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?
a. The FAFSA and the CSS Profile
2. What form do most colleges and universities nationwide use to determine need-based
financial aid?
a. The FAFSA
3. What is the CSS Profile used for?
a. They use it to assess the students eligibility for the colleges own
institutional aid dollars.
4. What colleges require the CSS Profile?
a. Typically very selective private colleges.
Calculating Your Expected Family Contribution
5. What is the process for applying for and obtaining financial aid?
a. Completing the FAFSA, or CSS Profile and then submitting the form required
by the college that you are planning on attending.
6. What is the EFC?
a. Expected Family Contribution.
7. How is EFC calculated?
a. It is calculated once you turn the forms in and is then given to you as an
output of sorts.
8. What factors determine a persons EFC?
a. Income of the parents, family size, and the number of the dependent children
enrolled in college a given year.
9. Why might a person get 3 different EFC amounts?
a. Because there are three different formulas and therefore there are sometime
three different answers.
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?
a. It uses a formula that subtracts the students expected family contribution
from a colleges total cost of attendance. If the EFC is less than the colleges
cost of attendance then the student qualifies for need-bases financial aid.
Cost of Attendance
11.What elements add up to the cost of attendance?
a. Cost of the attendance = enrolling at the college, 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?

a. They would qualify for this if their EFC score is less than the cost to attend
the school.
14.What are students eligible for when they qualify for need-based financial aid?
a. They are eligible for the government to give them money in order to pay for
the necessities of attending the college, grants, scholarships, and special
student loans.
15.Why is it incorrect to assume a student will get financial aid if s/he is eligible?
a. This is because the type of aid offered is different for 2-year, 4-year, and
private schools. Therefore there types of aid may have a limit on how many
people can be entered into the aid system.
16.When would a student be denied need-based financial aid?
a. They would be denied financial aid when their EFC score is higher or about
equal to the cost of attending for the college.
Eligible for Aid at One College, But Not at Another
17.What is eligibility for need-based financial aid dependent on?
a. The financial aid is based on the cost of the school compared to the total
income and assets of the parents. Therefore if the school costs less it s
harder to get financial aid.
18.Why might a student be eligible for aid at one college but not at another?
a. If the one college is fairly expensive then the aid will be easier to get if you
make less money than that of the college tuition. But if the one that the
student is not eligible for is less than the EFC score needed to acquire
financial aid is lower.
Predicting the Financial Aid Award
19.When will students know their financial aid package amounts?
a. They will know when they get their financial aid award letter.
20.What types of resources are included in a financial aid package?
a. The types of resources from a financial aid package differ between the
schools because what one school requires another may not.
What to Do if Your Family Has Special Financial Circumstances
21.What
a.
22.What
a.
23.What
a.

form does not include a place to explain special situations?

Contact the financial aid offices at the school that you plan on attending.
form does have a place to explain special situations?
The CSS Profile
can parents do if using the FAFSA to explain their financial circumstances?
Write a letter and be ready to send it when the college asks for it after you
contact the aid offices.

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?
a. If they are a good candidate for the college, and if the college really wants
you or not.
25.Why is aid more complex at elite private colleges?
a. This is because they have the ability to change their admissions at will.
Merit Aid

26.What is merit aid based on?

a. This is based on the students academics, athletics, music, and other merits.
Not family finances.
27.Why is merit aid so great?
a. This is because it does not matter how much money your family makes. Only
the grades and other things that you do in school count towards the aid.
28.What is important to know about merit aid at elite colleges?
a. Almost all of the elite colleges do not offer academic merit aid.
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?
a. Then you will just get the merit aid but not the 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.
a. 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.
a. 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?
a. You will get a list of colleges of which you qualify for financial aid.
33.What elements are included in the financial aid award letter?
a. It tells you how much money you got in financial aid
34.What factors contribute to the total cost of attendance?
a. Room and board, tuition, books, travel, fees, and personal expenses
35.What is the formula for out-of-pocket cost?
a. The formula for the out-of-pocket cost is the cost of attendance minus needbased-aid
36.Why might the out-of-pocket cost be greater than what is calculated using that formula?
a. This is because the loans that you may take could change your out-of-pocket
cost with the interests rates and other additional fees.

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.)