Julie Shields Rutyna: [00:00:00] Well, good afternoon everyone. My name is Julie Shields and I am the director of college planning education and training at MEFA. And I’d like to welcome you to today’s webinar, which is going to be a panel discussion on the latest financial aid trends. And we have a terrific panel here. Um, let me. Just go through a few logistics and then we will, um, let the panel members introduce themselves.

So, um, we have a, a number of, uh, topics we’re gonna talk about and we’ll go along if you have questions as we go along. Just put them in the q and a. And I can either stop the panelists at the moment or we can make sure that we get your questions answered Afterwards. If you would like closed captioning, just hit the CC live transcript button on your screen.

And if you do need to leave the webinar early or something like that, just know that we are [00:01:00] recording and we will, um, send you the. A link to the recording and to, well, these slides are just a few, so the big deal here will be the, um, the recording. You can also share this with others who weren’t able to attend today.

I think most of you know Mefa. We have been around since 1982, helping families plan, save and pay for college. But we also are very much dedicated to our school counselor and community counselor population, um, wanting to help you help. Your students. So I say this all the time, but please stay in touch with us.

Please make sure that, um, that if you need anything, MEFA is here. We wanna hear what you need and what we, we really wanna do everything to make your jobs easier. And so here are our panelists. Today we have Jackie Hayes from Assumption University. Ryan Forsyth from Worcester State University and Jessica Suborn [00:02:00] from, uh, Worcester Polytech Institute, and I am going to let them introduce themselves.

I’m gonna stop sharing here and have all three experts, uh, introduce themselves. Maybe you can just say a little bit about you and your background. Definitely about your institution, and if you have, uh. A word, a word or a sentence to describe, uh, this year’s financial aid season. So, I, I’ll start with you, Ryan.

You’re at, you’re at my left hand top.

Ryan Forsythe: Hi everybody, I’m Ryan Forsyth. I’m Vice President for enrollment at Worcester State University. Uh, been here for about 12 years. Uh, and previous to that have been at public institutions, private institutions, two year schools, four year schools. Some schools up north where we are, some schools down south.

And, uh, bring to you a little bit of a background from the variety of institutions that are out there and the variety of ways that, uh, those institutions handle financial aid. [00:03:00] Uh, I am currently at Worcester State University. Uh, more than likely if you are from New England, you know, Worcester State. We’re a medium sized school on the west side of Worcester, a pretty comprehensive state university, and, uh, and not that far from the two other campuses that we have here today.

Right. Uh, right down the road. As a matter of fact, uh, this year we have, uh, or I should say today, we have a lot of good information for you about the financial aid world and where we are in 2026. And, uh, from our perspective, from the perspective of those folks that work in financial aid, I would say my one word is that this year is wild.

Uh, they’re all wild. But this year, uh, has the added benefit of changes that are happening at the federal level that perhaps two, three years ago some of us wouldn’t have predicted. You’ll hear more about that as we go through the presentation today, and it’s really great to be with you. And, uh, I hand it off to my colleague, uh, Jackie.

Jackie Hayes: Hi everyone. My name is Jackie Hayes. I’m the Associate Director of Financial Aid at [00:04:00] Assumption University. Uh, assumption is a private Catholic liberal arts institution in Worcester, like Ryan said, right down the street. Um, I have been at Assumption coming up on a year, but I do have 10 years, um, of experience in financial aid.

And I would say that our word for our campus this year is flexible. Um, so for example, our priority deadline for FAFSA is March 31st today. Um, but while it’s beneficial to file FAFSA early, and we do encourage that, um, you know, students shouldn’t get, um, shouldn’t panic if they haven’t filed it yet. They can still file it and we’ll still review it right through the summer.

So, uh, just to come, come any fears, because sometimes we get those calls like, oh, I didn’t file it yet. Did I miss the deadline?

Julie Shields Rutyna: Thank you.

Jessica Sabourin: All right, so I’ll go last, uh, Jessica Rin. I’m the Executive Director of Financial Aid here at WPI, Worcester Polytechnic Institute. [00:05:00] Situated right between Western State, basically and Assumption University.

