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Student Loan Repayment

My name is Gretchen Ryan and I’m an associate director in the Office of Financial Aid and Student Employment.

I recently worked on a presentation about repaying student loans. In the financial aid office, we know about various features of loans such as interest rates, origination fees, and grace periods, but we aren’t the office that collects loan repayments. As I researched for this presentation, I was impressed by the amount of helpful details about federal student loan repayment on the Department of Education website, https://studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans.

A few takeaways from this website and my session include:

  • Don’t take more loan than you need to meet your essential educational and personal expenses. Remember that you will need to repay loan that you take today plus any interest that accrues on that loan!
  • Know your loans – the amounts and types of debt that you have, the interest rate(s), and the servicer(s).
  • Federal loans offer a variety of repayment plans. Research the repayment plan that will truly be best for you. Create a monthly budget in order to help you determine your repayment plan, if you don’t have one already.
  • Use online calculators to help you have a sense of your monthly payments well before you enter repayment, and preferably as you make your way through your educational program. The above website has a good calculator, as does http://www.finaid.org and http://www.fastweb.com.
  • Utilize your loan servicer staff, your financial aid office, and your bursar collections office to help answer any questions that you have.

Tips for Prospective Students and Families

My name is Gretchen Ryan and I’m an associate director in the Office of Financial Aid and Student Employment.

I frequently meet with parents of prospective students. Most are anxious about financial aid, and I can certainly understand why. Admission to an Ivy League university is highly selective and the financial aid process can seem like a daunting task.  Here are a few of the tips that  I always share with parents of prospective students.

  • Take the financial aid process step by step. It can help to print a checklist for each schools the student is applying to and keep a separate copy of materials that have been submitted to each school. Different schools can and will have different requirements for their aid application processes.
  • Use the calculator on the financial aid websites of the schools that the student is applying to, but understand that these tools are not a substitute for an aid award letter, or a guarantee of aid.
  • Research aid programs at all schools that your student is applying to for admissions, and ask questions about any details that you don’t understand.
  • Notify the aid offices that your student is applying to of any financial special circumstances that you or your family have.
  • Lastly, meet all deadlines and be prepared to respond to any questions that aid officers have about your materials.

Tweet Tweet!

The Office of Financial Aid and Student Employment can now be found on Twitter! We will be posting content relevant for students, parents, prospective applicants, and young alumni. While our focus will be on financial aid and student employment, our passion for all things Cornell will certainly shine through!

Summer Session 2012 Financial Aid

Anyone who’s familiar with this area of Central New York knows that summer in Ithaca is GORGES!  Whether you’re hiking around the surrounding Finger Lakes or simply relaxing on campus, Summer Session is a great opportunity to take courses and still have a few months of time for other projects. 

Many students use summer enrollment as a time to explore new opportunities abroad, catch-up on a past semester, or simply get ahead in order to prepare in advance for a challenging semester.  With that being said, I wanted to take a few moments and provide you with some basic information regarding Summer Session and Financial Aid.

A Summer Session Aid Application  is required before our office can determine your eligibility.  Additionally, all Bursar and Cornell Card balances must be paid in order to process your application.

 

What type of aid is offered for Summer Session?

Financial aid is available in the form of work and loans only for matriculated Cornell University undergraduate students enrolling in at least six credits.  Need-based summer aid could include any of the following sources: Federal Work Study, Federal Direct Loans, Federal Perkins Loan, and University Loans.  Your eligibility for summer is based on your eligibility remaining from the 2011-2012 academic year. 

For those students who are registered for less than six credits, you can apply for an alternative loan through a lender outside of Cornell.  Alternative loans are also recommended for any costs that are incurred for students enrolled in more than 8 credits. 

Cornell-based grant aid and Federal Pell Grants are not available for summer enrollment.

 

How is my eligibility for Summer aid calculated?

Prorated parent contributions are calculated for summer based on the parent contribution from the most recently completed academic year.

 

What if I decide to change my enrollment by adding or dropping courses?

Any changes in your enrollment could affect your Summer Session aid and may result in you owing money at the end of the summer.  In order to avoid this, it is imperative that you notify the Office of Financial Aid and Student Employment with any changes you make to your summer enrollment.

As always, if you have additional questions please feel free to visit our office in 203 Day Hall and talk with our staff.  We look forward to seeing you on campus this summer!

Budgeting Your Money Wisely

I’d like to spend a few minutes thinking about budgeting. To be honest, I spend a lot more than a few minutes each month planning my budget, and I have a predictable income and predictable monthly expenses. I have found budgeting my money to be a freeing experience because if I plan well I will have a bit of money left over and I won’t have to deal with the anxiety of running out of money without knowing it.

