Financial Aid
Money for College and FAFSA Completion Workshops
Free workshops, sponsored by the St. Louis University Office of Scholarship/Financial Aid and held at SLU are scheduled on the Sundays of January and February.
These Sunday afternoon workshops will provide answers to all of your Money For College questions and concerns, and help you complete your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), question by question.
No workshop reservations are required. Please bring a pencil and, if filed, a copy of last year's filed Federal Tax Returns (Parents and Students). In the event of a snow or ice storm, that Sunday's workshop is cancelled.
Location
Busch Student Center, St. Louis Room, 20 North Grand Boulevard (Northeast corner of Grand Boulevard at Laclede Avenure, a block south of the Fox Theater).
Parking
St. Louis University Garage (Southwest corner of Grand Boulevard at Laclede Avenure, enter garage from Laclede Avenure). Busch Student Center is a half-block east, just across Grand Boulevard on the corner.
For more information, please call 314-977-2350
NOTE: The earliest date the FAFSA can be mailed is January 2. It is important to remember that the "early bird catches the worm" in financial aid. We strongly suggest taht you mail the forms during the first two weeks in January.
Profile Form
In addition to the FAFSA some colleges this year are requiring an additional financial aid form called the "Profile" which is being handled by College Scholarship Service. These colleges want more financial information on a family than the FAFSA provides. Seniors may pick up the registration forms in the Counseling Center or use on-line registration which is available at www.collegeboard.com. After receiving the registration form, College Scholarship Service will mail you the financial aid form to fill out. This form is different from the FAFSA in that each college is able to tailor questions specific to their school. They will probably request more information on assets. A formula to calculate the value of your house is included with the registration form. Also, remember that money in retirement accounts is not included in your investments.
Financial Aid Follow-Up
Remember parents, that a student must be accepted before he can be considered for financial aid. Therefore, you want to get your FAFSA done AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. One of the most common misconceptions is that you need to complete your income tax returns before you can fill out the financial aid forms. You can do the financial aid forms from an estimated return.
Approximately four weeks after you file the FAFSA you will receive a SAR (Student Aid Report). You will keep this form and the government will send them to the colleges your son indicated on the form. If there is a school that you would like to have the form sent to that was not listed, simply copy and send the SAR to the financial office of that school. This is usually done in late April or early May. In the upper right hand corner you will find a line titled EFC - this is your estimated family contribution. The line will look like this - EFC: 6598. In other words your contribution to college would be around $6,598. If you want a breakdown between parent and student contribution, you will have to call one of the financial aid offers from various colleges you can determine if they are using this family contribution or a larger amount. This becomes a very good negotiating point!
You will begin to receive financial aid packages from each college eight weeks after mailing FAFSA for school on rolling admissions and by April 1 for those that notify students of admissions decisions on this date.