I’ve been in, uh, I’ve been in this role here for almost seven years at WPI and at a number of institutions prior to that. Um, looking forward to helping answer any of the questions that you have. And like Ryan talked about, we’ll talk about the one big beautiful bill or OB three, as I call it. Um. I am trying to think of really like one word.

I mean, in some ways it is better than it was two years ago with the FAFSA delay. So, um, yeah, I don’t really have one word other than I guess it’s a, it’s a little bit better until we get to July one with the different regulatory changes that are coming.

Julie Shields Rutyna: Yes. That’s how it is in financial aid, right?

Jessica Sabourin: Better than two years ago. Yeah.

Julie Shields Rutyna: Yes. Well, this is great, and this is what I love, that, that you are, um, three financial aid experts work in these wonderful institutions, [00:06:00] but your institutions and your programs are all a little bit different and, um, I think that’s great for counselors to really, you know, hear some of some of that as they’re advising their students.

So maybe we can, you can just give a little update on, you know, what, what is your school’s timeline, uh, what would you like? Counselors and, and then their students to know and, you know, what is the review process like with your financial aid awards? What could be a, be something that holds it up? All of that.

So, um, yeah, I guess I’ll start with you, Jessica. We’ll go around that way this time. Okay.

Jessica Sabourin: So at WPI, um, Jackie hit on a good point. We’re flexible as well. So while we have priority deadlines based on the different application rounds, and technically we wanted the FAFSA and the CSS profile by March 1st, we are always still accepting those documents.

We’ll accept the, the FAFSA all year round, um, CSS profile, which [00:07:00] is a different document through college board that our school does take into consideration for the students’ first year. Um. That we really would want, you know, before, before the student makes a decision for May one. So May one is our deposit deadline.

So we’re coming up on that. Um, but I think the biggest thing to understand is that for any school or all of our schools, the admissions decisions and deadlines and app for the applications can be different. The aid deadlines and applications can be different. And like I said, case in point for us, we do take the college board CSS profile, um, and if we have divorce parents, then the non-custodial parent needs to file as well.

So we’re actually looking at two different documents when we’re putting together an aid offer for our. Students and, um, typically we’ll release them with the admissions decision. So we’ve released everything at this point, um, through regular decision, which was the middle of March, um, coming up on our big admitted student days in April, um, which are [00:08:00] very exciting.

So, but again, if people still need to file, they certainly can, or reach out to our office. Um, we have a lot of our counseling conversations once students, you know, have all their different acceptances in hand and their aid offers in hand so that they can compare, you know, comparison shop to determine, you know, what makes the most sense for them.

I think the other thing to know about us is we do not meet financial need. So a student is going to always typically have some form of a gap, um, and have to pay something for WPI outside their aid offer. And then those are the larger conversations that we’re having at this point is how do we help? The students make it work for them to be able to attend WPI.

Um, and if you’re not as familiar with us, we’re a STEM-based institution, but we do offer other majors. We do have a business school, um, and moving into the areas of artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, FinTech, those types of things. So it’s a pretty exciting time here. So biggest takeaway, um, definitely check your school’s websites to see what those different deadlines [00:09:00] are and see if they are hard or soft deadlines like Jackie was referring to for our two schools where you can still file documents, um, pass the deadline, and then if you ever have any questions.

So just reach out to the aid office directly because I’m sure any of us would be happy to help.

Julie Shields Rutyna: Thank you. And Jackie, do you have anything to add to that about your timeline and your students? Yeah,

Jackie Hayes: so, um, so we typically, um, you know, if the student’s admitted and we have fafsa, we typically start releasing aid offers, um, as early as around Thanksgiving, and then we do it on a rolling basis from that point forward.

Um, and one difference with between, like what Jessica said at WPI, uh, assumption only requires the fta. So we do not use the CSS profile.

Julie Shields Rutyna: Okay. Yeah. And Ryan, how about you?

Ryan Forsythe: Yeah, thanks. Uh, a lot of, a lot of similarities and some differences, uh, like assumption. Uh, Worcester State and [00:10:00] all of the public universities in Massachusetts only require the FAFSA as the one financial aid application.

