Understanding financial aid as it relates to the Madison Initiative
How did you arrive at the $80,000 income cutoff?
The median Wisconsin family income in 2007 was $62,607. Using the $80,000 figure accommodates a fair number of families with incomes above this halfway point.
How large will the grant be? Will it be the same amount every year?
The grant will be $250 for residents in the first year and $750 for nonresidents in the first year. It will then increase dollar for dollar, along with the increased amount of the differential, every year during the next four years and then remain stable at the final-year level. This grant will truly hold recipients harmless from the differential tuition charge.
What do I have to do to be considered for the grant? Is there a special application?
To be considered for the grant, your parents must have an adjusted gross income of $80,000 or less; you must apply for regular financial aid and complete the aid process that will be used to calculate your financial need; and you must have demonstrated financial need as a result. There are no special applications to complete other than filing a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and responding to any requests from the financial-aid office if additional information is needed for regular aid consideration.
For students who qualify as self-supporting for aid purposes, your income and your spouse’s adjusted gross income (if applicable) must be under $80,000 and you must also have demonstrated financial need through the FAFSA process.
Do I have to complete a FAFSA? Why?
You do not have to complete a FAFSA unless you wish to be considered for the hold-harmless grant and other aid, including federal and state aid. However, we strongly encourage all students to file a FAFSA at least once to see what might be available in financial aid. And if your family circumstances change at all from one year to the next, FAFSA filing is highly recommended. It costs nothing to complete this “gateway” form and may be very much worth your time and effort. An informative and entertaining explanation of completing the FAFSA can be found on YouTube.
I don’t understand any of this financial-aid process stuff. Where can I go to get some help?
You can contact the financial-aid office — we are trained professionals and are happy to help. We have the steps for applying outlined online.
You can also find help at the Department of Education’s Student Aid site.
My parents told me that I am responsible for my own education, but the FAFSA instructions say that I am a dependent and is requiring parent information. When can I declare myself independent?
Once you turn 24, you can be considered independent for financial-aid purposes. Otherwise, you may appeal to the financial-aid office for a dependency override based on the unique and extenuating circumstances occurring between you and your parents. These exceptions are based on highly unusual situations and are relatively uncommon, but a handful of exceptions are made every year.
Being self-sufficient when it comes to paying for your education is not considered grounds for exception to the criteria.
I have heard that families are expected to sell their homes and farms to qualify for need-based financial aid. Is this true?
Applicant families’ primary homes and family farms have not been considered part of the federal aid formula, which has determined financial need for almost two decades. Income from farming is considered income, as is income from any profession, but family farmland is completely ignored in the calculations. Vacation homes, second homes and hobby farms are considered assets and do count.
Is the parent income cutoff at $80,000 now true for all aid?
The income cutoff is only for the hold-harmless grant. Most other financial aid will continue to be awarded based on the information on the FAFSA, which looks not only at family income but number of family members, number in college, income of the student, etc. This is true also for the larger pool of funds that will be generated through the initiative, which will be awarded using a variety of factors when determining financial need.
How and when will I be told if I am eligible for the grant?
If you qualify for the grant, we will add it to your aid package, revise the award and communicate electronically with you about the revision. You can also check your status at the MyUW portal. We hope to have all the grants on qualified recipients’ awards before the start of the school year.
If I receive the grant one year, is it guaranteed for every year I am in school here?
Not necessarily. The financial-aid process is an annual process. Students need to demonstrate eligibility for need-based sources of aid every year. If your circumstances change and you are either no longer able to demonstrate financial need through the FAFSA and aid process or your parents’ adjusted gross income rose above $80,000, you will not qualify for the grant for that particular year.
That being said, we encourage students to complete the aid process every year. There are sufficient numbers of changes in availability in other aid programs to make it worth your while to apply each year.
How do I appeal if I apply for but don’t end up qualifying for the grant?
Appeals will be considered only if there will be a dramatic change in circumstances from one year to the next that will result in much lower income, such as a loss of job. The decisions will be made by the financial-aid office as part of the regular financial aid appeal process and will be final.
I don’t apply for aid because my parents said not to bother. What is in this for me?
We believe strongly that all students will benefit from this initiative by accessing the classes they need when they need them and by accessing the student services — such as academic advising — they need when they need them to graduate in a timely fashion. This potentially saves all students who take advantage of these resources a semester or two of expenses and time out of the work world.
Will the tuition increase be added to my tuition bill? Will it be considered part of tuition or a fee?
The differential tuition charge will be added to your tuition bill and will be considered part of your tuition each semester.
Won’t charging more tuition make UW-Madison less affordable to students coming from low- and middle-income families?
It is our intent to assist students from the low- and middle-income families with this differential charge by providing the hold-harmless grant. Even more important, though, is that with the additional revenue that will be generated, the university will have the ability to provide meaningful and substantive financial-aid grants to a larger number of students with financial need over a broader socioeconomic range than is currently possible.