Financial Literacy Update Federal Student Aid

Elizabeth CooganSenior Advisor, Customer Experience Office

U.S. Department of Education

Tools for Every Stage of Student Aid

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Stay Informed

- Integrated Student Experience

Compare Schools

- College Scorecard / College Navigator- Shopping Sheet / Net Price Calculator- Aid Offer Comparison Tool

Apply for Aid

- Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA)

Manage Debt

- Financial Awareness Counseling Tool (FACT)- Entrance and Exit Counseling- Repayment Estimator

Stay Informed:Integrated Student Experience

StudentAid.gov

Students can now go to www.StudentAid.gov to find comprehensive and standardized information on

financial aid. The site offers powerful, intuitive tools to assist students in searching for colleges, applying for aid, and managing repayment.

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Stay Informed:Integrated Student Experience

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Stay Informed:Integrated Student Experience

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College Scorecard

• 5 key data elements -- of institutions on critical measures to help students decide where to consider applying

College Navigator

• More detailed information about institutions to help students decide where to apply

“Shopping Sheet”

• “Know Before You Owe” Model Aid Offer Form with graduation & default (or repayment) rates to help students decide where to enroll

Net Price Calculator

• Allows students to enter information about themselves to estimate cost to attend the institution after taking grants and scholarship aid into account

Aid Offer Comparison Tool

• Private sector (or gov’t) tool to facilitate comparisons of aid offers

ED produced

Institution produced

Private Sector or Gov’t

Compare Schools:Overview

Compare Schools:College Scorecard

The College Scorecard is a planning tool and resource to help student and families focus on affordability and value. http://collegecost.ed.gov/scorecard/index.aspx

The Scorecard provides essential information about college costs, graduation rates, and potential earnings in a standardized easy to read format. It is meant for use during the early stages of the college search process.

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Compare Schools:College Scorecard

Compare Schools:Net Price Calculator

Net price calculators are available on school websites and allow prospective students to enter information about themselves to find out what students like them paid to attend the institution in the previous year, after taking grants and scholarship aid into account.

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Compare Schools:Net Price Calculator

Compare Schools:Financial Aid Shopping Sheet

Adopted by over 670 institutions (as of March 2013) and distributed to nearly 3 million prospective students, the Financial Aid Shopping Sheet is a standardized, Department-approved template for disclosing the true cost of college attendance, which enables recipients to compare higher education decisions more effectively.

http://www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/guid/aid-offer/index.html

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Compare Schools:Financial Aid Shopping Sheet

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• Takes less than 30 minutes to complete

• Processed in 3-5 days• Uses skip logic • IRS Data Retrieval Tool• Pre-populates tax

information

Apply for Aid:FAFSA

Manage Debt:Enhanced Entrance and Exit Counseling

Loan Limits Things You

Need to Know

Private Loans

Income-Driven Repayment

Entering Repayment

Navigating Repayment

NOTE: Exit Counseling will not include “Manage Your Spending.”

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Manage Debt:Repayment Estimator

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Manage Debt:Repayment Estimator

What do we need to know?

Some research questions to be considered: • What programs and practices are working?• What information has the greatest influence on

borrowing behaviors?• What are the best delivery mechanisms?• To what extent are media messages, social

media, or other similar venues effective?• How important is high quality advice for

positive financial outcomes?

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Questions

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Contact Information

Elizabeth Cooganelizabeth.coogan@ed.gov

202.377.3825

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