So any other financial aid applications that exist, whether it’s the, the profile from, uh, the college board. Or institutional financial aid applications. There are no other financial aid applications at your public schools. Really just your fafsa. Uh, the fafsa, if we stick to a typical timeline, uh, hopefully the FAFSA will become available, uh, in future years in October.

Uh, and when we get that financial aid information from the fafsa, it’s typically around the beginning of November. And so just like, I think it was, uh, Jackie said, uh, we start rolling out those financial aid packages right around Thanksgiving, uh, to get us ready to help students understand how the institution is, uh, gonna be affordable, uh, being a public institution.

We generally offer less financial aid. Uh, in general it’s a big old generality, but [00:11:00] generally we offer less financial aid than some of your private institutions. Um, the cost benefit for a public institution of course, we know is that that cost starts a little bit lower, so the net cost with a little bit less financial aid can sometimes be just as affordable for a student.

Um, in other cases, your higher cost sticker price institution might be more affordable if there’s more financial aid from that, uh, higher cost institution. So, um, generally speaking, we usually share with families that while the cost might start lower, the a’s probably gonna be lower as well at your public school.

And then ultimately if finances are important to a fam to a family, which. For most families it is, uh, then, uh, that April timeframe of comparison, uh, comparing those financial aid award letters compared to the, uh, the sticker cost is really important. Um, otherwise no, uh, significant difference than, uh, what my colleagues here shared.

Uh, obviously the most important thing. [00:12:00] For any family that’s, uh, going through the financial aid processes to get their financial aid application in, uh, you know, in a timeframe that makes sense. Uh, with the fafsa, we said it usually becomes available in October. We generally suggest that students get that in during that fall or winter period.

Uh, when we get into the spring, you heard a few deadlines mentioned, right? March 31st. April 1st, May 1st, we start to get into some of those deadlines and at the closer we get to those deadlines, uh, potentially. The less financial aid may be available to a family. So generally speaking, uh, as you’re working with your students, it would be wonderful to encourage them to complete their admission and financial aid applications or on the early side.

And if you’re working in your senior year, that’s usually in the fall or the winter.

Julie Shields Rutyna: That’s great. Can I ask one quick question from a, a participant, um, to add to what you’ve been saying. Um, can you speak at all about the process? For students who filed the Mafa this year. Mm-hmm. How has that been going [00:13:00] and, um, anything those students should be aware of?

Ryan Forsythe: Yeah, absolutely. Uh, the, the FAFSA we’re super, uh, creative with the names of the financial aid applications. So, uh, the, the FAFSA stands for the Federal Application for Student Aid. And so it is the federal nationwide application that, uh, all public and private institutions that offer Title four aid use.

So if a student is a citizen of the United States or a permanent resident of the United States, they’re typically using the FAFSA as one of their financial aid applications, and then potentially another financial aid application if that u if a university requires it, like the CSS profile. Here in Massachusetts though, uh, students that are not permanent residents and not citizens, uh, those that are very, uh, much, uh, undocumented or under documented, uh, residents of the commonwealth may be eligible for state financial aid by [00:14:00] completing a different financial aid application.

And that financial aid is the one that Julie mentioned. It’s called the MAs FFA with an M at the beginning, the Massachusetts Application for Student financial Aid. Now, the confusion that comes in is should a citizen or a permanent resident complete the MAs ffa? And the answer is generally no. The FAFSA is for citizens and permanent reside.

The MAFA is for state financial aid for under documented students. Uh, that application is not available from the federal government. It’s available from the state government, and the rollout date for the mafa uh, varies. So, uh, we can’t tell you for sure when that will be available each year, uh, but the state makes it available presumably as soon as they can.

And shortly thereafter, we suggest that students submit it. It’s relatively similar. It collects information about the student’s family, about their, uh, socioeconomic, uh, situation, uh, [00:15:00] income and assets and things like that. And that is used to help award that student’s state financial aid where they might not be eligible for federal financial aid.

