Financial Aid Training

2017-2018

Discussion Items

Merit Scholarships

Filing for Financial Aid

Cost of attendance (COA)

Expected family contribution (EFC)

Financial need

Categories, types, and sources of financial aid

NYS Standardized Award Letter & Disclosure

Special circumstances

What merit scholarships are available as of fall

2015 – this upcoming year are TBD

Henry Wells Scholarship valued at $25,000 per year for four years AND a guaranteed

internship in the first-year and one-time $3,000 stipend to support internship work in the

student’s upperclass years. If student was JLA award recipient, $10,000 JLA award and $15,000

HWS.

Presidential Scholarship valued at $20,000 based on the student’s academic achievement. If

student was JLA award recipient, $10,000 JLA award and $10,000 Presidential Scholarship.

Dean’s Award valued at $15,000 based on academic performance. If student was JLA award

recipient, $10,000 JLA award and $5,000 Deans Award.

FAFSA Grant: We will offer students/parents who accepted and file the FAFSA by December

1st a $1,000 FAFSA grant. This grant is for 1st time 1st year students only.

PTK Scholarship is awarded to Transfer students who are members of Phi Theta Kappa (a

two-year college honorary society) and is valued at $15,000 per year for every year they attend

Wells.

Transfer Scholarships are awarded to students who have cum gpa’s of 3.0 or better and are

valued at between $5,000 and $15,000.

International Student Scholarships awards are between $10,000 and $15,000 in aid to

international students once they are admitted.

How does a student apply for

Financial Aid? Complete Free Application for Federal Student

Aid (FAFSA)

Complete online at www.fafsa.gov

If the student prefers to complete by paper

application, they will need to call Federal

Central Processor at 1-800-433-3243

When can students begin to apply

for financial aid? FAFSA’s can be completed on or after

October 1, 2016 at www.fafsa.gov

No application fee to file FAFSA

Ask that 1st time 1st year students

complete FAFSA by December 1st to take

advantage of $1,000 FAFSA Grant offered

by Wells

Prior prior year

Last September, President Obama

announced that beginning with the 2017-

2018 academic year, students will be able

to complete their application for federal

student aid (FAFSA) beginning October 1,

2016 rather than having to wait until

January 1, 2017

What is Prior Prior Year and what

does it mean? Since students will be able to complete FAFSA’s beginning October

1, 2016, they will use the prior prior year’s tax information.

Academic Year FAFSA Begin Date Tax Filing Year

August 2017 – May

2018

October 1, 2016 2015

August 2018 – May

2019

October 1, 2017 2016

Prior prior year is another way of saying

that you are reporting tax information on

the FAFSA from the previous two tax years

How does prior prior year benefit

the student? Students will not have to consider estimated tax

information or wait for taxes to be prepared in order

to complete their 2017-2018 FAFSA

IRS Data Retrieval (IRS DRT) will be available for many

students/parents since tax information will be based on

2015 taxes

By completing the FAFSA earlier, students will have

more time to review their financial aid award letters and

research financial options for payment of their net costs

What will students need to

complete the FAFSA? FAFSA ID – (replaces Federal PIN)

◦ Dependent Students – both student and

parent sign with FSA ID

◦ Independent Students – student FSA ID only

Social Security Numbers

Dates of birth

Actual 2015 tax information

Total 2015 earnings

Value of net assets - current

How does a student or parent

create a FSA ID?

Visit the federal FSA ID website at

http://fsaid.ed.gov

(It takes 1 - 3 days for your FSA ID’s to be

activated)

What is IRS DRT?

As students/families are completing the FAFSA, they can

have their actual 2015 tax information transferred.

This process can be completed using the IRS Data

Retrieval Tool (DRT) on the FAFSA - – typically takes 2-

3 weeks after the individuals submit their electronic tax

return for this to become available. If the individual

mails their tax return, it takes at least 6 weeks for the

DRT to become available.

Using the IRS DRT can help to reduce the chance of the

FAFSA being selected for verification.

What happens after the student

completes the FAFSA? All schools listed on the FAFSA will receive an

electronic notification of the completed FAFSA

– based on their federal school codes – you will

be able to see this date on EX once we begin to

load FAFSA’s – anticipate mid-October

Student’s EFC will be calculated so that schools

can determine financial aid eligibility

Accepted students can expect to receive their

award letters by mid-December

How is financial aid determined?

Depends on:

◦ Cost of attendance

◦ Expected family contribution

◦ Demonstrated need

What is cost of attendance?

