Financial Aid Office of Student Financial Aid Simmons

Financial Aid Office of Student Financial Aid Simmons Hall 330 -972 -7032 Rev 11/2014

Financial Aid • Financial aid is various forms of funds available to help pay for student’s post secondary education • 2

Apply to The University of Akron for scholarship consideration Complete the Admission Application online at www. uakron. edu/apply • $ 45. 00 application fee • High school transcript • ACT or SAT test score results 3

SCHOLARSHIPS Majority are merit-based – The office of Student Financial Aid awards 3 general scholarships ranging from $7, 500 -$1, 000. We begin awarding our general scholarships in December and complete awarding these by March 15 th. Scholarships are awarded based on the highest combination of High School GPA and Standardized Test scores Scholarships are renewable for 8 semesters of fulltime enrollment New test scores and transcripts must be received in the Admissions Office by March 1 to be considered for potential scholarship increases 4

Renewal Scholarships Scholarship for Excellence $4, 500 -$7, 500 College GPA minimum: 3. 25 Presidential Scholarship $3, 000 -$4, 000 College GPA minimum: 3. 00 Student Success Scholarship $1, 000 -$2, 500 College GPA minimum: 2. 75 5

SCHOLARSHIPS Honors College -Students admitted to the Honors College may receive a scholarship – - Early Application - November 1 st Contact the Honor’s College for updates. Honors College will notify student recipients. 6

Scholarships • Choose Ohio First Scholarship Program - STEM Scholarship Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics and medicine (or math/science education) Awarded through the Office of Student Success Apply at: www. uachooseohiofirst. com Application deadline: March 1 st 7

Underrepresented Students • Scholarship applications are available for entering freshmen who have been traditionally underrepresented. • Consideration will also be given to students from urban areas and Appalachian counties. • High school GPA 3. 0 • ACT 21 or • Combined critical reading & math SAT 950 • Apply at: www. uakron. edu/finaid 8

Apply early • Submit admissions application and ACT/SAT scores no later than March 1 st. • Scholarships are awarded based on a combination of GPA (grade point average) and ACT/SAT scores 9

Scholarship sources • Private foundations, businesses, charitable organizations, school counselors • Civic organizations, Employers, Credit unions • High Schools counselors • Scholarship sites - www. fastweb. com - www. scholarships. com - www. collegenowgc. org - www. uakron. edu/finaid 10

State of Ohio Student Aid - Other Ohio Board of Regents programs - Ohio War Orphans Scholarship - Ohio Safety Officers College Memorial Fund - Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Board of Regents www. ohiohighered. org 11

Foster Care - ETV • Ohio Education Training Voucher • Foster Care to Success program • offers funds to foster youth to enable them to attend colleges and universities • Application available July 1 st • www. fc 2 sprograms. org/ohio • Click Ohio on the map to obtain information 12

Cost of Attendance • Direct costs: tuition, room & board, meal plan & books • Indirect costs: Personal items, transportation costs • Direct & indirect costs combined into cost of attendance 13

How financial aid is determined Cost of attendance -Expected Family Contribution ____________ Financial Need 14

EFC • Colleges use the EFC to award Federal Financial Aid • Must complete the FAFSA every year that your son/daughter is in college 15

FAFSA. GOV

Available January 1, 2015 Aid year 2015 -2016 • Obtain a PIN (your electronic legal signature) at www. pin. ed. gov – Request a PIN for student and parent • Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at www. fafsa. gov 17

PIN • A personal identification number called a Federal Student Aid PIN will help you get through the FAFSA process more quickly. • Ready to apply for a PIN? Visit www. pin. ed. gov. • Your Federal Student Aid PIN is the personal identification number you use when you visit certain U. S. Department of Education websites. When you type in your PIN at these sites, you are saying either “Yes, it’s really me—please show me the personal information about me on this site” or “Please accept my PIN as my signature on this online form 18

Avoid Common Errors • • • Incorrect Social Security Number Failing to use your legal name Wrong federal tax paid Decimal points Income from working versus adjusted gross income 19

IRS DATA RETRIEVAL TOOL (DRT) Available 2 weeks after filing electronic tax return • The IRS DRT process is enhanced to more effectively encourage users to link to and transfer data from the IRS • More applications will have more accurate data, which will contribute to increased accuracy in awarding aid 20

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FAFSA Highlights • Dependent students’ FAFSA must include income and other information about both of the student’s legal parents (biological or adoptive) if the parents are living together, regardless of the parents’ marital status or gender. 24

Gender • To be eligible for federal student aid, male citizens and male immigrants residing in the U. S. aged 18 – 25 are required to register with the Selective Service System. This requirement applied to any person assigned the sex of male at birth. The Selective Service System and the registration requirement for males preserve America’s ability to provide resources in an emergency to the United States Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, or Coast Guard) • Website: www. sss. gov 25

Student Aid Report (SAR) print and keep a copy for your records 26

Verification • If the school needs more information from you, they should be requesting it by US Mail or email • If student applied for aid and have not heard from the school in 3 -4 weeks • CALL THEM • Review your information for accuracy 27

FAFSA INCOME VERIFICATION • All applicants are reviewed for — • • Adjusted gross income (AGI) Taxes paid Household size Number in college Child support paid—if amount indicated on ISIR Receiving assistance Untaxed income 28

March 2015 Federal and State Aid Award Notifications will be mailed to New Freshmen Students 29

Federal Aid based on EFC • Grants Pell grant Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant • Federal College Work-Study Provides part-time employment enrolled in school 30

Loans • Student Loans Perkins Loan 5% Simple Interest Nursing Loan 5% Simple Interest Direct Loans (Subsidized & unsubsidized), currently 4. 66% $ 3, 500 $ 2, 000 • PLUS – Parent Loan for undergraduate students Fixed rate: 7. 21% 31

SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCE Loss of income CONTACT THE SCHOOL FINANCIAL AID OFFICE FOR ASSISTANCE 32

Other payment options • If you do not have enough money through financial aid to pay your bill in full, available to you is our Installment Payment Plan (IPP) • Link IPP online through your My Akron account 33

www. ohiocollegegoalsunday. org 34

Federal Student Aid ID • Issue: • The FSA ID (username and password) will replace PIN for students, parents and borrowers accessing FSA systems starting approximately April 25, 2015. • Solution: FAFSA on the Web will be updated to require users to authenticate with the FSA ID rather than the PIN. 35

Books • Be financially prepared to purchase books 36

FAFSA • Check the status of your FAFSA or just have questions? – Call the U. S. Department of Education at 1 -800 -433 -3243 (1 -800 -4 -FED-AID) 37

Office of Student Financial Aid Phone: 330 -972 -7032 www. uakron. edu/finaid 38