Julie Shields Rutyna: Thank you. And Jackie, I’ll ask you, I’m sure you look at a lot of financial aid applications. Are there any common mistakes, any things that you see families or students sort of getting wrong just in the process, um, due to the process or not? Um, anything you could share that might be helpful as, um, some of these counselors are helping their own students and families.

Jackie Hayes: Sure. Um, one big mistake that we see that happens quite often is the question on free or reduced lunch. Um, and so students should only be answering yes for that if they, uh, if their family meets the income eligibility guideline. Not if the whole district receives free lunch and that seems to be a common or that, um, and if we notice what the income is that it looks like it wouldn’t, you know, they wouldn’t meet that.

[00:16:00] We do reach out.

Julie Shields Rutyna: That’s a great, that’s great.

Jackie Hayes: Um, so I would also say that, you know, other, the schools are gonna be reaching out for anything. So the students should monitor their emails. Um, they should be hopefully using their personal email, not their school email, but they should keep an eye on it because that’s how we will communicate with ’em.

If we need more information on anything or if, let’s say citizenship, if there’s anything on the FAFSA that’s, um. Making them an independent student, we’re gonna want a documentation on that. So like citizenship issues, not citizenship, that’s different, but legal, guardianship or homelessness or things like that.

But then if we need proof of citizenship, um, we’re also gonna reach out.

Julie Shields Rutyna: That’s great. That’s great. And that is key right to, you can’t complete that form and not think about it. You have to continue to think about it and, and be getting that email and communication. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And Jessica, any, any, if you have any other things that you see that are errors or One [00:17:00] thing I’m thinking or what are some of the big questions you get from students and families at this stage?

Um, and I know I heard someone mentioned comparing award letters and one important, uh, task that is, so if you want to talk a little bit about that too, um, at this point in the process.

Jessica Sabourin: Sure. I mean, for us it’s a little bit different because we’re still, we’re comparing two different documents. So one of the things we always recommend is to do your financial aid or your fafsa, sorry.

You should do that first because that information’s going to come in from the IRS directly now. And then use that information and your taxes to fill out the college board information because for us, with the two documents we’re required to, um. Resolve any discrepancies. So if we see information on one of the forms that vastly differs from the other form, then we’re required to do outreach.

And when we have to do outreach, depending on the parent or the student who we’re outreaching to and their response, it just takes us a little bit longer. Um, I [00:18:00] think really to your point of the comparison of the eight offers, it really just goes back to, you know, something Ryan said earlier, which is the comparison shopping in regards to, um.

Depending on the financial aid you might be eligible for at a private school or a public school. Right. It doesn’t necessarily, their net costs are gonna be, their bottom line is gonna be different depending on the aid that you’re, that you’re offered. And I think the other thing is that every student’s, um, financial situation is.

Different. And right now one of the big things we’re seeing is, you know, um, you’ve awarded me this financial aid offer, you know, thank you so much, but is there anything else you can do for me? Right. And sometimes we can and sometimes we can’t. Um, and for us, one of the most important things is that we don’t actually do the awarding of the Merit scholarship.

It’s actually our admissions office who makes that decision. And so we do not renegotiate merits. Scholarships, nor does admissions. So if we’re looking at any sort of appeal, so maybe someone had a [00:19:00] major financial change in the past two years since the, um, you know, tax information that was used was two years prior, then we can look at a need-based appeal.

So it definitely, you know, I tell people that I know now, um, whose children are looking at different colleges. It never hurts to ask, but you very well may not, depending on the institution, they may not be able to give you any additional funding.

Julie Shields Rutyna: Yeah. And Jackie, what, what, what would you, any, would you say similar things about the appeal process or, um, do you have anything to add to that and Ryan too?

Jackie Hayes: Um, I would say assumption, we’ll review, um, any appeal submitted, um, really on an individual basis, so we will.

Julie Shields Rutyna: Okay. Okay. And Ryan, it.

Ryan Forsythe: No, nothing to add. Uh, Jessica and Julie said, uh, Jessica and Julie, Jessica and Jackie said it perfectly. Uh, I don’t think it hurts to ask. Uh, I think Jessica said that a moment ago.

