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Hello. My name is Amy Kahn, Director of Student Financial Services at Hofstra University.
Welcome and thank you for joining us.
In today's webinar, we will discuss various undergraduate financial aid programs,
how and when to apply, filing the FAFSA
and provide helpful resources. At the end of the presentation,
we will answer as many questions as time will allow.
If we are not able to answer your question during the webinar
we will email the response to you individually.
Please feel free to type in your questions throughout the presentation.
Within a few days after the webinar, you will be emailed a link
to the recorded version of the presentation.
Now let's begin
Financial Aid is comprised of three major categories:
1) grants and scholarships are known as gift aid,
2) loans, which can be in the form of student loans or parent loans
which are repaid with interest,
and 3) Federal Work Study, a program which allows students to work
and earn money to help pay for college in the form of a paycheck.
Gift Aid can come from both University
and outside sources such as local civic associations.
At Hofstra, merit-based aid is determined simply by filing the application for admission
There is no separate application for merit-based aid.
If the student is eligible for merit aid,
notification will be included with the letter of acceptance
from the Office of Admission.
Institutional grants at Hofstra
require the FAFSA application.
Hofstra begins to send out financial aid packages
based on the FAFSA applications received the beginning of March.
The Pell and SEOG grants are federal grants
which are awarded to students demonstrating exceptional financial need
as calculated by the FAFSA.
The Tuition Assistance Program, TAP,
is a grant offered to eligible to New York State residents
attending a college located in New York state.
The TAP application is provided by a link upon completing the FAFSA.
Additional scholarships and grants
can be applied for at various scholarship search sites online.
Such as, finaid.org, fastweb.com, scholarships.com, and collegeboard.com
The next category of financial aid we will discuss is education loans.
The Stafford is a student loan divided into two categories:
subsidized and unsubsidized. The eligibility for subsidized
versus unsubsidized is determined by the FAFSA.
The interest on the subsidized loan is paid by the government while the
student is in college.
Whereas the unsubsidized loan interest accrues
while the student is in college. The interest rate is currently
at 3.86% with a loan fee 1.072%.
The student has the option to repay these loans while in college,
but most students defer and repay when it is required,
which is 6 months after graduation.
The maximum borrowing limit for a new dependent students
is $5,500 for a year.
For independent students, it is $9,500.
The Perkins Loan is a small student loan program
offered to students to demonstrate exceptional financial need
again as calculated by the FAFSA.
It is 5% interest and repayment begins 9 months after gradation.
The award is approximately $1,400 for the year
and it does not have a loan fee.
The Federal Parent Plus Loan is borrowed and required to be repaid by the parent.
The parent must be approved by a credit check
performed by the Department of Education.
If the parent is experiencing financial difficulties,
he or she can apply with an endorser which is kind of like a cosigner.
The Plus Loan can be deferred to repay
after the student graduates. It is 6.41% interest,
and as long as the parent and/or the parent with the endorser
passes the credit check,
the parent can borrow as much needed to cover the entire cost of education
for the year, including room, dining plans, and more
to get refunded to pay for other out a pocket cost like transportation.
The Plus Loan fee has a 4.288 percent loan fee.
Other types of loans to help finance
education include: alternative student loans, which the student would have to
apply with a credit-worthy cosigner and
parent home equity loans.
For more information on loan programs and how to apply,
please see our web page hofstra.edu/learnaboutloans.
Federal Work Study is a program where students work to earn a paycheck.
It is not deducted from the tuition bill.
This gives the students the opportunity to not only earn money to help
pay for college expenses; it also provides real work experience to help
build their resume.
Although Federal Work Study eligibility may be
indicated on the financial aid award package, students will need to apply for
the jobs and be hired for them.
The positions are not guaranteed.
Federal Work Study earnings do have to be reported
on next year's FAFSA. However, unlike other types of income,
it does not actually count against the student in the calculation for federal student aid.
And now we will discuss filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid,
the FAFSA, for 2014-2015.
The financial aid application time begins
after January 1st of the student's senior year in high school.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid is filed at fafsa.gov
At the end filing the FAFSA,
a link will be provided to New York State residents to apply for TAP
at hesc.ny.gov
If you miss the link, you should wait approximately 3-5 business days
and go directly to ask hesc.ny.gov to apply.
