Financial Aid Information
Things you need to know about financial aid
If you are looking for help in the college application process or have general questions about the college admittance process, please click the “For Students” tab at the top of the page.
Every year parents and students are bombarded with solicitations from universities, junior colleges, offers for FAFSA help or seminars, and a host of other opportunities to save money going to college.
This guide is a simple breakdown of information regarding the most popular questions and types of financial aid that you or your student will encounter their senior year and first year of college.
How Financial Aid is determined by the FAFSA
What are all these abbreviations I read about?
EFC (Expected Family Contribution) – Is a measure of your family’s financial strength and is calculated according to a formula established by law. There are many factors that are calculated into the formula such as your family size and the number of family members who will attend college during the next year, and if any parent/guardian is on disability, social security, or other government assistance programs.
Schools use the EFC to determine your federal student aid eligibility and financial aid award package. It is not the amount of money that you or your parents are responsible for and it is not the amount of aid you will receive.
CoA (Cost of Attendance) – This is the schools estimate of what it costs for a full time student, living in the dorm, to attend the university for one year. This number is usually inflated over the actual cost of attendance since they factor in things like trips home, miscellaneous expenses and other items that your student may or may not need.
FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) – This is the form that every student must fill out in the spring of their senior year of high school, preferably in February. This is the form that gives the government, schools, and some scholarship foundations the necessary information to award your student money for school. It is important to note that your child will not receive any government aid without a FAFSA being filed.
This is a very invasive document and will require the following documents to be completed:
- The parent or parent’s previous year tax returns (for a 2013 Fall Admission, the high school senior will complete the FAFSA in the spring of 2013 and use the 2012 Tax Returns for both parent and student)
- W-2’s for parent(s) and student
- The student’s tax return if he/she filed one
- Social Security numbers for everyone living with the student
- Student’s Driver License
- Current amount of money in checking, savings, and other accounts
- Current value of your assets apart from your main residence (rent houses, motor homes, etc.)
(Coincidentally, most of this information can be found on your tax return.)
To complete the FAFSA go to www.fafsa.ed.gov. This application is FREE! If you complete it at .com or .org there could be a charge so ensure you complete it only at www.fafsa.ed.gov.
A few other notes regarding the FAFSA. Both student and at least one parent will need to create a four digit pin in order to electronically sign the FAFSA application. This pin will also enable both parent and student to access the new IRS data retrieval tool. Please note, if you do not use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to provide tax information and your college requests a copy of your tax return or your parents’ tax return, you may be required to obtain an official tax transcript from the IRS. The create a pin visit http://www.pin.ed.gov.
WANT TO FORECAST? FAFSA4caster will help you understand your options for paying for college. Provide some basic information and FAFSA can estimate your eligibility for federal student aid. Your estimate will be shown in the College Cost Worksheet where you can also provide estimated amounts of other student aid and savings that can go towards your college education
https://fafsa.ed.gov/FAFSA/app/f4cForm?execution=e1s1
TASFA (Texas Application for State Financial Aid) – This form is only for students who are not documented and living in Texas.
This form must be filled out in paper form and requires the same information as the FAFSA.
To qualify for this type of aid your student must have:
- Resided with a parent or guardian while attending high school in Texas
- Graduated from a public or private high school in Texas
- Resided in Texas for the three years leading to graduation
- Provide their institutions a signed affidavit indicating intent to apply for permanent residence status as soon as able to do so.
TASFA Instructions and Applications in Spanish and English – http://www.collegefortexans.com/index.cfm?objectid=D465D848-EA0F-C0EA-5209BC8C89262877
Your student will fill out either the FAFSA or the TASFA, but never both. If you are a student in AISD and need help completing the TASFA please see your college advisor.
Who determines the amount of financial aid my child receives?
The Federal government and the University/College your student is attending
What is the Texas Tuition Promise Fund?
The Texas Tuition Promise Fund is designed to help families and individuals prepay for all or some future tuition and required fees at any two- or four-year Texas public college or university. Account holders purchase Tuition Units, which represent a fixed amount of undergraduate resident tuition and required fees charged by Texas public colleges and universities. The number of units needed varies depending on the school, but generally 100 units represents 30 semester hours, which is considered to be one academic year. Texas Tuition Promise Fund Link: http://www.texastuitionpromisefund.com/content/how-it-works
How do the government and the school determine how much money my child receives?
When you and your student fill out the FAFSA in February you will be given an EFC.
Your EFC is then plugged into a formula that looks like this:
CoA – EFC = Financial Need
This formula takes the estimated cost of attendance to a university and subtracts the EFC from that amount to determine how much financial aid your student will need to attend school at the university.
How can you tell what is “free” and what is a “loan”?
Scholarships and Grants are forms of free financial aid. This money does not have to be paid back to the government or college.
There are different kinds of scholarships and grants:
National Scholarships: These scholarships are open to anyone in the world who meets the criteria. There are many websites that host national scholarship competitions such as http://www.fastweb.com or http://www.tuitionfundingsources.com that will require your student to create an account with the website for a potential matching of scholarships to the student. The students are notified by email of possible matches.
Local Scholarships: These scholarships are only open to people who live within a certain area or attend a certain school. The criterion for these scholarships is very specific. Check the blue sidebar on this page for information on local scholarships specific to your high school. Your high school counselor and your COOL counselor will also be able to direct you. The Community Foundation of Abilene, http://www.cfabilene.org, hosts many local scholarship opportunities as well for your student.
