Texas Association of Student
Financial Aid Administrators and
National Association of Student
Financial Aid Administrators
Financing Education
Beyond
High School
2006-2007
1

Objectives for Tonight
 Give general information about how to apply for financial assistance
 Describe what type of financial assistance is available
 Promote financial aid awareness to students as early as middle school
2

Purpose of Financial Aid
 The primary purpose of student financial aid is to provide resources to students who would otherwise be unable to pursue a postsecondary education.
3

Philosophy of Financial Aid
 To the extent they are able, parents have primary responsibility to pay for their dependent children’s education
 Students also have a responsibility to contribute to their educational costs
 Families should be evaluated in their present financial condition
 A family’s ability to pay for educational costs must be evaluated in an equitable and consistent manner, recognizing that special circumstances can and do affect its ability to pay 4

Applying for Higher Education
 Select schools to attend, contact them
– admissions applications
– housing applications
– financial aid and scholarship applications
–
SAT/ACT scores
–
TAKS test
5

Types of Aid

Gift Aid
–
Grants
–
Scholarships
 Self Help
–
Loans
– Employment
6

Gift Aid
Grants
 Federal
–
Federal Pell Grant
–
FSEOG
 Federal/State (LEAP)
 State
 Institutional
 Private
Scholarships
 Federal
 Robert C. Byrd
Honors
Scholarship
 State
 Institutional
 Private
7

Gift Aid - Scholarships
(Where do I look?)
 HIGH SCHOOL GUIDANCE
COUNSELOR
 LIBRARIES
 CIVIC/RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS
 PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
 ACADEMIC DEPARTMENTS
 FINANCIAL AID OFFICE
 Internet ( www.finaid.org
) 8

!
 Don’t be Scammed!
 I do not recommend the use of scholarship searches that charge a fee.
9

T oward
EX cellence
, A ccess &
S uccess
(TEXAS) Grant
 Texas resident
 graduated from accredited high in Texas within 16 months of first semester
 completed Advanced or Recommended high school curriculum
 have financial need
 enroll at least full time
 portable grant
10

Self-Help Aid
Employment
 Federal Work-Study
 State Work-Study
Programs
 Institutional Work-
Study Programs
Loans
 Federal Perkins Loan
 Federal Stafford Loans
–
Federal Family Education
Loan (FFEL) Program
–
William D. Ford Federal
Direct Loan Program
 State Loans
 Institutional and
Private Loans 11

Two Categories of Aid
 Merit-based
 Need-based
12

Definition of Need
Cost of Attendance (COA)
– Expected Family Contribution
(EFC)
= Financial Need
13

Need Varies Based on Cost
1
2
Cost of
Attendance
(Variable)
3
EFC
Expected Family
Contribution
(Constant)
X
Y
EFC
Need
(Variable)
Z
14

Cost of Attendance
 Tuition and fees
 Room and board
 Books and supplies, transportation, and miscellaneous personal expenses
 Loan fees
 Study abroad costs
 Dependent or elder care expenses
 Expenses associated with a disability
 Expenses for cooperative education program
15

Definition of Need
Cost of Attendance (COA)
–
Expected Family Contribution
(EFC)
= Financial Need
16

Federal Methodology
Federal Methodology is the formula created by
Congress to determine the
Federal Expected
Family
Contribution
(EFC).
17

Needs Analysis
 Family completes FAFSA
 Information is placed in Federal
Methodology Formula
 Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is calculated
18

Expected Family Contribution for Dependent Student
1. Determine available parent income:
Total income (taxable and untaxed); less exclusions (e.g., child support paid)
2. Determine available parental assets
3. Determine portion of available parental income and assets for education
4. Determine student contribution
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = EFC
19

Definition of Need
Cost of Attendance (COA)
– Expected Family Contribution
(EFC)
= Financial Need
20

Role of the Financial Aid Office
 Determines eligibility for financial aid
 Packages aid
 Sends an award notification which details:
– Student’s cost of attendance
– Amount of student’s financial “need”
– Types and amounts of aid offered
–
How and when aid will be disbursed
– Student employment conditions
– Terms and conditions of aid offer
21

Free Application for Federal
Student Aid (FAFSA)
 Family’s personal and financial information required to perform need analysis is collected on FAFSA
 Paper versions of FAFSA
–
“Regular” FAFSA
– Renewal FAFSA
 Electronic versions of FAFSA
–
–
EDE
FAFSA on the Web
22

23

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Student Aid Report (SAR)
 Replays all information (part 1)
 Allows for corrections (part 2)
 Indicates if there are problems with:
–
Social Security Administration
–
INS
–
Selective Service
–
Default/Refund
25

Packaging
 School combines various types of aid to meet financial need
 Each school has a different “Packaging
Philosophy”
26

Award Letter
 COA, EFC and student’s financial need
 Types and amounts of financial aid
 Deadlines for responding
 Other documents to complete; counseling sessions to attend
27

Where Do I Go From Here?
 Review school’s materials for aid application and deadline information
 Complete FAFSA
–
Get Your PIN first
 Complete school application
(if necessary)
 Investigate other sources of aid
 Conduct private scholarship search
28

WHAT TO EXPECT
 OBTAIN A PIN NUMBER FROM:
– WWW.PIN.ED.GOV
 MAIL/TRANSMIT THE FAFSA
 RECEIVE THE SAR
 REVIEW THE SAR COMMENTS/DATA
 MAKE ANY CORRECTIONS NECESSARY
 SCHOOL REVIEWS
 ADDITIONAL INFO REQUESTED
 VERIFY ACCURACY OF ALL INFO
 RECEIVE AWARD NOTIFICATION

RESPONSE MUST BE RECD BEFORE AID CAN BE
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CREDITED TO THE ACCOUNT

Helpful Hints and Tips
 Read instructions carefully
 Make copies of everything you mail
 Promptly respond to all correspondence
30

Helpful Hints and Tips (cont’d)
 Report funds from other sources
 Apply for financial aid every year
 Maintain Satisfactory Academic
Progress (SAP)
31

Questions & Answer
32