2004 Year in Review

Financial Aid Basics at MHS

Mary Schell Wright, Associate Director of Financial Aid of Knox College, spoke to a small group of junior and senior parents Thursday, January 22, in Morrison High School auditorium about financial aid.

Starting FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is the first step in college financial aid. Forms are available from school counselors or on the web at www.fafsa.ed.gov/. Filling the form out on the Web is the fastest and easiest way to receive a quick reply. Money is given on a first come, first serve basis, so doing the form early is important. The deadline for Illinois financial aid is September 30, 2004 but money will be spent much sooner than that.

In order to sign the form on the Web both a parent and student must both get a pin number. It is a simple process, just go to www.pin.ed.gov and you will need some basic information like birth date and social security number. After a day or two FAFSA replies with an email and a Web site to logon and get the number. This is a one-time process so you must keep track of the numbers until the child is done with college.

After the parent and child’s tax returns are completed, it is just a matter of filling in the appropriate boxes from the tax return into the FAFSA. Some common mistakes are using the wrong social security number or forgetting something on the form. Use legal names, check numbers, and recheck the form when finished. “Errors in completing the form may delay processing and may result in loss of funding,” explained Ms Wright.

The pink part of the form this year is only for students while the purple part is only for parents. At the end of the form there is a place to fill out what colleges the student would like the information sent to. A college ID must be entered and Mrs. Johannsen at Morrison High School has those numbers available.

Through the FAFSA form the government determines the family contribution. Ms Wright also explained that the family contribution stays the same no matter what school is chosen. So if a family’s contribution is $7000 and the student goes to a school that has a cost of $10,000, the financial aid needed is only $3000. While if that same student chooses a college that is $30,000, the financial aid needed is $23,000.

But they do not just write you a check for $23,000, though that would be nice. There are several types of financial aid. Need-based grants, scholarships (based on grades and ACT score or other criteria), loans to the students, work-study programs, or loans to parents are the different types of aid. Usually financial aid is a combination of all or several of these.

After the government determines the family contribution, then it is up to the college to decide what kinds of financial aid will be offered. She advised contacting the college, or colleges of choice, if there are other circumstances not listed on the FAFSA that should be considered, such as a parent going to college, a recent divorce, or loss of income or job.

Parents are expected to contribute 5.6% of assets (excluding homes, family farms or retirement plans). While students are expected to contribute 35%, so a student’s assets affect the family contribution more than the parents.

Some important internet sites to look at for college-bound students are Collegezone, Fastweb, www.finaid.org, and Savingforcollege .

The next meeting for financial aid will be "Filing the FAFSA and Beyond" in Erie High School at 7:00 pm February 5. Rose Hernandez and Joana Dye of Black Hawk College present the program. Computers will be available.

by Barb Benson, theCity1.com
January 26, 2004