The financial aid budget is a tight budget; students don’t have oodles of extra money during college. Earning your degree will lead you to a lifetime of higher earnings than if you didn’t have a degree, which is a very good thing. Spend your time working hard, making connections, learning a field or some skills that will translate well to the workplace (for you liberal arts majors, like me), and the money will come. Budgeting well and keeping your debt burden low (educational loans and credit card debt) go hand in hand with doing well academically. Being successful in these areas will lead to an easy transition to whatever it is you’re doing after college.

So let’s get down to it. Here’s a budgeting worksheet that you might find helpful.

The first thing to do is figure out your income. In college, this may come from a variety of sources: financial aid, parental assistance, your savings, your current employment – these are a few examples. As a student, your income may fluctuate, which will force you to have a budget that is somewhat flexible. Write down the frequency of each piece of income, so if your parents have said that they can give you $30 per week for spending money, mark that as weekly income.

Next figure out what your regular expenses are. If you live off campus, you’ll need to pay rent, you may need money for internet access, or you may not have a meal plan and are buying all of your food. If you have an extremely low parent contribution, you’ll need to plan for your travel expenses at the end of the semester at this point. Write down all of your regular expenses and the frequency that you anticipate having these expenses. Don’t forget the little things like toothpaste! Of course you will have unanticipated expenses, like a co-pay when you visit Gannett. We’ll get to these expenses later.

You now want to compare your income and your expenses. You’ll probably want to break down your income and expenses on a weekly or monthly basis so that you have a sense of the amount of money that you have available to you in a shorter time frame than a full semester. Ideally, your income will exceed your regular expenses. If your income doesn’t meet your regular expenses and you are a financial aid recipient, please come and see us in 203 Day Hall. There may be sources of aid available to you to help you meet your expenses.

If your income is greater than your regular expenses, then you’ll want to put a bit of thought into unanticipated expenses. Will you be using NetPrint? Should you save a bit of money in case you visit Gannett? Will you need to be able to purchase some on-the-go meals during heavy exam times? Think through your possible unanticipated expenses and make a plan to keep some money aside for those expenses.

Now if you still have some income left over, you have personal spending money. It may be $10 or it may be a lot more, but it’s all yours. Savor it!

Budgeting will likely be a lifetime exercise, much like doing dishes and walking the dog. It’s one of those chores that are never done. So now is as good a time as any to embrace it and do it well!

Applying for Financial Aid – Regular Decision 2012 Applicants

The aid application process takes effort and planning. Parents and students need to work together to coordinate the many parts of applying for aid at Cornell. This post will outline our process and give you some important reminders.

Attending college is an investment for the family and the student, and we want you to have ample time to make this important decision, so please make every attempt to meet our deadlines. Our goal is to give financial aid decisions to admitted students at the same time that they receive their acceptance. This allows admitted students and their families plenty of time to decide about attending Cornell before the May 1 deposit deadline.

Complete your 2011 federal income tax returns first and submit them to the IRS, as you will need this data when completing the CSS PROFILE and FAFSA forms.

The FAFSA form has a new feature that will allow most families to “Link to the IRS” to retrieve verified tax data directly from the IRS. This will avoid additional work for the family later in the process, so use this feature if you are able to do so. This link will not work for families with certain complex circumstances (such as parents who file taxes as “married filing separately”), but it will work in most cases.

We strive to make the aid process smooth for all involved. Please contact us if you have any questions as you make your way through this process.

Sincerely,

Gretchen Ryan

Budget Increases: What are they for and what do they get you?

The reality is that things may cost more than you expect, you may incur unforeseen expenses, or you may need things that Cornell does not budget when calculating your cost of attendance.

Did you know that Cornell offers a way for students to cover these costs? A budget increase will give you accessibility to funds in order to cover a variety of items:

  1. SHIP (Student Health Insurance Plan)
  2. Cornell Fitness Center memberships
  3. Bus passes
  4. Course fees (labs, PE, wines)
  5. Gannett and eligible medical charges
  6. Housing and utilities exceeding the cost of an on-campus double
  7. Costs of books and supplies exceeding $400 per semester ($680 for AAP)

Your laptop broke? Once during your undergraduate years here at Cornell, students are given the option to budget increase for a new laptop, up to $2,000. There are two ways to do this:

  1. You purchase first. When you fill out your budget increase form, you will provide the Financial Aid Office with receipts, and we supply funds to you for the amount spent.
  2. Funds come first. When you fill out your budget increase form, you will provide the Financial Aid Office with estimates of how much the laptop will cost. We disperse the funds based on your estimates, and you use this money to purchase your laptop. Once you’ve made your purchase, give us a copy of your receipt and we will adjust your aid for discrepancies, if needed.

Also note that the only forms of loan aid available for computer purchases are Federal Direct Loans.

