FINANCIAL AID/SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION

Financing a college education may seem overwhelming. Oxford Academy is filled with information to help!

Financial Aid Night, booklets, info sessions, and websites are available through the guidance office. The more you know about the wide variety of programs, the less stressed you will be later when trying to choose the best college and the best financial aid package.

WHAT ARE THE COSTS?

According to the College Board the following are some average costs for college:

=      Public NYS four-year colleges charge, on average, $5,570 per year in tuition and fees for in-state students (add approx. $12,000 for room & board for a total cost). The average surcharge for full-time out-of-state students at these "public" institutions nationwide is $14,887 in tuition and fees.

=      Private four-year colleges charge, on average, $29,293 per year in tuition and fees (add approx. $12,000 for room & board for a total cost).

=      Public NYS two-year colleges charge, on average, $3,836 per year in tuition and fees (typically students live at home making this by far the most affordable but if living on campus add approx. $12,000 for room & board for a total cost).

See the SUNY website for the total cost of SUNY schools: http://www.suny.edu/student/paying_tuition.cfm

HOW DO WE PAY THESE COSTS?

College will be paid for with a combination of the following:

=      STUDENT AND PARENT CONTRIBUTIONS (savings, monthly checks, etc.) It is a combined responsibility to pay for college between parents and student.  This will be represented in the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) after completing the FAFSA.

=      SCHOLARSHIPS –Scholarships are financial awards that do not need to be repaid. They may be based on financial need, special talent, academic achievement, intended major, and community service.  Some may be awarded by the college(s) but many must be researched, found, and applied for by the student.  Oxford has many local scholarahips through Dollars for Scholars (DFS) that will be applied for in the spring of the senior year.  Also, the Oxford school counseling office maintains a file of current scholarships that we recieve in the mail and students can research scholarships at www.fastweb.com

=      FINANCIAL AID – Includes Loans, Grants, and Work Study programs.  This will make up the difference between the Cost of Attendance (COA) and the Expected Family Contribution (EFC).  Financial need (and in most times financial aid)=COA-EFC.  See types below:

=      LOANS – Must be repaid by the student and/or parent. Federal and state subsidized student loans have lower interest rates and repayment usually does not begin until 6-9 months after graduation with several years to repay the loan.  The federal loans include: Direct Loans (Stafford), Direct Plus Loans, and Perkins Loans (apply at  https://studentloans.gov/myDirectLoan/index.action ).  There are also private loans but these will have higher interest rates.

=      WORK STUDY – Students work on the college campus for a specific number of hours, usually in areas related to their program of study. Students may also work off-campus.

=      GRANTS – Called “gift aid” because they do not have to be repaid. Grants are often based on financial need and come from both the state and federal government.  In NYS at the end of the FAFSA at the confirmation page, it will ask if you are planning on attending a NYS college.  If so and you click yes you will automatically be sent to the Higher Education Scholarship Corporation (HESC) which determines NYS grant money through the NYS Tuition Assistance Program (TAP).  Besides NYS grants there are several federal grants including: Pell Grant and the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) [The federal Academic Competitiveness Grant is NOT funded for this year].

WHAT TO DO?

=      Attend the Financial Aid night in November/December. There will be valuable information concerning financial aid, scholarships, SAT/ACT, and college requirements.

=      Apply for a Federal Financial Aid:

      -Apply for a Federal Student Aid ID (FSA ID); this replaced the FAFSA Pin.  At https://fsaid.ed.gov/npas/index.htm 

      -Complete the FAFSA after January 1st at https://fafsa.ed.gov

=      Apply for Scholarships NOW: 

      -Locally (churches, parents work, businesses, etc), at Oxford school, online (at www.fastweb.com and www.guidancedirect.com), and at the colleges you plan to apply to and attend.

WARNING ON SCHOLARSHIP SCAMS:

Each year students and their families fall prey to Scholarship Scams. A general rule: If you must pay money to receive money, it is probably a scam. Also watch out for an application that charges a fee, even as low as $5.

AFTER BEING ADMITTED TO A SCHOOL:

Your new "friend" should be your financial aid counselor to help guide you through the financial aid process at the school of your choice.

Each school's financial aid process is a bit different so be sure to check into any additional deadlines (especially if applying to private schools) AND let the school know if any "special circumstances" have arisen that might affect your parent's income which could help you get more financial aid!

To get started on FAFSA BEFORE Jan 1st or To estimate financial aid use the FAFSA Forecaster at: https://fafsa.ed.gov/FAFSA/app/f4cForm?execution=e1s1 - here you can do a trial run on the FAFSA process, get an estimate of financial aid, and then when ready to do your actual FAFSA transfer all your data over to your actual FAFSA.

Under "Related Files" see more information regarding "How to find scholarships" and "How to access financial aid" and "FAFSA Follow-Up".

Specific Financial Aid Questions on FAFSA or Want to Meet a Financial Aid Advisor?

SUNY Morrisville financial aid Advisor Pat Davis is available to assist any High School Students/families with the FAFSA form EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT PLANNING ON ATTENDING MORRISVILLE!  She is at Norwich extenstion all day on Thursdays!  Her contact information is under "Related Links" below!

START THE FAFSA-CLICK HERE