3. We’ll review Topics covered in this training
➔ Your role
➔ Terminology
➔ Financial aid forms
➔ Colleges and programs UPchieve students need to know about
➔ Finding the true cost of college
➔ Scholarships
➔ Understanding financial aid letters
5. Your Role Understanding how to afford college
➔ Affording college: The average student loan debt in the US is $33,000 according to
the federal reserve. Your role is to guide students to help them apply to best-fit
colleges where they would graduate debt free. When this isn’t possible your role is
to guide them to apply or attend best-fit colleges that they will graduate from with
less than average student loan debt.
➔ Finding the True Cost: The most important way you can help your student is by
empowering them to determine approximately how much their school will cost
them by helping them use the Net Price Calculator or
https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
➔ Applying for federal and state aid: There are various forms and deadlines
students need to follow in order to access thousands of dollars in financial aid,
you’re here to help point them in the right direction (not complete those forms).
➔ Additional Aid: There are many scholarships and college programs that are geared
towards helping students who are eligible for UPchieve afford college, but many
students don’t know about these programs in time to apply. Your role as a coach is
to help students research these programs and determine the right fit for
themselves.
6. Don’t worry–you don’t have to know everything
➔ To reach out to other coaches and UPchieve staff with questions: slack out
questions in #collegecounseling channel in UPchieve’s Coach community slack
➔ Copy & paste our Learning about National, State and Private Scholarships
worksheet in UPchieve’s document editor to review with students in your session
➔ Keep our Quick Reference Guide open while you work in session with students
➔ Be sure to help students learn how to utilize every channel of help available to
them, if you’re stumped or don’t feel comfortable giving financial advice make
sure the know they can reach out to:
◆ Their school counselor
◆ The college/university financial aid office
◆ FAFSA Chat: https://studentaid.gov/help-center/contact/chat
When in doubt
8. ➔ Cost of Attendance or Sticker Price (CoA)
◆ The advertised price of a college, including tuition, fees, room and board,
books, supplies,and expected personal expenses and transportation
➔ Net Price Calculator (NPC)
◆ Federally-mandated tool on each US college’s website to allow students to
calculate an estimated net price for a particular student at a particular
school
➔ Financial Aid Package
◆ Colleges use different formulas to dispense financial aid, they “package”
various forms of aid and provide students a letter called a “financial aid
package” after a student has been accepted as long as the student has
completed all the forms
➔ In-state tuition
◆ Funding for public schools comes state taxes. As a result, state residents
are able to attend the public institutions at a lower cost than people who
are not residents of the state. This is referred to as in-state tuition
Financial aid
terminology
9. ➔ FAFSA
◆ Free Application for Federal Student Aid is a federal government form used
to determine what a family can reasonably be expected to contribution to
their child’s education based on their income level
➔ Student Aid Index (SAI)
◆ Amount calculated from the FAFSA used by colleges to help determine
the amount a family can pay towards their child’s college expenses
(formally EFC)
➔ Student Aid Report (SAR)
◆ A summary the federal government sends to a family that shows the
information they provided on the FAFSA. Students and their family should
double check for accuracy and correct any mistakes immediately
➔ Pell Grant
◆ Federal Pell Grants usually are awarded only to undergraduate students
who display exceptional financial need and have not earned a bachelor's,
graduate, or professional degree
Financial aid
terminology
10. ➔ IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT)
◆ Allows students and parents who filed a U.S. tax return to access the IRS
tax return information needed to complete FAFSA by transferring the data
directly into their forms
➔ FSA ID
◆ An account username and password combination that allows students
and parents to log in to StudentAid.gov and to identify themselves
electronically to access FAFSA
➔ CSS Profile
◆ Online application used by colleges and scholarship programs to award
non-federal institutional aid
Financial aid
terminology
11. Money Students Don’t Pay Back
➔ Grants
◆ Money based on family income that does not need to be paid back.
◆ The Pell Grant is an example of a federal grant that is available to students
with significant financial need
➔ Scholarships
◆ Money that is usually based on achievements that does not need to be
paid back
◆ Through programs like the Gates Millennium Scholarship, Questbridge,
Posse, Coca Cola, students can get external scholarships that will help
cover the cost of tuition regardless of where they matriculate
➔ Sources
◆ This money can come from federal or state governments,
colleges/universities, or external programs; Usually requires an application
➔ Work-study (earn via labor)
◆ Federal program where the student typically works a campus job in return
for some portion of financial aid. Note this money is not given upfront, but
earned via the campus job.