Some, but not all other state aid programs require the FAFSA as well.
See the full list at fafsa.gov
In addition to the federal and state applications for financial aid,
some 400 colleges, universities, and scholarship programs
may require students to file the CSS Profile application
at collegeboard.org
Hofstra University does not require the profile application.
So why should you file the FAFSA? Well, it's free.
And it determines eligibility for federal grants,
loans, and work-study.
Some states, including New York, require it
as the first part of an application process for financial aid from that state.
And some colleges and private organizations require it
for consideration and scholarships and grants, just like Hofstra.
Should I hire a consultant to help me file the FAFSA?
We do not recommend paying a fee when you can get the help you need for free.
Specialized FAFSA representatives are available to assist you step-by-step
through the entire application at 1800-4-FEDAID (1800-433-3243).
Or you can click the Live Help button to chat with a FAFSA representative.
What is the difference between fafsa.gov and fafsa.com?
Fafsa.gov is the official Federal Department of Education website for filing the FAFSA.
fafsa.com is a private company which provides
an advisory service and charges a fee.
Again, why should you pay a fee when you can get it for free?
So step one in filing the FAFSA begins with applying for a federal personal
identification number at pin.ed.gov
A PIN is required for both the student applicant
and one parent if the student is dependent.
Each student FAFSA filer, including siblings,
must have a separate PIN.
The parent uses his or her same PIN for each child filing a FAFSA.
So, in simple terms think of the PIN like a social security number.
Each individual person keeps the same federal PIN number for life.
The PIN allows you to also complete
the Federal Direct Loan Applications.
You would use the same PIN numbers to file the FAFSA every year.
So be sure to keep your PIN in a secure place
and again for assistance, call 1-800-4-FEDAID.
Step 2, after January 1st, you will be filing the FAFSA.
You should be collecting the documents needed to apply
for both the student and parent.
Also, for this year 2014-15
we would be collecting all sources of 2013 taxed
and untaxed income, such as income tax returns,
W-2 forms, benefit statements, etc.
In addition, asset information such as your
most recent bank statements, investments,
stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc.
Your social security numbers, student drivers license number,
if he or she has one, and an alien registration number if the student has one.
So what are the common mistakes people make when completing the FAFSA you
should try to avoid?
Firstly, not asking for help. You have experts that will literally walk you
step-by-step through the entire application.
Make sure that you've filed the correct
FAFSA for the correct aid year.
So if your student is going to be attending this coming fall 2014,
you would need to file the 2014-15 FAFSA.
Do not use nicknames.
Make sure you use names as they appear on your social security card.
And make sure you are using the correct social security number.
Do not list parent income twice. Meaning, do not list the parent's income
under the parent as well as the student.
Make sure both the student and parent signatures go through.
You will receive an email confirmation of the FAFSA within a couple of days,
so you can review it to make sure that it's ok.
Step 3: you will want to print a FAFSA on the web worksheet.
The worksheet is used as a helpful tool to organize your information
and cut down on the time you need to complete the FAFSA when you sit down at
the computer to enter it online.
Do not mail the worksheet to FAFSA or to colleges.
Again, for step-by-step assistance the FAFSA representatives are there to help you.
As you're completing the FAFSA, there are many questions--
relevant questions that could be
answered "yes" or "no," some of these will allow you to
perform an additional registration, like which selective service.
Registration is a requirement for young man which preserves
America's ability to provide manpower in an emergency to the United States armed forces.
Almost all man ages 18-25 must register.
Since this is a federal requirement, it is required for qualified male students
to apply for federal financial aid.
Students can register directly online
at SSS.gov, or on the FAFSA by checking "yes."
When filing the FAFSA, it is important to understand
that principles of federal financial need analysis
is, that paying for college is a partnership.
An equitable and consistent formula applies,
based on the dependency status of the student.
A parent contribution and a student contribution equals the expected family contribution.
A snapshot the family's current financial condition
allowing for consideration of loss of income,
special circumstances such as unemployment,
disability, separation/divorce,
or death of a parent, excessive medical/dental expenses paid out-of-pocket, etc.