It doesn’t hurt to ask, but the reality is that the, the answer may be no. [00:20:00] Um, but, uh, by making that, that ask, I think, uh, school counselors do a good job of advocating or encouraging students and families to advocate for themselves. Uh, and so encouraging them to ask is, is certainly not out of bounds and really would be advantageous for some families.

Uh, but knowing that the answer may also be unfortunately no, uh, is a good reality, a good dose reality.

Julie Shields Rutyna: That’s great. Managing those expectations. And so, Jessica, I wonder if you wanna jump in and talk a little bit about some of the recent regulatory changes and how that may impact, um, you know, families comparing the award letters right now for, um.

You know, uh, students who are gonna start in the fall.

Jessica Sabourin: Sure. So I think, and we’re just starting our admitted student days here, like our bigger events. And so, um, we had to, you know, redo our presentation because at least for us, and again. The regulatory changes that are [00:21:00] coming in there are, are a lot of them, and they’re coming in July one, but every school will be impacted differently.

So, um, that again, is going to be on a case by case basis. And I say that because for us, the biggest change will be the aggregate limits. And the annual limits on the Parent plus loan. And we do have a number of families that do borrow, um, over what the new a, what the new annual and aggregate limits are for the Parent plus loan.

So we’re waiting to see what those changes look like for WPI and for the counselors to know. Um, the, the parent loans now every year will have a cap. Every year. I say the first three years, if you borrowed every year for four years, they’ll have a cap of $20,000 until you get to the fourth year because the aggregate limit is 65,000, which I always say is like the math ain’t math thing on that one, in my opinion.

Right. Because like, I don’t know, why can’t it be 20 20, 20 20 and have a cap of [00:22:00] 80? Like at least do that. Right? So. The counselors should be aware as they’re working with families, that if a family who, you know, maybe in the past, maybe they have another child, and if they do have another child who has parent plus loan, they should be grandfathered in to the current.

Um. For most part, for the current rules and, um, continue to take the Parent Plus loan now for their other child who maybe already has a parent plus loan for that child. Um, but for the students coming in this fall, it’s, it’s kind of flipping the script on the conversation in regards to, well, what is your.

What is your bottom line that you are going to have to pay? Right? So if a family has a, an amount of 10,000 every year, well then great. Like you may wanna still take out the Parent plus loan, right? They’re not gonna hit the $65,000 limit and they’re not gonna hit the $20,000 limit, right? Um, but. You know, we’re now having larger conversations about, you know, like MEFA and our other private lenders, you know, what are the other opportunities [00:23:00] that are out there.

The Parent Plus loans still does have a higher or a high interest rate as well. It’s not set yet for next year, but usually it’s like in and around nine. Eight to 9% now. And it also has something called an origination fee, which is a fee paid to the government that comes right off the top. So sometimes families will borrow and they won’t add that fee in on top, and then their bill is a little bit short and, you know, they’re calling us saying, why do I owe, you know, $400 still right?

Um, each semester and you have to explain it to ’em. So I’d say even more than ever, it’s important to not only learn what your private loan options are. Because they don’t have those, those caps necessarily and those aggregate limits, right? So you might also be able to get a better interest rate or a better, they call them benefits, you know?

Um, some lenders are able to have the parent be the co-signer for the student, and then when the student pays on time for, you know, usually it’s like three years, depends on the loan. The [00:24:00] parent might like the fact that they’re dropped off of the loan, right? And now the student is an adult who’s got a job and they’re paying and so on, but the parent’s not on the loan forever.

Like there are different benefits to look at. I think the other big thing is I go back to my like way when I started in higher education where we would always talk about a combination of a loan and a payment plan. So I feel like I’m having more of those conversations like, what reasonably can you for your family afford each month?

I don’t care if it’s a hundred dollars. Maybe you do a hundred dollars a month payment plan, but in the long run it’s lowering the amount of the loan that the family’s also borrowing. So remembering that it can be a combination of payment vehicles, it doesn’t need to be, you know, I take this loan out every single year and that’s how I pay the bill.

It can vary from year to year. It can vary. Vary from semester to semester, but the family should really sit down and think about a four year long term commitment. Um. You know, some of the other things are gonna be more relative to graduate students, uh, in [00:25:00] regards to the graduate student. Um, the graduate student, uh.