Direct Costs (Billing Charges)

Full-time Tuition

Required Fees

Room and Board

Cost of attendance (con’t)

Indirect Costs

Estimated Books and Supplies

Estimated Personal & Travel

Expenses

Direct Costs + Indirect Costs =

Total Cost of Attendance

What is Expected Family

Contribution (EFC)? This is what the government calculates

that the family can pay based on household size, income and number of college students enrolled at least half time

Stays the same regardless of the college the student is applying to

Calculated using data from a federal application form and a federal formula

What is Demonstrated Financial

Need?

Cost of Attendance

– Expected Family Contribution (determined

by the FAFSA)

= Demonstrated Financial Need

Demonstrated need is what the Financial Aid

Office uses to determine the financial aid

award.

Financial Aid Programs offered

Federal Pell Grants (2017-2018 awards not yet released –

current awards range from $588-$5,815)

Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants

(SEOG) – typically award $500 to students with zero EFC

New York State Tuition Assistance Grants (NYS TAP) – NYS

residential requirement – to qualify, NYS Net taxable income

must be $80,000 or less. Awards range $500-$5,165

Institutional Need-based Grants

Federal Student Loans – max loan for freshmen is $5,500

Student Employment – average job award is $1,850 (students

are paid $9 minimum wage and they work on about 7hrs/wk)

Current Direct Loan Rates/Fees

Direct Student Loans

◦ Interest rate = 3.76%

◦ Origination fee = 1.068%

Direct PLUS Loans for Parents

◦ Interest rate = 6.31%

◦ Origination fee = 4.272%

Interest rates and fees are due to expire on June 30,

2017 so these may not be what the Class of 2021 will

be paying.

Award Letter Example – Not Board Approved Costs

2016/2017 Financial Aid Award Letter

ID: 999999

Student Name

Street Address

City, State, Zip

BILLING CHARGES FALL 16 SPR 17 Total

Tuition & Fees 19,265 19,265 38,530

Room & Board 6,680 6,680 13,360

TOTAL BILLING CHARGES 25,945 25,945 51,890

Other Expenses

In addition, you should plan on an expense of $1,800 - $2,000 for books, personal expenses and travel that is not covered by financial aid.

FINANCIAL AID APPLIED TO BILLING CHARGES

Source: FALL 16 SPR 17 Total

Presidential Scholarship 10,000 10,000 20,000

Wells Grant 900 900 1,800

FAFSA Grant 500 500 1,000

NYS TAP Grant 250 250 500

Direct Subsidized Loan 1,750 1,750 3,500

Direct Unsubsidized Loan 1,000 1,000 2,000

------- ------- -------

Total Awards: 14,400 14,400 28,800

Amount you are expected to pay for the school year 23,090

To determine the amount you will be required to pay for each semester subtract total financial aid for the semester from total billing

charges for the semester.

ADDITIONAL SOURCES OF FINANCIAL AID

Student Employment: Based on your FAFSA, you are eligible for Wells Student Employment of $1850. These resources are an earnable resource and

can assist you with your expenses throughout the year. However, due to the limited number of student job openings, we cannot guarantee assignment

of a campus job.

Federal Direct PLUS Loan

Parents are able to consider a Federal Direct PLUS loan for payment of the above net balance due. The Federal Direct PLUS Loan is for

parents only and requires a credit check and completion of the Direct PLUS Master Promissory Note (MPN). If a parent is interested in

applying for a Direct PLUS Loan, they may apply online at www.studentloans.gov.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Please indicate your acceptance or decline of any program listed above, sign, date and return one copy to the Financial Aid Office:

__________ I ACCEPT the entire financial aid package as offered.

__________ I DECLINE the following: _________________________________________________

____________________________________ ______________________

SIGNATURE DATE

NYS Standardized Letter

Beginning 2016-2017, Governor Cuomo has

mandated that all New York State schools use a

Standardized Financial Aid Award Letter

Students will receive the Wells College award

letter format as well as the NYS award – Wells

is easier to understand what the family be

paying

http://sls.downstate.edu/financial_aid/document

s/shopping_sheet_default.pdf

Special Circumstances – Please

refer student to Financial Aid Office Full guidance has not yet been given on professional

judgment for the 2017-2018 year, but known

considerations are

Change in employment status

Unusual medical expenses not covered by insurance and

exceed 11% of AGI (must have filed itemized

deductions)

Change in parent marital status

Unusual dependent care expenses

Student cannot obtain parental information

Ways to pay net costs

Wells College payment plan

◦ Four quarterly payments per semester – fee of

$50/semester

Parent Direct PLUS Loan

Private Education Loans

Home Equity Loans

529 Savings Plans

Borrow from 401K or Retirement Savings

Employer Benefits?

Outside Scholarships

Are there other places students can

look for scholarships? www.fastweb.com

www.collegeboard.com

www.finaid.org

Local agencies and High School Guidance

Offices

QUESTIONS?