Most financial aid offices have a special
for for this. At Hofstra, we call this our Re-evaluation Form.
So if you have a special circumstance by all means please contact our office.
We will have the contact information at the end
of the webinar, and we will provide that form for you.
Dependent students must file the FAFSA
with a parent with whom they've lived the most the last 12 months,
regardless of who claimed the student on their tax return.
If the parent is remarried, the stepparent's information
must be reported.
I just want to mention that, again,
at the beginning at the presentation, we did mention that
we are recording this webinar and you will receive
an email with a link to the presentation.
If you are trying to furiously make notes, never fear, you will receive the presentation.
Who is a parent when filing the FAFSA?
Biological or stepparents married to the parent the student lives with
or an adoptive parent. Now brand new for 2014-15
if the parents are living in the same household, you must report information
for both parents--even if the parents are separated, divorced, or a same-gender marriage.
Who is not a parent when filing the FAFSA?
Grandparents, foster parents,
legal guardians, aunts and uncles, are not parents for filing the FAFSA unless
they legally adopted the student before the student turned thirteen years old.
Students are considered independent-- meaning they do not have to include
parent information on the FAFSA--
if they can answer "yes" to 1 or more other questions below.
For 2014-2015, a student would be automatically independent if they were
born before January 1, 1991,
if the student was married, and so on.
I'll give you a moment to just review that slide.
The principles of federal need analysis is calculated by the FAFSA and
takes into consideration parent information.
Being independent as an undergraduate is somewhat unusual.
If you have any questions regarding your status,
please feel free to contact our office at Hofstra or at 1800-4-FEDAID.
Continuing on with the FAFSA questions: My parents are separated or divorced and
living apart. Whose information do I put on the FAFSA?
You should be reporting the information for the parent the student lived with
the most the past 12 months, regardless of who claims the student on their tax return.
If the student did not live with one parent more than the other,
then you must report the information for the parent who provided the most financial support.
If parents are separated or divorced,
but still living in the same household,
you must record information for both parents.
Again, that part is brand new for 2014.
If the parents are separated or divorced,
but still living in the same household,
you must report information for both parents for 2014-2015.
Do parents have to be legally separated to file the FAFSA as separated?
No, but most colleges will ask for proof of separate residences,
such as a copy of a lease and utility bills.
My stepparent is not responsible for supporting me.
Why do I have to report his or her information on the FAFSA?
It is required by federal financial aid regulations.
If the parent you reside with is remarried, you must report
your stepparent's information on the FAFSA.
My parents do not have social security numbers.
How do I complete that area out the FAFSA?
You would enter "0" in all the spaces asking for parents' social security numbers if they don't have them.
We have not yet completed our 2013
federal income tax returns. How do we complete the FAFSA?
You would check the box indicating you have not yet filed
and enter estimated income.
Once your tax returns have been filed, you can return to the FAFSA
to change the information.
The FAFSA requires us to report the net worth
of our investments. What does that mean?
The net worth is the current value of all your investments required to be reported
on the FAFSA minus debt.
And be sure to only subtract debt from properties
other than your primary residence, like a vacation home,
or rental property, because your primary residence
is not counted on the FAFSA at all.
What kind of investments are included on the FAFSA? Real estate.
Again, vacation homes and rental properties do get counted, but do not include
the home you live in unless a portion of it is rented out.
Then you would only report the proportion of the rented portion.
You would also include trust funds, UGMA,
and UTMA accounts, money market funds,
mutual funds, certificates of deposit,
stocks, stock options,
bonds, other securities, installment,
and land sale contracts (including mortgages held), commodities, etc.,
qualified educational benefits or education savings accounts
(Coverdell savings accounts, 529 college savings plans
and the refund value of 529 prepaid tuition plans).
How are 529 plans reported on the FAFSA?
We make this a separate question because this is really the most popular savings vehicle.
The 529 plans are reported under the owner
as an investment, not the beneficiary.
If the parent is the owner, it is reported under the parent investment question.
And if the parent has more than one 529 plan
for various members of the family, including siblings of the student,
the total value of all plans must be reported
under the parent asset section.
Besides the home we live in, are there any investments we do not include on the FAFSA?
