Financial Aid FAQ's
- I probably don't qualify for need-based aid. Should I apply anyway?
- Do I need to be admitted before I can apply for financial aid?
- How and when do I apply?
- My parents are separated/divorced/remarried. Who completes the FAFSA?
- How are outside scholarships considered?
- Are there merit-based awards, and is there a separate application?
- What do the terms 'EFC' and 'family contribution' mean?
- What does a typical financial aid award look like at Union?
- Are you able to meet 'need'? If not, what is the average 'gap'?
- Will I receive the same award each year? Based on what?
- How does early decision affect financial aid?
- Is summer financial aid available?
- I consider myself an 'independent', how does this affect aid?
I probably don't qualify for need-based aid. Should I apply anyway?
This is a common question and it is natural to be somewhat hesitant to starting the aid application process if one is uncertain about eligibility. Your comfort level is the best criteria to use in determining whether to file financial aid applications. Do you (and does your family) feel you can reasonably afford to pay the price of attendance at all the colleges to which you are applying? If the answer is something other than a comfortable yes, then it would makes sense for you to consider completing the required forms. While there are no guarantees, filing the forms on-time is the way to know whether you will be eligible - and the answer can vary from one school to the next.
Also, the Federal government has a low-interest unsubsidized student loan for those students who do not qualify for the subsidized Stafford loan. In order to receive this non-need based loan, you are required to complete at least the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) need-analysis form. For more information on this loan and other financial aid programs, go to Programs.
Do I need to be admitted before I can apply for financial aid?
Application for admission and financial aid should occur around the same time. Union's deadline for financial aid application is February 1st, and for regular decision admission is January 15th. In order to ensure financial aid eligibility is not jeopardized by late application, it is important to know the earliest financial aid application deadline for all the schools to which the student is applying. The required form(s) should then be submitted by that earliest deadline date.
At Union College, your admission and aid decisions will be mailed together near the end of March. Once the financial aid decision is received, you should contact the financial aid office with any questions or concerns.
How and when do I apply for financial aid?
Union College requires two forms, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the College Scholarship Service's (CSS) Profile Form. Both of these forms can be filed online. The FAFSA web site is www.fafsa.ed.gov and the Profile web-site is www.collegeboard.com.
The FAFSA form is required in order for you to be considered for any Federal student aid. Some colleges, including Union, require the Profile form because it collects more detailed information about your family's financial circumstances.
You should file both forms no later than February 1st in order to meet Union College's financial aid application deadline. The FAFSA may not be filed before January 1st. Most families do not have their Federal tax form completed before they must file the financial aid forms, and so should estimate their income information. Once an applicant enrolls at Union, we will then collect the necessary documentation (such as IRS 1040's) to verify and update the income information, as necessary. When estimating, try to be as accurate as possible, as the financial aid decision will only be as good as your estimate of income.
My parents are separated/divorced/remarried. Who completes the FAFSA?
Federal regulations require the FAFSA to be completed by the parent with whom the student lived most in the prior twelve months to completing the FAFSA. The same rule should be applied for the College Scholarship Service's (CSS) Profile form.
If the student lived with both parents equally in the prior twelve months to completing the form, then the parent who provided more financial support is the parent who completes the financial aid forms.
Those are the two criteria to be used in determining which parent files the forms. Agreements in divorce decrees or claiming status on tax returns do not determine parental responsibility for completing the forms.
If the parent whose information is required on the financial aid forms is remarried, that parent's current spouses information is also required to be reported on both forms.
Colleges that require the CSS Profile form will also usually require the parent whose information is not used on the FAFSA/Profile to complete a separate CSS form - the Divorced/Separated Parent's Statement - that is submitted directly to the college, once completed. The Divorced/Separated parent's Staetment can be printed out when completing the CSS Profile form online, or can be mailed by the college upon request.
How are outside scholarships considered?
There are a wide variety of approaches to the treatment of outside scholarships by colleges. The answer ranges from a dollar for dollar reduction in institutional grant aid, to it being an add-on to the other aid the student is eligible for, if possible.
Union College makes every attempt to allow the student to keep any outside scholarship(s) awarded to him/her. If another award does have to be reduced in order to stay within Federal guidelines, "self-help" types of financial aid awards are reduced first. "Self-help" is defined as a student loan and/or work-study job.
Are there merit-based awards, and is there a separate application?
Union College does have resources committed for non-need based grants. We have been able to recognize the outstanding achievements of our top applicants. Last year we offered over a million dollars in awards based on students' academic performance.
At Union, there is no separate application. Faculty and Admissions staff review your admission application and decide based on the comprehensive data you have submitted to us, who may qualify for these non-need based funds.
What do the terms 'EFC' and 'family contribution' mean?
The term 'EFC' stands for Estimated Family Contribution. This is the number the financial aid office uses to estimate what a family can contribute to the student's education for one year. The federal government also determines an EFC, which often differs from a college's EFC. Generally, financial aid administrators view the federal EFC as a criterion to determine eligibility for federal aid more than a true estimate of what a family can afford to contribute. There are many differences between the federal EFC and a college's EFC, one of which is home equity. The formula that Union College uses does include the equity (estimated home value minus home debt) in a parent's home.
All of the information collected on the two forms is then reviewed and analyzed. We look at the student's income earned in a previous year and deduct actual federal income tax paid, and estimated state and other taxes. We then expect the student to contribute 50% of the remainder toward his or her own education for that year. The financial aid office reviews students' assets and expects that 25% of their assets be contributed to their education for the upcoming academic year. This combination of contributions from income and assets is the estimated student contribution.
