An Air Force spouse compiled this information:

Welcome to Financial Aid 101

Where to Start:
Whether you are a first-time college student or returning for another year of school financing your education will continue to be one of the most important aspects of your college experience. The process can be overwhelming so it is important to have a good idea of where to start. Over the next 50 minutes I will explain the FAFSA application process, how to go about locating and applying for scholarships, and understanding the types of financing available for you. All key words will be listed in red and you can utilize the reference key provided at the end of this document.

Financing College:
In order to assess your financial need and eligibility you must file a FAFSA application. The FAFSA application stands for “Free Application for Federal Student Aid”. The FASFA application is free of charge and must be renewed on a yearly basis. The application can be accessed online at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ Before accessing your application on the web you should be able to answer the following questions in order to ensure the accuracy of your application.

Determine Your Dependency Status:
 Were you born before January 1, 1985?
 At the beginning of the school year 2008-2009 will you be working on a master's or doctorate program (such as an MA, MBA, MD, JD, PhD, EdD, or graduate certificate, etc.)?
 As of today are you married? (Answer "Yes" if you are separated, but not divorced.)
 Do you have children who receive more than half of their support from you?
 Do you have dependents (other than children or spouse) who live with you and who receive more than half of their support from you, now and through June 30, 2009?
 Are (a) both of your parents deceased, or (b) are you (or were you until age 18) a ward or dependent of the court?
 Are you currently serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces for purposes other than training (question 54)?
 Are you a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces?

If you answered “YES” to any of the previous questions for the purpose of your FAFSA application you are considered an independent student. If you are considered an independent student you “DO NOT” need to answer any questions regarding your parents or legal guardian on the application. The only information that you will need to provide will be your own and your spouse if married. If you did not answer yes to any of the previous questions you are considered a dependent student. Dependent students must provide information on your parents or legal guardian. In the case of special circumstances that prohibit you from gaining information from your parent or legal guardian you can petition the University directly to be determined an independent student.

Forms You Will Need:
 Your Social Security Number (Make sure it is correct!)
 Your Drivers License Number (Only if you have one)
 Your 2007 W-2’s and record of any other money you may have earned
 Your (and your spouse’s, if you are married) 2007 Federal Income Tax Return. IRS 1040, 1040A, 1040 EZ
 Your Parents’ 2007 Federal Tax Return (Only if you were determined to be a dependent student)
 Your current bank statement
 Your 2007 untaxed income records
o Social Security
o Welfare
o Military Benefits (BAH, COLA)


Filling Out Your Application:
On the FASFA website you will see three boxes 1-2-3 click box 2 “Filling Out a FASFA” if clicking the box does not automatically take you to the website you can paste http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/FOTWWebApp/complete013.jsp into your internet browser. Half way down the page you will see a box that says “Which FASFA do you want to file?” select the 2008-2009 application. You will be asked to start your FASFA application. If you are a returning user you can import your information from last year (you will be asked to do this automatically). If you are not a returning user you will manually have to enter all of your information. The documents you collected prior to starting the application will help you answer the questions asked in the FASFA application. You can save your application at anytime and return to it later. Please allow yourself at least one hour to finish your application.

School Code:
In addition to your own personal information you will need to enter your school code. Your school code can be located by visiting: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/FOTWWebApp/FSLookupServlet
In the first drop down box select 2008-2009 for the school year. In the second drop down box select search. After you have completed the previous steps click the next button. You will now be promoted to a second set of questions. You will need to answer the four following questions before selecting next.
 What state is your school in?
 What city is your school in?
 What is the name of your school (or keyword)?
 How do you want your school code search sorted? (select name)

After you have answered the four previous questions select next. This will give you the name(s) of the school(s) that match your search.

Example:
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL MISSOURI
Federal School Code: 002454

You must enter your federal school code into your FASFA application.


Signing Your Application:
If you are a returning user from last year you must have your pin number available to enter at the end of the application to sign and complete your finished application. Establishing a pin number is by far the fastest and most efficient way to sign your FASFA application.

You can apply for a PIN while completing a FAFSA on the Web application, or you can go to the Federal Student Aid PIN Web site at www.pin.ed.gov to apply.
While applying for a PIN on the PIN Web site or while completing a 2008-2009 FAFSA on the Web application, you can choose how you’d like to receive your PIN. Your options include:

 Select your own PIN.
 Instantly view your PIN online.
 Receive an e-mail with the PIN immediately. This e-mail will contain a link to our secure PIN delivery Web site where you will be able to input your personal data and retrieve your PIN online. For security purposes, this link will be available for only 14 calendar days. If you do not retrieve your PIN within 14 days, it will be mailed to you at the address you provided.
o Have your PIN sent by postal mail within 7-10 days.

After Signing Your Application:
At the end of your financial aid application you will be given a number known as your EFC (Expected Family Contribution). The Expected Family Contribution (EFC) measures your family’s financial strength, and is used to determine your eligibility for federal student aid during one school year. You receive an EFC based on the processing results of your FAFSA.