Exemptions:
Exemptions are a type of financial assistance allowing some Texas residents to attend a public college or university in Texas without paying tuition or in some cases tuitions and fees. The College for All Texans website has a link to many exemptions:http://www.collegefortexans.com/apps/financialaid/tofa.cfm?Kind=E
Grants:
Pell Grant: This grant is awarded based on information provided in the FAFSA. The maximum Pell Grant award for the 2012-2013 award year, from July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013, is $5,550. Grants do not have to be paid back.
Federal Supplemental Educational Grant: To provide financial assistance to undergraduate students with exceptional financial need. Max is $4000 and minimum is $100.
The TEACH Grant Program: Provides grants of up to $4,000 a year to students who are completing or plan to complete course work needed to begin a career in teaching.
As a condition for receiving a TEACH Grant, you must sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve in which you agree to (among other requirements) teach
- in a high-need field
- at an elementary school, secondary school, or educational service agency that serves students from low-income families
- for at least four complete academic years within eight years after completing (or ceasing enrollment in) the course of study for which you received the grant.
Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants: Like other federal grants, Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants provide money to college or career school students to help pay their education expenses. However, Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants have special eligibility criteria.
Tuition Equalization Grant (TEG): This grant is awarded to students attending a private university in the state of Texas. The student must be Pell eligible, not be a Christian ministries or Church music major, and not have a family income of $95,000 or higher. For the 2011-2012 academic year, the program maximum is $3,518 per school year. However, students with exceptional need (those whose Expected Family Contributions are less than or equal to $1,000) may receive awards of up to $5,277 in a given year. Awards may not exceed the student’s financial need or the amount of tuition the student is paying in excess of what he or she would pay at a public institution.
TEXAS Grant: The Texas Legislature established the TEXAS (Towards EXcellence, Access and Success) Grant to make sure that well-prepared high school graduates with financial need could go to college.Students must have an EFC of $4000.00 or less, but for a complete list of requirements visithttp://www.collegefortexans.com/apps/financialaid/tofa2.cfm?ID=458.
Texas Educational Opportunity Grant Program (TEOG): To provide grant aid to financially needy students enrolled in Texas public two-year colleges. The award amount (including state and institutional funds) is equal to the student’s tuition and required fees. For 2011-2012, this amount is approximately: $3,550 per semester for public state college students; $945 per semester for public community college students; and $1,770 per semester for public technical college students.
Top 10% Scholarship: The 80th Texas Legislature created the Top 10 Percent Scholarship to encourage students who graduate in the top 10 percent of their high school class to attend a Texas public institution of higher education. Typically, if funding is available, qualifying students who submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or the Texas Application for State Financial Aid (TASFA) by a specific deadline**, have financial need, and enroll fulltime in a Texas public college or university in the fall semester may be eligible to receive up to $2,000. Students who submit their FAFSA after this deadline are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis until available funds have been spent.
For a complete list of grants please visit the College for All Texans Website athttp://www.collegefortexans.com/apps/financialaid/tofa.cfm?Kind=GS and Federal Site athttp://studentaid.ed.gov/sites/default/files/federal-grant-programs.pdf.
Loans:
If you apply for financial aid, your school will likely include student loans as part of your financial aid package. It’s important to understand what types of loans you are offered. Generally, there are two types of student loans: Federal student loans: These loans are funded by the federal government. Private student loans: These loans are nonfederal loans, made by a lender such as a bank, credit union, state agency, or a school.
Federal Loan Program Fact Sheet! http://studentaid.ed.gov/sites/default/files/federal-loan-programs.pdf
Federal loans are borrowed funds that you must repay with interest. A federal student loan allows students and their parents to borrow money to help pay for college through loan programs supported by the federal government. They have low interest rates and offer flexible repayment terms, benefits, and options.
Loan Type
First Disbursed between July 1, 2012, and June 30, 2013
Direct Subsidized Loans (Undergraduate Students) – Fixed at 3.4%: Direct Subsidized Loans are available to undergraduate students with financial need. Your school determines the amount you can borrow, and the amount may not exceed your financial need. For a subsidized loan, the U.S. Department of Education pays the interest while you’re in school at least half-time, for the first six months after you leave school (referred to as a grace period*), and during a period of deferment (a postponement of loan payments).
Direct Unsubsidized Loans – Fixed at 6.8%: Direct Unsubsidized Loans are available to undergraduate and graduate students; there is no requirement to demonstrate financial need. Your school determines the amount you can borrow by considering the cost of attendance and other financial aid you receive. For an unsubsidized loan, you are responsible for paying the interest during all periods.
Direct PLUS Loans (Parents and Graduate or Professional Students) – Fixed at 7.9%: The U.S. Department of Education is the lender. The borrower must not have an adverse credit history. The maximum loan amount is the student’s cost of attendance (determined by the school) minus any other financial aid received.
Perkins Loans – Fixed at 5%: Available to undergraduate, graduate, and professional students with exceptional financial need. Not all schools participate in the Federal Perkins Loan Program. You should check with your school’s financial aid office to see if your school participates. Your school is the lender; you will make your payments to the school that made your loan or your school’s loan servicer. Funds depend on your financial need and the availability of funds at your college.