Financial Aid 101
Dennis Chavez
Director
Financial Aid and Student Records
Binghamton University
What
financial aid?
AnisOverview
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Grants – free money that does not have to be repaid, usually based
on “demonstrated financial need”
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Loans – money that must be paid back
(yes, these are considered financial aid!) There are several federal student
loans as well as a federal Parent loan. There are also private educational
loans to consider separately.
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Student Employment – student earns a paycheck as they
work, used to help with non-billed college expenses
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Scholarships – free money, various criteria
How do I apply?
The federal government believes it is ultimately
BOTH the student’s and parent’s responsibility
to pay for college.
An Overview
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Student and parent information is required.
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For divorce or separation situations, the parent
with whom the student lives with must complete
the FAFSA (plus step-parent or “Parent 2” living in same household,
even if not legally married).
• For joint custody situations, the parent who provides the most support
completes the FAFSA (plus step-parent or “Parent 2” as outlined above).
A student is only considered “Independent”
for federal financial aid IF:
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Student was born before 1/1/92 (for the 15-16 aid year)
Student is married or becomes married during academic year
Student is working on a Masters or Doctorate degree program
(college graduate-level degree)
Student is serving in active-duty military service (must document)
Student is a Veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces (must document)
Student has children/dependents – must provide >50% support
Student is an orphan, ward of court, or in foster care since age
of 13 (must document)
Student is an Emancipated minor, as determined by a court
(NYS does not do this)
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Student is in legal guardianship, as determined by a court
(must document) (“legal guardian” NOT a biological/adoptive parent)
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Student is an Unaccompanied youth – homeless (must document)
Application Processes:
*College-specific Forms*
Contact each financial aid office directly to find out:
 Free Application for Federal Student Aid
(FAFSA) for federal aid.
 Is CSS Profile also needed for non-federal aid?
 Any recommended filing deadlines for best offer?
 Are any other financial aid forms required in
addition to FAFSA/Profile (institutional forms)?
 Are any specific scholarship applications required
in order to be considered for those?
CSS PROFILE APPLICATION
http://student.collegeboard.org/css-financial-aid-profile
Free Application For Student Aid (FAFSA)
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Website: www.fafsa.ed.gov
FAFSA becomes available on January 1st of each year
(must apply for each academic year you want aid)
FAFSA Worksheet:
• Made available so you can prepare information prior to
going online.
• Worksheet questions follow order of online FAFSA
process
• MUST file online – cannot mail worksheet!
Your first step toward federal aid:

Website: www.pin.ed.gov
or
from the FAFSA website
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One PIN for parent, and
one for each student
applying for aid.
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Needed to sign FAFSA
electronically.
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Will be used by students
and parents throughout
academic career (to file
FAFSA in subsequent
years; signing loan
documents; etc.)
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REMEMBER THESE
PINS! (keep in a safe place)
Most Common FAFSA Errors:
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Incorrect SSN for student or parent
Incorrect date of birth for student or parent
Incorrect spelling of names (must match your Social
Security card!)
“Legal Dependents”
“Legal Guardianship” (not parent!), “Emancipated”, or
“Homeless”
Separated/divorced/remarried parental information
Income earned by parents/stepparents (any foreign income
must be converted to U.S. dollars)
Income tax paid blank or same as AGI
Untaxed income reporting – follow directions carefully!
Forgetting to submit BOTH pins (student’s and one parent)
“IRS Data Retrieval”
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Available as early as February 2015, if you already filed your
federal tax return two weeks prior and it has been processed by
the IRS.
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Automatically links your FAFSA with your completed IRS tax
return information on file with the IRS.
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Unfortunately, this may not available if filing early due to early
school deadlines, as you may not have filed your federal income
tax or it been processed yet. (You can go back later and do as a
correction….)
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Participation is voluntary
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Reduces documents you may have to submit to school later to
verify income
Write this down!
Remember: also apply for NYS aid if you are a
NYS resident going to a NYS school!
Link provided on the FAFSA confirmation page
 Or go to website: www.hesc.gov
HESC PIN can be the same as your federal PIN (you set it)
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Only curious about fin aid? Don’t wait! Look for this on FAFSA’s website:
How is my financial aid offer
determined?
FAFSA information sent to all schools listed
approximately 3 to 5 days after successfully
completed, BUT when will school begin
offering aid?
 EFC = “Expected Family Contribution”
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(remember, this was on the FAFSA confirmation page! Did you write it down?)
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School reviews data:
• May request documentation to verify the FAFSA.
• Financial aid award offer can change at times
based on new information. Stay informed!
• Most contact is to STUDENT.
Financial Aid 101
Cost of Attendance (COA)
(varies from school to school)
(“direct vs. indirect” costs -or- “billable vs. non-billable”)
– Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
(stays the same from school to school)
=
“Demonstrated Financial Need”
(What do these things mean, anyway?!?!?!)
Getting to the “Bottom Line” – compare apples to apples
DON’T PANIC!
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These are full year amounts – you pay one semester at a time.
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This is where you determine what other resources are available
besides the financial aid offered (Savings? 529 Plan? Assistance
through your employer? Do you need to consider a parent loan?
An alternative private loan?)
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Many schools offer some type of payment plan through their
Bursar’s office –inquire with the individual school as to what
may be available and what the terms/conditions might be.
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Only YOU (the student and family) can determine the best
option out of all that are offered!
Get ready to file!
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Gather your tax return and w-2s (or pay stubs), bank
statements, social security cards and/or alien registration
cards. You will need asset & investment statements as well
if filing a CSS Profile application.
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Make sure you have CORRECT social security numbers,
AR#’s, names, and birth dates (for both parents and
student) and enter each of them in the CORRECT spot on
the application! (the ‘student’ is not ‘the parent’!)
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RELAX! The web applications are specifically designed
to help you complete the applications accurately. If
needed, you can “save” and finish later - if you need
clarification or simply just need to take a break. 
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Double-check your answers before submitting!
Suggested Timeline
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Know each school’s recommended Financial aid application
deadline and process for their best offer of aid.
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Colleges begin to award aid typically March-April, some
sooner dependent on their own institutional processes.
Understand when you can expect to hear from each
particular college – some will be later, some earlier – so
don’t lose patience with those that are later, but understand
how this will impact your ability to compare.
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National Reply Date is May 1st (Deposit deadline required to
accept admission at the school of your choice). If not sure
yet and are asked to make a decision earlier in order to
secure offered aid, find out if deposit can be refunded if
decide not to attend that school after all.
Special Circumstances
(Report these to your Financial Aid Office, NOT FAFSA!)
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Significant decrease in income in the current year
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High medical expenses not covered by insurance
which you have already paid for.
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Change in parent marital status due to separation,
divorce, or death.
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Unusual dependent care expenses
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Student is not able to obtain parent information
Satisfactory Academic Progress
(SAP)
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To be eligible for FSA funds, a student must
make satisfactory academic progress.
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The Department considers a satisfactory
academic progress policy to be reasonable if it
meets both the qualitative and quantitative
criteria.
Helpful Info
The College Board: http://student.collegeboard.org
CSS Profile: http://student.collegeboard.org/css-financial-aid-profile
Federal PIN website: www.pin.ed.gov
FAFSA website:
www.fafsa.ed.gov
NYS Higher Education Services:
Student Financial Assistance:
www.hesc.gov
www.studentaid.ed.gov
Student and Parent Loan information: www.studentloans.gov
Questions?
dchavez@binghamton.edu