LET'S GET STARTED - Worthington Schools
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LET’S GET
STARTED
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC
WHAT IS FAFSA AND FINANCIAL AID? FAFSA = Standard F R E E form that collects information about the student and the parent. Submission of the FAFSA is FREE. Caution to families to not pay to submit the application or to pay for any scholarship applications. Financial aid = Funds provided to students and families to help pay for educational expenses.
FAFSA
• Information used to calculate the Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
– Measure of taxable and untaxable income (2019) and current assets of student and parent
– Also based on family size, number in college and other demographic info such as marital status
• Colleges use the EFC to award financial aid
• EFC stays the same regardless of where the student goes to college
• For the 2021-2022 academic year, the FAFSA may be filed beginning
October 1, 2020
• Remind student they must re-apply for financial aid every year
• The earlier a student files, the earlier they may receive an aid package and the more aid they may be eligible for
• Most colleges set FAFSA filing priority dates
• Admissions process vs. Financial Aid process
A WORD ABOUT DEADLINES
How/When to file if dealing with early deadlines:
• Follow FAFSA directions per College or University
• What are Ohio colleges and universities doing about deadlines?
• See the OASFAA website under counselor resources for the FAFSA Priority
Deadlines for Ohio Schools
• Note: There may be other forms and other deadlines…
• Example: CSS College Profile Form
PRINCIPLES OF NEED ANALYSIS
• Parents have the primary responsibility in paying for dependent child’s
education (to extent they are able)
• Students also have a responsibility to contribute to their educational costs
• Families should be evaluated in their present financial condition
• For the 2021-2022 FAFSA, families will report their 2019 taxable and untaxable income
• The Covid-19 pandemic may necessitate more professional judgements by the institutions
• A family’s ability to pay for educational costs must be evaluated equitably and
consistently
• Recognizing that special circumstances can and do affect a family’s ability to payWHAT IS EXPECTED FAMILY CONTRIBUTION (EFC)?
Two components
Student Parent contribution
contribution
(Income + Assets)
+ (Income + Assets)
(for dependent students)
Amount family can reasonably be expected to contribute?
• Index: “This is the number that is used to determine your eligibility for federal
student financial aid.” The formula does not measure willingness to pay
Stays the same regardless of college
Calculated using a federal formula based on the information provided on
the FAFSADEFINITION OF NEED
Cost of Attendance
- Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
Eligibility (Need-Based Aid)
www.StudentAid.gov/how-calculatedWHAT IS COST OF ATTENDANCE (COA)?
Estimation of expected costs
Direct Costs Indirect Costs
Tuition and fees Transportation
Room and board Miscellaneous
personal expenses
Books and suppliesNEED COMPARISON The Federal Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is the same at each institution.
MULTIPLE WAYS TO COMPLETE FAFSA
www.FAFSA.gov
FOTW Paper
(Desktop)*
FAFSA
My Student FOTW
Aid App* (Mobile)*
*IRS DRT Can Be UsedFAFSA ON THE WEB (FOTW) • Built-in edits to prevent costly errors • Skip logic allows student and/or parent to skip unnecessary questions • Option for IRS Data Retrieval Tool • More timely submission • More detailed instructions and “help” • Simplified Process for future years
FIRST STEP - REQUEST AN FSA ID
Process to obtain has 3 main
steps
https://fsaid.ed.gov
Student and parent will each need
individual FSA IDs
Step 1: Enter Log-in Information
Step 2: Enter Personal Information
Step 3: Enter Mailing Address,
Email, Phone and
language preference, Challenge
QuestionsPARENTS AND STUDENTS MUST CREATE THEIR OWN FSA ID Parent and student MAY NOT use the same email address Do not use High School email accounts Parent only needs one FSA ID for multiple children Each student must have their own FSA ID and FAFSA Used for FAFSA completion and allows access to certain U.S. Department of Education websites Only the owner should create the FSA ID When possible verify email and mobile phone # using secure code provided
FOTW – HOMEPAGE
WWW.FAFSA.GOV
• Begin with “Start Here”
• Once student record is
established student will
Log In each time
www.FAFSA.govFREQUENT FAFSA ERRORS Filing the Wrong FASFA year Failing to use student’s legal name Missing financial aid deadlines Transposing digits or inserting extra digits Using incorrect Social Security Numbers/Date of Birth Submitting wrong parent’s financial information/not including step-parent What untaxed income to report Incorrectly reporting Household size/number of household members in college What to include for investment net worth
COLLEGE AND HOUSING INFORMATION
Students can add up to
10 colleges on FAFSA.
For more information and college
comparisons, visit the College Navigator
website.
The following is just some of the information
on the website:
•College’s website
•School type
•Tuition and fees
•Net price average
•Graduation rates
•Retention rates
•Transfer ratesSUBMIT THE FAFSA
MAKING FAFSA CORRECTIONS Corrections to FAFSA data may be made on FAFSA on the Web Add more schools Correct any mistakes (school may ask student to document the changes made) UPDATEs to data such as assets/savings is not permitted. It is captured at the time the FAFSA is originally submitted and is not updateable. Corrections may be made by submitting documentation to the financial aid office
OTHER SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES
▰ Conditions exist that cannot be documented with the FAFSA.
▰ Student should file the FAFSA as directed and send written explanation and
documentation to the college’s financial aid office explaining their special
circumstance.
▰ Most colleges have an appeal process to address special circumstances. The
college will review and request additional information if necessary.
▰ If the student's circumstances are warranted, the FAA will submit corrections to
the FAFSA to reflect the changes.
