Santa Clara University

Below are news and announcements you may find helpful in your financial aid process.

Your 2013-14 Undergraduate Financial Aid Award
May 3, 2013

Our office uses the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) results to determine eligibility for the various financial aid programs. The total amount of financial aid that a student receives is referred to as the financial aid package. The financial aid package will reflect all federal, state and University aid including scholarships, grants, federal work-study and loans. Since the initial financial aid package is provided several months prior to the student's enrollment, it is determined based on the following assumptions:

• Student will be enrolled full-time
• Living status as reported by the student on the FAFSA
• Loan amounts are based on the grade level (number of completed credits) and will be processed for the maximum amount the student is eligible to receive

If you will not be enrolled full-time, change your housing status or want to reduce/cancel your loans, please contact our office.

Adjustments to the initial award package may be necessary if additional information is received that is different from the assumptions used to determine the original package. If you are receiving additional awards that are not included in your financial aid package you must notify our office.

Please note that any changes to the FAFSA data may result in an adjustment to your financial aid package, including but not limited to:

• Review of your FAFSA due to Verification
• Enrollment less than full-time
• • Please note students must be enrolled at least six credits to receive a Federal Direct Loans and the Federal Direct PLUS Loan
• Change in your housing status from what was reported on the FAFSA
• Corrections made due to conflicting data

NOTE: You will receive an electronic notification each time your award package has been adjusted.

Graduating at the end of Spring?
April 25, 2013

Graduating students who have borrowed a Federal Direct Loan or a Federal Perkins Loan while attending the Santa Clara University are required to complete exit counseling on-line by visiting our Exit Counseling webpage.

Need Federal Loans for Summer School?
April 25, 2013

The deadline to request a William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan for the summer term is June 14, 2013. Please contact the Financial Aid Office to request a student loan. Please make sure you completed the 2012-13 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to determine your loan eligibility.

Change to Aid due to Sequester
March 18, 2013

On August 2, 2011, Congress passed the Budget Control Act of 2011, which put into place automatic federal budget cuts, known as a “sequester,” to take effect if Congress failed to enact legislation to reduce the federal deficit by March 1, 2013. Because Congress did not act, these budget cuts are now in effect.

Federal Direct Loans
While this law does not otherwise change the amount, terms or conditions of Federal Direct Loans, it does raise the loan fee paid by borrowers for Federal Direct Loans disbursed after March 1, 2013.

• For both the subsidized and unsubsidized Federal Direct Loans, the loan fee will increase from 1.0 percent of the principal amount of a loan to 1.05 percent.
• For Direct Federal PLUS Loan and the Direct Federal Graduate PLUS Loan, the loan fee will increase from 4.0 percent to 4.204 percent.

Iraq-Afghanistan Service Grant
Award amounts for any Iraq-Afghanistan Service Grant that is first disbursed after March 1, 2013 must be reduced by 37.8 percent from the award amount for which a recipient would otherwise have been entitled.

TEACH Grant
Award amounts for any TEACH Grant that is first disbursed after March 1, 2013 must be reduced by 12.6 percent from the award amount for which a recipient would otherwise have been eligible.

Santa Clara University and other colleges will also see a reduction to both Federal Work Study and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant funding for 2013-14.

Graduating at the end of Winter?
February 27, 2013

All federal student loan borrowers are required to complete an exit counseling tutorial upon graduation. The exit counseling tutorial will review your rights, responsibilities and repayment terms. To complete this federal requirement, simply log onto https://studentloans.gov and click on "Exit Counseling" under the "Tools and Resources" section.

NOTE: You will need your Federal Student Aid PIN to complete the federal requirement.

Your financial future begins now! Good loan repayment habits will build good credit. Numerous options exist, including deferred repayment and income contingent repayment. Your loan servicer will work with you to select the option that is best for you.

Common Mistakes when Completing the FAFSA
February 4, 2013

The best way to complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is early, and online. As you complete the FAFSA try to avoid these common errors.

• Completing the wrong FAFSA aid year
• Leaving blank fields
• Using commas or decimal points in numeric fields
• Entering incorrect Social Security Number (SSN)
• Entering incorrect Driver's license number
• Indicating your gender
• Entering the wrong federal income tax paid amount
• Entering Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) as equal to total income
• Listing parent marital status incorrectly
• Forgetting to sign and date

Reporting Assets on the FAFSA
January 24, 2013

Some students and parents are unsure on what assets that should be included and what is not required on the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).

NOTE: The value of all 529 college savings plans, prepaid tuition plans and Coverdell education savings accounts owned by a parent or by the parent’s dependent children must be reported as a parent asset on the FAFSA, regardless of who is listed as a beneficiary on the account. UGMA and UTMA accounts are considered assets of the student, and must be reported as an asset of the student on the FAFSA, regardless of the student's dependency status.

NOTE: You must report contributions to any tax-deferred pension or savings plan.

Unique FAFSA Filing Situations
January 18, 2013

When completing the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), your students may find themselves in a situation that requires some additional direction:

Divorced or Separated Parents
The parent with whom the student lived with the most during the past twelve months should complete the FAFSA. If the student did not live with one parent more than the other, the parent who provided the most support in the past twelve months (or in the most recent year that parental support was received) should complete the FAFSA. Support includes food, shelter, clothing, insurance, etc., in addition to cash payments.

If parents who are separated file a joint tax return, only the parent with whom the student lived (as defined above) must report on the FAFSA their income, assets, taxes paid and household size. It does not matter if this parent is not the one who claimed the student on their tax return.

For financial aid purposes, a couple is considered separated only if there is physical separation. This means that a married couple who claims to be separated, but is still living together is considered married, and both parents must provide information on the FAFSA.

Stepparents
If a parent has remarried, both the parent and the stepparent must report information on the FAFSA. A prenuptial agreement does not exempt a stepparent from providing his or her information.

If the biological parent dies and the stepparent survives, the student becomes independent unless:

• The student is dependent on the surviving biological parent, or
• The stepparent legally adopted the student.

Adoptive Parents
For financial aid purposes, adoptive parents are the same as biological parents.

Foster Parents
For financial aid purposes, foster parents are not the same as biological parents. A student living with foster parents is a ward of the court and is considered an independent student.

The 2013-14 FAFSA is Available
January 2, 2013

The 2013–14 FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is available. We encourage students and their families to complete the FAFSA as soon as possible to meet the deadlines for student aid.

The FAFSA determines a student's eligibility for most federal and state grant awards, work-study programs, some University aid and federal student loans.

The FAFSA is available online at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Completing the FAFSA online helps eliminate errors and offers a quicker processing time.