The  secrets  of  how  to  get  maximum  money  for  college    

Adam  Bethel  Cer$fied  College  Planning  Advisor  Midwest  College  Planning  Network  

 

Parent’s  Biggest  Concerns  •  How  to  pay  for  college  

–  How  are  you  going  to  pay?  Do  you  have  a  plan?  

•  Selec$ng  the  Best  Schools  for  Your  Student  –  What  schools  are  op$ons?  

•  Missing  Deadlines:  FAFSA,  APPLICATION  –  Do  you  know  the  process?  Is  it  bad  

to  miss  them?  

•  Lacking  $me  to  do  everything  involved  –  Too  busy,  too  afraid  of  the  process,  

Too  nervous  to  find  out  answers  

•  Doing  something  that  will  hurt  their  child’s  chances  for  admission  –  Not  knowing  things  can  hurt  

•  Ac$ons  that  will  cause  them  not  to  get  the  most  financial  aid  –  128  tax  laws  that  determine  what  

your  family  partnership  HAS  to  pay  

Meet  my  kids,  Sophie  and  Isaiah  

Why  is  College  SO  expensive?  

• Less  aid  from  government  sources  • Rising  Faculty/Staff  salaries  • Rising  costs  of  maintenance  • Changes  in  technology  

Each  year,  college  cost  are    increasing  faster  than  infla7on  rates!    

How  do  you  pay  for  that?  

•  Savings  (?)  •  Borrow  (?)  •  Scholarship  (?)  •  Go  to  a  less  expensive  school  (?)  

•  Not  go  at  all  (?)  

What  does  it  cost?  (2010-­‐11)  

•  4  Year  Public  School  -­‐  $20,050  (4.4%  increase)  •  4  Year  Private  School  -­‐  $35,862  (3.5%  increase)  

•  2  Year  School  -­‐  $15,609  ($1.4%  increase)  –  Cost  –  Tui$on  for  A+  Students  ($12,697)  

•  Ins$tute  of  Educa$on  Sciences  –  Postsecondary  Ins$tu$ons  and  Price  of  Agendance  

How  much  aid  is  available?-­‐  (2010-­‐11)  $169  Billion  Total  

How  do  you  apply?  

•  The  FAFSA    –  Free  Applica$on  for  Federal  Student  Aid  –  EVERYONE  must  fill  this  out  to  receive  aid  –  To  apply  for  Federal  Loans  –  If  not  done  properly,  it  can  be  “bumped”  

• 4-­‐6  weeks  can  be  added  to  processing  $me  • Oken  results  in  the  lost  of  financial  aid  • Do  FAFSA  ONLINE,  avoid  these  problems  

•  The  FAFSA    •  The  CSS/Profile  &  registraWon  form  

– Many  private  schools  want  this  form  –  Further  explains  income,  assets  and  expenses  – Must  be  consistent  with  FAFSA  – Difficult  to  understand  &  fill  out  –  Requires  a  separate  form  to  register  for  the  CSS/Profile  form  and  pay  a  registra.on  fee  in  order  to  receive  the  form  

How  do  you  apply?  

How  do  you  apply?  

•  The  FAFSA    •  The  CSS/Profile  &  registra$on  form  •  The  school’s  own  insWtuWonal  forms  

–  Some  school’s  have  their  own  addi$onal  forms  to  fill  out  

–  They  must  be  consistent  with  the  other  forms  – Usually  they  will  ask  similar  ques$ons  to  the  other    two  forms.    

Who  is  eligible?  MYTH v. REALITY

MYTH REALITY

Aid  is  only  for  CERTAIN  students  

The  school  can  help  me  

Own  a  home  

Income  too  high  

Grades  too  low  

     

How  is  eligibility  determined?  Basic  Equa$on:  

COA-­‐EFC=  Financial  NEED    

COA:  Cost  Of  Agendance  •  Includes  tui$on,  books,  room  &  board,  etc.  

