Financial Aid and Scholarships

FINANCIAL AID AND SCHOLARHIPS

What is Financial Aid?

Financial Aid is monetary assistance for meeting two kinds of college costs that, when combined, represent the total cost of attendance (COA): a. Direct Educational Costs: tuition and fees; and b. Personal living expenses: room and board, transportation, etc. Financial Aid can be given through grants, loans, or work study programs.

How Does a Financial Aid Application Impact Possible Acceptance?

Policies vary from school to school so it is important to know and understand the policies of each school to which you may apply. The following terms will be helpful: • NEED-BLIND: A process where the admissions office is “blind” to the financial need of its applicants. Admissions and financial aid are two separate offices and only accepted applications are sent to the financial aid office for review. • NEED-AWARE: A process where the admissions office is sensitive to the financial need of the applicant. Schools with limited financial resources must be aware of the university budget when accepting a freshman class. In most cases, this process affects a handful of students who are often placed on the waitlist until the budget can be further analyzed. • GAPPING: A process of admitting a student while providing a financial package that does not fully meet calculated financial need.

How Does a Family Qualify for Financial Aid?

• In order to receive aid, a family must establish financial need. • FAFSA: All students, parents and financially responsible guardians applying for aid must complete the Free Application for Federal

Student Aid (FAFSA). o The FAFSA can be filed using the online version (recommended and preferred) or the paper version and is available online at www.fafsa.ed.gov. o The annual FAFSA application becomes available on Oct. 1st. o Students and families are encouraged to complete and file the application as soon as possible. This is an annual application process and must be completed each year. • CSS PROFILE: Many private colleges will also require that the CSS PROFILE be completed in addition to the FAFSA as part of their financial aid review. The CSS

PROFILE is processed by the College Board and available on October 1st on their website (www.collegeboard.org). o In order to access the CSS PROFILE application, a student or parent must establish a username and password for the College Board’s website. After that step is accomplished, one must register by answering basic questions regarding the student’s situation.

o After registering with the College Board, the actual CSS PROFILE will be made available. This form should be submitted by the end of November. Many colleges have supplemental aid forms, filed directly with the college’s financial aid office. Most of these aid forms must be completed online. Divorced or separated parents as well as those who are self-employed or have their own businesses will need to complete additional forms, such as the non-custodial parent form. Most colleges will eventually require copies of Federal Income Tax forms (1040, W-2 and all schedules). Speak to your college counselor and see if you qualify for fee waivers for both applications and standardized testing.

What Types of Aid are Available?

Financial Aid comes in four basic forms. Most colleges will put at least two or three of the types into an aid package.

GRANTS: Funds awarded on the basis of need that never have to be repaid. These may come from: • Federal Monies (i.e. Pell Grant) • New York State Funds (i.e. Tuition Assistance Program), which can be used only at college and universities in the State of New York. • Grant money from the college’s own resources.

LOANS: Borrowed monies to be repaid • Government sponsored loans with interest rates lower than market rates • Subsidized - A loan that will not begin to accrue interest

until post-graduation. Unsubsidized - A loan that will accrue interest while the student is in school. Private loans for education, which normally have higher interest rates and fees than the government-sponsored options and have no in-school subsidy. Unlike the deferral student programs, most students will need a co-signer.

COLLEGE WORK-STUDY: Funded by the federal government, this program involves jobs arranged by the college on campus or close to campus. Students normally work eight to ten hours a week, receiving a paycheck that can be used to meet college expenses.

SCHOLARSHIPS • Merit-based aid: Outright awards given to honor a student who has demonstrated exceptional talent or abilities. They may not be based on need. Check the financial aid web page of the colleges to which you intend to apply to learn about such awards. Many times, they will require additional applications, essays, recommendations, or even an interview. • Privately funded: Many businesses and associations will award scholarships to students each year.

Athletic: If you have been recruited by a Division I or II athletic program, you may be awarded an athletic scholarship. A helpful website for athletes is www.eligibilitycenter.org.

How does Financial Aid Work?

TOTAL COST OF COLLEGE ATTENDANCE (COA) FOR A YEAR (Tuition, Fees, Room, Board)

MINUS

ESTIMATED FAMILY CONTRIBUTION AS ESTABLISHED BY THE COLLEGE BOARD AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT (EFC)

EQUALS

FINANCIAL “NEED”

This table shows how “financial need” can change based on the cost of an individual college:

Cost of State University (state resident)

attendance

$30,000 Private College

$52,000 Ivy League University

$60,500

EFC $25,000 $25,000 $25,000

Amount of need $5,000 $27,000 $35,500

Therefore, because of the varying tuitions of individual schools, the final “need” amount will vary. In a perfect world, colleges would meet all demonstrated need. However, at many colleges, resources are strained, so “gapping” often occurs. This means that a financial aid package is given that does not quite meet the full need, or a student is offered admission but no financial aid from the school. Regardless, it is always worth applying for aid. Some colleges will not provide as much aid as you think you need. Others may not be able to offer any institutional aid to candidates accepted off a waitlist.

Often the most expensive universities have large endowments. Therefore, a college choice should not be initially ruled out because of cost. We do advise those seeking aid to apply to a number of colleges that vary in their total costs. This plan usually means making a selection of private and public colleges (including public universities in your home state).

The following are informative websites regarding the financial aid process and scholarships: www.finaid.org www.gocollege.com www.fafsa.ed.gov www.studentaid.ed.gov

Scholarships

In addition to merit scholarships or other institutional scholarships offered by the colleges themselves, there are many independent scholarships available to students. There is an extensive amount of information about these scholarships available through a number of outside sources. Online search engines include:

www.myscholly.com www.fastweb.com www.scholarships.com www.cappex.com/scholarships

The College Guidance office will post and share any scholarship information in Naviance as it becomes available. Be sure to routinely explore this sampling of scholarships. The following are additional possibilities for scholarship funds:

LOCAL Many community, business and civic organizations offer scholarships.

RELIGIOUS AFFILIATIONS If you have a particular religious affiliation you may want to inquire about scholarships that they may offer.

EMPLOYERS Many employers offer scholarship programs for dependent children of employees. The Human Resources Department would have information on the availability of this type of program.