What Happens Next?

1

• What Happens Next?

Financial Aid 101 Mila Tappan, FAME Outreach
Representative October 10, 2008
2
Agenda

• What happens after the FAFSA is submitted?
• Making corrections
• Role of the central processor
• Role of the financial aid office
• Verification process
• Comparing award letters

3
What Happens After the FAFSA is Submitted?

• Student applicant will receive an email with a
  link to view the status of the FAFSA
• Must log in to view the results
• Check for comments on student aid report (SAR)
• Verify social security number
• Print SAR and review carefully
• Make note of data release number (DRN)

4
After the FAFSA, cont.

• Review school information to be sure the correct
  schools are represented
• School will not receive the information unless
  they are listed
• 1 reason why schools dont get the data is
  because they arent listed
• Colleges receive FAFSA data electronically

5
Making Corrections

• Corrections to FAFSA may be made by
• Using FAFSA on the Web
• Updating paper SAR
• Submitting documentation to schools financial
  aid office
• If FAFSA was submitted using estimated income,
  must be updated as soon as possible

6
Important Reminder

• Tentative Award
• be sure to complete all requirements
• understand that tentative award based on original
  information
• If family filed or plans to file a tax extension
  
• contact the financial aid office for instructions
• pay attention to all correspondence and be sure
  to submit documents on time and complete

7
Verification

• Process that verifies FAFSA information
• Dept. of Ed. randomly selects students
• FAO may verify a student even if not selected
• Documents requested may include federal tax
  forms, W-2 forms, verification worksheet (school
  will provide)
• Financial aid award will not be finalized until
  this process is complete
• Respond quickly to all requests

8
Role of the Financial Aid Office

• Review information provided on FAFSA
• Determine financial aid eligibility and calculate
  award
• Send award notification
• Help families find ways to pay the bill

9
Comparing Financial Aid Awards

• Look at the various types of aid and total by the
  award type
• Grants and Scholarships (dont have to be repaid)
• Need Based Federal Loans (Perkins Subsidized
  Stafford)
• Other Loans
• Federal Work Study or other Work Programs

10
Comparing Financial Aid Awards, cont.

• Look at direct costs
• Tuition, Fees, Room and Board
• The information should either be on the Award
  Letter or in the insert if not check the
  schools website
• Understand assumptions being made by the school
• Enrollment status (full time vs. part time)
• Housing (on campus, off campus or living at
  home)

11
Comparing Financial Aid Awards, cont.

• Compare grants vs. loan
• How much of the direct costs are covered by
  grant?
• Some financial aid awards will cover the entire
  bill
• But if 80 is loan, it may not be as good as it
  seems

12
Comparing Award Letters, cont.

• Very important to understand how aid is awarded
  (evenly split between semesters, what other steps
  are required?)
• Need to know the conditions of the award (annual
  application, minimum GPA to continue receiving,
  etc)
• Understand the implications of income changes for
  need-based aid from one year to the next

13
Comparing Financial Aid Awards, cont.

• Some financial aid awards will not cover the
  entire bill
• Ask the financial aid office what alternatives
  they recommend to make up the difference
• Consider cost to earn degree
• Are there loan forgiveness options?

14
Example of an Award
15
(No Transcript)
16
Filling in the Pieces

• Be sure to read the materials that accompany the
  Award Letter will provide many more details
• If other loans are listed on the Award Letter,
  learn more about them
• Interest rate/fees
• Deferment options
• Credit based
• Maximum/minimum amounts
• Contact school to discuss remaining options

17
Questions to Ask.

• Are the scholarships renewable?
• If scholarships are renewable, what is the
  criteria?
• What happens if the student receives outside
  scholarships, for example, from graduation?
• Will the financial aid award stay the same from
  year to year?

18
Things to Keep in Mind

• Many schools will ask you to accept or reject
  aid. I recommend that aid is not rejected unless
  the student is absolutely sure they dont want
  the aid
• may not be able to get it back once rejected.
• can always return loans during the year, even if
  already processed
• If circumstances have changed from what is on the
  FAFSA, the student should contact school to
  discuss appeal.

19
Special Circumstances

• If your family has experienced significant
• changes to its financial situation that are not
• reflected on the FAFSA, you should contact
• the financial aid office.

• Examples
• Unemployment
• Divorce or separation
• High medical bills
• One-time income or benefit
• Parent(s) attending college

20
Important Reminders

• Read through all of the paperwork
• Understand the next steps and deadlines for those
  next steps
• Contact the Financial Aid Office with any
  questions or concerns they are there to help!
• Dont wait until the last minute!

21
Questions?