So, you’ve filed your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and you’ve checked your FAFSA Submission Summary to be sure all your information is correct, and now you’re wondering how that data is used to come up with the financial aid for which you are eligible. Vernon College will use several pieces of information to calculate your aid.
If I meet the basic eligibility criteria for federal student aid, who decides how much money I will get?
Here’s the short answer:
The financial aid office at Vernon College will determine how much financial aid you are eligible to receive.
- The VC financial aid staff starts by determining your cost of attendance (COA).
- We then consider your Student Aid Index (SAI).
- We subtract your SAI and other financial aid from your COA to determine the amount of your financial need and therefore how much need-based aid you can get.
If you’d like the long answer, keep reading!
What does cost of attendance (COA) mean?
Your COA is the amount it will cost you to go to Vernon College for the school year (for instance, for the fall semester plus the spring semester).
If you're attending at least half-time, your COA is the estimate of
- tuition and fees;
- food and housing;
- books and supplies;
- transportation expenses;
- personal expenses;
- miscellaneous expenses;
- loan fees.
What’s the Student Aid Index (SAI)?
Your SAI is an index number that Vernon College financial aid staff uses to determine how much financial aid you would receive if you were to attend VC. The information you report on your FAFSA is used to calculate your SAI.
The SAI is calculated according to a formula established by law. Your family's taxed and untaxed income, assets, and benefits (such as unemployment or Social Security) all could be considered in the formula.
Your SAI is not the amount of money your family will have to pay for college, nor is it the amount of federal student aid you will receive. It is a number used by Vernon College to calculate how much financial aid you are eligible to receive.
What is need-based aid and how does my school figure out how much I will get?
Vernon College first determines whether you have financial need by using this simple formula:
Calculating Your Financial Need
Cost of Attendance (COA)
– Student Aid Index (SAI)
= Financial Need
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Need-based aid is financial aid that you can receive if you have financial need and meet other eligibility criteria. You cannot receive more need-based aid than the amount of your financial need. For instance, if your COA is $16,000 and your SAI is 12,000, your financial need is $4,000; so you aren’t eligible for more than $4,000 in need-based aid.
The following are the need-based federal student aid programs:
- Federal Pell Grant
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)
- Direct Subsidized Loan
- Federal Work-Study
- State Work-Study
- Texas Public Educational Grant (TPEG)
- Texas Educational Opportunity Grant (TEOG)
What is non-need-based aid and how does my school figure out how much I will get?
Vernon College determines how much non-need-based aid you can get by using this formula:
Calculating Your Non-need-based Aid
Cost of Attendance (COA)
– Financial Aid Awarded So Far*
= Eligibility for Non-need-based Aid
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*includes aid from all sources, such as the school, private scholarship providers, etc.
Non-need-based aid is financial aid that is not based on your SAI. What matters is your COA and how much other assistance you have been awarded so far. For instance, if your COA is $16,000 and you have been awarded a total of $4,000 in need-based aid and private scholarships, you can get up to $12,000 in non-need-based aid.
The following are the non-need-based federal student aid programs:
- Direct Unsubsidized Loan
- Federal PLUS Loan
If you have any additional questions, please call our office. The VC Financial Aid office wants to provide you the financial support needed to afford your education!