Most of the aid granted from budget increase requests will be in the form of Federal Direct Loan. Be aware that if you have already taken out the maximum amount of loan available for your academic year (Freshmen – $5,500; Sophomores – $6,500; Juniors & Seniors – $7,500), you will likely receive only loan eligibility which allows you to borrow a greater amount from an outside lender. Employment eligibility is also an option, but you are not receiving actual funds – you are receiving eligibility to earn more wages.

If you had outside scholarships or tuition benefits that reduced your grant aid, you can recover those funds through budget increases as well. Just indicate “Other” as your aid option and write “Grant Replacement.” Note that unless you fall into this category, your only aid options are loan and employment eligibility.

Budget Increase Forms should be submitted to 203 Day Hall, faxed to 607-255-6329, or submitted electronically).

Remember! You are only allowed two budget increase requests per semester with a minimum of $50 worth of items for each request.

Lindsey Whang
Cornell University ’12
School of Hotel Administration
Student Employee: Office of Financial Aid

Engineering Co-Op Program

Are you participating in the Engineering Co-Op Program this year? If so, the following information may be useful to you as you re-apply for financial aid.

• Engineering Co-op program students seeking financial aid should completed the Continuing Student Financial Aid process by March 1, 2011 if they expect to register for summer enrollment.
• For students with a fall or spring placement, summer is considered a part of your academic year and is included as part of your initial financial aid package.
• Your Summer Savings Expectation may increase for the next academic year based on higher earnings from your placement. Your contribution is not calculated dollar-for-dollar, so many Co-op students do not see an increase the following year. Excess earnings replace work and loan in your package. In the event that grant is reduced due to significantly higher earnings, please reference our Outside Award Grant Aid Reimbursement form (available in April).
• If you are enrolling in Engineering Co-op classes during the summer, but are NOT a program student, you may be eligible for summer loans. Please proceed with the Summer Financial Aid Application (available in April).
• For additional program information, please contact the Engineering Cooperative and Career Services Office.

Changes to the Continuing Student Aid Application Process

The Continuing Student Financial Aid Application for 2011-2012 is now available.

As you complete your renewal application this year, please keep in mind the following:

  • FAFSA and PROFILE information must be based on 2010 actual income figures, so file 2010 parent and student tax returns as soon as possible.
  • Cornell’s application contains federal verification information, so you must complete your FAFSA before completing the Continuing Student Financial Aid Application.
  • You should send all of your paper application documents to the College Board’s IDOC* service under your IDOC cover sheet. The College Board will contact you about getting your cover sheet.
  • Non-custodial parent documentation is no longer required for returning students. If we calculated a contribution for your non-custodial parent last year, we will carry forward that contribution amount, in line with Cornell’s cost of attendance. If financial circumstances have changed for your non-custodial parent, s/he may submit the Noncustodial Parent’s Statement and 2010 tax returns to our office.
  • Summer Savings Expectation amounts are: $3080 for Sophomores, $3,220 for Juniors, and $3,450 for Seniors.

*with the exception of any non-U.S. tax returns. Please send non-U.S. tax returns directly to Cornell.

The deadline to apply is May 2, 2011. Applications postmarked after this date are subject to late penalties.

End-of-Semester Reminders

I love having a large project that is winding to a close and another project that is about to begin. This is frequently how I view the transition between the fall and spring semesters. Students have worked hard on their “project” all semester and it will come to a close in the next couple of weeks.  Winter Break offers a much-needed respite for our students before the next large “project” begins. As this fall semester winds to a close, there are a few items that you should consider doing now so that you are set for a smooth transition at the beginning of the spring semester.

  • Make sure that your Bursar and Cornell Card balances are paid in full. Your spring tuition has charged to the bill and we have credited spring grant aid for our grant recipients to the bill.  You will want to examine your pending financial aid to see if it will be sufficient to cover your spring bill, or if you will owe to your bill.  Remember that paying your university bills is one of the key steps in becoming a registered student, so you’ll want to take care of this!
  • If you’re graduating this semester, remember to do your loan exit interview! You should receive communication about how to do this.  Remember to follow all of the steps, as not doing so can hold up your diploma and transcript.
  • Will you be looking for a campus job for spring semester? Start your job search now, and continue to search through winter break at www.studentemployment.cornell.edu!
  • If you are going abroad for spring semester…  Make sure you know what your budget is and have a plan to stick to it. You should also sign up for direct deposit through the Bursar’s office before you leave for the semester, as this can make receiving refunds much easier.

 For more reminders, check out this link through the Office of the University Registrar: http://registrar.sas.cornell.edu/Student/spring2011reg.html.  This page has a lot of useful information as we head into the spring semester.

The Office of Financial Aid and Student Employment is open from 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Monday , Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and from 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.  Financial aid counselors are available to meet with students and/or families from Noon-3:30 p.m. Monday – Friday. Our phone hours are 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Monday – Friday, and our phone number is (607) 255-5145.  We are happy to help in any way that we can!

Have a wonderful Winter Break!

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