You do not include the value of life insurance,
retirement plans (including 401[k], plans pension funds,
annuities, non-education IRA's, Keogh plans, etc.),
so you are not including the total value of your life insurance and any retirement plans.
And make sure that you don't count something twice.
So like the UGMA and the UTMA accounts
for which you are in a custodian but not the owner,
or cash, savings, and checking accounts which were already reported on the FAFSA.
Be sure that if you do have some assets that are included
that you are only including them once.
How do I find out the federal college codes of the schools I want to apply to?
There is a search online when you're completing the FAFSA,
you can ask the colleges directly, or call the FAFSA toll free number.
Hofstra's federal school code is 002732.
I can only send the FAFSA to 10 colleges online, what if I need to send the FAFSA to more?
You can change the codes by going back into the FAFSA online or call 1 800-4-FED-AID
and do it over the phone.
That's the only change you can do to the FAFSA over the phone.
By doing this, you are actually removing some of the previous schools listed.
And therefore any future changes to the FAFSA will only
be sent to the 10 schools most recently listed on the FAFSA.
So I would advise you if you're going to do this
that you would replace the ones that the student is least likely to go to.
I am interested in living on campus but not sure.
Which answer should I indicate on the FAFSA?
For each college code you want to indicate on the FAFSA,
you need to also indicate the corresponding housing status.
If you're interested in living on campus, you should definitely
indicate on campus. If you need to change the status later to "with parent"
or "off campus," you should inform each financial aid office directly.
What is the difference between "with parent" an "off campus" housing status?
"Which parent" means the students will be commuting
from their parents' or other relative's home.
"Off campus" means the student will be commuting from his or her own home or apartment.
There is no place to indicate special circumstances such as loss of income on the FAFSA.
Can I request a re-evaluation? Yes.
Again, most colleges do have a special form for this.
You would need to contact each college financial aid office,
explain your circumstance, and ask the proper procedures.
What if I have to make corrections to FAFSA after I file it?
You would simply return fafsa.gov and make the corrections online.
And again, the federal representatives are there to help you
through the original application as well as making any changes.
How do I apply for the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP)?
There will be a link for New York State residents only to apply for TAP
at the end of the FAFSA. If you missed the link,
wait approximately three to five days then go directly to the TAP website
hesc.ny.gov and just like the federal toll-free number
hesc also has a toll free number and they will help you step-by-step through
the application process.
So once you've completed your web worksheet, you would then go online
and click "Start a new FAFSA" to begin entering your information.
What happens next? Upon receipt of the FAFSA,
a financial aid package will be calculated by the colleges
and sent if you're accepted for admission.
At Hofstra, we begin to send financial aid packages out based on the FAFSA
at the beginning of March.
Further details regarding required documents will be provided within
the financial aid package.
And you should accept or decline the financial aid offer to you and
return the response to the aid office as soon as possible,
but no later than May 1st, the national reply date.
Your FAFSA may be selected by the FAFSA processor or by colleges
for a process known as verification.
If this is the case you would need to submit documentation so that we can
verify and correct any mistakes that you may have made.
So you would need to submit your signed 2013 income documentation.
We suggest that you request copies of your 2013 federal tax return transcripts in advance
just in case you are selected so that will help
speed up the process for you.
And make sure that you do this in a timely manner
because you would not now exactly what your final answer will be
for financial aid until you complete the verification process.
And that is if you are selected. Don't just send in
your income information to colleges automatically.
Only send it in if the individual colleges ask for it.
Additional aid could be offered upon completion of verification,
or it may be adjusted based on any correction that are necessary.
The typical undergraduate financial aid process begins
in the fall semester of the student's senior year in high school.
We have provided to you our Hofstra.edu scholarship page
so you can read about our application processes
and the criteria for our various scholarships.
Males must register for selective service
upon reaching the age of eighteen years old.
The student and one parent must apply for your federal pin.
So, one pin for the student and one for the parent.
If the parent already has a pin
from filing an application, or let's say, the student's sibling,
or if they have filed for financial aid for themselves, then they would use the same pin.
It's the same pin for life. If required by individual colleges,
you would file the CSS Profile application.
But again, this is not required by Hofstra.