Types of
Financial aid
12. Money Students Do Need to Pay Back
➔ Loans
◆ Money from either the government or private companies that has to be
repaid
➔ Remind your student that they should always ask if a college offers financial aid
packages with no loans
Types of
Financial aid
13. The most important step in the financial aid process is
applying to the right college
➔ 80% of financial aid will come directly from the student’s college (this
includes state aid programs that are administered by public colleges/universities)
➔ The next largest bucket will come from the federal government
➔ Finally a small portion will come from outside scholarships like those found on
fastweb.com
➔ The most important step in the financial aid process is actually building a college
list that includes colleges within the student’s budget (using Net Price Calculator)
Breakdown of
Sources of aid
14. When considering an applicant, their ability to pay matters
➔ Only a few schools in the nation commit to a need-blind admissions processes.
whereby, regardless of a family’s income level, you will be accepted into the
school if you meet institutional goals for that year
● Examples: Amherst College, Curtis Institute of Music, Dartmouth
College, Harvard College, Georgetown University
➔ A need-aware process is one where applicants have a slight advantage if they
have less need. Institutions with fewer resources often use need-aware processes
How money
factors into
college
admissions
decisions
16. ➔ FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)
◆ Federal government form used to determine a family’s expected family
contribution. It is necessary to be eligible for need-based financial aid.
Some colleges require additional forms. It must be filed every year the
student is in college, and opens October 1st*. It uses tax forms from two
years prior. It is free to submit.
● Taxes needed for October 2022 FAFSA application = 2020 taxes
➔ CSS (College Scholarship Service) October 1st
◆ Supplemental financial aid form administered by the College Board that
some (mainly private) colleges require in addition to FAFSA. It currently
costs $16 per college to submit, but a student can obtain fee waivers
➔ College-Specific additional forms
◆ Some of the more selective colleges require an additional set of forms
that they themselves have created. While these are time consuming to fill
out, they don’t have an additional fee associated with them
*For the 2024-2025 award year FAFSA will open December 2023.
Financial aid
forms
17. ➔ FAFSA must be filled out in order to be eligible for need-based financial aid
➔ A streamlined FAFSA will be launched in the 2024-2025 aware year
➔ FAFSA opens October 1st (December for 2023-24 school year) and the student
should submit the forms by January 1st. It is based on their parent/guardian’s
taxes from two years prior
➔ Students should have their parent/guardian present when filling out FAFSA as
there are several questions regarding the household
➔ Students do not have to know what school that will be attending when filling out
the FAFSA. They can list all their colleges
➔ Students can use FAFSA4caster to get an estimate of what their estimated family
contribution is likely to be
➔ Students should be aware that their parents/guardians need to link their IRS
account directly to their application to be eligible for federal aid
FAFSA: Free
Application for
Federal
Student Aid
18. ➔ A student may need to complete two FAFSAs if they are accepted to a college for
the summer
➔ After completing the FAFSA, a student should get a confirmation email and an
EFC as well as an estimated amount of aid they should receive
➔ UPchieve students should get up to $6500 a year in grant money and up to $5500
in loans (if they would like to take them out)
◆ Loans will be subsidized and unsubsidized
➔ If a student does not get an email confirmation, they should log in to see if they
properly submitted their form
➔ If a student is selected for verification they will need to complete additional steps
FAFSA: Free
Application for
Federal
Student Aid
19. ➔ The CSS Profile is an online application used primarily by private colleges and
scholarship programs to award non-need based, institutional aid
➔ The CSS Profile is usually completed in the student’s senior year of high school.
The CSS Profile opens around October 1, but different schools will have different
deadlines for submission
➔ The CSS profile has steps after a student submits it (including uploading tax
documents) so encourage students to complete it at least a week before the
deadline
CSS Profile
20. ➔ UPchieve coaches are not trained at this point in time to provide step by step
instructions for FAFSA or CSS profile, please provide these resources:
◆ https://www.uaspire.org/For-Students
◆ https://studentaid.gov/apply-for-aid/fafsa/filling-out
◆ https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/pay-for-college/financial-aid-basics/css
-profile/how-to-complete-the-css-profile
➔ Note that the first word in the FAFSA acronym is FREE. Students will never have to
pay to submit the FAFSA. Be sure they are using the Federal Student Aid website
to apply.
