THE ANNUAL FINANCIAL AID WORKSHOP FOR SENIORS & PARENTS IS ON

                       JANUARY 26TH, 2011 @ New Lisbon HS @ 6:30 pm.

JOHN POOLE, DIRECTOR OF STUDENT SERVICES, @ UW/RICHLAND WILL BE

THE PRESENTER AND WILL REVIEW THE COLLEGE FINANCIAL AID PROCESS. 

www.fafsa.ed.gov

What is the FAFSA?

The FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It is the form that the federal government uses to determine your eligibility for federal student aid.  This aid includes grants, scholarships, work-study and loans to help you pay for college. The form collects
financial and demographic information.

How does it work?

Using your FAFSA, the federal processor determines your Expected Family Contribution (EFC). Your EFC is the amount of money your family can be expected to contribute each year to your college costs.  Your school will then try to meet your need through a financial aid award made up of funds from federal, state, school and private sources as well as loans, grants and student employment.

Apply early for your PIN numbers: one for student and one for parent.

Tips for completing the FAFSA.

Complete your FAFSA as soon as possible after January 1. The FAFSA becomes available on January 1
of each year. Early submission maximizes your chances of receiving financial aid.

Submit the FAFSA even if you don’t think you qualify for aid. Sometimes being rejected for federal aid is a
prerequisite for receiving private awards.

Contact your prospective college’s financial aid office for additional information. Your school may require forms in addition to the FAFSA or may have an earlier submission deadline. Don’t forget to keep copies of all submitted documents for your records.

Tip: If you provide an e-mail on your FAFSA, you will receive your PIN and Student Aid Report (SAR) via e-mail instead of U.S. Postal mail.

After you have completed the FAFSA.

Review your Student Aid Report (SAR) carefully. The SAR is your official record that the federal processor received your FAFSA. You should receive your SAR within 4-6 weeks of submitting your paper FAFSA (the process is faster by 3-4 weeks if filed electronically and your SAR
may arrive via email).

If you find any errors on your SAR, report them to your prospective college’s financial aid office to ask how you should make corrections. Unresolved errors could delay your eligibility for aid.

Call 1-800-433-3243 (800-4-FED-AID) if you do not receive your SAR in 4-6 weeks. Provide your name, Social Security number and date of birth for verification.

Note your Data Release Number (DRN). Your DRN is the four-digit number located on the bottom left-hand corner of your SAR. You will need it to apply for aid to any school you did not originally list on your FAFSA.

Where can I get a FAFSA?

Complete FAFSA on the Web: www.fafsa.ed.gov
Get a paper version from your high school counseloror local library
Call 1-800-4-FED-AID
5 Common FAFSA Mistakes

1. Do not leave a field blank. Use a zero if the question does not apply to you.
2. Don’t forget to report ALL required sources of untaxed income, such as Social Security or child support.
3. Use the 1040 Federal tax return (2002 version) for reporting income and taxes paid, not the W-2.
4. Include yourself in your parents’ household size, even if you didn’t live with them the previous year.
5. Sign the application. If you are filing as a dependent, make sure your parents sign too.

Check if your SAR has been selected for verification. If there is an asterisk (*) after your EFC, your SAR has been selected for verification (one-third of all SARs are selected). Your prospective college willcompare your SAR with documents, including tax returns, that verify your financial status. If asked for verification, submit the information requested to your prospective college’s financial aid office as soon as possible.

Free search of over 600,000 scholarships and over 4,000 colleges =  www.fastweb.com

UW System Costs

Undergraduate Costs for the 2009 Academic Year

The campus housing and meal expenses listed below are representative and may vary widely.

Use these figures for planning purposes only.

NOTE: The amounts do not include any special course fees, distance education fees ordifferential tuition that will be in addition to normal tuition.Use these figures for planning purposes only. Segregated fees are included and fund student activities, organizations, health services, intramurals and more. Read all footnotes related to this table. Students, parents and school counselors should feel free to contact a financial aid office or HELP with any questions.

¹Textbook rental is included in the fees for these campuses, and is available at UW-Barron County and UW-Richland.

² Tuition for students enrolled in certificate of business, bachelor's of business administration and engineering is different.
Please visit http://registrar.wisc.edu/students/fees_tuition/tuition.php for a more accurate tuition.

³Tuition for students enrolled in the School of Business, College of Engineering and Applied Science, College of Nursing, Peck School of Arts and Department of Architecture is different. Please visit http://www.bfs.uwm.edu/fees/Fall%202008/feefacts.htm for a more accurate tuition.

⁴UW-Stout's rates are all per-credit annualized rates. The costs above reflect a student enrolled for 12 credits.

Financial Aid Scams

Each year we have scammmers set up "financial aid seminars" in the New Lisbon area to take advantage of students and their parents. They usually send a post card with a personal code or password to use to sign up for their "program". My advice is going to be--- DON'T DO IT!! If you wonder if a seminar or meeting is legitimate, call the NLHS guidance office.