EFC:  Expected  Family  Contribu$on  •  Based  on  parent’s  &  students  income,  assets,  ages  &  number  of  people  in  school  

NEED:  How  much  aid  the  family  is  eligible  for    

3  Categories  of  people    that  need  college  funding  

1.  Families  with  TOTAL  financial  need  –  Those  who  will  be  eligible  for  financial  aid  wherever  they  go.  

–  Everything  must  be  done  100%  accurately  and  on  $me  to  receive  the  maximum  amount  of  grants  (FREE  money)  and  less  loans  

3  Categories  of  people    that  need  college  funding  

1.  Families  with  total  financial  need  2.   Families  with  PARTIAL  financial  need  

–  Financial  Aid  is  dependent  on  what  school  you  choose  and  how  assets  and  income  are  posi$oned.  

*  The  majority  of  people  par.cipa.ng  in  this  workshop  fall  into  this  category.  

3  Categories  of  people    that  need  college  funding  

1.  Families  with  total  financial  need  2.  Families  with  PARTIAL  financial  need  3.   Families  that  make  too  much  money  to  

qualify  for  “need  based”  financial  aid.  –  S$ll  need  to  go  through  the  process  for  merit  

based  aid.    –  Should  pay  for  college  in  the  most  tax  effec$ve  

fashion.  –  Assess  the  impact  on  other  financial  and  

re$rement  goals  

Which  colleges  give  you  the  best  shot  at  gebng  money?  

Not  all  colleges  are  the  same.    

 

Factors  to  consider  in  determining  your  BEST  SHOT  

•  Percentage  of  need  met  –  Some  schools  meet  100%  of  need.  – Others  only  meet  30-­‐50%  

• Remember  COA-­‐EFC=Need  

For  example:    School  meets  100%  of  need  

COA:  $20,000    EFC:  $10,000  20,000-­‐  10,000=  $10,000  Need  

 School  meets  50%  of  need  Need:  $10,000  ½  ($10,000)  =  $5,000  New  Expected  Family  Contribu$on:  $15,000  

 You MUST know these statistics BEFORE applying!

Factors  to  consider  in  determining  your  BEST  SHOT  

•  Percentage  of  need  met  •  Percentage  of  Gic  Aid  

–  Some  schools  meet  most  needs  in  grant  (FREE)  money,  while  others  give  you  mostly  loans.  

 

You MUST know these statistics BEFORE applying!

Factors  to  consider  in  determining  your  BEST  SHOT  

•  Percentage  of  need  met  •  Percentage  of  Gik  Aid  •  Percentage  of  Self-­‐Help  Aid  

–  Some  schools  meet  most  or  all  of  needs  in  work/study  or  loans.  (You  don’t  want  to  find  out  in  June  that    they  met  most  your  needs  with  loans!)  

–  Know  what  the  school  has  done  in  the  past.  

You MUST know these statistics BEFORE applying!

Case  Study  1:  The  Jones  Family  

Cost    $45,163  EFC    $    7,878  Need    $37,285    

Meets  100%  need  Gik  Aid        76%  Self  Help    24%  

Total  EFC  $    7,878  Total  Gik  $28,337  Total  Self  $  8,948  

Cost    $16,576  EFC    $    7,878  Need    $    8,698    

Meets    55%  need    -­‐    $4,784  Gik  Aid        33%  Self  Help    67%  

EFC    $    7,878  +  Unmet  Need    $    3,914  Total  EFC  $11,792  Total  Gik  $    1,770  Total  Self  $      3,014  

School A School B

What  you  actually  pay  

How  to  negoWate  for  the  best  possible  package.  

To  get  the  best  deals,  you  must  know  your  op$ons.    

