This session’s focus is not to provide details about the financial aid process... instead it will provide tools and tips on HOW to help families understand and navigate the financial aid process. In this session, receive materials and advice on explaining college financing options. You will also learn tips on teaching families how an education can be affordable and through what methods (grants, scholarships, loans, etc.) families pay for college. We will present questions and guidelines for families to ask themselves so they have a financial assistance plan for themselves and what to also ask colleges and universities so they gather the necessary information from institutions.We need to educate our students and their families about financial assistance—these tools of the financial assistance trade will help you do so.

1. Meghan Cooley
Director of Recruitment Communication | Augustana College
Ryan Gebler
Assistant Director of Financial Aid | Lawrence University
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2. Why do this session?

 Many families have unrealistic
expectations
 Families need to be educated early
 Ignorance takes away access
 We have knowledge to share
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3. Start with the Basics
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4. Paying for College

 Introduce reality
 Introduce it early
 Define payment options
www1.salliemae.com/about/news_info/research/how_america_pays_2010/
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5. Vocabulary/Definitions

 Studentaid.gov/glossary
 English & Spanish
 Discuss the definitions
 Don’t just provide a list
 Keep people engaged/learning
 Meeting bingo
 Prizes
 Remember: ignorance = lack of access
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6. Timeline

 Present a timeline as early as possible
 Provide clear deadlines or milestones
 Help families own the dates
 Mark up family calendars
 What motivates your families?
 Include savings, scholarship and financial
aid deadlines
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7. What FAMILIES Need to Know
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8. What Families Need to Know

1. Types of aid & how to apply
2. Frame expectations
3. Plan of action
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9. 1. Types of Aid

 Gift Aid
 Merit-based
 Talent-based
 Need-based
 Self-Help
 Loans
 Student Employment
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10. Merit & Talent Aid

 Types
 Academic
 Talent
 Service/Involvement
 Athletic
 How to apply
 Application for admission
 Separate application
 Audition
 Interview
 Essay
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11. Need-based Aid

 “Need” is defined by each school’s analysis of:
 FAFSA
 Institutional Application
 Combination of both
 “Need” is relative to Cost of Attendance
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12. Self-Help

 Loans
 Student Employment
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13. Loan Options

 Federal Loan Options
 Stafford
 Limit based on year in school ($5,500, $6,500, $7,500 )
 Perkins
 Not every college participates
 Limited funding
 PLUS
 Parent Loan
 Easy application (must not have adverse credit history)
 Private Student Loans
 Variable & fixed interest rates
 85% of dependent undergraduates need a co-signer
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14. Student Employment

 Different names… pretty much the same thing
 Federal Work-Study
 Student Employment
 Campus Employment
 Paid for hours worked ($ goes directly to the student)
 Can be used for:
 Tuition
 Books
 Pizza, etc.
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15. 2. Frame Expectations

 Net Price Calculator
 Federally mandated
 Estimated Cost of Attendance for that individual at that
specific institution
 Based on income information and, sometimes, academic
information
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16. 2. Frame Expectations

 Dispel hope for “magical” full-tuition scholarship
 Hope is not a plan
 Are scholarships stackable?
 Do scholarships help meet need?
 Dismiss myths
 Private schools provide grants to bring the cost down to that of a
public school. MYTH!
 Disregard averages
 “Half the population is below average.” –Ryan’s statistics professor
 Ask questions
 How is scholarship determined for first year?
 How is it renewed for future years? (GPA, major, other
commitments?)
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17. 3. Plan of Action

 Understand your EFC
 Net Price Calculator (available on school’s website)
 FAFSA 4Caster
 FAFSA
 What is the family’s budget?
 What is most important for the student?
 Get organized & apply!
 Which board game are you playing?
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18. Plan of Action:
Teaching Families About the
Financial Aid Process
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19. What is an EFC?

 WHAT IT’S NOT…
 A dollar amount expected from income and/or assets
 An estimate of extra cash available
 WHAT IT IS…
 A financial index used to determine eligibility for federal
student aid (i.e. Pell Grant, Subsidized Stafford Loan)
 A measure of a family’s capacity over time to absorb
educational costs
 An important index for families to know
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20. How to Determine Your EFC

 FAFSA 4caster
https://fafsa.ed.gov/FAFSA/app/f4cForm
 Other “estimators”
 The actual application… the FAFSA!
 Complete the FAFSA as a junior, sophomore, or freshman
 Gives you an idea of what to expect when you complete the
FAFSA after January 1 of your senior year.
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21. What’s Your Budget?

 Annual & Monthly
 Sources
 Parent
 Savings
 Income
 Student
 Savings
 Summer Earnings
 Employment during the academic year
 Other
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22. What’s Important to the Student?

 Debt-Free vs. School-of-Choice
 The Bottom Line vs. “Fit”
 Earning Potential vs. Loan Debt
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23. Get Organized

 What are the deadlines?
 Deadline by type of application
 Federal
 Institutional
 State?
 Scholarships
 Firm or soft deadline?
 What are the documents?
 How can you track documents?
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24. Applications:
Federal v. Institutional

 Federal
 FAFSA = eligibility for federal student aid
 Most institutions use this in determining need-based aid
 Institutional
 Different questions, different rules, different game
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25. Timeline

What When
Preliminary Planning Freshman, Sophomore, Junior
Deadlines & Documents Summer before Senior Year
Application for Admission Fall of Senior Year
Institutional Application(s) Varies: November-March
FAFSA January/February of Senior Year
“Outside Scholarships” Varies: November-April
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26. Know what questions to ask
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27. What’s your pie look like?

 Where is the money coming from?
 Do parents know?
 Does the student know?
 Coach them through what questions to
ask themselves
 Prepare them to discuss their financial
plan with a college
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28. Talking to Colleges

 Families need to:
 be comfortable talking finances
 ask direct questions
 be proactive
 discuss scholarships, financial aid,
etc. EARLY in their college search
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29. References

 Best Definitions: studentaid.gov/glossary
 How Families Pay Graph:
www1.salliemae.com/about/news_info/research/how_america_pays_2010/
 Public Service Pieces:
 Online: collegequestions.org
 Hardcopy: order from augustana.edu/publicservice
 Preparing for College: The Parent Path
 Preparing for College: the College Path Checklist
 Preparing for College: 25 Questions to Ask a College
 How Families Pay for College
 The Liberal Arts and Your Education
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30. Meghan Cooley
meghancooley@augustana.edu
Ryan Gebler
geblerr@lawrence.edu
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