Financial Aid 101

Discussion Topics

• What Is Financial Aid?
• College Costs and Planning Tools
• Financial Aid Eligibility
• Types of Financial Aid
• Applying for Financial Aid
• Next Steps
• Tips for Students and Families

Important note: Because of the nature of federal, state, and institutional guidelines affecting financial aid programs, the information contained in this presentation is subject to change.

What Is Financial Aid?

Financial aid is money used to pay for school.

Financial Aid Is NOT

• Credit cards
• Shopping
• Buying a car
• Partying
• Spring break/vacation

College Costs

DIRECT COSTS

Paid DIRECTLY to the university (billed each term) and includes:

• Tuition and mandatory fees
• Housing and food

INDIRECT COSTS

Paid to others and can include:

• Books, course materials, supplies & equipment
• Miscellaneous personal expenses
• Transportation

College Costs:

U-M Cost of Attendance

* This is the maximum amount of financial aid you can receive.

** Tuition and fees listed are based on approved rates for the 2026-27 academic year. Rates are approved each June by the U-M Board of Regents and estimated budgets are updated at that time. Tuition and fees may be higher or lower depending on a student's program of study; these estimated budgets use information from the College of Literature, Science and the Arts. Current tuition information is available through the Office of the Registrar.

‡ Based on the unlimited basic residential meal plan.

College Costs & Planning Tools

Cost planning tools:

• Net price calculator, aid comparisons, and more

College Scorecard:

• Compares colleges �from around the country

finaid.umich.edu/tools-resources/�planning-tools-calculators�#comparing-financial-aid-offers

collegescorecard.ed.gov

More Planning Tools

Net Price Calculator

• A free, interactive tool that provides estimated net cost
• Uses institutional data
• Calculates individual situations

Federal Student Aid Estimator

• Free federal tool
• Early estimate for federal student aid
• Offers options to pay for college

studentaid.gov/aid-estimator/

npc.collegeboard.org/app/umich

Financial Aid Eligibility

Student Aid Index

• Calculated using a federal formula with information from the FAFSA
• Eligibility indicator for financial aid
• The same at every institution

Calculating Financial Need

Types of Financial Aid

Free Money

Earned Money

Borrowed Money

Free Money (or, Gift Aid)

• Scholarships
• Earned in some way: grades, skills, service, etc.
• Awarded by a variety of organizations
• May, or may not, require FAFSA and/or other applications
• Grants
• Need-based
• Must complete FAFSA to apply
• May need to complete other applications such as�CSS Profile or other institutional forms

Explore Scholarships

• Use FREE scholarship search engines
• Examples: College Board’s Scholarship Search, Appily, Fastweb!, CollegeScholarships.com, Scholarship America
• Search based on your interests, career goals, and affinities
• Maximize local and state resources
• Examples: U-M Alumni Clubs, State of Michigan scholarship programs, local Promise and regional scholarships, Community Foundation awards

Watch For Scholarship Scams

Be skeptical about:

• Scholarships with application fee
• No contact telephone number
• Unsolicited scholarship opportunity
• Hype or pressure to participate
• Scholarship services that guarantee success
• Social Security number, checking/savings account info requested

studentaid.gov/resources/scams

Understand Your Scholarship

• One-time vs. renewable
• If renewable, are there requirements?
• GPA
• Specific major/degree program
• Full-time
• Tuition-specific scholarship
• What’s the value of the scholarship?
• Full ride vs. partial (Will you have remaining costs?)

Go Blue Guarantee

• Free U-M​ tuition​ for ​four years
• General eligibility:
• Must qualify for in-state tuition​ and be earning first bachelor's degree
• Family income of ​​$125,000​ or less; assets below $125,000
• Must apply and be eligible for ​financial ​aid
• More information: goblueguarantee.umich.edu/ann-arbor

Earned Money (or, Work-Study)

• Get paid for your work
• Receive paychecks
• Have flexible work schedules
• Consider on-or off-campus opportunities
• Students not awarded Work-Study with their financial aid notice may apply for other jobs on and off campus

Borrowed Money (or, Loans)

