CHOICES Applying for Financial Aid at James Madison University

1. CHOICESApplying for Financial Aidat James Madison University April 11& 14, 2014 (This presentation can be downloaded under the Prospective Students section at www.jmu.edu/finaid)

2. Objectives To gain a better understanding of the following: • The financial aid process at JMU • Available sources of financial aid • The scholarship application process at JMU • What happens in subsequent years

3. APPLYING FOR FINANCIAL AID

4. Financial Aid Process • Submit FAFSA (preferably before March 1st) • Receive Student Aid Report • Receive Preliminary Financial Aid Award Notice prior to May 1st • After May 1st receive Verification request and/or Official Financial Aid Award Notice • The process of sending Official Financial Aid Award Notices generally begins the end of June • Submit required acceptance documents

5. Applying for Financial Aid The 2014-15 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the only application students at JMU need to complete to apply for all of the federal and state financial aid offered through the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships That’s it! One form!

6. Professional Judgment • Unexpected issues not reflected on the FAFSA • Tuition expenses at an elementary or secondary school • Medical or dental expenses not covered by insurance • Unusually high child care costs • Job loss or unemployment • Parents enrolled at least half-time in a degree or certificate program • Roth IRA rollovers • Dependency overrides • Contact the financial aid administrator to discuss if these items can be considered in a Professional Judgment review • Issues such as credit card expenses, car payments, standard living expenses, and other “normal” daily items cannot be considered under Professional Judgment for federal and state aid purposes

7. 2014-15 FAFSA Priority Filing Date • March 1st, 2014 • This means your FAFSA should have been logged in at the federal processor by March 1st to be considered “on-time” • You can still complete a FAFSA after March 1st, but the funds available for awarding at that time could be limited

8. Preliminary Financial Aid Award Notice • E-mailed to the same e-mail address Admissions used to notify the student of his/her acceptance to JMU • This is an estimate, as the 2014-15 tuition/fees and room/board figures were not set at the time the award was generated • Students and parents cannot accept aid based on this notice • Verification has not been conducted

9. Preliminary Financial Aid Award Notice • The notice will contain tentative eligibility for aid from: • Federal aid programs • State aid programs • JMU scholarship notifications typically come from individual campus departments

10. After May 1, 2014 • Preliminary financial aid awards will be canceled • New JMU students will receive: • Verification request to secure additional information to complete a final FAFSA review (generally in May), or • Official Financial Aid Award Notice (generally begins around the end of June) • Prior to June 1st Verification requests will be e-mailed to the same e-mail address used for the Preliminary Financial Aid Award Notice • After June 1st Verification requests and/or Official Financial Aid Award Notices will be e-mailed to the student’s JMU e-mail address

11. If information is needed to verify elements on the FAFSA, then JMU will request it Examples: Verification Worksheet Federal tax forms W-2’s Loan Applications Master Loan Promissory Notes Other Additional Information

12. Official Financial Aid Award Notice • Beginning the end of June, eligible students will be awarded and sent an Official Financial Aid Award Notice • These notices are sent electronically to the student’s JMU e-mail address (note the change from the Preliminary process) • Parents will receive a separate notice regarding Parent PLUS Direct Loan eligibility • These notices are sent to the parental e-mail address listed on the FAFSA • Each notice will contain instructions for how to accept or decline the offered aid • Students will do this through MyMadison • Parents will do this through the www.jmu.edu/finaid web site

13. Types of Financial Aid Available(FAFSA Related) • Federal Grants (Pell & SEOG) • State Grants (VGAP and CA) • University Grants • Federal Loans (Direct Loans, Perkins Loan & Parent PLUS Direct Loan) • Federal Work-Study Note: You will see these on a Financial Aid Award Notice

14. PACKAGING 101

15. Cost of Attendance(2013-14 ) COMPONENTS • Tuition & fees • Room & board • Books & supplies • Transportation • Personal • Loan fees EXAMPLES • Full-time In-state • $22,740 • $17,816 = average billable* • $4,924 = estimate* • Full-time Out-of-state • $37,218 • $32,294 = average billable* • $4,924 = estimate* *”Average billable” includes tuition/fees, room/board, & internet fee. “Estimate” includes estimated JMU billable expenses such as books, personal expenses, etc.