 

How  to  NegoWate  

•  Some  schools  mis-­‐award.  •  Some  schools  under-­‐award.  •  Some  schools  will  try  to  compete  with  other  schools.  –  You  must  know  when  to  accept  or  appeal  the  first  award  leger  

–  You  must  know  how  to  talk  to  those  who  work  in  the  financial  aid  office  

How  to  increase  need-­‐based  aid  

•  Depending  on  your  individual  situa$on,  you  can  re-­‐arrange  your  finances  to  qualify  for  addi$onal  money  

•  This  can  be  done  by  learning  the  legally  established  rules  

Case  Study  2:  One  family  took  control  

Difference  of  $3,267  (more  than  $13,000  over  4  years)  because  Family  B  took  the  $me  to  understand  the  process  and  take  control  

Family  Income:  $75,000  Assets:  (Excluding  home)  $60,000  Home  Equity:    $40,000  Number  in  family:    4  Number  in  school:    1  EFC:      $11,959  

Family  Income:  $75,000  Assets:  (Excluding  home)  $60,000  Home  Equity:    $40,000  Number  in  family:    4  Number  in  school:    1  EFC:      $    8,692  

Family A Family B

Can  you  do  this  on  your  own?  

1.  Do  I  know  how  to  lower  my  EFC  and  maximize  my  eligibility  for  financial  aid?  

2.  Do  I  know  how  to  pick  schools  that  will  give  me  the  best  aid  package  –  meet  the  most  need,  more  FREE  money,  less  loans,  etc.?  

3.  Do  I  know  how  to  fill  out  the  FAFSA/CSS  Profile  forms  line-­‐by-­‐line?  

4.  Am  I  prepared  to  nego$ate  if  I  get  a  bad  financial  aid  award  or  less  than  I  expected  from  each  school?  

5.  Do  I  know  the  best  way  to  pay  for  my  family’s  share  of  the  cost  of  college?  

Ask yourself…

If  the  answer  was  no  to  any  of  these…  Fill  out  the  bolom!  

 We  offer  an  complimentary  consulta$on  as  a  follow  up  of  the  workshop.  You  will  learn  many  things  at  this  mee$ng.  Just  fill  out  your  personal  informa$on  at  the  bogom  of  the  evalua$on  to  

sign  up  for  this  session.  

Complimentary  ConsultaWon  

• What  you  will  learn….  •  How  much  do  colleges  cost  that  YOUR  family  is  interested  in?  

• What  is  YOUR  family’s  share  of  that  cost?  (EFC)  –  Could  you  possibly  LOWER  YOUR  COST?  

•  Depending  on  the  planning  you  have  done  so  far,  how  much  is  lek  to  be  done?  

•  Is  there  any  way  WE  can  help  you?  

ConsultaWon  Requirements  •  Must  schedule  consulta$on  within  2  weeks  of  workshop  date.    •  If  married,  both  parents  must  be  present.    •  Appointments  typically  run  during  regular  day$me  business  

hours  (star$ng  between  9:00AM  –  6:00PM).    •  We  have  a  list  of  available  consulta$on  $mes  over  the  next  

two  weeks.  Please  pick  one  of  them  tonight!  If  you  find  out  you  need  to  reschedule,  we  will  help  you  with  that.  

 •  If  you  don’t  pick  a  $me  tonight,  it  will  be  your  responsibility  to  

call  in  and  set  this  up.  We  WILL  NOT  contact  you  unless  you  ask  us  to.  

Develop  a  plan!  “  A  fool  with  a  plan  is  beger  than  a  genius  with  none.”          -­‐T.  Boone  Pickens  (’08)  

           

1  Out  of  2  Things  Will  Happen  

•  You  will  get  your  individual  ques$ons  answered  and  all  of  the  added  info  you  were  looking  for  so  that  you  can  do  this  yourself  

•  You  will  decide  that  you  want  us  to  help  coach  you  through  part  or  all  of  this  process  

169  Billion  Student  Aid

89  BillionStudent/  Parent  

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Cost  Chart  -­‐ Billions  of  Dollars  -­‐ (2010 Academic  Year)

How  much  aid  is  available?  

$258  Billion    Total  cost  of  higher  educa$on      $89  Billion  Parent/Student  Share  $169  Billion  Financial  Aid