UTHSC FLIGHT Newsletter - November 2017 by University of Tennessee Health Science Center

FLIGHT

NOVEMBER 2017

FINANCIAL LITERACY INFORMATION FOR GRADUATE/PROFESSIONAL HEALTH STUDENTS OF TODAY

INSIDE THIS ISSUE December Graduates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Young Adults Spending Less. . . . . . . .1 FAFSA Schedule. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Student Loan Forgiveness. . . . . . . . . . 2 Student Loan Grace Period. . . . . . . . 3 SAM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Scholarships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

FINANCIAL AID

One Stop Shop 901.448.7703

Gloria Dobbs Counselor, College of Health Professions gdobbs1@uthsc.edu Skype: glor.dob90 Phyllis Faulkner Counselor, College of Pharmacy pfaulkn1@uthsc.edu Debra Bolton Counselor, College of Medicine dhall48@uthsc.edu Janice G. Maddox Literacy Coordinator and Counselor, College of Graduate Health Sciences and College of Dentistry jmaddox9@uthsc.edu Skype: janice.maddox3 Samuel Matheny Executive Director of Financial Aid and Retention samuel.matheny@uthsc.edu Paulette Moore Associate Director of Financial Aid and Counselor for College of Nursing pmoore8@uthsc.edu Skype: lette.bee60

ATTENTION: DECEMBER GRADUATES FEDERAL EXIT LOAN COUNSELING

If you are scheduled to graduate on December 14, 2017, have ACCEPTED Federal Student Loans, and applied the funds toward the cost of tuition, you are required to have exit loan counseling before you graduate. You can complete exit counseling online at studentloans.gov. The timely repayment of your student loans is important to maintaining a good credit history, especially if you wish to consider applying for future consumer or student loans. Therefore, it is important to know who owns your loan, when your payments are due, how to make a payment, and your total amount of indebtedness. Federal regulations require that all students who have borrowed from the federal loan programs receive exit loan counseling. Exit loan counseling provides details regarding a borrower’s rights and responsibilities for student loan repayment, deferment options, and loan consolidation benefits. If this requirement is NOT completed by December 1, a hold will be placed on your account. If you need further assistance, please contact Janice Maddox at jmaddox9@uthsc.edu or 901.448.7703.

IN U.S., YOUNG ADULTS REPORT SPENDING LESS THAN IN THE PAST by Sean Kashanchi and Jeffrey M. Jones Young adults seem more hesitant to spend than did people of the same age group nine years ago. Among 18- to 29-year-olds, daily spending self-reports aver-aged $74 in 2016, down sharply from an average of $93 in 2008. Spending reports of other age groups were similar in 2008 and 2016. The results are based on analysis of Gallup U.S. Daily tracking data. It compares 2008 to 2016 (rather than 2017 year-to-date) to ensure seasonal patterns in spending do not bias the estimates. Since 2008, Gallup has asked U.S. adults to report how much they spent “yesterday.” The measure, based on more than 175,000 interviews annually, gives an indication of discretionary spending. The full question wording is: “Next, we’d like you to think about your spending yesterday, not counting the purchase of a home, motor vehicle or your normal household bills. How much money did you spend or charge yesterday on all other types of purchases you may have made, such as at a store, restaurant, gas station, online or elsewhere?” Learn more about Young Adults Report Spending. 1

FLIGHT

NOVEMBER 2017

IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND COLLEGE FROM

YOU WILL SUBMIT THIS FAFSA

YOU CAN SUBMIT THE FAFSA FROM

USING TAX INFORMATION FROM

JULY 1, 2017 – JUNE 30, 2018

2017–18

OCT. 1, 2016 – JUNE 30, 2018

2015

JULY 1, 2018 – JUNE 30, 2019

2018–19

OCT. 1, 2017 – JUNE 30, 2019

2016

On the 2018–19 FAFSA form, you (and your parents, as appropriate) will report your 2016 income information, rather than your 2017 income information. Since you’ll already have filed your 2016 taxes by the time the FAFSA form launches, you’ll be able to import your tax information into the FAFSA form right away using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT). (No more logging back in to update after filing taxes!) Not everyone is eligible to use the IRS DRT and the IRS DRT does not input all the financial information required on the FAFSA form. Therefore, you should have your 2016 tax return and 2016 IRS W-2 available for reference.

ON TRACK FOR PUBLIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVENESS? GOOD NEWS, YOU’RE NOT IN DANGER FROM TRUMP’S BUDGET. by Danielle Douglas-Gabriel The 2018 White House budget calls for the elimination of Public Service Loan Forgiveness, a program that wipes away federal student debt for people in the public sector after they have made 120 qualifying monthly payments, or 10 years’ worth of payments. The spending plan makes no mention of what will happen to the 552,931 people the Education Department said are on their way to receiving forgiveness, raising alarm among those anticipating relief. On a call with reporters Tuesday, education officials put those concerns to rest by clarifying that the president’s proposal would only affect people taking out loans on or after July 1, 2018. The same is true for all of the other loan proposals included in the budget, such as getting rid of subsidized loans that require the government pay a borrower’s interest while he is in school, according to education officials. Read more: The Washington Post 2

FLIGHT

NOVEMBER 2017

STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT GRACE PERIOD

FREE, ONLINE MONEY MANAGEMENT COURSES FROM NEFE

You usually do not have to start repaying your loans right away. This “waiting period” after graduation and before repayment begins is known as a “grace period.”

CashCourse is one of several programs offered by the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE). We want to highlight another NEFE program, Smart About Money (SAM), that is available to you and your school. SAM is a free, unbiased resource where you can find indepth personal finance courses, articles, calculators and tips to help you manage your money. SAM is a great educational option for non-traditional students or if you have staff looking for professional development opportunities in personal finance. Courses cover building an emergency fund, financial well-being, housing, retirement and transportation. You can also check out their Money Basics course for an introduction to money management. Each of these courses takes about 45 minutes to complete and includes worksheets, calculators and quizzes. Just like CashCourse, SAM is ad-free and totally free to use.

You have six months to begin repayment on Stafford loans after graduation, or after you leave school or drop below half-time enrollment. Interest will not accrue while you are in school, and during the grace period for subsidized Stafford loans. The government pays the interest on these loans. This is not the case for unsubsidized loans. If you have unsubsidized loans, you may either pay the interest during the in-school deferment and grace periods, or the interest will be capitalized when repayment begins. “Capitalization” is when interest that accrued during the grace period or other deferment is added to the loan principal when repayment begins. Making payments during a grace period is not required, but something to think about if you can afford it.

SCHOLARSHIPS, AWARDS AND FELLOWSHIPS HHMI RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES FOR MEDICAL, VETERINARY AND DENTAL STUDENTS AT U.S. SCHOOLS – FOR 2ND AND 3RD YEAR STUDENTS Mentor selection and research proposal preparation are key components of the application process.

HHMI Medical Research Fellows Program enables medical, veterinary, and dental students to spend a year conducting basic, translational, or applied biomedical research at any academic or nonprofit research institution in the United States except government agencies. HHMI will award 60 fellowships in 2018.

For the 2018-2019 program year, Fellows will receive a $32,000 stipend; a $5,500 fellow’s allowance for health, dental and vision insurance, relocation expenses, if applicable, and some education-related expenses; and a $5,500 research allowance for conference travel and research-related enrichment activities. The online application is open: hhmi.org/medfellowships. Deadline is January 11, 2018.

Applicants must have prior wet-lab research experience.

The University of Tennessee is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/Section 504/ADA/ADEA/V institution in the provision of its education and employment programs and services.

uthsc.edu/financial-aid/flight 3