Understanding �Financial Aid

​

​

Presented by Anne Rusk

A Financial Aid Professional

Agenda

• This presentation is for everyone: different family situations, different colleges, different finances
• What you will learn today:
• Types of financial aid and how to apply
• Information on the application
• How schools use your information to award aid
• What you will not learn today:
• Your financial aid eligibility or award package
• How to get a free education

What is Financial Aid?

• Scholarships: from your university or outside entity
• Grants: federal, state, or institutional
• Work Study: federal, state, or institutional
• Student Loans: federal (subsidized/unsubsidized) or private
• Parent Loans: federal (parent PLUS) or private
• Financial aid tracks almost everything that doesn’t come from a personal bank account or educational savings account.

Who can receive Financial Aid?

• Must have a valid Social Security Number matching name and date of birth
• May not be in default on federal loans or overpayment on federal grants or loans
• Must be making “Satisfactory Academic Progress” at the institution
• Must be enrolled in an eligible program of study pursuing a degree, certificate, or recognized credential
• Must be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen (permanent resident).
• State aid is generally awarded to the same population of students as federal aid who also are residents of the state where they are attending college.
• Institutional aid and independent scholarships may have their own requirements. You will want to check with your institution or your scholarship provider.

How do I get Financial Aid?

• Apply annually using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
• It is FREE at StudentAid.gov
• It doesn’t cost anything to apply. It is FREE.
• The FAFSA typically becomes available October 1^st for Financial Aid beginning July 1^st. The 2027-2028 FAFSA is open and available now for FALL 2027.
• Submit your FAFSA as early as possible to ensure your school(s) receive it by their priority deadline. Check with each school to find out their deadline. You can make changes later for FREE.
• The FAFSA uses “prior-prior year” income tax information. 2025 taxes for fall 2027.
• Your FAFSA can go to as many as 20 schools at one time for FREE.
• Did I mention it is FREE?

Filling out the FAFSA

• Students and parents fill out the FAFSA together.
• Most of the FAFSA is asking questions of the student. If only the parent fills it out, many times they answer the questions for themselves and not their student. DON’T be that parent!
• When it comes time for parent information, the questions are asked of the supportive parent. If the student doesn’t receive more than 50% financial support from one parent, it is the parent with more income/assets.
• All questions reference that parent including their spouse and their household. Parents are called “contributors” even if they are not paying for college.
• Both the student and the parent will sign the FAFSA using their unique FSA ID.�

A Note on Parent Information

• A parent is a biological or adoptive parent for the FAFSA. There is a good chart online as you do the FAFSA to help you determine who to use. Legal guardianships or power of attorney do not make someone a parent on the FAFSA.
• If married parents filed jointly in the FAFSA tax year (2025 for 2027-2028 FAFSA), one parent does the FAFSA and links to the IRS.
• If the parent is married/remarried as of the date doing the FAFSA but filed separately from their spouse in the FAFSA tax year, BOTH parent and spouse does the FAFSA and links to the IRS.
• If the parent filed jointly in the FAFSA tax year but is no longer married to that person (could be separated, divorced, widowed, or remarried as of today), the parent will need to manually enter only their own amounts from the taxes, excluding that spouse’s income.

Common FAFSA Mistakes

• Not submitting the FAFSA
• Both parent and student not signing the FAFSA
• Using a nickname instead of a legal name
• Entering part of your last name, not your whole last name
• Listing marital status of biological parents, not of the parent completing the app
• Including retirement accounts or primary home as investments

​

I’ve done the FAFSA, now what?

• The FAFSA calculates a Student Aid Index (SAI)
• The SAI is an index number used by schools to determine the types of aid they can offer (need or no-need aid)
• The SAI does NOT take into account how many household members are in college, but the number of children in the family is taken into consideration with the income
• Additional Documentation Required
• Selected for Verification? Each school could need additional documentation to complete your file
• Independent student? Your school will let you know if you must provide documentation to receive aid
• Schools must resolve conflicting information before disbursing aid, not before awarding aid. Your aid award can change once the information is collected.

​

CSS Profile

• May be required by an institution-check with your schools to determine if this is necessary.
• Used by member institutions and other organizations of the College Board to get a closer look into the finances of a student and family.

http://student.collegeboard.org/css-financial-aid-profile

​

CASFA: �Colorado Application for State Financial Aid

• Who can apply: �Students who meet the Advancing Students for a Stronger Economy Tomorrow (ASSET) designation and who have resided in Colorado for at least twelve (12) months and graduated from a Colorado high school may complete a CASFA. The CASFA determines your eligibility for state and institutional aid.
• How to apply: �Create an account through the CASFA Application Page. If you do not have a SSN or ITIN, you can leave that information blank. Once you have completed your application it will remain on file with the state. Schools you are admitted to will need to manually download your application. If you have not heard from financial aid and a month has passed since you completed your application and you were admitted, reach out to the school to understand their process.

https://cdhe.colorado.gov/colorado-application-for-state-financial-aid

Components of your Offer : Cost of Attendance

• NOT your bill, but a good place to start to determine your cost
• Tuition and Fees: For a full-time student as defined by your institution
• Housing and Meals: Even if living off campus
• Books and Supplies: An estimate for the year
• Transportation: Allowance for getting around campus, not a car payment
• Personal Expenses: Pizza and shampoo money
• Loan Fees: Average for regular borrowing
• These components are generally averages used determine financial aid NEED. Some of these can be adjusted and others must be changed as circumstances change.

