financing your post high school education 2012

8/3/2019 Financing Your Post High School Education 2012

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Where does it begin?Completing the application process!

University

Community College

Vocational Trade School


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What is Financial Aid?

Aid can come from many resources:

y Scholarships

y Grants

y Federal Work Study

y

Student Loansy Parent Loans

y Veterans Educational Benefits


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Scholarships Where do I look?

y Career Center Websites

y University, Community College and Vocational TradeSchool Financial Aid websites. Many scholarshipopportunities are for Senior High School Studentsonly!

y Pay close attention to deadlines!y Parents employment

y Community


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Grants

The criteria is predominately financial need-based

Types

y Pell (Max Pell Grant $5,550/yearfor 2012)

y Institutional and Other Federal Grants

Grants are gifts they do not have to be repaid)

How are need-based Grants Awarded?

By completing the FAFSA!


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What is the FAFSA?Free Application for Federal Student Aid

y Required application for Federal Student Aid andmany Scholarships.

y Get PIN at www.pin.ed.gov

y Online application at www.fafsa.ed.gov.

y

You should apply, even if you think you may notqualify. Catastrophic financial hardship can happenunexpectedly!


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FAFSA continuedWhat Goes On The FAFSA?

y Student and parents 2011FederalIncome Tax information for 2012-2013

award yearyear

yy University, Community College andUniversity, Community College andVocational Trade school code (s)Vocational Trade school code (s)

yy Social Security Number (This is why itSocial Security Number (This is why itis so important students include socialis so important students include social

security number on their admissionssecurity number on their admissionsapplication. The numbersapplication. The numbers mustmust matchmatchup!)up!)

yy Household informationHousehold information


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IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT)y This tool allows applicants to completed their FAFSA

with:

- Less time spent- More accuracy

y The DRT is, at times, not an option or at least pulls

inaccurate information

- Filed single and now married

- Filed married and now divorced or separated


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FAFSA Application Processy Student and parent enter income and household informationy An EFC(Expected Family Contribution) is generated to determine how much

the financial aid you qualify for based on the following factors:

1. Cost of living per state

2. How many people in the household3. How many are in college4. How much you paid in taxes5. How much income was earned

y The US Department of Education sends a SAR (Student Aid Report) to youvia email and electronically sends information to you in 1-3 days

y The school (s) you applied to will also receive yourSAR report within 7 10business days. This report show you yourEFC.

y School sends Financial Aid award notification to you

y The student responds to school requests (not to the Federal Government)


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How is Financial Aid determined?(COA) Cost of Attendance - EFC= Need

COA $19,000which includes:

Tuition/FeesRoom/Board

BooksPersonalTransportation

Example:

COA $19,000

- EFC $6,000

*Need $13,000

*Most schools will try to meet yourNeed with a combination of scholarship,grants, loans and work study. (The example above are estimated costs associated

with an in-state university. An in-state community college will cost much less.)


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Common FAFSA Mistakes

y Leaving blank fieldsenter a '0' or 'not applicable' instead of leaving a blank. Toomany blanks may cause miscalculations and an application rejection.

y Using commas or decimal points in numeric fieldsalways round to the nearestdollar (example 34000 and not 34,000)

y Listing incorrect Social Security Number or Driver's license numbercheck these

entries and have someone else check them too. Triple check to be sure.

y Entering the wrong federal income tax paid amountobtain your federal incometax paid amount from your income tax return forms. If you or your parents have notfiled your income tax for the 2011 year you can estimate based on your 2011 W-2.

y Listing Adjusted Gross Income as equal to total incomethese are not the samefigure. In most cases, the AGI is different than the total income.

y Listing marital status incorrectlyonly write yes if you're currently married. Theywant to know what you're marital status is on the day you sign the FAFSA.

y Selecting the correct Aid Year make sure you select the school year you will beginyour post high school education (not the current school year).


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Common FAFSA Mistakes Continued

y Forgetting to check that you would like to be considered for certain grants and orwork study.

y Sending in an IRS Tax Transcriptyou will be contacted by your college(s) if yourinformation needs verification; you don't need to send a this information with yourapplication.

y Listing parent marital status incorrectlythe custodial parent's marital status isneeded; if they've remarried, you'll need to include the stepparent's (financial)information too.

y Custodial Parent is the parent you reside with. If parents are divorced or have filedfor legal separation and you reside equally with both parents, you need only report

one income.

y Correcting your FAFSA follow-up with the institutions (colleges) to make sure theyreceived your updated information.


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Loans Continued

y Only Borrow what is really needed (half of the

amount that you request will be given eachsemester)

y Look at loans as an investment in your future

y Keep in mind there are aggregate limits


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Need help completing the FAFSA?Do not pay someone to complete your FAFSA when you can have it donefor free! (Handouts available in the lobby)

y

College Goal Sundayy February 11th 2pm-4pmy February 12th 2pm 4pmy Over 30 locations statewide to choose fromy One-on-one help with financial aid

professionalsy www.collegegoalsunday.com


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Here is a list ofmaterials that will help you complete

the FAFSA:

y Your FAFSA Pin Number (Parent and Student)

y Your Social Security Number & Drivers License

y You/ Your Parents W-2 Forms for the previous year and other records of moneyearned

y You/ Your Parents most recent Federal Income Tax Return IRS Form 1040, 1040A,1040EZ, 1040Telefile, foreign tax return, etc.

y You/ Your Parents current bank statements

y You/ Your Parents current business and investment mortgage information, businessand farm records, stock, bond, and other investment records

y Documentation that you are a U.S. permanent resident or other eligible non-citizen.


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Ordering a Tax TranscriptyOnline Request atwww.irs.gov

- Go to online services and select Order a Tax Return or Account

Transcript- The tax filers SSN, DOB, street address, and zip code will need to beprovided and matched

- If successfully linked, tax filers can expect a paper transcript at theaddress of their original return in 5-10 business days

y Telephone Request by calling 1-800-908-9946y Paper Request- IRS Form 4506T-EZ

yVisit your local IRS Office


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What else do I need to know?

y You must re-apply every year for financial aid.

y Make the number of corrections minimal!y Start the FAFSA as early as January 1st.

y Check out this web site for the questions asked onthe FAFSA:

http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/map.htm

financing your post high school education 2012

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