BATES - The Calculator by Bates College

B at e s T h e C a lc u l a t o r A clear, concise, uplifting guide to your financial aid award.

B at e s C o l l e g e Lewiston, Maine

It’s true! We like you. A lot. We like you a lot, and we want to make sure you can be here. We know college is an expensive proposition. We know that there are many, many families who can’t pay the full cost of college. We’re here to help. We’re helping not just because we’re nice (though we are!), but also because helping in this particular way is at the core of Bates. Bates was founded by people who believed that a great education should be broadly accessible. We were the first college in New England to be coeducational from the start. We were one of the first colleges in America to admit students regardless of race, ethnicity or religion. If Bates isn’t accessible and open to people from all walks of life, then it’s not Bates. So: This is Bates. And this is you. Congratulations! Welcome. Let’s go do something amazing.

THE PROCESS

How do we determine your family’s amount of financial need? The basic formula is this: We subtract the amount your family is capable of paying from the total cost of attendance at Bates. The result is your financial need. We’re committed to meeting 100% of our students’ financial need. How do we determine the amount your family is capable of paying? We analyze your family’s College Board PROFILE, Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and other documents. Our analysis follows the Institutional Methodology laid out by the College Scholarship Service of the College Board; where necessary, we adjust individual cases in accordance with Bates policy. We make allowances for the size of your family, siblings enrolled in undergraduate institutions and unusual medical expenses; we consider your own contribution, including the expectation of summer earnings; and, if a parent received a tuition benefit through an employer, we count that as part of your family contribution. All of this work helps us determine the amount of institutional aid — financial aid that comes from Bates — you’ll receive. Meanwhile, your eligibility for federal financial aid — aid that comes from the federal government, typically in the form of Federal Pell Grants, loans or Federal WorkStudy — is determined according to procedures outlined in the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. This is another way of saying that the government has its own formula for its own aid programs. What does the cost of attendance include? The cost of attendance includes direct and indirect costs. Direct costs are billed by Bates. These include the single fee that Bates charges for tuition, room, board and fees (which is estimated for now). They also include expenses for optional extra-cost Short Term courses, applied music instruction (if you’re receiving scholarship assistance from Bates and you enroll in an applied music course for academic credit, you’ll receive additional scholarship money to cover the cost of up to one applied music course per semester) and student health insurance (if you’re covered by your family’s policy, stay with it; if not, you can join Bates’ plan, and we’ll adjust your cost of attendance and scholarship accordingly). Indirect costs are out-of-pocket expenses paid by you and your family over the course of the academic year. These costs are (of course) variable, but for the purposes of determining aid eligibility, we estimate annual costs of $2,050–$2,950, which are meant to cover books, personal travel and personal necessities.

T H E AWA R D

What’s in your financial aid award? Every award is different. Your aid package should include one or more of these components: S ch o la r sh i p s a n d G r a n t s These are gifts that do not need to repaid and may come from institutional, federal, state or private sources. At this point in time, your financial aid award includes scholarship aid from one source, Bates. During the course of the school year, you may qualify for scholarship or grant aid from other sources. If this is the case, your Bates Scholarship may be adjusted to ref lect the receipt of aid from these sources. It’s important to note that your Bates Scholarship may increase or decrease in future years, depending upon f luctuations in your family’s income or savings, changes in your educational expenses (due to a study abroad program, for example) or if you have a sibling who enters or graduates from college. Federal and State Scholarships Student Financial Services will verify your eligibility for any federal or state grants during the fall semester. If you become eligible for a federal or state grant that is not included in your original financial aid package, the amount(s) you receive will replace an equivalent amount of the Bates Scholarship shown on your award letter. Your overall grant will not increase if you receive federal or state grant aid. Outside Scholarships Bates has a generous outside scholarship policy that rewards students who seek out and apply for these awards. If you receive an outside scholarship, we will not reduce your Bates Scholarship unless the combination of your scholarship aid from all sources (Bates, federal, state or other) exceeds your calculated cost of attendance. Outside scholarships can be used to reduce the loan and/or work portions of your financial aid package or supplement your family’s contribution. Outside scholarships must be reported to Student Financial Services to ensure that your financial aid award remains in compliance with federal regulations. We may be required to adjust or remove the loan or work components of your award should you receive an outside scholarship.

F e d e r al S t u d e n t L o a n s a n d e m p l o y m e n t Loans are funds that you have to pay back, usually after you graduate. You may request a loan to replace a shortfall in savings from summer employment or reduce or replace student employment. If you would like to change the amounts assigned to loans or work, please let us know. Federal Direct Student Loan Part of your award may include a Subsidized or Unsubsidized Federal Direct Student Loan. Subsidized loans are awarded on the basis of need, which is determined by Bates in accordance with federal regulations. The federal government does not charge interest on subsidized loans during enrollment periods or authorized periods of deferment. The interest rate for subsidized loans disbursed between July 1, 2012, and June 30, 2013, is fixed at 3.4%. Students who do not qualify for a subsidized loan, or who have borrowed the maximum through the subsidized loan, can request an unsubsidized loan. Borrowers of unsubsidized loans may either pay the interest quarterly or choose to have the interest accrue and added to the loan’s principal while enrolled in college. The interest rate on unsubsidized loans is 6.8%. An origination fee of 1% of the principal loan amount is deducted from each loan disbursement before it is credited to the student account. First-year students can borrow up to $5,500 through the Federal Direct Student Loan program. Students usually apply for this type of loan during the summer, and application information can be found at bates.edu/financial-services. Federal Work-Study/Student Employment Students who work eight to 10 hours per week throughout the school year can anticipate earning $1,700–$2,000. Students are paid every two weeks for the actual number of hours worked and can use earnings from employment for out-ofpocket expenses. Students are responsible for finding their own jobs — the Bates Student Employment Office posts and maintains campus job openings, or students can directly contact departments in which they have interest. Departments that employ student workers are asked to give priority in the first three weeks of each academic semester to hiring students who have received employment as part of a financial aid award. While Bates makes every effort to assist students in securing on-campus employment, we can’t guarantee that any individual student will be able to arrange a specific type or amount of work. Students with academic or extracurricular schedules that prevent them from securing employment can replace part or all of the financial aid employment expectation with student loan borrowing, and should contact Student Financial Services for more information.