Next, the financial aid office evaluates the parental resources reported on the forms. The formulas for determining an estimated parent contribution are quite complicated and so are not listed here. However, if you would like to get an estimate of your EFC, you can go to a few different web sites. The College Board's web site (www.collegeboard.com) has an EFC calculator where you may enter your family's financial data for your own use and get an idea of what a school like Union may come up with. You can change the data entered in the calculators to see how it affects the family contribution.
Finally, the addition of the student contribution and parent contribution constitute the family contribution. This number, deducted from our estimated cost of attendance, is what you qualify for in various types of financial aid.
Union College is proud of its philosophical and financial commitment to need-based aid. In the past year, we have committed over $15 million to our students in the form of grant assistance, ensuring access to quality higher education for over 1000 students.
What does a typical financial aid award look like at Union?
What does a typical financial aid award look like at your school?
A typical need-based award at Union College consists of self-help and grant assistance. These amounts are determined by the analysis of your family's financial information as reported on the FAFSA and CSS Profile forms. The average financial aid award at Union last year was approximately $23,000. Since we have been able to meet student's demonstrated financial need, this would mean that a family who has $23,000 in aid has a $23,000 need, based on our formula.
Almost all award 'packages' consist of a work-study job of $1800. Work-study is a job on campus partially funded by the federal government for students who demonstrate financial need.
We also will estimate what federal and/or state grants the student may qualify for. This would include a Pell grant, or New York State Tuition Assistance (TAP) if you and your parents are NY State residents. In our example above, for a family with a $23,000 need who is from NY State, the student would qualify for some TAP. The minimum for last year was $500 and the maximum was $5000. The average TAP award was $2445. Students who qualify for state grants from Vermont and Rhode Island may be able to take advantage of them at Union College.
Many of our aid recipients are also offered a low-interest student loan. The student loans range in amount from $1000 to $4625. The average student loan was $2625 for our freshmen.
Finally, we offer the student institutional grant assistance to fill the remaining need. Our average grant offered to freshmen last year was approximately $17,300.
So, for the typical freshmen last year their award package looked something like the following:
Union College Grant $17,300
Federal Work Study $ 1,800
NYS Tuition Assist. $ 2,375
Student Loan $ 2,625
Typical Financial Aid Award at Union College $23,800.
Are you able to meet 'need'? If not, what is the average 'gap'?
Both of these questions contain financial aid lingo aid administrators use that can be beneficial for families to understand.
"Need" refers to a family's demonstrated financial need as determined by analysis of the completed financial aid forms. As discussed in the "EFC" question, information collected on the forms is used to calculate what a family is able to contribute to the student's education. The difference between the calculated family contribution and the price (tuition/fees/room/board/estimated books and supplies) of a college is "need." For example, if a college's price is $40,000 and a family's calculated contribution is $17,000, the demonstrated financial need for that family at that college is $23,000. Similarly, that same family with a $17,000 calculated contribution considering a lower-cost college of $15,000 would have $0 demonstrated financial need. As one can see, the price of a college significantly affects the amount of need-based aid a student will qualify for.
Will I receive the same award each year? Is it based on my family's financial circumstances, maintaining a minimum level of academic performance or both?
If you are offered need-based aid at Union College, then each year as an upperclassman, we require you to complete the FAFSA and an institutional aid form, in addition to submitting copies of your tax returns. This is so we can accurately assess your family's ability to contribute as it may fluctuate from one year to the next. You can expect the award to be similar each year provided you apply on-time and your financial circumstances are similar.
If you are offered a non-need based award, there is no minimum level of academic performance required to receive the award each year. We make a four-year financial commitment to you and are confident that it will be a sound investment.
How does early decision affect financial aid?
Financial aid concerns should not deter Early Decision candidates. Financial aid awards at Union are not affected by your decision status; in other words, our needs analysis and financial aid packaging is the same no matter when you apply.
Applicants should be aware, however, that the Early Decision plan has some inherent advantages. You will know what your financial aid is earlier, and no Early Decision students are placed on the Financial Aid Waiting List.
Although some of the financial information you may need to formally complete the process may not be available, such as tax forms and W-2s, we will accept your estimates for packaging purposes and will expect proper financial documentation when it becomes available. For families interested in an estimate of their Union College financial aid, particularly those considering Early Decision, we offer our Early Evaluator Service. Please contact the Financial Aid Office for details.
Is summer financial aid available?
Application for summer aid will only be considered for Leadership in Medicine students taking at least two courses and students attending the National Health Care Systems program. A maximum of three terms of aid, including the summer term, will be offered to the latter group for any academic year.
I consider myself an 'independent', how does this affect aid?
Students must meet federal guidelines to be considered independent for federal financial aid purposes. One of the following conditions/criteria must be met in order to be considered independent - students who are 24 or older by December 31 of the award year; students whose parents have died or who are wards of the court; students who are veterans of the armed forces; married students; students who have legal dependents (other than a spouse) for whom they provide at least half the support. All other students will be considered financially dependent upon their parents.
The student's personal and family situation continues to be the basis for Union College financial assistance during the duration of the baccalaureate program. For example, a student who enrolls at Union as a dependent family member must continue to submit parental financial information as the basis for institutional aid, regardless of changes in family circumstances.
The College reserves the right to expect a contribution from parents (or stepparents) since it feels that the primary responsibility to assist with educational costs remains with the parents. For financial aid purposes, students may not 'declare' independence due to attainment of legal age, internal family arrangements, or family disagreements. The responsibility for financing education rests with the family and can only be transferred to Union in cases where parents are truly unable to contribute. If special circumstances exist, please contact the Financial Aid Office for further explanation.