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Financial Aid for the �2023-2024 Academic Year ��What is Available & How to Apply� �

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About Me …

Arlington Heights resident since 2008
Three adult children, three still in school… 2027, 2029 and (gulp) 2031
9 years in Nebraska, in admissions and financial aid
27 years at Lake Forest
My Grant HS connection!
Packers fan

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What We’ll Cover …

Types and sources of financial aid
The applications: FAFSA & Alternative App for IL FinAid

Common Problems

Reporting circumstances outside the scope of the appl’s
Locating private scholarships

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Financial Aid That’s Free

Scholarships

usually merit-based
sources: college/university, states, private sources
application – varies (automatic from school vs appl’n, audition, etc.)
examples: Academic, Athletic, & Music

Minority Teachers of Illinois, CVS-Caremark

Grants

usually need-based
sources: college/university, states, federal government
application – usually “FAFSA” or “Alternative App – IL FinAid”
examples: Federal Pell Grant, IL MAP Grant, Lake Forest Grant

The BEST kind of financial aid is what is FREE … sometimes called “GIFT AID”. Both Scholarships and Grants are fall in this category. Scholarships come from several different places, as you see here, and they are usually based on a student’s ABILITY and NOT family income … so they are MERIT-BASED. The scholarship provider determines what is required to apply, so you’ll find that some involve an application, there may be an essay, an audition or tryout, transcripts, a letter of recommendation, and so on. Just a few examples of scholarship funds are ACADEMIC and ATHLETIC scholarships, and Music or other Fine Arts. The State of ILL offers an MTI Scholarship for future teachers, and, as an example of a private scholarship, my wife’s employer – CVS – gave one of our daughters a $2500 scholarship based on her grades, ACT score, and an essay.

While GRANTS are also GIFT Aid and come from several sources, they are usually based on a family’s resources, so they are considered NEED-BASED. Again, the source or provider of the GRANT determines how you qualify, but many times a single application, the FAFSA is used for all funds. At the bottom you see just a few examples of common GRANTS.

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Financial Aid You Earn

Work-Study

part-time job, usually on campus
usually need-based, but not always
flexible hours and schedule
paycheck or applied to bill

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Financial Aid You Repay

Federal Stafford Loan

Student is the borrower
No payment while in school
Repay six months after graduation
Annually-fixed interest (currently 4.99%, 3.73 ‘21-22, ‘23-24 TBD)
Fr, $5500 So, $6500 Jr, $7500 Sr, $7500

subsidized: need-based; no interest while enrolled ≥ half-time
unsubsidized: not need-based; interest charged while enrolled

Student loans are a common type of financial aid, but of course they need to be repaid … almost always after graduation. The most common is the FED’L STAFFORD LOAN … years ago this was the “GSL” or Guaranteed Student Loan that many of us as parents used for our college years. As you see, no payment is required while in school, and repayment usually begins six months after graduation. Interest rates are the same for ALL borrowers, and have been VERY favorable lately … among the lowest in the 30+ years I’ve been in college work. There are limits to what a student can receive, and you see them listed in the middle of the screen. There are two types of Stafford Loans: subsidized and unsubsidized, and here you see the only two differences: one is need-based and accrues NO INTEREST while the student is in school at least HALF-TIME. The unsub tho, is available to anyone, regardless of need. In this case, though, interest IS charged while in school.

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Other Options You Repay

Federal PLUS Loan

Parent is the borrower
Credit-based; approval is not especially difficult
Option to defer payment while in school (interest accrues)
Annually-fixed interest (currently 6.28%, 5.30% ‘20-21, ‘22-23 TBD)
Eligibility = Cost – Aid

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Other Options You Repay

Non-Federal (Private) Loans

Student is the borrower; cosigner usually required
Credit-based; more difficult than PLUS
Interest rates are based on cosigner’s credit; variable or fixed
Eligibility = Cost – Aid

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Applications

U.S. citizens and permanent residents: FAFSA*
Undocumented students

IL schools, Alternative Appl’n for IL Financial Aid*
non-IL schools, application varies

International students, application varies
Some schools require the CSS Profile in addition to the FAFSA

