Welcome!

What You Need To Know

About Financial Aid

Topics We Will Discuss

What is Financial Aid?

Financial aid consists of funds provided to students and families to help pay for postsecondary educational expenses

What is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)?

A standard form that collects demographic and financial information about the student and family.

• May be filed electronically or using paper form and is available in English and Spanish
• Information is used to calculate the Student Aid Index (SAI), which is an eligibility index number that financial aid offices at college’s or career school’s use to determine how much federal student aid the student would receive

​

​

FAFSA

• For the 2024-25 academic year, the FAFSA may be filed beginning December 31, 2023

​

• Most colleges set FAFSA filing deadlines – check with the school you are applying to!

​

• Use 2022 Tax Year Information

FAFSA ON THE WEB (FOTW) or myStudent Aid – the Benefits of Filing Electronically

• Built-in edits to prevent costly errors
• Skip-logic allows student and/or parent to skip unnecessary questions
• Option to use Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Data Retrieval Tool to import tax data
• More timely submission of original application and any necessary corrections
• More detailed instructions and “help” for common questions
• Ability to check application status online
• Simplified application process in the future

It all starts with studentaid.gov

What is a FSA ID?

Who Needs an FSA ID?

• Student
• Parent(s)*
• If parents filed 2022 taxes as Married Filing Joint, only one needs to complete FSA ID
• If parents filed 2022 taxes separately (Married Filing Separately or Single/HOH) BOTH PARENTS need to have FSA ID.

​

We recommend for all circumstances that both parents complete an FSA ID

​

​

*Parent that provides the most financial support

​

​

Creating an FSA ID

Completing the FAFSA using studentaid.gov

Be Prepared: What Will Be Asked�

• Demographic Information (Personal, Grade, Degree/Certificate type, etc.)
• Dependency Questions
• Tax/income/financial information
• Parent personal and tax/income/financial information
• School(s) where FAFSA is to be sent (up to 20)

​

IRS Direct Data Exchange

• Allows for certain tax return information to be transferred from the IRS to the FAFSA instantly.
• Participation is mandatory to receive federal and state aid
• Does cut down on errors and limits documentation that may need to be submitted.

IRS Data Retrieval Tool

Some people may not be able to use IRS Data Retrieval

Examples include:

• If you filed an amended tax return
• No Social Security Number was entered
• Student or parent married but filed separately

​

Making Corrections

If necessary, corrections to FAFSA data may be made by:

​

• Using FAFSA on the Web (www.fafsa.ed.gov) if student has a FSA ID;
• Submitting documentation to the college’s financial aid office

What Do I Do Now?

Submission Page – page you will see as soon as you push the submit button on the FAFSA. If you do not see this page, your FAFSA has not been submitted.

​

Processing times may vary – especially for the first several months.

​

Next:

WAIT

What Do I Do Now?

• FAFSA is being processed to confirm your identity, and other personal identifiers, which can take some time:

​

• Email notification if the email was provided within 2 business days

​

• Schools you have chosen will have access to your FAFSA within 2 business if electronically submitted

What Do I Do Now?

2022-23

2022-23

10/22/2021

What Is �Student Aid Index (SAI)?

​

• Determines “need” for certain financial aid funding types
• Stays the same regardless of college
• Two components
• Parent contribution
• Student contribution
• Calculated using data from a federal application form and federal formula
• Range -1,500 to 99,999

What Is Cost of Attendance (COA)?

• Direct costs
• Indirect costs
• Direct and indirect costs combine into COA
• Varies widely from college to college

What is Financial Need?

​

Cost of Attendance

- Expected Family Contribution

__________________________

= Financial Need

Financial Aid Funding Types

Categories of Financial Aid

• Subsidized Loan
• Federal Pell Grant
• Federal Supplemental Educational Grant
• State of Ohio Grants
• Federal Work Study

​

​

• Unsubsidized Loan
• Parent Plus Loan

Need Based Aid

Non-Need Based Aid

Dependent on SAI

Not Dependent on SAI

Types of Financial Aid

= Gift Aid

• “Free money”
• Can be based on merit, skill, unique characteristic
• Can depend on financial need

= Self Help Aid

• Funds that must be paid back or earned

Self Help Aid: Loans

• Money students and parents borrow to help pay college expenses
• Repayment usually begins after education is finished
• Only borrow what is really needed
• Look at loans as an investment in the future

​

Self-Help Aid: Work-Study Employment

• Allows student to earn money to help pay educational costs. You can earn either;
• A paycheck; or
• Non-monetary compensation, such as room and board

​

• Student may opt whether or not to work or number of hours to work.

Sources of Financial Aid

Federal Government

• Largest source of financial aid
• Aid awarded primarily on the basis of financial need
• Must apply each year using the FAFSA
• Eligibility requirements must be met

Federal Student Aid Types

• Federal Pell Grant
• Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH Grant)
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)

• Federal Work Study (FWS)
• Subsidized and Unsubsidized Federal Direct Student Loans
• PLUS Loans

States Grants

• Residency requirements usually apply
• Award aid on the basis of both merit and need
• Use information from the FAFSA and/or state aid applications
• Deadlines vary by state

Colleges and University Funding

• Award aid on the basis of both achievement and need
• Use information from the FAFSA and/or institutional applications
• Deadlines and application requirements vary by institution. Check with each institution.

Organizations and Employers

• Research what is available in community
• To what organizations and churches do student and family belong?
• Application process usually occurs during spring of senior year
• Companies may have scholarships or educational benefits available to the children of employees
• Small scholarships add up!

​

​

Student Dependency Status

• FAFSA asks questions to determine dependency status for federal student aid (not IRS) purposes:
• If all “No” responses, the student is a dependent student
• If “Yes” to any question, the student is independent

​

Dependency Questions Include

• Are you married?
• Do you have any dependents you financially support?
• Are you in active duty military or a military veteran?
• Are you in legal guardianship (not custody), or in foster care after age 13?
• Are you a Ward of the State or an orphan before age 13?
• Are you homeless or at risk of being homeless?

​

​

Unusual Circumstances

If you answered No to all the dependency questions but have a unique family situation to have your dependency status reconsidered, contact your financial aid office. Circumstances may include (but not limited to);

​

• Parental abandonment
• Unsafe or abusive home environment
• Parental whereabouts are unknown
• Parental incarceration
• Refugee or asylee status
• Human trafficking

​

Unusual Circumstances

Circumstances that ARE NOT considered;

​

• Demonstrates self-sufficiency (live on your own, pay your own bills).
• Your parents are unwilling or unable to provide financial assistance for college
• Your parents refuse to provide information or sign the FAFSA
• Your parents no longer claim you as a tax-dependent

​

Frequent FAFSA Errors

• Social Security Numbers
• Divorced/remarried parental information
• Income earned by parents/stepparents
• Untaxed income
• U.S. income taxes paid
• Household size
• Number of household members in college
• Real estate and investment net worth

Special Circumstances

• Change in employment status
• Unusual medical expenses not covered by insurance
• Change in parent marital status
• Unusual dependent care expenses
• Student cannot obtain parental information

Special Circumstances

• Cannot be documented using FAFSA
• Contact institution and explain your situation
• Will have to provide documentation of change/circumstance, and written statement explaining the change.
• College will review and request additional information if necessary
• Decisions are final and cannot be appealed to U.S. Department of Education

Need Help?

• Contact the Financial Aid Office at the college or university you are looking to attend for the best assistance.

​

• Talk to your guidance counselor or college specialist in your school.

​

​

​

• Stephanie Hicks stephanie.hicks@franklin.edu
• Erin Glass erin.glass@franklin.edu

fafsahelpoh.org