FINANCIAL AID

1. FINANCIAL AID The Right Track

2. types & sources OF STUDENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

3. types • Scholarships - don’t have to be repaid….student must meet certain criteria, complete an application and meet deadlines • Grants – don’t have to be repaid but the student must meet certain criteria../usually need-based • Loans – must be repaid with interest and the student will have consequences for failure to repay • Work-Study – the student must work to earn money

4. Sources • FEDERAL • Pell Grant (up to $5,550 per year) • Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant(average $3,000 per year) • Academic Competitiveness Grant ($750 for freshmen & $1300for sophomores per year) • SMART Grant ($4,000 per year for juniors & seniors)

5. • Federal Work-Study • Perkins Loan (average $3000 per year) • Direct (Stafford) Loans - $5,500 per year for freshmen (no more than $3,500 can be subsidized) a. Subsidized – federal government pays in school interest b. Unsubsidized – student incurs school interest • Parent Loan (PLUS)

6. STATE – need based grants and scholarships Tennessee residents should apply by Feb. 15. Go to www.tn.gov/collegepays for complete listing and qualifications! • Tennessee Student Assistance Award (TSAC) Need-based grant with an early deadline (up to $4,000) • Ned McWherter Scholars Program ($3,000 to be matched by college) • Minority Teaching Fellows Program • Dependent Children’s Scholarship Program • Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation/Dept of Human Resources (up to an amount = to tuition and fees of highest cost state school)

7. SOURCES OF AID • College and Universities • Civic clubs, employers, churches, private organizations, (Boy or Girl Scouts) and companies (Wal-Mart, Tylenol etc.) • Individuals with money • Minority Scholarships (search the web)

8. NEVER PAY ANYONE TO: • SEARCH FOR SCHOLARSHIPS FOR YOU • DO YOUR FAFSA FOR YOU WATCH OUT FOR SCAMS

9. Do I qualify? Need based state aid and the Hope scholarship will be determined by FAFSA and will automatically be awarded to qualifying students. Merit based awards have to be applied for. Go to www.tn.gov/collegepays and click on scholarship link to see if you meet qualifications.

10. What is FAFSA? FREE Application for Student Aid The FAFSA requires students and parents to provide financial information to determine eligibility for financial aid. Tennessee students MUST also do this annually for the HOPE and Lottery Scholarships.*

11. When do we start? FAFSA applications for 2012 are not available until after January 1st. It is important to file as soon as possible after January 1st. State grant money was gone by February 10th last year. We will have a FAFSA workshop here at Liberty January 14th from 10AM-4PM

12. Where do we start? Even though you can not file your FAFSA now there are some things you can do in preparation. Look at the copy of the FAFSA worksheet in your packet and begin collecting required financial information for 2010. If you do not already have e-mail address you need to set one up. Log ontowww.pin.ed.gov . Get a PIN number for student and a parent. MAKE SURE THE INFORMATION YOU ENTER IS CORRECT- especially SS#’s write your PIN down -you have to remember it year to year!

13. Whose Financial Info is Needed? Unless a senior can answer yes to one of the questions in Section 2 of the FAFSA worksheet they will have to supply parental financial information. What if… Divorced- use parent that student lives with most Divorced/remarried- same as above but include step-parent’s income. Live with another family member- still have to use a parent’s info The senior does not have to be on the tax return of the parent whose financials are being used.

14. Not sure? Ask before you file! Not sure whose income to use? Not sure if student can file independent based on questions in section 2? Not sure about marital status because you are in the process of divorce or recently remarried? Not sure about estimating income because you have not filed taxes with new spouse? ASK FIRST! Errors could cause you to loose funding!

15. FAFSA TIMELINE IN ORDER TO RECEIVE STATE AID FAFSAs NEED TO BE COMPLETED EARLY so use estimated 2011 income based on 2010 taxes! IF There are MAJOR changes in income from last year to this year make a best estimate. You can make changes after this year’s taxes are filed. Eligibility is based on 2011 taxes. There is a process for reporting special circumstances such as recent changes of income that will not be reflected on taxes and unusually high medical expenses that decrease disposable income. See Mrs. Smith if this applies to you.

16. What next? Once you have submitted FAFSA with estimated income it needs to be updated as soon as 2011 information is available. New this year: Updates must be made using the IRS Data Retrieval function in the FAFSA application. This is not available until Feb. 1st. This data will be available 3 days after filing electronically and about 10 days after filing with paper form.

17. Next steps! Look for your SAR to be e-mailed to you. Your SAR will include your EFC (expected family contribution). This is an index not a price. Each school that you listed on your FAFSA will send an award letter stating how much aid you will receive. Pay close attention to what type of aid is listed- loans have to be paid back. Pay attention to aid that is renewable each year and what is one year only.

18. Review your Award Notification Letter from the colleges to which you sent your FAFSA. Some Award Notification Letters are sent via the web. • Compare each college’s award to its direct costs (tuition, room, food). Direct Cost – Award = what you will owe. • (Cost of attendance)COA- includes everything from toilet paper to text books so do not let that number scare you. It is NOT the cost of tuition.

19. Respondto your Award Notification Letter within the required time frame. • Send any required documents as soon as possible to the college you plan to attend. If your FAFSA is selected for verification the college will ask you submit tax transcripts from IRS (unless you used IRS data retrieval), W-2’s or other financial information. • Develop a relationship with the financial aid office. DO NOT wait until the last second to respond to requests from financial aid!

20. The FAFSA may be sent to as many as ten schools. Tennessee residents need to list a Tennessee school on the FAFSA even if they plan to go out of state. • List the school that you are most likely going to attend first. • The first school listed will get HOPE, PELL and other grant money. • If you change your mind you have to back into your FAFSA and make the other school your first choice.

21. FAFSA TIPS Make an appointment to get taxes filed ASAP. Update estimated income with 2011 information as soon as it is available If parents are divorced use financial information for parent that you stay with most. If divorced parent is remarried you must include stepparent’s financial information as well. If parent is married they need to file “married filing jointly”

22. More tips As your different tax forms and income reports come in put them in a file where they can be easily found. After you submit your FAFSA colleges may ask you to verify the information in it.

23. HELPFUL WEB SITES and RESOURCES Your packets include a FAFSA worksheet to help you prepare for filing and to help you understand what information you will need. Please read through all materials. Many online resources are provide to help you with the financial aid process.

24. If you have any questions contact Suzie Smith @ 410-6457 or assmith@jmcss.org