16. EFC = Expected Family Contribution • The federal government determines a family’s ability to pay for post-secondary expenses (including living expenses) • The figure schools use to determine a student’s eligibility for need-based aid • EFC below $9,501 will be considered for state grants and Perkins, assuming other criteria are met as well

17. Definition of Need Cost of attendance (COA) – Expected family contribution (EFC) = Financial need

18. Sample 2013-14 Award Notice In-State (1) FAFSA Filed by March 1 22,740 C0A - 100 EFC 22,640 Need 5,595 Pell Grant 5,625 State Grant 3,500 Subsidized Direct Loan 1,000 Perkins Loan 2,030 Workstudy 2,000 Unsubsidized Direct Loan - 2,990 PLUS (includes EFC) = Fully Packaged FAFSA Filed after March 1st 22,740 C0A - 100 EFC 22,640 Need 5,595 Pell Grant 3,500 Subsidized Direct Loan 1,000 Perkins Loan 2,030 Workstudy 2,000 Unsubsidized Direct Loan - 8,615 PLUS (includes EFC) = Fully Packaged Note: These are provided for example purposes only and are not a guarantee of award amounts as VGAP, the Perkins Loan, and Workstudy eligibility are subject to funding availability and other criteria.

19. Sample 2013-14 Award Notice In-State (2) FAFSA Filed by March 1 22,740 C0A - 9,500 EFC 13,240 Need 4,370 State Grant 3,500 Subsidized Direct Loan 1,000 Perkins Loan 2,030 Workstudy 2,000 Unsubsidized Direct Loan - 9,840 PLUS (includes EFC) = Fully Packaged FAFSA Filed after March 1st 22,740 C0A - 9,500 EFC 13,240 Need 3,500 Subsidized Direct Loan 2,030 Workstudy 2,000 Unsubsidized Direct Loan - 15,210 PLUS (includes EFC) = Fully Packaged* *Missed March 1st FAFSA date for state grant and Perkins Note: These are provided for example purposes only and are not a guarantee of award amounts.

20. Sample 2013-14 Award Notice In-State (3) FAFSA Filed by March 1 22,740 C0A - 9,501 EFC 13,239 Need 3,500 Subsidized Direct Loan 2,030 Workstudy 2,000 Unsubsidized Direct Loan - 15,210 PLUS (includes EFC) = Fully Packaged* *Even though applied by March 1st, no state grant and Perkins because EFC is too high. FAFSA Filed after March 1st 22,740 C0A - 9,501 EFC 13,239 Need 3,500 Subsidized Direct Loan 2,030 Workstudy 2,000 Unsubsidized Direct Loan - 15,210 PLUS (includes EFC) = Fully Packaged* *Missed March 1st FAFSA date and EFC too high for state grant and Perkins Note: These are provided for example purposes only and are not a guarantee of award amounts.

21. Sample 2013-14 Award Notice Out-of-State SAMPLE 1 37,218 C0A - 100 EFC 37,118 Need 5,595 Pell Grant 3,500 Subsidized Direct Loan 2,000 Perkins Loan 2,030 Workstudy 2,000 Unsubsidized Direct Loan - 22,093 PLUS (includes EFC) = Fully Packaged SAMPLE 2 37,218 C0A - 9,500 EFC 27,718 Need 3,500 Subsidized Direct Loan 2,030 Workstudy 2,000 Unsubsidized Direct Loan - 29,688 PLUS (includes EFC) = Fully Packaged Note: These are provided for example purposes only and are not a guarantee of award amounts. Additionally, meeting the March 1st FAFSA Priority Filing Date does not provide a funding advantage in the awarding formulas, but does allow a Preliminary Financial Aid Award Notice to be sent in a timely fashion

22. OTHER RESOURCES

23. Options • Personal savings • Investments (e.g., 529 plans, ESA’s, Mutual Funds, etc.) • Payment plans • Part-time employment • Grants (federal and state) • Scholarships (institutional and private) • Federal Loans (student and parent) • Private Loans (student and parent)

24. Loan Repayment Example • Dependent student beginning in 2013-14 and eligible for maximum Direct Loans for 4 years (assume student accepts the loans): • 1st year - $5,500 - no more than $3,500 subsidized (3.86%)* • 2nd year - $6,500 - no more than $4,500 subsidized (3.86%)* • 3rd year - $7,500 - no more than $5,500 subsidized (3.86%)* • 4th year - $7,500 - no more than $5,500 subsidized (3.86%)* • Total debt - $27,000 (aggregate maximum $31,000, no more than $23,000 subsidized) • Standard Repayment Plan is 10 year • $272/month in loan payments • $32,650 repaid over the 10 year period • $5,650 paid in interest • This does not include any capitalized interest, which will increase the cost *The interest rate on all new loans is set July 1st and fixed over the life of the loan. The rate used in this example applies to loans disbursed July 1, 2013 – June 30, 2014. See www.jmu.edu/finaid for current rates.