Your role in
helping
students
complete
FAFSA or CSS
21. Documentation Status
➔ Students without documentation or who are not US permanent residents or
citizens will not be able to complete FAFSA
➔ They may not be eligible for additional scholarships, especially those who require
FAFSA be submitted before applying
➔ They will may not be eligible for most public in-state tuition (though if they
graduated from a US high school there are some states who will grant them
in-state tuition)
➔ There are special scholarships for these students! Dream.us
Special
circumstances
22. Students who don’t reside with their parents
➔ Students in foster care or whose parents aren't their legal guardians will most
likely complete FAFSA and other forms as independent-but they should speak to
their counselor to make sure they complete the forms correctly
➔ There are special programs, scholarships and state funding for these students
Special
circumstances
24. ➔ A number of colleges, both private and public, now offer automatic free tuition to
students from families with an income below a certain level. A few examples
include:
◆ Stanford University offers free tuition if the annual family income is below
$150,000
◆ UC Berkeley offers free tuition if the annual family income is below
$80,000 for California residents
◆ USC offers free tuition if the annual family income is below $80,000
◆ Berea College offers free tuition for all students for all four years
➔ Be aware that this doesn’t include room and board, books, transportation and
other expenses
Colleges
offering free
tuition for
low-income
students
25. ➔ Most schools offer “full ride” scholarships, which means scholarships that cover
tuition, room & board
➔ These scholarships are highly competitive and often require additional application
steps and early deadlines
➔ Students can Google “full ride scholarships + school name” to see if the schools
they are interested in have these scholarships
➔ Examples:
◆ Ohio State Morrill Scholarship Program
◆ UF Machen Florida Opportunity Scholarship
◆ Georgia Tech Stamps Scholarship
Colleges
offering “full
ride”
scholarships
26. ➔ About 100 schools in the nation make the commitment to “meet 100% of their
students' financial need”
➔ This means that the school will use a student’s family’s financial information to
determine how much that student/their family can afford to pay for college and
then the school will cover the rest!
➔ This doesn’t mean they’ll give a student a scholarship for the entire cost of
college; instead the school covers the costs through a combination of grants,
loans, work study, and scholarships
➔ Here’s a complete list of 100% need met colleges
100% Need Met
Schools
27. ➔ Less than 40 schools in the country have made the pledge to completely cover a
student’s cost to attend college without loans
➔ These schools will all cost little or no money for UPchieve students: 100% need
met colleges
◆ Section: The Best of the Best: 100% Need Met Without Loans, Regardless
of Income
No Loan 100%
need met
schools
28. ➔ Students should always include at least one public school on their college list as
these schools are often affordable
➔ Note the school may still be more expensive than a private school option if the
student can be accepted, that’s why we always advocate using the Net Price
Calculator to determine actual cost when building a college list
➔ Some schools provide in-state tuition or other discounts to students in nearby
states
◆ Residents of Washington, DC can receive up to $10,000 each year at
eligible public four-year colleges in America
Public schools
29. ➔ There are a number of programs specifically designed for low-income students.
UPchieve students should be aware of these options:
◆ QuestBridge is a nonprofit that connects outstanding high school seniors
with colleges and universities, awarding them full-ride for all four years
◆ Posse is a nonprofit that puts cohorts of students for designated urban
areas in America into predetermined colleges with full-ride scholarships
for all four years
◆ State specific programs such as NYS TAP and Georgia HOPE provide a lot
of financial support
● Be sure to ask your student what state they live in and google
state name + “state funding for college for low income students”
Programs
specific for
low-income
students
31. ➔ For a more general estimate on how much a school will cost by family income
students can use https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
➔ Search the name of the institution in the search bar
College
Scorecard
32. ➔ Click into the college and scroll down to cost for a more detailed estimate by
family income level-you’ll notice for most of our students the cost is less than the
average cost to attend
College
Scorecard
33. ➔ For a more accurate estimate of the cost to attend a school use that school’s Net
Price Calculator: https://npc.collegeboard.org/app/nyu
➔ However, this requires the student to have extensive knowledge of their family’s
finances
◆ If their parents are separated/divorced they will need both family’s
information
Net Price
Calculator
34. ➔ For a more accurate estimate of the cost to attend a school use that school’s Net
Price Calculator: https://npc.collegeboard.org/app/nyu
➔ However, this requires the student to have extensive knowledge of their family’s
finances
◆ If their parents are separated/divorced they will need both family’s
information
Net Price
Calculator
35. ➔ This estimate will include what type of financial aid the student can expect to
receive (grants/scholarships, loans, work, etc)
Net Price
Calculator
37. Your role Many students will request help finding scholarships
➔ Copy & paste our Learning about National, State and Private Scholarships
worksheet in UPchieve’s document editor to review with students in your session
➔ Help students research programs/scholarships at their specific schools by
Googling school name + “scholarships for low income students”
➔ Ask students what state they reside in and help them research specific state
funding and/or programs for low income students (Like NYS TAP and Georgia
HOPE
➔ Explain to students that a key step in affording college is building a balanced list
that includes schools that are financially affordable and share tools like College
Scorecard or Net Price Calculator
➔ Providing students with scholarship search sites is a helpful last step
39. ➔ Some schools have specific scholarships or programs for UPchieve students: FSU
Care or Stamps Scholars these often have early deadlines and additional
applications
➔ Other schools have specific scholarship websites for majors, specific identity
markers, etc https://ucf.academicworks.com/
➔ Help students research programs/scholarships at their specific schools by
searching school name + “scholarships for low income students”
School Specific
Scholarship
40. ➔ National Merit Scholarship
➔ Questbridge
➔ The Gates Scholarship
➔ Coca Cola Scholars
➔ Stamps Scholars
➔ Ron Brown
➔ Horatio Alger
➔ Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholar
➔ Burger King Scholar
➔ Ronald McDonald HACER Scholarship
➔ Nat Moore Scholarships
➔ Hispanic Scholarship Fund
National
Scholarships to
Share with
students
41. ➔ Many scholarships found on scholarship search websites (niche.com, fastweb, etc)
are actually a way to get student emails. Be weary of scholarships that require no
essay as they often fall in this category.
