2004
Winter Financial Aid Newsletter
2004-2005 FINANCIAL AID APPLICATION REMINDERS
Here are a few reminders for students and parents for applying for Financial Aid for the 2004-2005 academic year:
- File early, as soon as the student's and/or parent's federal tax returns are completed.
Any student who plans to live in the Residence Halls and wants to have their financial aid credited towards their cost must
apply for financial aid by March 15, 2004.
- Get a PIN. Both students and parents should have a financial aid PIN, which will allow them to sign
the On-line FAFSA electronically and to make corrections to the FAFSA on-line. For more info go to www.pin.ed.gov.
- File On-line. Students can apply for both Federal and NYS Financial Aid programs via the Internet at www.fafsa.ed.gov.
On-line is faster, more efficient, and more accurate than using the paper application process.
- Keep copies of all of your 2003 income documents. (Federal & State tax returns, W-2's, Social Security, Unemployment, or Welfare benefits statements)
- Respond to requests for additional information. If you delay in submitting requested information to the Financial Aid Office, you can expect that the
processing of your financial aid will be delayed as well.
CHANGES FOR THE 2004-05 FAFSA
Every year, the Department of Education makes adjustments to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
While there are a number of minor changes to the 2004-05 FAFSA, the most obvious are question numbers 59,60,63, and
64, where dependent students are now required to provide their parent’s/stepparent’s first name initial and date of
birth.
Some other changes relate to the processing and services for the FAFSA. Students who used the internet to file their
2003-04 FAFSA and provided a valid e-mail address, were sent a 2004-05 Renewal FAFSA via e-mail. Also, if a student
makes corrections to their 2004-05 FAFSA using the web, a secure link to their reprocessed results will appear
immediately on a confirmation page with an official EFC. They will also be able to view and print their SAR from this link.
LOAN ENTRANCE COUNSELING
Students who are borrowing a student loan at MCC for the first time are required to complete a Loan Entrance Counseling Session.
To meet this requirement, students must complete the loan entrance counseling session online at www.monroecc.edu/depts/finaid.
From there click on the “Loan Entrance Counseling” link on the navigation bar.
Once the student completes the online Loan Entrance Counseling, they must print the confirmation form at the end and submit it to the MCC
Financial Aid Office. Students who do not complete the Loan Entrance Counseling, will not have their Direct Loans processed.
GOVERNOR PROPOSES CHANGES TO TAP
With the 2004-2005 Executive Budget Proposal, Governor Pataki is recommending significant changes to the NYS Tuition Assistance Program (TAP).
The Governor’s plan calls for:
- TAP awards to be divided in to two components -- a "base" award equivalent to two-thirds of the current TAP award,
and a "performance" award equivalent to the remaining one-third.
- The "base" component to be paid consistent with the current payment schedules of TAP awards to students.
- The "performance" component will be paid upon students' successful completion of their degree programs. Performance
award payments will be equal to the amounts of students' deferred TAP awards, plus any accrued interest on loans they may
have used in financing their performance awards.
- Pending receipt of their "performance" awards, students will be expected to finance these costs through Federal loans.
State loans will be available for students who have exhausted their Federal loans.
What this means is that a student who currently receives a TAP award of $1250 for a semester, would for the next academic year receive 2/3rd
of that amount ($825) up front for their tuition and then receive the remaining 1/3rd ($425) after they complete their degree. To make up
any shortfall the student would be expected to make up the difference using other forms of financial aid, including student loans.
The rationale for these changes is to encourage students to stay in school and earn their degrees. However, the existing TAP program already has
in its regulations incentives for students to complete their degree requirements in a timely fashion. Students are eligible for a total of only
eight semesters of TAP and there are satisfactory academic progress requirements that when not met, result in a loss of TAP eligibility.
Both NYSFAAA and SUNYFAP, statewide financial aid professional organizations, strongly oppose the Governor’s proposal for TAP and advocate that the
state maintain the current level of funding for the TAP program. Students and parents opposed to these changes should voice their concerns to the
Governor and their NYS legislators.
TOTAL WITHDRAWLS & FEDERAL (TITLE IV) FINANCIAL AID
The Federal Government requires that when a student completely withdraws, stops attending all classes, or is dismissed from the college prior to 60%
of the semester being completed, the Financial Aid Office must recalculate the amount of Federal Financial Aid (Pell Grant, SEOG Grant, Work-Study, & Direct Loans)
the student can receive based on the amount time the student was enrolled for that semester.
In this recalculation process, the college is required to return the a portion of the student’s financial aid that was not earned based on no longer being
enrolled at the college, to the federal government. The recalculation of a student’s financial aid and return of federal funds often result in students
owing a balance to MCC. Students who owe a balance to MCC will be prohibited from registering for courses until the balance is paid. For the 2004 Spring
semester, students that withdraw from all registered coursework prior to April 7th, 2004, will have their Federal Aid recalculated.
In addition, complete withdrawals from registered coursework can result in the loss of eligibility for Federal Financial Aid for future semesters due to the
failure to meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements required by the Federal Government. More information on the Federal Return of Federal Title IV
Funds Policy and Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements can be found on pages 25-28 of the 2003-2004 College Catalog & Student Handbook.
2003
Fall Financial Aid Newsletter
2003
Summer Financial Aid Newsletter
2003
Spring Financial Aid Newsletter
2003
Winter Financial Aid Newsletter
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