Financial Aid: �Planning and Awareness

​

Normal West

High School

​

​

Allecia Correll

Assistant Director of Financial Aid

Illinois Wesleyan University

�

OVERVIEW

• Filing the FAFSA
• Determining Financial Need
• Types of Aid
• Payment Options
• Special Circumstances
• Helpful Tips
• Q&A

​

FILING THE FAFSA

1. Create an FSA ID at www.studentaid.gov
• Student
• Contributor (Parent)
• One Parent if married filed jointly
• Both parents if married filed separately
• Both parent/step parent if married filed separately
• Contributor and Student Must use Separate Email Addresses
• Students, please use personal email address when registering
2. Gather tax 2024 tax information for parent and student
3. Complete the 2026-27 FAFSA after Oct 1^st

​

DIRECT DATA EXCHANGE (DDX)

• Automatically Imports Tax Information onto FAFSA

​

• Student and Contributors Must Consent to Qualify for Aid
• Consent is Required Even If No Tax Return Is Filed
• No Consent means you do NOT have a valid FAFSA

​

• Contributors required for all dependent students regardless of intent to help financially

​

DETERMINING STUDENT AID INDEX (SAI)�FORMERLY KNOWN AS EXPECTED FAMILY CONTRIBUTION (EFC)�

• Parent Income (AGI plus untaxed income)
• Household Size From Tax Return
• Parents Assets (Investments, Business, Farm, etc…)
• Age of Parents
• Student’s Income
• Student’s Assets

​

​

NEW ELIGIBILITY INDEX

Parent Contribution

+ Student Contribution

Student Aid Index (SAI)

​

PROBLEMATIC FAFSA QUESTIONS

• Mistyped Social Security Numbers

​

• Mistyped Birthdates

​

• Dependency Questions

​

• Signatures

​

• Untaxed Income

​

​

DETERMINING FINANCIAL NEED

Cost of Attendance

- Student Aid Index (SAI)

Financial Need

​

COST OF ATTENDANCE

• Direct Costs
• Tuition
• Fees everyone incurs
• Housing
• Meals
• Indirect Costs
• Books
• Transportation
• Personal Expenses

DETERMINING FINANCIAL NEED

Cost of Attendance

- Student Aid Index (SAI)

Financial Need

​

TYPES OF FINANCIAL AID

• Gift Assistance
• Scholarships
• Federal Grants – Pell and SEOG
• State Grants (MAP Grant)
• Loan Assistance
• Federal Direct Loans
• Other Loans
• Employment
• Campus Work Study (On/Off Campus)

​

MERIT VS NEED-BASED AID

• Scholarships are typically based on “Merit”
• Academic, fine arts, athletic, leadership qualities
• Awarded by colleges and universities, organizations, businesses, clubs
• Renewable and Non-renewable

​

• Grants typically based on “Need”
• State and Federal programs
• Colleges/Universities
• Evaluated each year

​

FEDERAL DIRECT LOANS

• Often the lowest fixed interest rates on student loans

​

• The FAFSA must be completed to qualify

​

• Current interest rate is 6.39% with a 1.057% origination fee

​

• Repayment begins 6 months after the student graduates or falls below half-time enrollment

​

• No Repayment While Student is in School

​

SUBSIDIZED VS UNSUBSIDIZED

• Financial Need
• Subsidized = need based
• Unsubsidized = not based on need

​

• Interest Accrual
• Subsidized- Government pays interest while student is attending at least half-time status
• Unsubsidized - Interest Always Accrues

​

• Origination Fee = 1.057% (of the principle)

​

FEDERAL DIRECT LOAN LIMITS

• Freshman - $5500 (Sub. max.$3500)

​

• Sophomore - $6500 (Sub. max. $4500)

​

• Junior - $7500 (Sub. max. $5500)

​

• Senior - $7500 (Sub. max. $5500)

​

• $31,000 max aggregate limit with $23,000 being the max sub limit

​

ADDITIONAL LOAN OPTIONS

Parent PLUS Loan

• Fixed Interest Rate – Currently 8.94%
• 4.228% Origination Fee (Government Fee)
• Ex: $1,000 Loan- School Receives $958
• Repay While Student is in School (10-25 year repayment plan)
• Payment deferral is an option
• Maximum amount of $20,000 a year; $65,000 aggregate

Private/Alternative Loans

• Based on Student/Co-signer Credit Worthiness
• Interest Rates are Variable or Fixed
• Most do not Require Payment While Student is in School

​

PAYMENT PLANS

• Pay by the semester

​

• Monthly installment plans

​

• May or May not Have a Fee to Set Up

​

COLLEGE SAVINGS PLANS

• Payment depends on the savings plan

​

• College Illinois

​

• 529 Prepaid Plans

​

• Out of State 529 Plans

​

SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES: APPEALS

• Professional Judgment can be used by the school to modify FAFSA information for certain circumstances

​

• Reduction of Income (retirement, furloughs, etc.)

​

• Loss of Employment

​

• Medical Expenses not covered by insurance or FSA’s

​

• Non-Reoccurring or One-Time Income Payouts

​

• Elder or Disability Care Expenses not covered by insurance or FSA’s

​

• Other reasons assessed on a case-by-case basis

​

COMPARING COLLEGES AND COSTS

• A B C
• Cost of College 20,000 45,000 70,000
• SAI 3,000 3,000 3,000
• Remaining Cost 17,000 42,000 67,000

​

• Financial Aid Breakdown:
• Scholarship 0 10,000 25,000
• Grant 9,500 24,500 34,500
• Loan 5,500 5,500 5,500
• Job 2,000 2,000 2,000
• Total Aid 17,000 42,000 67,000

​

HELPFUL TIPS

• Read instructions carefully

​

• Know state and institutional deadlines for applications
• IWU has a preferred date of Nov. 1^st

​

• Understand scholarship renewal qualifications

​

• Be aware of scholarship scams

HELPFUL TIPS CONTINUED

​

• You can accept or decline any portion of a FA proposal
• Some proposals include a Parent PLUS Loan

​

• Make copies of all the forms you send

​

• Juniors - use cost calculators on websites. Don’t file FAFSA!

​

• Consider possibility of graduation in 4 vs 5 years

​

​

SUGGESTED WEBSITES

www.collegeboard.com

​

www.fastweb.com

​

www.studentaid.gov

​

www.iwu.edu

​

• www.finaid.org

​

​

​

Allecia Correll

acorrell@iwu.edu

309-556-1097

​

​

Question Time!