• Borrow only what is REALLY needed
• Repayment begins after graduation
• Federal Loans from the FAFSA

Federal Subsidized Direct Loans

• Student is borrower, interest does not accrue until repayment

Federal Unsubsidized Direct Loans

• Student is borrower, interest accrues day one

Applying for Financial Aid

Completing Your Aid Applications: Where

CSS Profile: cssprofile.org

• $25 application fee
• Need-based U-M grants and scholarships

FAFSA: fafsa.gov

• Free application
• State, federal, and private financial aid resources

Two Aid Applications

Completing Your Aid Applications: When

Completing Your Aid Applications: How

Important documents and steps

• Federal Student Aid Account (FSA ID & Password) All Contributors*
• 2025 Tax Return
• FAFSA will automatically transfer data from the IRS
• CSS Profile will require you to report the information yourself
• Bank/asset statements
• Child support (paid or received)
• Other untaxed income

Completing Your Aid Applications: Why

Why should you complete the FAFSA and CSS Profile?

• Gain access to multiple sources of aid
• List multiple schools on your applications
• Report information early in case you ever need to appeal due to special circumstances

Completing Your Aid Applications: What

What should I expect?

• Information sections are broken up so that student information is reported separately from parent information.
• “As of today” language

Completing Your Aid Applications: Who

• Each Student (Parent data can be transferred for multiple children)
• FAFSA Parent Contributor(s)
• Both parents (biological, step-parent, adoptive) if married
• Only one parent if single, divorced, or separated. The FAFSA form requires information from the parent(s) who provided the most financial support or, if that’s equal, the parent with the higher income and assets.
• If both parents live in the same house and are not married, both incomes go on FAFSA

Completing Your Aid Applications: CSS Profile Households A and B

U-M requires information from both biological parents

• If parents are divorced/separated, both households must report information on the aid application
• CSS Profile HHA (custodial) and HHB (noncustodial)
• An appeal process for an HHB waiver is available if one parent cannot be located or contacted, or it is unsafe to do so. See the OFA website for information.

Dependent vs. Independent

Dependent

• Requires parental information
• Most U-M students dependent
• Does not consider student tax filing status.
• Does not consider parent unwillingness to contribute.

Independent

• No parental information reported
• Who is independent? (partial list)
• Married
• 24 years old or older
• Orphan, foster youth, ward of the court/state, legal guardianship
• Responsible for dependents
• Homeless or at risk of homelessness
• Veteran or active duty

Avoid Errors

Frequent Aid Application Errors:

• Incorrect U-M school code (be sure to select the UM-Ann Arbor school code: 002325 on the FAFSA and 1839 on the CSS Profile)
• Social Security numbers
• Divorced/remarried parental information
• Student/parent income
• Real estate & investment net worth
• Work-Study preferences

Your Aid: Next Steps

1. Confirm all aid application information is correct and make necessary corrections
2. Complete institutional forms
• CSS Profile (if not already completed)
• Scholarship applications
• Additional documentation, if requested by the aid office (federal tax transcripts, W-2s)
3. Aid offers will be sent within a few weeks of admission if you submitted aid applications by their deadline
• Official vs. Estimate Offer: Estimated notices are based on initial calculated need and not binding

Your Aid: Special Circumstances

• Send explanation to each financial aid office
• Ex: change in employment, death, marital status, one-time significant benefit, large out-of-pocket medical expenses, etc.
• Be prepared to provide supporting documentation of circumstances.
• All special circumstances will be reviewed within three weeks of submission, and a FINAL decision will be made*

Note: If you have an unusual circumstance where parental data cannot be provided on the FAFSA, contact the Office of Financial Aid about your options.

*Appeal decisions are final and cannot be appealed to the U.S. Department of Education.

Tips for Students and Families

• Consider payment plans
• Know before you Go Blue!
• Satisfactory Academic Progress
• Apply for scholarships every year
• Meet all deadlines
• Check and respond to your email
• Check and respond promptly to requests
• Problems/issues
• Talk to the experts on campus

Thank You!

Office of Financial Aid

515 E. Jefferson St.�Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1316

finaid.umich.edu

Outreach Unit

ofa-outreach@umich.edu