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Q: What is financial aid and how much money can it save me? A: Financial aid consists of loans, grants, scholarships, institutional, merit aid etc. that is awarded to parents and students on the basis of their demonstrated need and academic standing. Depending on the availability of funds, you may be able to receive up to the difference of what it costs to attend college and what your family can contribute toward that cost. Q: How is financial aid determined? A: Financial aid is determined by the college/university to which a student applies. State colleges/universities use a federal methodology and some private schools use an institutional methodology in addition to the federal methodology. To make it simple, schools use a pre-determined formula to figure out how much a family can afford to pay, taking into account the assets, income and size of the family to determine the amount they should contribute to the school. The difference between what the family can contribute and the cost of education is the student's financial need. Schools try to award students enough financial aid in the form of grants, loans and work-study to meet that financial need. Q: What is the first step to take if I want to apply for financial aid? A: Obtain a Free Application for Federal Student Aid, determine if the colleges you are applying to require any other financial aid application in addition to the FAFSA and research private sources of aid. Q: Where can I get copies of the financial aid forms? A: The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) can be obtained at any high school guidance office, college financial aid office or from the RI Higher Education Assistance Authority. You can also apply over the Internet at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Q: How long does it take to hear back from the processing center after filing a FAFSA? A: It usually takes 3-4 weeks if filing a paper FAFSA and 3-4 days if filing electronically. Q: I don't think we will qualify for anything but the PLUS loan. Should we still file the FAFSA? A: Filing the FAFSA is always recommend . There are many cases where unforeseen circumstances arise, such as unemployment, and if you have filed the FAFSA, you will be prepared for any such surprise. It also often makes processing the PLUS a much smoother process. Q: What is the deadline for applying for financial aid? A: Deadlines vary from school to school. The deadline for applying for a Rhode Island state grant is March 1st. Check with each school you are applying to to determine what their deadline is and get your application in by the earliest deadline. Q: Is there a maximum amount of money/grants a student can receive? A: Yes. You can receive up to the cost of education. This includes tuition, fees, room and board (or an allowance for room and board off-campus), as well as allowances for books, transportation and miscellaneous expenses. Q: I'm a registered Alien. At college I have to pay the international tuition fee, which is pretty expensive. Could I get financial aid somehow? A: You would be eligible to apply for federal student aid if you are a registered alien. You would not be eligible if you are in the United States on a student visa (F1 or F2) or an exchange visitor visa (J1 or J2). The eligible non-citizen qualifications are explained in greater detail in the Free Application for Federal Student AID (FAFSA) directions. Q: Is there any benefit to filing the FAFSA early as opposed to just before a deadline? A: The earlier the better. If there is any problem with the application, you will have extra time to deal with correcting the problem. In fact, you can avoid errors by filing on line. FAFSA on the Web has edits built in to catch errors before processing. However, you cannot file the FAFSA until January 1 of the year you are applying for aid. Q: Does Rhode Island have any special state grant, scholarship or loan programs? A: Rhode Island has a state grant program and a state scholarship program for residents of RI. To apply for these programs, file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The deadline for applying each year is March 1. Rhode Island also offers alternative loan programs such as the RI Family Education Loan and the CollegeBound Loan. Contact RI Student Loan Authority to learn more about loans. Contact RIHEAA to learn more about state grant and scholarship programs. Q: Do I have to have my income taxes done before I complete the FAFSA? A: Although it is easier to file the financial aid application with your tax returns completed, you can complete the form using your best estimate of your prior year income if your tax returns are not completed using your last paycheck for the year or your last year's tax return as a guide. You will have a chance to update any figures put on the application at a later date. Q: How does a school decide what percentage aid will be offered in the forms of scholarships, grants, loans or work study? A: Each school has its own awarding formula--contact each to get their awarding policy. Q: Other than the FAFSA, Profile, and scholarship applications, are there any additional forms to fill out looking for dollars? A: Some colleges have their own financial aid form that they required to be completed. So check with each college you have applied to. Q: Is it best to use certified mail for all of these forms? A: Do not use certified mail. Just use regular mail. Q: Do individual institutions award their own scholarships to students based on academic criteria or financial need? A: Some schools have money to give out in the form of scholarships based on merit and grants based on financial need. Other schools may just have merit-based or just need-based scholarships or grants. In general, however, most schools have both. Q: How soon after the student receives the acceptance does a college make its' financial aid offer? A: The timing for getting your financial aid award really depends on the school. Some schools are able to tell you very shortly after you have been accepted.Contact the school before the financial aid deadline to make sure they have all your paperwork. Also ask them when they plan on sending out their award letters. Q: Are there any tools or forms I can use to estimate what my son might receive in financial aid and what my cost would be? A: The College Aid Calculator available online or