After January 1st, if you're going to be attending college
in 2014-15, you would need to go ahead and file the FAFSA.
And if you're a New York state resident,
go ahead and file the TAP application at the end of filing the FAFSA.
In late February or early March,
many colleges and universities will begin to send out the full financial aid
packages based on the FAFSAs.
You would then be informed if you needed to complete the verification.
And again, we're just giving you a little heads up to
request your tax transcript in advance so that you have that on hand
in case you need it. We would ask you then to submit
any forms, other kinds of forms if necessary.
Like your Perkins Promissory note if your student was eligible,
proof of citizen status,
selective service and so on.
And then April or May, we would like you to accept or decline the financial aid no later than
May 1st again, the national reply date.
And you would pay your tuition and housing deposits.
Sooner if required by the individual colleges.
And then in May there are additional processes for students to file for
the Stafford loan as well as parents--
if you're going to be borrowing a parent loan. And then if you're going to be borrowing
the alternative loans, we provided that website for you there
to compare the different alternatives student loan programs.
We've included some helpful links for financial aid resources
our Hofstra scholarship page: hofstra.edu/scholarship
For federal financial aid, visit studentaid.gov;
for New York State aid, hesc.ny.gov;
and for general financial aid information, finaid.org.
And now we're going to take some questions. Just a reminder, don't
worry if you missed any information in the presentation
because you will be emailed a link to the presentation in a few days.
If we don't get to all of yourvindividual questions today--we do have
quite a number of people registered for the presentation--
we will individually email you the response.
So our first question is,
is there an application process for institutional grants
or is it determined by the FAFSA?
The answer is, our institutional grants must be applied for by filing a FAFSA.
That is the only way that you can be considered for it.
And I highly suggest that you file the FAFSA at least your student's first year in college.
You can decide from there if you want to file it in continuing years.
But our formula for our institutional grants
uses the information from the FAFSA, but it's not the exact same calculation
as determining eligibility for let's say the Pell Grant,
the SEOG grant. So you might be pleasantly surprised that you could be
eligible for some of our institutional grants.
B you will never know if you don't file the FAFSA.
Our next question: Do you need to include the retirement data when you have
a defined benefit plan that doesn't allow you to take money out of the plan?
The value of your retirements, your pensions, your IRAs, etc.-- none of that is reported
on the FAFSA at all.
The total value of your assets,
the total value of the worth of those savings plans are not reported
on FAFSA at all. However, if you are taking,
let's say a two thousand dollar distribution within a year,
and that portion is untaxed, then that would
be reported in the untaxed income area of the FAFSA.
You have basically two parts of the FAFSA:
the asset portion, which you would not be including the value,
but again, in the income section, if for that particular year
you took a distribution out of it,
if it was untaxed income, it would be included on
the FAFSA in the untaxed income section.
Our loan fees yearly, or at one time
they're basically taken off of each distribution of the loan.
Let's say congress votes for the loan fee for
2014-15; the loan is split up into two disbursements--
half of the loan gets sent to the school in the fall semester,
so that percentage would be taken off
of the fall dispersant, and then the other half of the loan gets dispersed
in the spring semester. So, again, the loan fee would apply to the spring semester as well.
The next question: How do I know if I'm signing in as a parent
or student on the FAFSA?
The student would sign in under his or her application
as the student applicant, and then when it asks for parent information,
then you would indicate the parent information.
Next question: On 529 plans,
if the parent has two kids in school, the value
of both 529 plans are entered as the parent's assets, not student's. Is this correct?
Yes, that is correct. And it is correct
whether the students are in school at the same time or not. You could have one
of your students being in high school and one of your students being in college.
So, basically the value of the total asset
of the 529 plans are entered in the parent section, not the students'.
And you want to make sure to do that correctly because in the FAFSA formula,
the parent assets are weighed less heavily than the students.
So you wanna be sure that you're recording that correctly.
The next question: Is an unsubsidized loan based on need, or can anyone get
this loan? The unsubsidized loan is not based on need.
So every single student who applies for financial aid
will be eligible for a Stafford Loan.
What portion of it subsidized versus unsubsidized
is based on showing financial need. But, yes anyone will be eligible
as long as you are meeting the other eligibility requirements for citizenship,
then you would be eligible for an unsubsidized Stafford loan.