* HS graduation requirement in Illinois; Available October 1

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Alt. Appl’n for Illinois Fin Aid

https://isac.org/

English
Spanish

Used only if undocumented or transgender (ineligible for fed’l funds)
Used only for awarding Illinois MAP Grant funds
Questions similar to the FAFSA; begins with “qualifying questions” to � see if you are eligible

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The FAFSA

Free Application for Federal Student Aid
https://fafsa.gov/

English
Spanish

Must be a citizen or permanent resident

Used for need-based grants, any federal student loan, work-study

Web version is strongly encouraged; paper option available

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The FAFSA: What it’s Like

Completed by the student and custodial parent(s)
100+ questions

half are student demographic (10-20 minutes)
college choices, family info (5-10 minutes)
student / parent financial questions

some can be transferred quickly/accurately from the IRS

Determines eligibility for federal, state, college/university need-based aid

To give you just a little bit of an idea of what the facts are. Entails, It's something that should be completed by both the student and the parent together. There are about 100 questions, but many of them can be answered by the student in just 10 or 20 minutes, which, to be honest, depends a good deal on their TYPING SPEED. There is a question about which colleges the student might attend, members of the family, and who will be in college.

The most time-consuming portion of the application and the area that possibly trips up more than any other, is the financial section. Many of you will be able to transfer answers directly from the IRS, making this process quicker, and more accurate.

The purpose of the FAFSA is to collect information that determines the family's financial strength and their ability to pay for college costs. In turn, the results are passed on to colleges, universities, as well as federal and state agencies, used to determine eligibility for need-based financial aid.

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The FAFSA: What You Need

Create an “FSA ID” for student and parent fsaid.ed.gov

parent must have an SSN / alternative signature process
Common Problem: forgetting your FSA ID secure, but accessible

SSN & DOB of student and custodial parent(s)

no SSN for parent? enter zeros

2021 income of student and custodial parent(s) - tax return, W2s, etc.
Asset records (savings/checking, investments, business or farm)

not retirement, primary home, family business or farm

List of probable colleges/universities – up to ten

match your applications for admission (before or after admission)
have “federal school code” for each, if possible

In order to complete the application, both student and parent need something called the Federal Student Aid ID…or FSA ID. The web address is shown there in the first line. And you can go there TONIGHT to create one … it takes about 10-15 minutes. Once you create it, it’s yours “forever”. PARENTS if you have an FSA ID used for another family member, you can still use it today. But EACH PERSON needs to have their own ID. *** BIG TIP: Save this where you KNOW you can FIND it, *and* it’s safe/secure. It’s not to be shared with anyone.

*** If you don't have a Social Security number, there are other options for signing at the end of the application.

Within the application itself, Students and parents need to enter their Social Security Number and dates of birth.

If the students parents are divorced or separated, the FAFSA collects information from ONLY the parent that the student lives with. So if there is a non custodial parent their information is not included. If the parent has remarried, the stepparent MUST provide his or her Social Security number and date of birth, and so on.

Professor collects information about a family's 2021 income. You will also have questions to answer about certain types of assets that you have, and the names of colleges, universities that the student might attend. generally speaking comma if you have applied to 6 colleges then include the same 6 colleges here on the FAFSA.

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FAFSA Help

Online, within the web application
Grant HS FAFSA Completion Nights

College/University Financial Aid Offices
ISACorps Events (isac.org)
https://studentaid.gov/fafsahelp

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FAFSA Home Page

Many families will choose “New…” and Start Here to begin the process
Choose “Returning” if going back to a saved application
Caveat for those with older sibling returning in Fall ‘23

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Getting Started

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Sample Screens

Common Problem

“You” and “Your” always refers to the student

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Sample Screen: College Choice

Use Name/City or School Code

List up to ten college/university choices … not separate FAFSAs

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Sample Screen: Parent(s)

Common Problem

Parent(s): the one(s) the student has lived with most last 12 months

Include stepparent, if applicable, even if married after 2021�

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2021 Tax Values…and others

Use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool if possible

available for most tax filers (single, married/joint, SSN vs. ITIN)
transfers key values from return; labeled “transferred from IRS”
reduces errors and probability of “verification”