for download. This calculator will take all your information from the FAFSA and put it through the federal formula for you. Q: My daughter graduates from high school this spring. She has already been accepted at a college. How can I increase her chances of receiving financial aid? A: The chances of receiving financial aid are directly related to your filing the FAFSA (Free App for Federal Student Aid) on time. A student's eligibility for aid will be determined based on the financial strength of the family as determined by information supplied on financial aid applications. Q: Do you have to go through the FAFSA process for each year of schooling or is the initial determination good for four years? A: You need to fill out the FAFSA every year. This is very important. Q: What is the Profile used for and when should that be sent in? A: The Profile form is used by some colleges to obtain information that is not obtained from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Colleges use this form to determine a student's eligibility for their institutional aid. Each college sets their own deadline for when the Profile form is needed. To check to see if a certain college requires the Profile Form you can call the financial aid office of the school you are applying to or check the College Board's internet site at www.collegeboard.com. The College Board produces the Profile Form. Q: If my parents are divorced, who's financial information do I need to use? A: If your parents are divorced, you will need information from the parent with whom you live when filing the FAFSA. If that parent has remarried, the stepparent's information must also be included on the form. Q: My Mom is remarried but my step dad won't contribute to my education...so do we have to include his income? A: The Department of Education requires that stepparent information be included, since it is a part of household income. You are not required to list the non-custodial, biological parent's income on the FAFSA (though you must include child support and/or alimony). Q: If my children were independent, is my financial information needed on the FAFSA or PROFILE? A: If a student is independent, parental information is not included on the FAFSA. However, to be considered independent for purposes of applying for financial aid, a student must either be over the age of 24 or be an orphan or ward of the court, be married, have dependents, be a veteran of the US Armed Forces or be working toward a degree beyond a bachelor’s degree, In some special cases, a college may ask an independent student to provide parental information on the Profile form. Q: Regarding investments: the FAFSA states to include real estate (other than the home you live in), what about property that my wife has but there is a stipulation on the deed that it can not be sold for it must stay within the family. How do I present the investment value of this property? A: You must include the net value of this property on the application. However, due to the special circumstances involved, you should also write a letter explaining the stipulation and send the letter to the Director of Financial Aid at the schools to which you are applying. They will determine if the value of the home should be included when determining your financial need. Q: How come on the Profile form my mother had to put her home equity, but on the FAFSA it wasn't asked? A: The equity on a home is not considered for the purposes of determining eligibility for federal student aid, therefore the question is not asked on the federal form. Institutions however, use the CSS Profile to award their own institutional funding and can choose to request his information before making such awards. Q: Are financial obligations considered on the FAFSA? For example, do they take into account any car loans or other consumer debt that you have or is it just your mortgage that they consider? A: Consumer loans or credit card debt are not considered on the FAFSA. Also the value or debt of your home is not to be listed on the FAFSA. If you own real estate other than your primary residence, the net value of that real estate is listed as an asset. Q: Are U.S. Savings Bonds listed as an investment on the FAFSA regardless of whether or not they have matured? A: The value of savings bonds must be listed on the application even if they have not yet matured. You would estimate the value if you were to redeem them prior to maturing. Q: Do IRA's and 401(k)'s have to be reported on the FAFSA forms? A: IRA's, 401K's or any other retirement funds do not need to be reported in the asset area on the FAFSA. What was contributed into a retirement fund for the prior year must be reported as income. Q: I saved some money in the bank as a student. Are they going to take all that money from me? A: A student's bank savings are considered an asset. 35% of student assets are considered when calculating the expected family contribution. Q: How is financial aid divided between 2 children? A: When you file the FAFSA, what is determined is what the family can contribute toward the cost of college. There is a question on the form asking how many will be in college. If there are two in college, the expected parental contribution will essentially be divided by two. Schools then use this adjusted expected family contribution to determine the student's eligibility for aid. If it is determined that you can contribute $5000 toward the cost of education and you have two in college, your contribution will be adjusted to approximately $2500 for each child. This adjusted expected contribution is then subtracted from the cost of education at each child's school to determine each child's financial need for aid. Q: How does one apply for a Pell Grant? A: The FAFSA form is the application for the Pell Grant. Q: With two in college what are the guidelines for a Pell Grant? A: You have to demonstrate a significant financial need. With two in college you have a better chance of qualifying for it. But the financial aid officer will need to look at your family's income and assets to determine your financial need for the Pell Grant. Q: Can the federal Pell Grant only be used for tuition or can it be applied to room and board. What are valid expenses for school? A: The Pell Grant can be applied to room and board as well as tuition. The school comes up with a cost of attendance which not only includes tuition and fees, but