The next question: My daughter received a scholarship. Do we still need to file the FAFSA?
It's highly recommended that you do file the FAFSA.
The merit scholarships are simply based on merit
but you will never know if your student might qualify for something else
unless you file the FAFSA. Again, I recommend strongly
that you file the FAFSA for at least the first year
and then if you decide not file it in continuing years,
that's up to you.
The next question: How are assets of a small business owner treated?
That happens to be a question on the FAFSA.
The federal government and the
federal department and education defines a small business owner
as having less than a hundred employees.
So if your business has less than 100 employees,
then you would not be reporting the value of that at all.
If you are owner and controller of the business which has more than 100 employees,
then you would report the net value of that business.
So let's pretend like your business is worth a hundred thousand dollars
and you have debt on that business of fifty thousand dollars,
then you would only be reporting fifty thousand dollars--
the difference, the net value. But again that's only
if the business that you own and control has more than 100 employees.
The next question: Do we call it admissions or financial aid to confirm that our FAFSA
has been received? The answer is that we're really one.
We're one office. You can call our Student Financial Services
office number and we will confirm that for you once we began to download the FAFSAs.
But at Hofstra, we have not began to download the FAFSA applications yet.
Our computer personnel need some time to
implement the new year computer system.
The next question: Is there a deadline to make a decision and keep scholarship funds?
May 1st is the national reply date.
At Hofstra, we would certainly want you to try to make a decision sooner
so that we can take a look at our our entire application pool.
But you really need to check this with other schools
as well because they may have deadlines that could be sooner than that.
Next question: Are scholarships first come first serve? The answer to that
is, generally, no.
As long as you meet our scholarship criteria,
you would be eligible for a scholarship.
Some transfer students, depending on
the fall and spring semester and and budgetary concerns
may or may not receive a scholarship. So you would certainly want
to be the early applicant.
Should we fill out the 2013 FAFSA
as soon as possible? What do you recommend?
Firstly, for students entering Hofstra in the Fall 2014 term,
that's this coming fall, you would need to fill out the 2014-15 FAFSA--
and that should be by February 15 at Hofstra.
Other schools may require a different deadline.
We consider it more of a preferred deadline; it doesn't mean that you won't
receive financial aid if you file it after february 15,
but there are some forms of financial aid that there's the potential
for running out of, that you may have otherwise qualified for.
But it will also give you that extra time
so that you can make your final decision as to
where you're going to be able to go to.
Will verification go to the student or to the parent?
All of the communication with the
families will be addressed to the student for
particular information. We may send out parent notices
with general information, but when it comes to the
required documentation, everything will be addressed to the student.
We have some questions pertaining to particular lines
on the FAFSA. Which I can't really answer
at this moment but let me just tell you that when you're online
completing the FAFSA, it will tell you exactly
which line of the tax return
if you're filing a 1040 or 1040A or 1040EZ,
which line of the tax return to look at
to enter the information onto the FAFSA.
And again if you have any questions about that, you can certainly
call the toll-free number 1800-4-FEDAID
and they'll help you find that on your tax return if you're not as familiar with it.
The next question: Is there any assistance for students with disabilities?
Yes. There are some forms of financial aid.
So I would encourage you to
file the FAFSA as well as inquire with
our office for students services with disabilities.
What is the average amount financial aid given for our new year students?
It's typically in the $20,000 range.
It really depends on-- well, we can break it down by a lot of categories--
but the bottom line is that
94% of our incoming students do receive financial aid.
It's very important that you file the FAFSA to see what you will
be eligible for.
Next question: If a student took college-level courses in high school,
should we check attended college before first-year?
No. That's not what the FAFSA is looking for.
So you would you check the box for first-year,
attending the first year this year.
Again we have some other particular
assets, savings vehicle account questions.
I would encourage you to call the
1-800 number and identify your particular savings vehicle
and discuss if it should be reported under
the parents action or the student section.
We have another question, I own my own business do I include
business tax returns and business income on the FAFSA as well?
The answer is no. When you're
completing the FAFSA,
your business income will follow through to your personal tax return return
so that would be on your 1040.
