申请大学助学金

Private Wealth Managementwilliamblair.com Applying for College Financial Aid Financial aid packages play an important role in funding therapidly increasing costs of a college education. Learning about theapplication process can help you enhance your child’s eligibility forstudent loans, grants, scholarships, and other forms of aid. Cost of Attendance–Student Aid Index =Financial Need The FAFSA determines the amountthat a family is expected tocontribute to the child’s college costsbased on the parents’ and child’sassets and income, as well as otherfactors. The Student Aid Index is thensubtracted from the cost of attendinga specific school to determine thestudent’s financial need. With college costs rising faster than inflation, planning for how you will finance yourchildren’s education is more critical than ever. In addition to personal savings, financialaid packages from the federal government and schools play a vital role in funding collegeexpenses. This aid can come in the form of loans, grants, scholarships, or work-study jobs. Most aid is based on the student’s and family’s financial needs, so it is important forparents to become familiar with the application process for financial aid. How Financial Aid Is DeterminedThe federal government is the largest source of need-based financial aid and provides CSS Profile — The OtherFinancial Aid ApplicationIf your child applies to a private about $120 billion1of aid each year. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid(FAFSA) is used by the federal government and most colleges to determine how much aida student is eligible for. More than 240 schools, mostly private colleges, including most ofthe Ivy League schools, also use an application known as the College Scholarship Service,or the CSS PROFILE, which is much more thorough in its questions than the FAFSA. school, you will probably have to fillout the CSS PROFILE application, aswell as the FAFSA. While the FAFSAis used to determine the student’seligibility for federal aid, manyprivate institutions (including mostof the Ivy League schools) and someprestigious public universities usethe PROFILE to determine financialaid from the school. The purpose of these applications is to determine the amount that the family is expectedto contribute to the child’s college expenses. The FAFSA looks at the income and assetsof the parents and the student, the size of the family, and how close parents are toretirement age. The Student Aid Index (SAI) is used to determine how much needs based federalaid a aid a student is eligible for and if they qualify for grants, work-study programs,subsidized federal student loans and other aid. The SAI is then subtracted from the costof attending the school to determine the amount of financial aid needed for that specificschool. Most schools do not meet the student’s financial aid with grants, so additionalassets or loans beyond what is included in the financial aid package may be required. The major differences between thePROFILE and the FAFSA: •More extensive:The PROFILEis much more thorough in itsquestions about the parents’finances than the FAFSA. •Different calculations:Schoolsthat use the PROFILE often takeinto account several types of assetsthat are not included in the FAFSAcalculation, including retirementaccounts and home equity. It alsoincludes the income and assetsof the non-primary parent if theparents are not married. When to Complete the Application The FAFSA can be submitted as soon as October 1 the year before the child will beattending college, typically senior year of high school. Some financial aid programsoperate on a first-come, first-served basis, so it can be very advantageous to submit theapplication as soon as possible. A new application must be filed for each year financial aidis requested. The application relies on income tax information from a base year, which is twocalendar years before the start of the academic year that financial aid is applied for.Assets are evaluated when the application is filed. •As with the FAFSA, the PROFILEapplication process also beginson October 1 of high school inthe senior year. Private Wealth Managementwilliamblair.com For example, for the 2026/27 school year, the FAFSA canbe filed beginning October 1, 2025, and it will use incomeinformation from the 2024 tax return, and asset valuationsas of the date of the application. Because of this look-backperiod, income for the final two years of college will not berelevant to financial aid. Strategies for Reducing Income: •Expedite discretionary income, such as exercising stockoptions, before the student’s initial base year, which wouldbe no later than December 31 of the student’s sophomorehigh school year. Or, defer such income until after thestudent’s final base year, which would be after December31 of the student’s sophomore of college if that studentgraduates in four years•Be mindful of the timing of retirement plan distributions,including tax-free Roth distribu