NEED - Financial Aid is based on need. Need is the difference between what you and your family can pay and what your college will cost. For example: if your family can
contribute $10,000 per year (based on the FAFSA form), and the college you wish to attend costs $30,000 per year, your estimated need is $20,000.
HOW MUCH WILL YOUR SHARE BE? The federal government and the colleges, which depend on the government for support, consider a student's family to be the primary source of funds for college. All other sources (federal funds, institutional funds) are considered secondary sources. You and your parents must fill out a financial aid form and submit it to the college or to an independent agency. A formula will then be used to figure out how much your family should contribute toward your education each year. All formulas or methodologies basically balance the family's assets and gross income against such deductibles as medical bills, number of dependent children in the family, interest paid on loans, property tax payments and other specific expenses. The difference between the family assets and family expenses is called the Adjusted Available Income or AAI. Once this figure is determined it is fed into an equation that tells what the family
contribution must be. This figure is referred to as the EFC, the expected family contribution.
FINANCIAL AID FORMS - Need Analysis forms must include financial information from the most recent complete calendar year prior to enrollment in college. "FAFSA" (free) forms
and CSS "PROFILE" forms can be obtained from the College Counseling office. Students will need a social security number, and parents will need tax information either from the
current year or an estimate based on the year before.
1.)
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the financial
aid form required of all colleges and universities.
The form is required to apply for any federal fundsÑPell Grants, Stafford
Loans, Perkins Loans, etc.Ñand for Cal Grants (for use at California campuses
only). The filing period
is January 1 to March 2.... but it is HIGHLY SUGGESTED that the FAFSA be submitted by February
1. The FAFSA is available in two forms: 1) paper, available in the college
counseling office; or 2) online at www.fafsa.ed.gov.
2.)
Many independent/private colleges also require an additional form called the
CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE to determine who will receive funds.
The Profile is to be completed by late October or early November (at
the latest!). Each institution prints a deadline for
the CSS Profile; pay close attention.
If you are applying EA or ED the deadline is earlier than if you are
applying regular decision.
Filing
the CSS Profile is a two-step process: 1) Complete the CSS Profile form (available
in the college counseling office or online at www.collegeboard.org),
which consists of roughly 10 questions; 2) Approximately two to three weeks
after submitting the initial Profile, you will receive a long list of questions
(roughly 150) about your familyÕs financial situation. Complete and return the form to CSS Profile
as soon as possible after receiving it. CSS will then distribute the information to the private colleges
to which you are applying.
3.)
A third form, called the GPA Verification Form, must also be completed
and filed no later than March 2 by individuals applying for state funds
such as Cal Grants.
To
do:
1.)
Ask specifically about financial aid in your application
request, or request information about applying for financial aid from the
Director of Financial Aid at a specific college. It is best to do this early
in your senior year.
2.) Make sure you know which forms you need to file
and when you need to file them. As
early as possible after January 1 complete the FAFSA and send it to the Federal
Processor.
3.) Be sure
to ask college admission and financial aid offices about their policies and
practices concerning admission and financial aid/need.
4.)
If you or your parents receive requests for additional information about your
application, be sure you respond promptly in order to speed up the processing
of your request (such additional information could be W2's, tax forms, clarifications).
5.) If the college to which you are applying has its own separate financial aid application, complete it as early as possible!
FINANCIAL
AID INFORMATION NIGHT - Every year in December, our seniors and their parents
are invited to attend Convent's Financial Aid Night with a Director of Financial
Aid from a local college, At that meeting, the FAFSA will be explained in
detail and there will be an opportunity to ask questions.
THREE
MAIN TYPES OF AID - The basic forms of financial aid are:
q
Scholarships and grants: outright gifts that
do not have to be repaid
q
Loans: money that is borrowed by the student
to be repaid after graduation. Colleges look upon loans as an appropriate
way for students to invest in their own future.
q
Employment: a job available for a student
during the academic year to cover part of the college expenses.
SOURCES
OF AID - There are four sources of aid:
1)
Colleges themselves provide all three types of aid (scholarships, loans and
employment) from their own funds, while at the same time acting as the agents
for channeling certain federal and state awards to students.
2)
The federal government has five large financial aid programs. Two of these
give grants Ð the Pell Grant and the Supplemental Educational Opportunity
Grant (SEOG). Two give loans - the Stafford
Student Loan (SSL) and the Perkins Loan. The fifth is a student employment
program called College Work-Study (CWS).
3)
Your state government. Every state has some form of aid for students attending
college in their own state and some even have awards for residents who enroll
in other states. Almost all state aid is in the form of scholarships, although
a few states also have work-study programs.
4)
Private sources. Corporations, unions, religious groups or denominations,
and civic or fraternal associations offer aid, mostly through scholarship
funds.
ROTC
With few exceptions, the federal government's student aid programs are exclusively
for students with need. However, ROTC programs can provide scholarships and
other benefits, along with certain military obligations. Scholarship programs
that are worth the most are a free education in one of the five service academies
(West Point, Annapolis, the Air Force Academy, the Coast Guard Academy, the
Merchant Marine Academy) and ROTC scholarships.
SCHOLARSHIPS
- In contrast to financial aid, many scholarships are not based on need. Some
awards are made in recognition of outstanding talent. Scholarships have been
given in areas such as leadership, academics, music, photography, art, drama,
athletics, and writing ability. Announcements of contests and scholarships
can be found in the SCOOP, which is published quarterly by the College Counseling
Office. Employers, private clubs, fraternal organizations and societies offer
scholarships to seniors in high school.
RESOURCES:
FAFSA
(Free Application for Federal Student Aid) QUESTIONS - (800) 433-3243
**SCAM
ALERT** - The FAFSA can be found online at www.fafsa.gov, fafsa.com will take you to a site
that will attempt to charge you to fill out the forms. Remember that the first "F"
in FAFSA stands for FREE!
PROFILE
QUESTIONS - (212) 713-8239 or (609) 771-7725
Financial
Aid and Scholarship Reference (start here)
á
www.finaid.org
Arguably the most comprehensive financial aid and scholarship resource. It directly connects you to web sites
listed, including www.fastweb.com
á Paying for College Without Going Broke by Kalman Chany