2015 Guide to FAFSA, CSS Profile, College Financial Aid, & EFC

Use the article from Forbes to answer these questions in complete sentences. Please
change your responses to another color or bold.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/troyonink/2014/11/28/2015-guide-to-fafsa-css-profile-collegefinancial-aid-and-expected-family-contribution-efc/

Applying for College Financial Aid

1. What are the 2 possible forms to complete to apply for need-based financial aid?
You need the FASFA application and the CSS Profile.
2. What form do most colleges and universities nationwide use to determine need-based
financial aid?
Most require the FASFA form.
3. What is the CSS Profile used for?
To access a students eligibility for the colleges own fanatical aid dollars.
4. What colleges require the CSS Profile?
Colleges that require the CSS Profile are Ivies as well as the University of Michigan at Ann
Arbor, William & Mary, Georgia Institute of Technology, and the University of North Carolina.
Calculating Your Expected Family Contribution
5. What is the process for applying for and obtaining financial aid?
You have to fill out all the forms and also calculate your EFC.
6. What is the EFC?
EFC stands for Estimated Family Contribution.
7. How is EFC calculated?
Cost of attendance EFC = Financial Need
8. What factors determine a persons EFC?
Your parents income, family size, and the number of children going to college in that year.
9. Why might a person get 3 different EFC amounts?
Three different formulas.
Using EFC to Determine the Need for Financial Aid
10.How is EFC used to determine if a student qualifies for need-based financial aid?
It is based off of how much you can pay to get into college so if your parents dont make a lot
of money, you may be eligible for financial aid.
Cost of Attendance
11.What elements add up to the cost of attendance?
Tuition, fees, room and board, books, travel, and personal expenses.
12.What is the national average cost of attendance for:
a. 2-Year Public College?
$20,000
b. 4-Year Public College?
$28,000
c. 4-Year Private College?
$55,000
d. 4-Year Elite College?
$65,000
Putting EFC into Perspective
13.When would a student qualify for need-based financial aid?
When the students ECF is less than the cost of attendance.

14.What are students eligible for when they qualify for need-based financial aid?
Childs financial aid packages.
15.Why is it incorrect to assume a student will get financial aid if s/he is eligible?
Because you have to wait and see if you get accepted.
16.When would a student be denied need-based financial aid?
They may be denied if their parents make too much.
Eligible for Aid at One College, But Not at Another
17.What is eligibility for need-based financial aid dependent on?
Financial Aid eligibility is based off of the cost of the tuition and the income of the family.
18.Why might a student be eligible for aid at one college but not at another?
They may not be eligible for one if they make enough to pay for it.
Predicting the Financial Aid Award
19.When will students know their financial aid package amounts?
When they receive the fanatical aid award letter.
20.What types of resources are included in a financial aid package?
Federal aid, state aid, and scholarships.
What to Do if Your Family Has Special Financial Circumstances
21.What form does not include a place to explain special situations?
FASFA
22.What form does have a place to explain special situations?
23.What can parents do if using the FAFSA to explain their financial circumstances?
How College Selection Impacts Financial Aid
24.What factors make a student more likely to get an aid package that meets a higher
percentage of their need?
Better candidate
25.Why is aid more complex at elite private colleges?
Merit Aid
26.What is merit aid based on?
Achievements.
27.Why is merit aid so great?
28.What is important to know about merit aid at elite colleges?
Student Gets Merit Aid But No Need-Based Aid
29.What will happen if a student qualifies for merit aid but not need-based aid?
Why Merit Aid Reduces Need-Based Aid Eligibility
30.True or False: If you qualify for need based aid and merit aid, you subtract both of them from
the college cost to determine how much you will pay.
False.
31.True or False: If you qualify for need based aid and earn a scholarship, you will have a lower
cost to pay than if you did not have the scholarship.
False.
The Out-of-Pocket Cost of College
32.What information will be given at the end of the college admissions and aid application
process?

33.What elements are included in the financial aid award letter?

34.What factors contribute to the total cost of attendance?
35.What is the formula for out-of-pocket cost?
36.Why might the out-of-pocket cost be greater than what is calculated using that formula?
Pay interest for a loan.

Extra Credit: At home, speak with your parents and review the chart in the article 2015 EFC
Quick Reference Table for College Aid and answer these questions.
A. Is it likely you will qualify for need-based financial aid?
B. What is the plan to pay for college?
C. Are there any colleges your parents will not let you go to? Or, are there any limits they
have for where you can go to college? (Distance, cost, 2-year or 4-year, etc.)