EPF Personal finance

FAFSA

is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Schools use your FAFSA to evaluate your financial need and determine how much federal student aid you are eligible to receive.

FAFSA Submission Summary

is used by schools to assess your eligibility for aid.

Financial aid offer

letter from each school that you are accepted to. It will include:

Estimated Costs

Types of Financial Aid

Net Price

Sticker price

is the published cost of tuition and fees along with room and board

Net price

is what you will actually pay after you receive scholarships and grants

Scholarship

are usually merit-based. They can be based on your academic performance, athletic performance, or your choice of major

Grants

are usually based on a student’s financial need

Federal Student loan

issued by the federal government to help pay for college

Private Student loan

money given to you to pay for college expenses that you are expected to pay back with interest.

Tuition

is the amount you owe to attend college for classes and instruction. Some colleges may charge one set tuition rate while others may charge per credit hour.

Student aid index

is used by schools to assess your eligibility for aid.

Work-study

provides part-time jobs for students with financial need to earn money to help pay for educational expenses

Room and Board

Housing is a charge from the college to live on campus. Different housing options on campus will cost different amounts depending on the amenities offered. Be sure to look up the different housing options at your college.

How can you afford to attend college/university? What is the cost of attendance?

– List in order

Family (parents), scholarships/grants, work while you work

Tier 1

Private research institutes (Yale, John Hopkins, NYU, Duke)

Tier 2

Selective private liberal arts (Middlebury, Vassar, HPU, Elon)

Tier 3

Public research universities (UNC, Univeristy of California system)

When do you complete FAFSA

October or November

Why is it best to complete FAFSA early?

Some scholarships and grants are first come, first serve

How often do you need to complete it?

Every year of college

What do you receive after completing the FAFSA and what is it used for?

Submission summary with your student aid index which is used by schools to asses your eligibility for air

Federeal work study

Part time jobs for students with financial need to earn money to pay for college

Ivy league

Brown University Rhode Island, Columbia University New York, Cornell University Dartmouth College New Hampshire, Harvard University Massachusetts, University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, Princeton University New Jersey, and Yale University Connecticut

What is the difference between Federal and Private?

Private loans look at credit history/score

Federal loans

issued by the federal government to help pay for college

Direct subsidized

The federal government pays the interest while you are in school

Direct unsibsidized

Interest accrues while you are in school and gets added to your loan balance when you start making payments

Direct PLUS

Similar to an unsubsidized loan but they are given to those pursuing graduate and doctoral degrees or to parents of undergraduate students

Private loan

Loans offered by a private lender to cover the cost of college that are not subject to the same rules as Federal Student Loans. Might require a credit history/score. NO loan forgiveness or grace periods

What is a Financial Aid Package?

Financial aid offer from each school

Estimated costs

Tuition, room, board, books, transportation, and supplies

What can you during financial difficulty

You may qualify for a deferment or a forbearance. Deferment is the better option

During deferment

interest doesn’t accrue on some types of loans

During forbearance

interest accrues on all loan types

Loan repayment options

There are standard plans with a fixed payment schedule and income-driven plans where your payment will depend on your discretionary income.

Standard payment plan

Payments are fixed and made for up to 10 years (between 10 and 30 years for consolidation loans). Monthly payments can be higher than other plans, but total interest paid is usually lower and length of repayment is usually shorter.

Graduated payment plan 

start out low and increase every two years,are made for a period of between 10 and 30 years for Direct Consolidation Loans and FFEL Consolidation Loans,will never be less than the amount of interest that accrues between your payments, and won’t be more than three times greater than any other payment.

Extended repayment plan

allows you to repay your loans over an extended period of time. Payments are up to 25 years

Income drive repayment

plans base your monthly payment amount on how much money you make and your family size.

Consolidation

If you have multiple federal loans, you can combine them into one bigger loan to simplify your monthly payment.