Ivy Tech advises on financial aid

Ivy Tech Community College-Bloomington organized a meeting Thursday at Bloomington High School South to inform current students and parents about financial aid.

Presented by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, the presentation focused on the fundamentals of financial aid, the average cost of attendance for colleges and the categories and types of
financial aid.

Patt McCafferty, director of financial aid at Ivy Tech, spoke at the event about the importance financial aid has for providing funds to students and families in order to help pay for postsecondary educational expenses.

McCafferty also talked about the average expenses college brings and additional costs to consider, including  costs such as tuition, fees, books and personal expenses.
Different types of financial aid can be separated into two categories, McCafferty explained to the crowd of students and parents. Gift aid consists of opportunities from colleges like scholarships and grants, while loans and employment qualify as self-help options. McCafferty explained how scholarships, however, are usually awarded only on the basis of merit, skill or a distinct characteristic.

McCafferty also explained the different criteria students must meet in order to be considered financially independent from their parents.

“The way I’ve explained this to students is that for financial aid, independent is specifically defined,” McCafferty said. “The whole basis of financial aid is that the government is thinking families are responsible for college.”

The speaker also provided information regarding the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. FAFSA is a standard form that collects demographic and financial information about the student and family and can be filed electronically or in paper form.

McCafferty said this form is important because colleges often use the information to calculate the amount of money a student’s family may reasonably be expected to contribute toward the cost of school.

The most important qualification McCafferty spoke about, however, was the necessity of completing high school in order to qualify for financial aid from the start.

“It used to be they would have students take a test to see if they met qualifications to take college courses,” McCafferty said. “They can’t do that anymore. They actually have to have a high school diploma or GED.”