also room and board, and miscellaneous expenses such as transportation and books. Q: Where can I get information about scholarships? A: You can get information about scholarships on the web, by doing a search- for example check with www.fastweb.com. The College Planning Center offers a list of locations and addresses for scholarships in Rhode Island at www.rischolarships.com. The school that you apply to will consider you for academic scholarships if you are eligible. Most groups and organizations offer scholarships, from your local church to rotaries etc., so check with any organization to which you or a family member belong to see if they offer scholarships. Q: My son has been offered a 4-year scholarship to URI, on the condition that he maintains a 3.0 average, however, he wants to go to Northeastern. As a rule, is it harder to get scholarships from other states, than it is from your own? A: Not necessarily. The amount of scholarship aid schools offer depends on the schools endowment (how much they have to offer), the number of students applying for the scholarship and the type of student the school wants to attract. Some out of state schools want to attract out of state students and therefore may offer good scholarships to out of state students. Q: At the college I want to attend, the SAT is not required. However many scholarships want the scores. What does that do for financial aid ? A: It's true that some measures of academic quality are often required in order for students to qualify for scholarships. Standardized tests, such as the SATs provide a yardstick, if you will, to compare students. Many colleges award merit scholarships based on standardized testing, grade point average, rank in class and extra-curricular activities. If the student is top-notch, there are more possibilities for "merit" or non-need-based scholarships. These "merit" scholarships are usually awarded by the office of admission before the folder is sent to the office of financial aid. A student has less "demonstrated financial need" when the student gets merit scholarships, because it diminishes the cost of attendance. Q: How do I report a scholarship I received if I can only receive it when I go to a RI College? A: You will simply need to tell the RI financial aid officer, if you attend a school in RI, that you have an outside scholarship. Q: What is the Regional Student Program? A: The Regional Student Program is administered by the New England Board of Higher Education (www.nebhe.org). You can apply to the regional program through your school's admission's office if you are attending a public school in New England - but not in your home state - and are enrolling in a program that is not offered at any public schools in your home state. If accepted, you would be charged instate tuition plus 50% rather than out of state tuition. Q: Is scholarship money taken off the amount of grant money a student receives? A: This depends on the particular school you applied to. The outside scholarship diminishes demonstrated financial need. However, many colleges apply the outside scholarship toward diminishing loans. Q: Can you explain "work study"? A: Work study is a part time job offered as part of your financial aid package from the college. You are paid hourly. The job can be on campus or sometimes off campus. Q: What kind of financial aid is available for an adult returning to school? A: Basically, the same type of federal and state aid available to a "traditional" college student would be available to an adult returning to college. Q: When should I apply for loans? A: You should wait for the award letter from the college prior to applying for loans–they will tell you your eligibility for all types of loans programs. Q: What is the Stafford loan? A: A Stafford Loan is an educational loan taken out by a student that is attending school on at least a half time basis. If it is a Subsidized Stafford loan, (student demonstrated financial need for the loan) the borrower is not responsible for interest while he is attending school at least half time and the principle is deferred. If it is an Unsubsidized loan, (financial need was not demonstrated) the principle is still deferred but the student is responsible for the interest. Q: How do you get a Stafford Loan and how do you get a Subsidized Loan vs. an Unsubsidized Loan? A: You apply for them through the FAFSA and the school will let you know which loans you are eligible for. Q: Do parents need to co-sign student loans, or can they (students) be solely responsible? A: Parents do not need to co-sign federal Stafford student loans. They (parents) can apply for PLUS loans (Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students) Q: What is the Plus loan and how do I get info on it? A: The Plus Loan is a loan that a parent of a dependent student takes out for their child's education. For more information you can call the financial aid office at any school or RI Higher Education at 1-800-922-9855. You can also go to the loan icon on RIHEAA's website for information on both the Stafford and PLUS loans. Q: Is there a limit on the amount of PLUS loan that can be taken out? A: The limit of the PLUS loan is the Cost of Attendance minus any financial aid received. Q: I have recently heard that you can get a loan forgiveness in special cases, and would like to know more about this. A: You can read up on loan forgiveness on the Mapping Your Future website (www.mappingyourfuture.org) There should be a link to loan forgiveness, or you can send them a message on the contact form and they will lead you to it. Q: How can I receive financial aid if I'm in default on a student loan? A: If you are in default, you have to clear up your record by making six consecutive payments - or by paying off your entire balance. Work with your lender/servicer - whoever has your loan - to make arrangements with them to clear up your record so that you can be re-instated and become eligible for Federal and state aid again. Q: Does Rhode Island offer a college savings plan? A: Yes, Rhode Island offers the CollegeBoundfund. Last Modified: August 24, 2007 02:10:06 PM Contact RIHEAA | Privacy | Accessibility RIHEAA policy prohibits discrimination based upon race, color, sex, age, gender identity or expression, national origin, religion, handicap/disability status, veteran status, or sexual orientation.
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