Checking the Status of Your FASFA Application:
You can check the status of your FASFA application at anytime online but typically you should expect to wait one week if you signed electronically or three weeks if you mailed in your application. Once your application has been process you will be able to access your SAR (Student Aid Report). Your SAR will list all of the answers you provided on your FAFSA. You should review these answers carefully to make sure they are correct. TIP: If you need to make any changes, select Make Corrections to a Processed FAFSA under the FAFSA Follow-Up section of the home page. You can also make corrections on the paper SAR, if you received one, and mail it back to the address provided. Your SAR will contain your Expected Family Contribution (EFC), which measures your family’s financial strength and is used to determine your eligibility for federal student aid. Your school will use this number to determine how much financial aid you are eligible to receive based on your school’s cost of attendance. Included in your SAR will also be your DRN or your Data Release Number you must have this number if you wish to call into the FASFA processing center to make changes to your application.

What comes after FASFA?
After your FASFA application has been processed it will be sent to the schools indicated on your application. Every state has a priority deadline for financial aid processing. Meeting the priority deadline is extremely important and every effort should be made to meet this deadline. Your school will then send you what is known as an award package. The award package will calculate the total cost of attendance and take into consideration your EFC.

FYI: Each school has their own cost of attendance and it used to determine your award package.

Example of an Award Package:

Expenses
Tuition $2,981.00
Mandatory Fee’s $1,406.00
Academic Fee’s $530.00
Books $974.00
Room and Board $5,396.00
Transportation $500.00
Misc $1,500.00
Total Cost of Attendance $13,287.00
EFC (Varied Based on FASFA) $1,000.00
Pell Grant $3,100.00
Federal Unsubsidized Loan $3,981.00
Federal Stafford Loan $1,506.00
Work Study $1,700.00
Scholarship $2,000.00

Total Financial Aid Package $12,287.00









FYI: Not every student will need to take the full cost of attendance out in financial assistance. The calculation is based on a traditional student living in campus housing.
The amount of financial assistance you wish to borrow from the total cost of attendance is something you will need to determine on your own.

At the University of Central Missouri your award package will be mailed to you as well as updated on the student portal. After you award package has been updated on the student portal you must log into your account and accept your financial aid package. You can accept all or part of your award package. It is important to understand the repayment terms for each of your loans as well as enrollment conditions for grant awards. All of the key financial aid terms can be found at the end of this document. It is important to seek out information on scholarships as well as grant opportunities. Most students will not receive enough financial aid in scholarships and grants to cover the total cost of attendance (this alone should not deter you from continuing your education). Taking out loans when done responsibly can provide the additional assistance you need to fund your education.

Example: A student who borrowed $15,000 will pay approximately $150.00 per month for their student loan upon graduation or falling below part time status which ever comes first.



You can manage your loan balances online at: https://www.dlssonline.com/borrower/BorrowerLogin.jsp



FYI: If you receive additional compensation (Voc Rehab, Scholarships, Military Tuition Assistance, etc) after your initial award package is calculated you must notify financial aid immediately. Your total award package can’t exceed the total cost of attendance. If you are unsure how to figure your funding use the following formula:

EFC (Expected Family Contribution) + Financial Aid Package + Additional Compensation = Must be less than the schools total cost of attendance


Finding Scholarships:
Scholarships are a great way to fund your college education. You have several options on finding scholarships to apply for. The first place to start is at your college or university. The deadline for all scholarships at the University of Central Missouri is March 1st. You can visit the UCM scholarship website to search for scholarships. You can apply for as many scholarships that you either qualify for or closely qualify for.

Typically scholarship applications will ask you the following questions:
 Current GPA (This can be found on the student portal)
o Know your “major” GPA and your “overall” GPA
 Community Activities
o Volunteer Work
o Coaching Sports
o Girl Scout Leader
o Etc.
 Short Essay on your Career Goals, Why you came to College, etc.
o The essay portion of your application will give your application a personalized feel. Follow the essay instructions closely (word count, question asked, etc) Failure to follow the directions will indicate to the reader that you don’t know how to follow instructions. :/
 Letters of reference:
o Personal Reference (Co-worker, etc)
o Professional Reference (Supervisor, Manager)
o Academic Reference (Professor, Counselor)
o FYI: Give your writers at least three weeks to write your reference.
 FYI: If you are a non-traditional student don’t forget to include volunteer work, job experience, etc.

After you have located scholarships within the university you can continue to branch out to locate funding. You should look for special interest scholarships (Military Spouses, Native American, etc.) It is important to look for these scholarships only on trusted websites such as www.fastweb.com or through verifiable scholarship websites. The more applications you send out the greater your chances of receiving funding.  Most organizations would like to provide funding to students needing assistances even if they don’t meet 100% of the defined criteria. It is important to apply for everything you have time for. Most students believe that they do not have a chance at receiving a scholarship for many reasons. In reality the total number of students that apply for scholarships is surprisingly low and your chances are much better than you actually think.


Student Testimonials:

Graduate Student UCM:
As a graduate student at Central I have saved over $10,000 on tuition alone not to mention the $15,000 in wages paid for working as a graduate assistant. I could not have afforded graduate school without this great opportunity! Who would have thought filling out a scholarship application could have paid off so big!

Undergraduate Student UMUC:
I won my first $500.00 scholarship as a sophomore in college after that point I realized that funding was available and it was important to keep trying for more. When I graduated after five years in college I had received over $4000.00 in scholarship winnings!

Also - if you are a professional student, you are automatically considered Independent.