Money Talk Monday
Financial Aid Newsletter March 27, 2017
Our Mission
We will assist public middle and high school students in Forsyth County in preparing themselves for successful college enrollment.
Our Vision
We seek to ensure that every public school student in Forsyth County has the opportunity to attend college.
"Money Talk Monday" - your Bi-weekly guide for financial aid information
In this edition of Money Talk Monday you will find:
- Goodwill Willpower Scholarship
- Mona W. Lovett Outstanding Commitment to Service Award
- Mona W. Lovett Excellence in Volunteer Leadership Award
- Mona W. Lovett Service and Relationships Award
- Dean Smith Integrity Award
- Fulton Carolina Medal
- IRS Data Retrieval Tool Reminder
- Crosby Scholars Financial Aid Assistance
- Federal Loans
- Four Tips for Negotiating a Better Financial Aid Package
Goodwill Willpower Scholarship-APPLY NOW
Students apply through their Crosby Scholars student portal.
Deadline is April 9, 2017.
Mona W. Lovett Outstanding Commitment to Service Award - APPLY NOW
The Mona W. Lovett Outstanding Commitment to Service Award, first awarded in 2017, provides one $1,000 non-renewable scholarship annually to a graduating Crosby Scholar senior who has completed a minimum of 150 hours of service to the community during his/her senior year of high school. The recipient must enroll in a 2- or 4-year college and provide verification of service hours. Activities resume and essay required; neither GPA nor need will be considered.
Students apply through their Crosby Scholars student portal.
Deadline is April 16, 2017.
Mona W. Lovett Excellence in Volunteer Leadership Award-APPLY NOW
Students apply through their Crosby Scholars student portal.
Deadline is April 9, 2017.
Mona W. Lovett Service and Relationships Award-APPLY NOW
The Mona W. Lovett Service and Relationships Award, first awarded in 2017, provides one $1,000 non-renewable scholarship annually to a graduating Crosby Scholar senior who has made a significant commitment to volunteer services in grades 9-12 while building a noteworthy relationship. Activities resume highlighting service and essay required. Recipient must enroll in a 2- or 4-year college. Neither GPA nor need is considered.
Students apply through their Crosby Scholars student portal.
Deadline is April 9, 2017.
Dean Smith Integrity Award-APPLY NOW
The Dean Smith Integrity Award, provides one $1,000 non-renewable scholarship to a graduating Crosby Scholar senior who exemplifies the virtues of integrity, loyalty, and open-mindedness and who plans to enroll at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Activities resume and essay are required; financial need is NOT a factor.
Students apply through their Crosby Scholars student portal.
Deadline is May 1, 2017.
Fulton Carolina Medal-APPLY NOW
Students apply through their Crosby Scholars student portal.
Deadline is May 1, 2017.
IRS Data Retrieval Tool Reminder
The IRS Data Retrieval Tool on fafsa.gov and StudentLoans.gov is currently unavailable. However, this does not limit families’ ability to apply for aid. Applicants filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) can manually provide the requested financial information from copies of their tax returns. The online FAFSA remains operational, and applicants can continue filing the FAFSA as they normally would.
The income information needed to complete the FAFSA can be found on your tax return. If you did not retain a copy of your tax return, you may be able to access the tax software you used to prepare your return or contact your tax preparer to obtain a copy.
If you are unable to get a copy of your tax return, you may visit www.irs.gov/transcript to view and download a summary of your tax return, called a tax transcript, at Get Transcript Online. You must verify your identity to use this tool. You also may use Get Transcript by Mail or call 1-800-908-9946, and a transcript will be delivered to your address of record within 5 to 10 days.
Crosby Scholars Financial Aid Assistance
Federal Loans
Federal Student Loans are funded by the federal government to help pay for your education. A federal student loan is borrowed money that you must repay with interest. There are two types of STUDENT federal loans and one PARENT federal loan.
1. Unsubsidized Direct Stafford Loan– interest on unsubsidized loans ACCRUES from the date of disbursement and continues throughout the life of the loan.
2. Subsidized Direct Stafford Loan– a loan based on financial need. The government pays the interest that accrues while the borrower is in school.
3. Direct (Parent) Plus Loan– a loan available to parents of undergraduate students. The parents are fully responsible for paying the interest. The parent MUST QUALIFY—the loan is NOT guaranteed.
Four Tips for Negotiating a Better Financial Aid Package
Appeals usually fall under one of two categories: 1) need-based aid, which bases your appeal on special financial circumstances that may not already be reflected in the FAFSA; and 2) merit-based scholarship negotiations.
For need-based aid appeals, direct your letter to the financial aid office. For merit scholarship negotiations, direct your letter to the enrollment or admissions office. If you’re appealing both, send copies of your letter to both offices.
2. For more need-based aid, be specific, and have back-up. It’s difficult for a financial aid office to help you if your appeal is too broad. When writing your cover letter, instead of simply saying you don’t make enough money to reasonably cover tuition, give a detailed explanation and include facts, dates and figures that pertain to your financial situation. You’ll also need to provide documentation for any claims of hardship—things like receipts, medical bills, official termination letters and so on.
Unreimbursed medical and dental expenses, catastrophic loss, job losses, death of a [spouse]—the majority of federal need-based financial aid appeals hit one of those areas.
3. For larger merit awards, use your leverage. If you don’t have special financial circumstances, but another similarly ranked school just offered you more in merit scholarships or grants, you can still go back to your number-one choice and ask for more money using your better award offers as leverage.
You’ll want to attach the award letters you received from the other schools to the appeals request as documentation. In the appeal, ask the school if they can match the other offers. In effect, you are saying: here are my awards, here’s what it’s going to cost me to attend college X, Y and Z. I want to be at your school. Can you close the gap?
4. Don't ask for the moon. Thank the school for the package they’ve put together and tell them you’re ready and willing to take on your responsibility, based on what you have in savings and what you can take on in loans. But be very specific about how much you can cover realistically and how much you are short.
If you make it clear that a relatively small amount ($2,000 or $3,000) will make a big difference, appeals and negotiations are more likely to be successful.
Crosby Scholars Community Partnership
Email: Seniorprogram@crosbyscholars.org
Website: crosbyscholars.org
Location: 2701 University Parkway, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
Phone: 336-725-5371
Twitter: @CrosbySr2017