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? FAFSA and
the CSS Profile
2. What form do most colleges and universities nationwide use to determine need-based
financial aid? Most use the FAFSA.
3. What is the CSS Profile used for? The CSS profile to assess the students eligibility for the
colleges own institutional aid dollars.
4. What colleges require the CSS Profile? Colleges are very selective private colleges, including
the Ivies, but the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, William & Mary, Georgia Institute of
Technology and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Calculating Your Expected Family Contribution
5. What is the process for applying for and obtaining financial aid? They need to complete the
EFC
6. What is the EFC? It the expected family contribution
7. How is EFC calculated? You provide your financial information on the aid forms (FAFSA and
CSS Profile), submit the forms online to the processing centers for each respective form, and
the information from the forms goes into the aid calculations
8. What factors determine a persons EFC? The Assets and income of the parents and student,
family size and the number of dependent children enrolled in college in a given year to assess
the familys ability to pay for college using the income and assets that they have.
9. Why might a person get 3 different EFC amounts? There are 3 formulas and they all calculate
differently
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? They use a
formula Cost of Attendance EFC = Financial Need and If a students EFC is less than a
colleges cost of attendance, then the student qualifies for need-based financial aid.
Cost of Attendance
11.What elements add up to the cost of attendance? Cost of attendance is the total cost of
enrolling at a college, including tuition, fees, room & 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? They would qualify depending on
the amount of money made by their Family.

14.What are students eligible for when they qualify for need-based financial aid? need-based
grants, scholarships, work-study and student loans
15.Why is it incorrect to assume a student will get financial aid if s/he is eligible? You will have to
wait to see what form of aid the child gets and how much it is worth.
16.When would a student be denied need-based financial aid? When their parents make too
much money.
Eligible for Aid at One College, But Not at Another
17.What is eligibility for need-based financial aid dependent on? It is dependent on the cost of
the school.
18.Why might a student be eligible for aid at one college but not at another? Depending on the
school that they attend they will qualify for more money.
Predicting the Financial Aid Award
19.When will students know their financial aid package amounts? The school will send you a
letter.
20.What types of resources are included in a financial aid package? It will tell you how much
federal, state aid.
What to do if youre Family Has Special Financial Circumstances
21.What form does not include a place to explain special situations? You have to write a letter
directly to the school.
22.What form does have a place to explain special situations? The CSS profile has a place to let
them know about your financial issues.
23.What can parents do if using the FAFSA to explain their financial circumstances? They can
email the or send LETTER TO THE SCHOOL YOU ARE APPLYING TO
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? If you look like a better candidate.
25.Why is aid more complex at elite private colleges? They have to complete both the FAFSA
and the CSS.
Merit Aid
26.What is merit aid based on? Its a scholarship that you did something to get, its based on a
students academic, athletic, music and other merits, not family finances.
27.Why is merit aid so great? It is free you get the aid for working hard in school or in a sport.
28.What is important to know about merit aid at elite colleges? The elite colleges dont 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? You are expected
to pay the sticker price minus the merit aid price.
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? You will arrive at a list of colleges to which the student has been accepted for
admission.
33.What elements are included in the financial aid award letter? The total cost of attendance to
enroll for the upcoming academic year, including tuition, fees, room, board, books, and travel
and personal expenses. Thus, the out-of-pocket cost for each respective college will be the
cost of attendance of each college minus the amount of the aid package at each college.
34.What factors contribute to the total cost of attendance? The amount of money made by the
family.
35.What is the formula for out-of-pocket cost? The total cost minus the EFC.
36.Why might the out-of-pocket cost be greater than what is calculated using that formula? The
formula splits the cost in half o8ut of pocket could be allot less.

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.)