sophomores and $5,000 as Juniors and

Seniors)

Class Year Base Amount

Additional

Unsubsidized

Amount

Total Available

to Borrow

Freshman $3,500 $2,000 $5,500

Sophomore $4,500 $2,000 $6,500

Junior $5,500 $2,000 $7,500

Senior $5,500 $2,000 $7,500

Direct Loans, 2012-2013

• 1% default fee (deducted from the

borrowers disbursement so borrowers net

99% of what they borrow).

• The Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011,

Section 503 eliminated rebates in the

Direct Loan program.

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Direct Loans, 2012-2013

• Parent PLUS Loans

• Loans to parents of dependent students.

• Loan limits are up to the cost of education

less any financial aid received.

• Interest rate is 7.9% fixed.

• Repayment begins within 60 days of full

disbursement.

• Payments may be deferred while the student is in

school.

• FAFSA completion is required. 22

Update on State Aid

Programs

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Ohio Aid Programs, 2012-

2013

• Ohio College Opportunity Grant (OCOG)

• War Orphans Scholarship

• National Guard Scholarship

• Academic Scholarship

• Safety Officers Memorial

• Nurse Education Assistance Loan Program (NEALP)

• Choose Ohio First

Ohio Education and Training

Voucher Program

• www.statevoucher.org

• Eligibility requirements:

• In foster care on their 18th

birthday and aged out at

that time.

• Adopted from foster care

with the adoption finalized

after their 16th birthday

• Foster care case closed

between the ages of 18

and 21.

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Review of Resources

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College Goal Sunday

• Sunday, February 12,

2012

• www.ohiocollegegoal

sunday.org

• Student/Family

registration is now

available.

• Please check the

website for locations

near you.

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OASFAA-Financial Aid Night

Assistance

• High School Counselors can now request

a financial aid night presenter through the

OASFAA website.

• http://www.oasfaa.org/docs/outreach/gettin

gthemessage.html

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Resources

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Resources

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Resources

• Federal Student Aid Information Center

(inside cover of “The Guide”)

• (800)433-3243

• www.federalstudentaid.ed.gov

• Federal Student Aid Publications Website

• www.fsapubs.gov

• Ohio College Access Information Hotline

• (877)428-8246

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Resources

• Ohio College Access

Network (OCAN)

• www.ohiocan.org

• Local OCAN

representatives can

be found through

http://site.ohiocan.org/

directory

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Resources

• Ohio School

Counselor Resources

Binder

• Updates will be sent to

counselors

periodically, and when

applicable.

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Questions?

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