25. Zero-Based Budget • Often overlooked…its not always about making more money • Income minus expenses each month equals zero • This means you have told every dollar of income you have to do something very specific • If you stick with this for each category, you will not overspend and will likely avoid unnecessary debt and expenditures

26. Cost of Living Adjustments • Sample adjustments: • Cell phone: If your plan costs $200/month, eliminate some options to perhaps $100 • Dining out: If you spend $200/month dining out, cut back to $50 • Car payment: If you have a $400/month car payment, sell the car and pay cash for something less expensive • Total savings recouped in this scenario is $650/month that can be used towards college costs • This is merely one example and may not apply directly to you • Looking at where you spend money and reducing some of the “wants” can help make college more affordable and less reliant on loan funding • These are short term adjustments until the college years are over

27. Payment Plan Example(2013-14) • Payment Plan (5 months per term) • Full-time, in-state, on-campus example • $8,908 per term / 5 months = $1,781.60 (make payment monthly) • Averages to $445.40 per week in a 4 week month (figure for budgeting purposes) • Full-time, out-of-state, on-campus example • $16,147 per term / 5 months = $3,229.400 (make payment monthly) • Averages to $807.35 per week in a 4 week month (figure for budgeting purposes) • Are there items you can reduce in your budget or debt you can eliminate before college to help “cash flow” some of this? • Car payments • Improve food budgets • Credit card or other consumer debt • Other sacrifices to make for next 4 years to avoid long term college loan debt (Opportunity Cost of debt) • See the University Business Office at www.jmu.edu/ubo for more details

28. Types of InstitutionalFinancial Aid Available • Institutional Employment • Off-Campus Employment • Scholarships (some may require a FAFSA be on file) Note: You will not see these on a Financial Aid Award Notice

29. Applying for Scholarships Find scholarships at www.jmu.edu/scholarships Prospective Students: • Freshman Scholarship Programs (Admissions & University Departments) • Sarah Lanier Tabb Oliver Scholarship (Financial Aid) • Foundation Scholarships (University Departments) • Departmental Scholarships (University Departments) • Private Scholarships (Non-JMU Sources)

30. Scholarships and Financial Aid Important Note! • Receipt of scholarship funds from any source may reduce your eligibility for need based federal and state financial aid • Please inform the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships as soon as you are aware you will receive a scholarship

31. Scholarship Notifications • Thomas and Karyn Dingledine Scholarship for Achievement in Academics and Service • Final scholarship recipients were mailed a notice in March 2014 • Madison Achievement Scholarships • Recipients will be mailed an award notice by April 15, 2014 • Second Century Scholars Scholarship Program • Recipients will be mailed an award notice by April 15, 2014 • Sarah Lanier Tabb Oliver Scholarship • Recipients will be mailed an award notice by May 1, 2014 • Foundation Scholarships • Timeline varies by department making the award • Departmental Scholarships • Timeline varies by department making the award

32. Private Scholarships • Private scholarships can originate from any non JMU source • You can find some private scholarship searches at www.jmu.edu/scholarships • If you receive a private scholarship, complete an online Supplemental Information Sheet to inform the financial aid office regarding your good fortune • According to state and federal regulations, we must consider outside sources of financial assistance when awarding aid

33. CLOSING ITEMS

34. Subsequent Years • The FAFSA must be filed each year for need-based scholarships • Scholarships for continuing JMU students are typically awarded through: • Academic departments, and • Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships • Application procedures may vary by department • Scholarship applications are required for the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships

35. Communication • The majority of communications (e.g. letters, e-mails, etc.) sent from our office are sent directly to students, not parents • The primary means of communicating with students are through their JMU e-mail and MyMadison accounts

36. Helpful Tools www.jmu.edu/finaid • Click on “Prospective Students” • Click on “Freshmen Checklist” • Click on “Financial Aid Timeline” • Click on “Choices – Financial Aid Presentation” • Click on “JMU Terms & Conditions for Financial Aid – Consumer Information” • Many other options available

37. Questions If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our office via one of the following methods: • In person at our 3rd floor counter in Warren Hall • We will be moving to the 5th floor of the Student Success Center after July orientation • By phone at (540) 568-7820 • By e-mail at fin_aid@jmu.edu • On the web at www.jmu.edu/finaid

38. Happening on CHOICES DAY Smooch the Pooch for good luck at JMU! Sponsored by The Madison Society 1:10 - 3:00 @ The Duke Dog Statue #jmusmoochthepooch