What type of financial aid does your school offer?

While the primary responsibility for financing an education rests with the family, few families can afford the entire cost. There are a wide variety of resources available to help you pay for your education. In fact, 85% of NYCDA students receive some financial aid in the form of:

• Grants
• Loans
• Scholarships

What are the requirements to apply for and receive financial aid?

• You must be a citizen or resident of the United States.
• You must be attending at least half time.
• You must be a matriculated student.
• You must meet academic guidelines.

Note: You do not need to be accepted into NYCDA to begin this process. In fact, the best time to apply for financial aid is when you are in the process of applying to school.

What is the process for applying for financial aid at SFT?

You must submit a FAFSA, preferably online at www.fafsa.ed.gov. We strongly urge you to complete the process online. Some of the benefits of completing your FAFSA online are:

• It's fast, your application will be processed in 3 to 5 days, rather than six weeks.
• You can track the status of your application.
• You can make changes, additions, deletions, and corrections in minutes.
• Your application will go through a series of edit checks to help eliminate errors.
• It's secure, sending your application over the Internet is completely safe.

Note: You do not need to be accepted into NYCDA to begin this process. In fact, the best time to apply for financial aid is when you are in the process of applying to school.

What happens after my FAFSA is filed at your school?

About one week after you have submitted your FAFSA, you will be emailed a SAR reflecting your FAFSA information. (NOTE: Please check your spam files or junk mail box, as Federal emails occasionally are perceived as spam.) This information must be verified by you for accuracy. Follow the instructions on how to make any necessary corrections.

What is the difference between dependent and independent students?

An independent student is someone who can answer yes to one of the following conditions:

• Must be at least 24 years of age
• Must be enrolled in a graduate program
• Must be married
• Must have child or children who receives more than half of their financial support from you
• Must be a ward of the court by age 18, or an orphan
• Must be a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces

A dependent student is someone who answers no to every condition above. As a result, this student must provide information on his/her parents' income for the appropriate year.

What is the Cost of Attendance?

The cost of attendance (COA) is an estimate of how much it costs a student to attend NYCDA. The office uses required formulas to calculate the cost of attendance. The COA includes tuition and fees; books and supplies, as well as indirect costs, such as food, transportation, medical and other personal expenses. The budget is intended to represent the average cost incurred by student, over the course of the school year. Contact the Financial Aid Office to strategize on how to finance your individual cost.

What is an Award Letter?

It is a breakdown of the financial aid offer for the academic year that NYCDA will send you after you file your FAFSA.

What is an Expected Financial Contribution (EFC)?

This is an amount a student and his/her family are expected to contribute toward the student's cost of attendance as calculated by a formula known as Federal Methodology.

What do I do if I am selected for "verification"?

The U.S. Department of Education and NYCDA choose some aid applicants for review to make sure the information submitted on the application documents is correct. After being selected for verification, the student will receive a letter from NYCDA explaining which documents need to be provided.

What is a Master Promissory Note?

This is a binding legal document that you signed to apply for a student/parent loan. This application is valid for ten years and it lists the conditions and terms of the loan. It is very important to save and keep this document for future reference.

What is the maximum loan I can borrow per year with an unsubsidized loan?

Independent students only (or dependent students whose parents have been denied a PLUS loan):

• First year - $6,000
• Second year - $6,000

What is a subsidized loan?

This is a low-interest student loan which must be repaid. The government pays interest while you are in school and during grace and deferment periods. Direct Stafford Loans are the most common source of education loan funds.

What is the maximum STAFFORD loan I can borrow per year?

Dependent & Independent students:

What is an unsubsidized loan?

This is also a loan which must be repaid. And, because it is unsubsidized, you the borrower are responsible for the interest during the life of the loan. Direct Stafford Loans are the most common source of education loan funds.

What do the terms "grace period," "deferment," and "forbearance" mean?

A grace period refers to a specific period of time during which you are not required to begin paying your loans back. Different loans have different grace periods.

Deferment refers to a delay in repayment. If you ever have a problem making your monthly loan payments, you may be able to postpone repayment through deferment. Deferments may be offered on loans for periods or unemployment, enrollment in school, or economic hardship.

Forbearance means you may make either no payments or smaller payments. If you can't make payments on your loan for reasons such as unexpected personal problems or poor health and you don't qualify for a deferment, you may apply for a forbearance.

You will need to contact your lender directly to get information on the grace period, deferment, or forbearance options on your specific loan.

What is a PLUS Loan (Parent Loan for undergraduate students)?