If you are showing the income, that would already be included as part of
your 1040, where it will ask for the adjusted gross income.
Some schools might ask you for copies of business tax returns
because they may wish to scrutinize their institutional grants more thoroughly.
But that would probably be a rare case.
Next question: If we know we are not elligible
for many grants, is there still a possibility that we can get additional
grants from Hofstra?
Yes, there is definitely a possibility. But if you don't file the FAFSA,
you won't know for sure.
So please file the FAFSA.
Where can I find the worksheet on the FAFSA? You can go
onto fafsa.gov. It's a little tricky to get into,
but we will email you this specific link. We had it in our slide.
Once you get the link, you'll be able to click on the exact link.
Or just call that toll-free number: 1-800-4-FINAID
And they'll help you get to that spot on the FAFSA website.
What about veterans' children scholarships?
Hofststra does participate in veterans' benefits.
So if you're a veteran and you are entitled to benefits
that you can pass on to your children,
we definitely have those.
In our Alumni Relations department, we do have some
we do have some veterans scholarships...
...so you can take a look at their webpage.
Their applications are usually posted online
at the Alumni Relations website by the end of January.
Next question: Is there a special form if you're a widow?
No. The FAFSA will provide
and a box though that you would check if you are a widow.
So you would just complete the FAFSA and check that particular form.
Next question: If updating tax information
once a previously estimated FAFSA was filed, do we update
all other numbers too, like bank account balances?
No. You would not do that. When you update information or correct
information, you should only be updating income.
You did not go back into the FAFSA to change any kind of assets like your bank
accounts or stocks, or anything like that.
That's a one point in time kind of snapshot.
Next question: How do the FAFSA awards
affect scholarships?
We build a financial aid package around
the scholarship, so we would certainly look at your
need-based grant if you were eligible, let's say for the Federal Pell Grant,
as well as the scholarships, but
we layer the different kinds of eligibility
on top of the scholarships.
Next question: If salary changes based on commission, is that a reason for
supplemental information?
That's certainly something that we would at Hofstra take a look at.
So you would request our re-evaluation form and submit the
appropriate documentation and we would see if that would help
get you any additional financial aid.
Next question: Is income reported on the FAFSA based on gross salary or
after deductions? The main questions on the FAFSA are asking for your
adjusted gross income, federal taxes paid, and things like that.
It will tell you exactly which line from your tax return to report.
But I do highly recommend that you call the FAFSA toll-free number when filling it
out because they can walk you step-by-step
through, not only the FAFSA online, but
they're trained to know which lines of your tax returns and W2 forms to look at.
Next question: Does FAFSA consider having
other children looking at money in the bank? Yes.
When you're filling out the FAFSA it will ask for the number of household members
that are residing in your household
and how many are going to college
other than the student you are applying for on the FAFSA.
So, basically the more members of the household and the more members
of students going to college at the same time,
the less the FAFSA considers that you are able to contribute towards your student's education.
Next question: If I as the parent have investments with my child
as the co-owner, like it joint bank account, does the asset get reported
under my information or the student's?
Basically, if there are jointly-held assets, then you would report half
under the parent information and half under the student information.
There's a question pertaining to a particular veterans benefit,
as to whether it needs to be reported on the FAFSA.
I would suggest that you call the toll-free number and tell them
the exact form of that and
they would be able to tell you that's reportable or not.
The next question: How soon can we
request tax return transcripts?
That partly depends on how quickly you process your
2013 tax returns.
So, once you file your tax returns, there will be a lag in between and
that's totally up to the IRS.
But new for this year, they did just announce
that you will be able to request the tax return transcript online
so you can go to irs.gov
You would be able to pull that up and print that out.
But, there will be you know a little bit of a time lag between when your tax return is processed
and then when you can actually print out the tax return transfer.
Next question: Is there a negative to filing the FAFSA?
If there is, I certainly cannot think of one.
I can only think of positive things filing a FAFSA.
Especially because people assume that they might not be eligible for something.
But even if let's say the student wants to take out a student loan,
you never know if there is a study abroad program, or maybe a winter session
or summer course and they might want to take a student loan
or work in a federal work study position.
You're never going to know what you are eligible for
unless you actually file.