➔ There are still millions of dollars of real scholarships out there but students
should spend time in this order:
◆ Researching financial fit colleges
◆ Applying to scholarships offered by colleges, states, and local known
entities
◆ Applying to scholarships via scholarship search engines
External
Scholarships
42. The highest ROI for students who don’t qualify for national
scholarships
➔ Often not on websites
➔ Encourage students to ask their counselors about local scholarships early and
often
➔ Local scholarships are often underapplied to and therefore better ways to spend
time than competitive national scholarship for students with less than perfect
grades
➔ Frequent sources: Key Club, school scholarships (PTA sponsored), local Chamber
of Commerce, local chapters of fraternities/sororities, parent’s employers, local
sports teams, even fairs!
Local
Scholarships
43. Many opportunities and many time wasters
➔ Unfortunately many scholarship search engines are full of companies looking to
gain student information in order to sell them products (like student loans) or
even sell the student’s information
◆ Let students know to be weary of scholarships that don’t require essays
and NEVER pay to apply to a scholarship
➔ To maximize student’s return on time spent students should focus on:
◆ Applying to schools that provide good financial aid
◆ School-specific scholarships as mentioned in previous slides
◆ Well known national scholarships as mentioned in previous slide (if the
student is a competitive applicant)
◆ Local scholarships often at the school or city level
➔ If students request search engines, please provide them with the advice above as
well as these common search engines
◆ https://www.careeronestop.org/toolkit/training/find-scholarships.aspx
◆ https://www.fastweb.com/
◆ https://www.cappex.com/scholarships
Scholarship
search engines
45. Financial aid packages vary from college to college
➔ Colleges use different formulas to dispense financial aid
➔ Few colleges can provide enough aid to cover 100% of the student’s financial
need. (List of 100% need met colleges)
➔ Remind your student that financial aid packages can be modified, and your
student should speak with their prospective schools’ financial aid offices if they
need more aid in order to attend.
◆ Only schools with ample resources will be to amend packages, but it is
always worth asking
Financial aid
packages
46. Start with the cost
➔ Colleges use different formulas to determine the cost of college. At minimum
students should factor in their “direct costs”
➔ Direct costs: Costs that will show up on their bill: Tuition, Housing, Meal Plan,
Health Care (if going out of state)
➔ Students should also consider indirect costs that won’t show up on their bill like:
Travel, books, even toiletries!
◆ Sometimes colleges don’t include these costs :(
Reading
Financial Aid
Letters
47. Help students understand types of aid
➔ Scholarships (and where they come from: state, college, etc)
➔ Grants (and where they come from: federal, state, college, etc)
➔ Loans (and what interest rates they can expect)
➔ Work study (on campus job; this money will come after their college bill is due so
in general they shouldn’t count on it to help pay their costs)
◆ These jobs are not guaranteed
Review Types
of Aid
48. Help students understand type of aid
● Colleges use different formulas to determine the
cost of college. At minimum students should
factor in their “direct costs”
● Direct costs: Costs that will show up on their bill:
Tuition, Housing, Meal Plan, Health Care (if going
out of state)
● Students should also consider indirect costs that
won’t show up on their bill like: Travel, books, even
toiletries!
School Merit
scholarship
Federal Grants (from
completing FAFSA)
State
Grants
Federal loans
Work study
Direct Costs
Example Letter
49. Hidden costs + misleading bottom lines
➔ This school didn’t include “indirect costs” such as books, lab fees, etc
➔ This school assumed the student would take out federal loans, but the student
doesn’t have to take out loans
➔ It looks as though the student will pay nothing to attend this college but if you
remove the loans and add in fees this student will have to pay $2000 a semester
Example Letter
Explained
50. Renewability and Criteria
➔ Encourage students to ask financial aid officers if their scholarships are
“renewable”, meaning they will be given every year
➔ If scholarships are renewable, what are the requirements (many have GPA and
credit minimums)
➔ Remind students that grants are based on their family’s income and if their family
makes more the next year, their grants could be decreased
➔ Students need to complete FAFSA and other financial forms every year
Renewability