▰ Each college may have a different way of reviewing special circumstances.
Students should be prepared to appeal at all schools they are considering and
could receive different responses per college.
▰ Decisions are final and cannot be appealed to the U.S. Department
of Education.Special Circumstances
Unusual uncovered Child Support
medical/dental
expenses Extraordinary
dependent care
Student
Parent or cannot obtain
spouse Loss of Divorce parental
death employment
informationVERIFICATION
Students may be selected for a process called verification and must submit documents to confirm FAFSA
information.
Roughly 22% of FAFSAs are selected for verification by the U.S. Department of Education.
Students should respond quickly to any requests for information from the college.
If selected, commonly requested documents include:
Verification Worksheet (these can look different across varying colleges and universities)
Federal Tax Return Transcript or Federal Tax Return for parents/student if they filed 2019 taxes
an alternative to submitting documentation of taxes is completing
the IRS Data Retrieval Process within the FAFSA
W-2(s) for parents/students if they worked in 2019 but did not file taxes
Verification of Non-Filing Letter for parents and independent students who did not file
2019 taxes – this is NOT needed for dependent studentsVERIFICATION
Federal Income Tax Return
Institutions may accept a signed copy of the federal income tax return for the applicable tax year that
the tax filer submitted to the IRS or other relevant tax authorities. (This includes a signed copy of the
income tax return for amended tax filers and victims of identity theft.)
IRS Tax Return Transcripts
Institutions may accept a signed copy of the IRS Tax Return Transcript which can be requested at
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript or 1-800-908-9946
Via online account creation or request to be mailed
Can no longer have Tax Return Transcripts mailed to a third party (i.e. directly
to the college or university)FINANCIAL AID OFFICE
Reviews the FAFSA and any requested additional verification documents
Determines the Financial Aid Offer
Financial aid offers may be mailed or emailed and may look different from college
to college
Offer will include:
The cost of attendance and EFC used to determine the offer
The amount of aid awarded from each program
An explanation of how and when aid is disbursed
A reference to the terms and conditions of the offerSOURCES OF FINANCIAL AID
Federal
Government
States
Employers
Private College and
Sources UniversitiesCATEGORIES OF FINANCIAL AID
• Gift Aid
• Grants
• Scholarships (need based)
• Self-Help Aid
• Some require a FAFSA, some do not/always encourage to file a
FAFSA
• Loans
• Unsubsidized student loans
• Private student loans
• VA Benefits
• Work-study Jobs (Institutional)
• Merit Based
• Scholarships (performance)SCHOLARSHIP SEARCHES & SCAMS
• Scholarship Scams (free vs. paying a fee)
• Buyer beware
• Pursue local scholarships!
• Civic Organizations, Churches, Employers, Financial Institutions, etc.
• Check with Colleges and Universities
• They may be aware of external scholarships in addition to institutional
scholarships
• Scholarship Search Engines
• Recommended by the US Dept. of ED
• https://www.careeronestop.org/toolkit/training/find-scholarships.aspxOhio College Opportunity Grant (OCOG)
Ohio War Orphans Scholarship & Severely
OHIO AID Disabled Veteran’s Children’s
Scholarship Program
PROGRAMS Ohio Army National Guard Scholarship
Ohio Safety Officers College Memorial
2021-2022
Fund
Nurse Education Assistance Loan Program
(NEALP)
Choose Ohio First Scholarship: STEMM
Disciplines
27OHIO COLLEGE OPPORTUNITY GRANT (OCOG)
• OCOG Eligibility criteria
• FAFSA filed by indicated deadline (October 1, 2021 for 2021-2022)
• Ohio resident
• Attend eligible OH or Pennsylvania institution
• Public and Private Colleges participate
• EFC ≤ 2190
• Maximum household income of $96,000
28
• Can receive for maximum of 10 semesters or 15 quarters of enrollmentOHIO COLLEGE OPPORTUNITY GRANT (OCOG), 2020-2021
Students attending community
colleges and regional
campuses are eligible to
receive OCOG if they are
eligible for ETV, as foster
youth students.
19
From https://www.ohiohighered.org/ocogFEDERAL WORK-STUDY
• Undergraduate or graduate students are eligible
• Employment can be on or off campus
• FWS wages excluded from EFC calculation!!!
• Eligible employers
• School
• Federal, state, or local public agency
• Private non-profit organization in academically relevant jobs
• For-profit organization in academically relevant jobs Ohio minimum
• Community service activities wage in 2020:
$8.55 per hourFEDERAL PELL/SEOG GRANTS
Pell Grant (2020-2021)
Need based grant (as demonstrated by the EFC.
EFC of 0000 = $6,345 maximum Pell
EFC of 5576 = $639 minimum Pell
Federal SEOG Grant: (Campus Based)
Student must demonstrate exceptional financial need
Awarded first to students with the lowest EFC (Pell Eligible students are priority)
Award ranges from $100 to $4,000 (typical award is between $100 and $500 per semester)
31STUDENT LOANS • Key Points: • Students can borrow direct loans without any credit check or income • Parents can borrow direct PLUS loans on behalf of their dependent student. • Their credit record will be checked. • Only borrow what is really needed • Look at loans as an investment in the future
STUDENT LOANS PROCESS
• File the FAFSA
• Review financial aid award letters from schools to learn about eligibility
• Go to www.studentloans.gov
• Sign in using your Federal Student Aid ID (FSA ID)
• Student:
• Complete Entrance Counseling AND MPN (Master Promissory Note)
• Parent (for Parent PLUS loan only):
• Complete PLUS application AND MPNYou can also read