Question about federal work-study: Are students allowed to use federal work
study for spending money while in college,
or do they have to sign the checks over to pay for tuition?
Basically, the federal work study program
is in the form of a paycheck to the students
so if we indicate if the student is eligible or not
in their financial aid package, they have to apply for the jobs
and get the job and they get paid in the form of a paycheck.
So that is up to the student
as to how they're going to choose to spend it. Some of them might
pay later on--let's say save the money and pay toward spring semester
or use it for books or what have you.
But that's really up to the student when they get the paycheck.
Next question: Does parent loan debt get entered as debt on the FAFSA?
No, it does not.
It's only against any particular asset that you have.
So, if you own a rental property and it's worth $200,000
and there's a $50,000 mortgage on it
then you would subtract that mortgage and just report that net value.
Otherwise, only debts that are associated with particular assets are reported.
Next question: Do we have to file the FAFSA to renew Hofstra scholarships every year?
No, not for merit-based scholarships. We did not require the FAFSA
to get it in the beginning or to renew it.
But again, there could be some other types the scholarships that
the student becomes eligible for along the way,
like donor scholarships that you might need to file a FAFSA
to be eligible to renew it.
For the full criteria, I would highly recommend that you
take a look at our web-site, hofstra.edu/scholarship, and you can take
a look at our eligibility and renewal criteria for Hofstra aid.
Is bare a specific level of income for which the student will not be
eligible for aid from the FAFSA?
No. It's not just based on income.
Every student who is qualified to file a FAFSA is
eligible for a Stafford loan at a minimum. The FAFSA is a complicated formula
and it's based on a calculation of all the information you put on it.
So that includes income, assets, how many people are in your family, how many
of your children are going to college at the same time.
Basically everything you put on the FAFSA factors into the formula.
Now that's very different from TAP though.
TAP is based directly on the net taxable income, your New York net taxable income
plus any untaxed pension income.
So for TAP, the total income cannot be over $80,000 for dependent students to qualify.
For TAP, the net taxable income plus
any untaxed pension income, the cut off is $80,000.
Next question: Explain the $5,500 limit. Is that
all we can borrow for the year?
Out of that one particular loan program, the Stafford Loan Program,
which is a student loan, that is the maximum a student can borrow the first year.
As they move up in grade level, sophomores can get an additional $1,000--it goes up a bit.
But this is all in the particular program.
The government does this--they limit the student loans-- to try to help limit
the student borrowing. And that's when the parent loans come in.
The parents loans can borrow up to the full cost of the education.
And also the private lenders--that's on our summary chart.
You could take a look at those loan programs and compare them,
because you can borrow as much as you need to cover the
full cost of attendance with that.
But that $5,500 limit, that's the federal limit for
the Federal Stafford Loan only.
Next question: Do we recommend
completing the FAFSA before filing the tax returns? Yes, I absolutely do. That is if
you cannot file your FAFSA by
the college deadline. So, if you are not able to file your tax return
by February 15,
go ahead and file the FAFSA based on estimated numbers
and then go back into the system and change it.
Then the next part of the question is, Would we get flagged for an audit?
The Department of Education doesn't
not call it an audit, so it's
not that we would be auditing you,
but some FAFSAs are selected for verification
of the information you put on the FAFSA.
So, we cannot predict which ones will be picked and which ones won't.
It's not a single indicator that you would definitely get picked
for the verification process.
But the bottom line is, you want to file the FAFSA
by the deadline so you know your final answer and
don't miss out on financial aid.
So, it is necessary, go ahead, file the FAFSA
based on estimated numbers then go back and
load the information and the correct information, once you have filed that.
The next question, Does the FAFSA need to be completed prior to the CSS profile?
No. Actually, the College Board
opens up the application sometime in October each year.
You'll find very few colleges
do require the CSS Profile application.
But that's in October
whereas the FAFSA is available in January.
The next question, Do you include child support as income?
Yes. So, when filing the FAFSA
the child support received for all children in the household
for the year has to be reported under the parent section.
This concludes our webinar. Thank you all so much for participating.
If we were unable to answer your direct questions we will
send you an email answering the individually.
And we will follow up with an email with the link to this recorded webinar.
Have a great day!