Provide only what is asked for

Common Problems not using specific line references

including “cents”

Notify the school’s Financial Aid Office is 2021 wasn’t a normal year

Remember - FREE help available

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Sample Screen: Tax Return

Use the blue “Proceed to IRS” link when offered and available

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Sample Screen: Tax Return

Example of line references provided, for values from tax return

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Sample Screen: Use DRT

Common Problem

Final step in “moving” IRS values to the FAFSA:

check the box
click “Transfer Now” button

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Confirmation Page

“Trick”: Older son or daughter in college?? Do their FAFSA first

Click Transfer FAFSA Info - parents’ data is copied to a new FAFSA for the current high school student.

Then provide his/her name, SSN, DOB, and financial information.

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What Happens Next, 3-4 days

Schools receive a complete report
Student receives an email / link to “Student Aid Report” (SAR)
Review all answers for accuracy
Shows your EFC “expected family contribution”

“…an index number…used to determine how much financial aid you � would receive…(It) is not the amount of money your family will have � to pay for college…” source: studentaid.ed.gov

Each fund has a different “EFC cutoff” for eligibility. Examples:

Federal Pell Grant : 0 – 6206; awards $692 - $6895
IL MAP Grant : 0 – 8999; awards up to $7200 (30% increase)

Once processed, you can make corrections and/or add schools

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What Happens Next

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“Financial Need”

If your family contribution is less than the cost you have “financial need” and can receive need-based financial aid.

Cost of Attendance

- Expected Family Contribution (“EFC”)

= Financial Need

…and …

When the cost is different, your need & eligibility are different.

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Cost, Need & Award Levels

	Private College	Public Univ.	Community College
Cost	$65,000	$35,000	$10,000
- “EFC"	5,000	5,000	5,000
= Need	$60,000	$30,000	$5,000

College Aid	$41,000	$5,500	3,500
State Grant	7,200	7,200	1,200
Fed’l Grants	$3,500	$1,500	$1,000

Fed’l Loan	$5,500	$5,500	On request
Work-Study	2,500	2,500	On request
Total Aid	59,700	22,200	5,700 +

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Net Price Calculators

Provides an estimate of eligibility for need-based aid
Not an application for financial aid
Found on each college’s website

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What’s Next: Other Forms

Verification…What is it?

20% of all FAFSAs are selected
random selection or inconsistencies (ex: income vs. tax paid)
confirms data reported on the FAFSA, document income

Other Possible Forms

CSS Profile (10% of colleges/universities)
School-specific form(s)
Special Circumstances may include:

income changes (work, child support, one-time withdrawals
large healthcare costs, legal fees, support of extended family
parent’s own educational loan
others … contact the college financial aid office

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FAFSA Deadlines

Know them!

College/University dates

“preferred” or “absolute”?

Illinois MAP Grant – up to $7200 to those who qualify

use at in-state colleges
2023-24, deadline not announced…but don’t delay!
2022-23, still available, as of Sept 1
2021-22, August 26

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Future FAFSAs

Significant changes for the 2024-2025 academic year

Newly-designed FAFSA with fewer questions

New link to IRS to populate (fewer) income questions

New methodology (“formula”) to determine eligibility

Number of family members in college will be removed

EFC (expected family contribution) replaced by SAI (student aid index)

Students might see changes in eligibility … some up, some down

…and more…stay tuned!

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Scholarship Searches

Naviance (see Career Center web site)
www.fastweb.com
www.hsf.net/scholarship (Hispanic Sch Fndtn, live January 1)
www.scholarships.com
www.uncf.org/scholarships
Parent’s employer
Is a fee charged, or sound too good to be true …

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Remember … Four “C’s”

If what you pay will be a factor in your decision, do not assume you won’t qualify or cannot afford a college. Instead…

complete the admissions and financial aid processes
consider what the schools have to offer you in your education
compare the numbers
choose the college that will prepare you and is financially feasible

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Questions?

Mark Anderson

anderson@lakeforest.edu

Begin the subject line with ‘Grant HS Session’