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. Theres the FAFSA, and the CSS Profile
2. What form do most colleges and universities nationwide use to determine need-based
financial aid?
a. They require the FAFSA
3. What is the CSS Profile used for?
a. To see the students eligibility for the colleges own aid to the student
4. What colleges require the CSS Profile?
a. Ivy leagues and private schools
Calculating Your Expected Family Contribution
5. What
a.
6. What
a.

is the process for applying for and obtaining financial aid?

Submit forms and EFC
is the EFC?
is the minimum amount the student is expected to contribute toward the cost of
college
7. How is EFC calculated?
a. It is how much you get from aids
8. What factors determine a persons EFC?
a. expected family contribution
9. Why might a person get 3 different EFC amounts?
a. It sees if the familys able to pay for college using the income and assets that they
have.
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. If a students EFC is less than a colleges cost of attendance
Cost of Attendance
11.What
a.
12.What
a.
b.
c.
d.

elements add up to the cost of attendance?

Tuition, fees, room & board, books, travel and personal expenses
is the national average cost of attendance for:
2-Year Public College? $20,000
4-Year Public College? $28,000
4-Year Private College? $55,000
4-Year Elite College? $65,000

Putting EFC into Perspective

13.When would a student qualify for need-based financial aid?
a. If a students EFC is less than a colleges cost of attendance
14.What are students eligible for when they qualify for need-based financial aid?
a. 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?
a. Eligibility does not mean certainty

16.When would a student be denied need-based financial aid?

a. If your EFC is red on the chart
Eligible for Aid at One College, But Not at Another
17.What is eligibility for need-based financial aid dependent on?
a. Relative for the cost of the attendance for the college
18.Why might a student be eligible for aid at one college but not at another?
A. based solely on the parents income
Predicting the Financial Aid Award
19.When will students know their financial aid package amounts?
a. The school sends a letter
20.What types of resources are included in a financial aid package?
a. federal aid, state aid, and private scholarships
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?

FAFSA
form does have a place to explain special situations?
CSS Profile
can parents do if using the FAFSA to explain their financial circumstances?
You should contact the financial aid offices of each college your applying to and have a
written explanation ready to send

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 you got good grades
25.Why is aid more complex at elite private colleges?
a. for its own institutional aid dollars.
Merit Aid
26.What is merit aid based on?
a. Music, sports, academics
27.Why is merit aid so great?
a. Is grants and scholarships
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.
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?
33.What elements are included in the financial aid award letter?
34.What factors contribute to the total cost of attendance?
a. Tuition
35.What is the formula for out-of-pocket cost?
a. Cost of attendance minus financial aid package
36.Why might the out-of-pocket cost be greater than what is calculated using that formula?
a. You still have to pay the loan plus interests

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.)