PLUS Loans allow parents with good credit to borrow monies to pay school expenses. This is applicable to dependent undergraduate students who are enrolled at least half time.

How often do I apply for financial aid?

You must apply for financial aid every year. We recommend that you submit your FAFSA application as early as possible. The application can be submitted as early as January 1.

For on-line filing information for FASFA go to www.fafsa.ed.gov and click on "Fill out a FAFSA." You will need to gather a few documents before getting started such as:

• Your Social Security Number (can be found on Social Security card)
• Your driver's license (if any)
• Your W-2 Forms and other records of money earned
• Your (and your spouse's, if you are married) Federal Income Tax Return - IRS Form 1040, 1040A, 1040EZ, 1040Telefile, foreign tax return, or tax return for Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia
• Your parent's Federal Income Tax Return (if you are a dependent student)
• Your untaxed income records - Social Security, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, welfare, or veterans benefits records
• Your bank statement
• Your business and investment mortgage information, business and farm records, stocks, bonds, and other investment records
• Your alien registration card (if you are not a U.S. citizen)

If you are not able to complete your FAFSA at one time, you can save the information and complete and submit it later at your convenience. (The information you save will be secure and available for you to retrieve and edit for 45 days after which it will be deleted, and you will have to start a new application.)

Am I eligible for aid if I am not a U.S. citizen?

Students who are not U.S. citizens are subject to different regulations that may require supporting documentation depending upon financial aid sought. You will be contacted if this applies to you. U.S. citizens may also be required to document their citizenship status.

To be eligible for aid from Federal and state government sources and most NYCDA-based aid, students must be classified either as U.S. citizens or as eligible non-citizens Students are considered to be eligible for financial aid if one of the following conditions applies:

• U.S. permanent resident with an Alien Registration Receipt Card ("green card"), I-151 or I-551.
• Conditional permanent resident (I-151C).
• Other eligible non-citizen with an Arrival-Departure Record (I94) from the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service showing any one of the following designations: (a) "Refugee," (b) "Indefinite Parole," (c) "Humanitarian Parole," (d) "Asylum Granted," or (e) "Cuban-Haitian Entrant."

I have financial aid now, but what about next year? Is it necessary to apply again?

Yes, you must apply each year to renew your financial aid. The best way is to file electronically at www.fafsa.ed.gov. This method is faster and more accurate - logic errors are rare - thanks to verification editing programmed throughout the electronic form.

After January 1, but before March 1, review your renewal FAFSA record on the FAFSA web site and revise the information to reflect your income for the preceding year (and other information only if it has changed) and send the application electronically for processing. Be very sure to specify NYCDA (school code #031207) as the recipient of your information. It is not necessary to complete a paper FAFSA if you do this correctly.

If you apply correctly and on time, and you submit all required documents, you can expect your NYCDA financial aid award notice by June 1, describing your aid package for the next academic year.

If you are not able to file electronically, you must use the paper application. FAFSA packets are available beginning mid-January from the NYCDA Financial Aid Office, your current college or local library.

You should receive your SAR via email approximately one week after electronically submitting the FAFSA. (NOTE: Please check your spam files or junk mail box, as Federal emails occasionally are perceived as spam.) Call (800) 4-FED-AID (433-3243) if you do not receive it.

Regardless of the method you use, remember that the U.S. Department of Education must receive your FAFSA information no later than May 1. If you delay, a loss of aid could result. If you have not filed your tax returns by May 1, you can use estimated information on the FAFSA but you must later correct this data on your SAR. Please make every effort to apply on time so that you are considered for all types of available aid. If you miss the deadline you may still apply, but some aid may not be available.

What if I am not able to file for my financial aid before May 1, will I be ineligible for aid?

No, you may apply for aid at any time of the year. While we try ensure availability for all funds throughout the year, some funds are very limited and may be unavailable for those who have filed later.

My parents don't support me and won't contribute to my education, so why am I still considered a "dependent" student?

The Federal regulations state that you are a dependent student. There are basic requirements a student must meet in order to be considered an independent student. An independent student is someone who can answer yes to one of the following conditions:

• Must be at least 24 years of age
• Must be enrolled in a graduate program
• Must be married
• Must have child or children who receive more than half of their financial support from you
• Must be a ward of the court by age 18, or an orphan
• Must be a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces

In cases of extreme family circumstances the student may petition the Financial Aid Office in writing for consideration to override the status. Submitting the petition is in no way a guarantee of change of status.