Calculating your “Need”

• Need = Cost of Attendance – SAI
• Your need can change as your cost of attendance changes:

​

Components of your Offer: Need-based Aid

• All Grants are need-based (Pell Grant, SEOG, State Grants, Institutional Grants)
• Work Study (paycheck for on-campus job)
• Money the student earns for hours worked in an on-campus job that does not have to be repaid.
• Subsidized Loan
• Undergraduate federal student loan (aka Direct Loan); interest accrues at same rate as unsubsidized loan, but the government subsidized or pays the interest while the student is in school at least half-time. Loan is limited by the student’s grade level. Repayment begins 6 months after student is enrolled less than half time.
• Scholarships count toward need

Components of your Offer: No-need aid

• Scholarships: awarded based on merit, not necessarily need-based, but can count against need
• Unsubsidized Loan
• Undergraduate federal student loan (aka Direct Loan); interest accrues at same rate as subsidized loan, but the interest begins accruing on the disbursed amount as soon as disbursement is made. Loan amount is limited by grade level and dependency status. Repayment begins 6 months after student is enrolled less than half time.
• Parent PLUS Loan
• Credit-based federal loan made to a parent of a dependent undergraduate student. Interest rate is fixed by the government each year. The loan amount is limited by the student’s cost of attendance minus other aid up to 20k/year, 65k lifetime per student. Repayment begins when loan is fully disbursed and can be deferred until the student is enrolled less than half time.
• For loan interest rates and loan limits, go to studentaid.gov

​

Components of your Offer: What’s missing?

• College Opportunity Fund (COF): for Colorado residents attending Colorado schools
• Apply once at https://cofweb.cslp.org/cofapp/
• Not actually Financial Aid; most likely the tuition and fees component of the cost of attendance already take this into account.
• Funds paid toward bill on a cost-per-credit basis
• Must authorize each institution you attend to access the funds
• Outside scholarships: these can reduce need-based aid; contact your school with scholarship information ASAP.
• Student or Parent Loans: not all schools award these immediately although they may be available to you. Ask your school if you are needing loans.

Filling the Gap

• Scholarships! Apply to anything you can find and keep looking on a weekly basis. Don’t pay for applications or give anyone your bank account/credit card.
• Best place to look is online. Seriously. There is no single site to look.
• School Scholarship Portals: know your deadlines and do not delay
• Private Education Loans: not just private loans. Education loans are credit-based loans where the student can be the primary borrower with a qualified co-signer. Many have deferment options for repayment like federal loans.
• College Savings Plans (529): make your dollars last. If you don’t have enough to cover school for 4 years, look at student loans to make your dollars stretch farther.

Scholarship Tips

CREATE A CALENDAR

• When you find a scholarship you want to apply for but the deadline is too far out, put it on your calendar for when the application will be open. Include the website link so you can do the application.
• Keep important dates for updated transcripts, ACT/SAT scores, FAFSA, scholarship applications, school admission deadlines.

​

DO NOT DISQUALIFY YOURSELF

• If you meet most of the criteria, but not all, apply anyway. You never know!
• If you are invited to apply, DO. Please.
• Don’t skip the small $$. Everyone applies for big scholarships.
• If the application is long or the essay is hard, DO IT. Everyone completes the easy applications.

​

Scholarship Essay Tips

READ

• Read the question.
• Seriously. Please read the actual questions. Then answer them!
• Folks can tell when you are recycling essays. Make sure you address the nuances and specifics of each application.
• Read your response.
• Give it one more once-over before you submit it. Give it to parents to read just for grammar and continuity. Double check that you didn’t do something silly before you send it off.

​

BE YOURSELF

• Go beyond the resume regurgitation. Show who you are!
• Chances are whoever is reading your application can also see your “stats.” The essay is your chance to show who you are beyond awards, volunteer gigs, and test scores.
• AI can be a great source of ideas and a place to go if you’re not sure how to phrase something. However, be wary of relying on it too heavily.
• If you rely on AI, we can tell. The impression you’re giving is pretty much the modern equivalent of “phoning it in.”

​

Questions?�Reach out to a Financial Aid Professional