FINANCING OPTIONS

T e n - M o n t h Pay m e n t Pla n Bates partners with Tuition Management Systems to offer a 10-month payment plan to help families spread their payments across the academic year. Payments are made in monthly installments, starting in July and ending in April. The first five payments are applied to the fall semester and the second five to the winter semester. There is a $65 fee to enroll in the plan. Families who wish to enroll or would like additional information can call 800-722-4867 or visit afford.com/ bates. O t h e r L oa n O p t i o n s Parent and alternative loans help families finance education costs over time, making payments more manageable. Different options are available, depending upon whether the student qualifies for or is receiving other types of financial aid. A few of those options: Federal Direct PLUS Loan (for Parents) The Direct PLUS Loan is a non-need-based education loan for parents of all income levels. Parents who do not have adverse credit may borrow up to the entire cost of education minus financial aid. PLUS loans have a fixed interest rate of 7.9%. An origination fee of 4% of the loan principal is deducted at the time of disbursement. Repayment of PLUS Loans begins 60 days after the funds are fully disbursed. Parents have the option of deferring payments on the PLUS Loan while the student on whose behalf the loan was borrowed is enrolled and during the six-month grace period after the student graduates or ceases enrollment. (Interest continues to accrue during this deferment period.) Alternate repayment terms such as extended repayment, graduated repayment and income-contingent repayment are also available. Extending repayment can make monthly payments more manageable, but may result in more interest paid over time. Parents who wish to borrow through PLUS can request a loan and complete an electronic Master Promissory Note (eMPN) at studentloans.gov. Please note that students are also required to complete the FAFSA. Bates recommends that parents apply for this type of loan during the summer. Alternative Student Loans Students who are ineligible for a federal loan or have exhausted federal eligibility may want to consider a private or â&#x20AC;&#x153;alternativeâ&#x20AC;? loan. Alternative loans generally require a creditworthy cosigner, and repayment options often vary according to the amount borrowed and the credit score of the student and/or cosigner. Families are advised to consider federal loans first, as private loans may have higher interest rates and less f lexible repayment options. Students, especially, should exhaust federal loan options before taking out any private education loan. Additional information concerning private education loan programs can be found at finaid.org/loans/privatestudentloans.phtml.

Policies Renewal of Financial Aid Financial aid at Bates is renewable for a total of eight semesters, provided that your financial aid application materials are submitted on time and you continue to demonstrate eligibility according to federal and institutional standards. Families applying for renewal of financial aid must complete the PROFILE and FAFSA and provide copies of income tax returns and other materials annually. At a minimum, students should expect to have a similar parent contribution and modest increases in the student contribution from one year to the next. However, when significant changes occur (e.g., your family’s income increases or you have a sibling who graduates from college), the family contribution will increase. Each year, you will be expected to assume increases in your responsibility for meeting educational expenses. This means that your student contribution from summer earnings may increase over time and that modest increases in the amount of student loan and employment will be expected. If Your Circumstances Change Bates accepts requests for reconsideration of a family’s contribution under certain circumstances, when documentation supporting a significant change can be provided. Examples of significant changes might include loss of employment, death or disability of a parent, onetime nonrecurring income or termination of income from child support. We are unable to consider requests for reconsideration that are due to circumstances such as cash-f low issues, home repair, or business or consumer debt. Families who have experienced a change should contact Student Financial Services for more information. Next Steps The award you have been offered is based on your family’s estimate of income received in 2012. We will verify the information provided on your College Board PROFILE by comparing it to your family’s 2012 federal income tax returns, and your award will be adjusted if tax information differs notably from your family’s PROFILE. We encourage you to provide us with copies of your family’s 2012 federal income tax returns and W-2 forms as soon as they become available (no later than May 1, 2013). You are also required to file the FAFSA no later than February 15, 2013. How W e C a n H e l p We recognize and appreciate the investment that you and your parents are making, and we can provide information to help you manage your student budget. Do not hesitate to contact us if you have questions. We are here to help.

Student Financial Services

finaid@bates.edu

44 Mountain Avenue

bates.edu/financial-services

Lewiston, ME 04240 207.786.6096 (phone) 207.786.8350 (fax)

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Student Financial Services 44 Mountain Avenue Lewiston, ME 04240 207.786.6096 bates.edu/financial-services

2 Andrews Road Lewiston, ME 04240 207.786.6255 www.bates.edu