Loan, like their plus loan because that’s going away. And so that will have impact like later down the line. Um, you know, and then we also have our big thing is, um, federal direct loan proration, and that’s going to all hinge on if a student’s registered full-time or not in 12 credits. Um, those are the big things that we’re watching here, even though there’s, there’s other things that, um, Ryan or Jackie can chime in on that might impact their school a little bit more.

Uh, but the loan proration. Seems a little bit silly as well because you know, there it seems like the government is going to want us to work in a way that we work with our Pell Grants currently, where it will be based on enrollment and intensity and based on the number of credits and if a student’s not necessarily in their 12 credits initially up in that semester.

There could be some adjustments we have to ba make, but in the long run over the [00:26:00] year, it seems like a lot of work to essentially be able to maybe get the student back to where they were to begin with. So not quite sure why they’re doing that, but it’s going to create some additional confusion we feel on.

For, for our side. Um, so we’re also working across campus registrar advising, trying to make sure that our students understand that really they should be registered in at least 12 credits full-time upfront each semester, more so than ever. So I’ll stop there.

Julie Shields Rutyna: That’s important. I, you know, over the years, yes.

Many times I’ve heard, when I’m speaking with parents and students that they initially think if they’re worried about affordability, they think, well, maybe I’ll just go part-time. Um, initially thinking that’s going to fix that problem. And we know that that’s not always the case. That deserves a, a, you know, research and conversation with all of you.

Mm-hmm. So that’s, that’s good. And so Jackie, what would you say about Yes, an assumption. How are you all thinking about these [00:27:00] new regulations? I know it’s, um, it’s, it’s a lot to think about and as far as enrollment and any, you know, pressures on your office to create great awards for these students. Um, and yeah, what can, what would you like to add?

Jackie Hayes: So, I agree with everything. Um, just did a great job of explaining that we have a number of families who use Parent plus loans too, so it’s gonna be about educating them. On private loans, same thing. Payment plans, um, encouraging them also in, which I’m sure they’re already doing, you know, apply for outside scholarships.

Every little bit can help there. But, um, like just mentioned too, every family’s different and we always say that too, like maybe you can use a combination of options or, um, and then as far as the grad plus, you know, that does affect, um, our grad students, especially our physician assistant program. Um, so down the road, um.

It’ll be looking at more private loans.

Julie Shields Rutyna: Yes. Yes. How are the public [00:28:00] institutions thinking about this, Ryan?

Ryan Forsythe: Oh, we love it when the federal government changes regulations. It’s our favorite. Uh, thi this is a big year, uh, for federal regulation changes, and the way in which that impacts school counselor conversations with families is really gonna hit, uh, I think Jessica said earlier, July 1st.

So, uh, the big changes that, that, uh, Jessica and Jackie alluded to relative to parent. Uh, plus loans and the graduate plus loan program, those are dramatically changing on July 1st. So going forward into the next year, including those students that are being packaged for financial aid right now for their, uh, awards for next year, that’s, those limitations are going to be there.

Um, what that means at a public institution could be a little bit different, uh, because at public institutions. This is, again, a broad generality generalization, but, uh, we don’t have a lot of plus loan usage at, [00:29:00] uh, at Worcester State and at new, at at a number of public institutions. Um, there’s certainly loans that, that families use to help pay for college.

Um, but, uh, the amount of loans, the volume of loan does not really, uh, start to approach those cutoffs, right? So for the. Uh, grad, excuse me, for the, uh, parent plus loan. I think, uh, just a minute ago, Jessica went through the, the funny math that is going to result in students hitting their lifetime limit after possibly as few as three, three and a half years.

Um. Most students at your public institutions are not going to hit those lifetime limits because they generally don’t borrow that much financial or that much in a parent plus loan. Um, and the parent plus loan is just one form of, uh, borrowed financing, right? So MEFA offers loans. Bank of America offers loans.

And so there are a number of different loan products out there for families that need them. And if a family is looking to [00:30:00] borrow the plus loan is one way to do it. It offers certain benefits, like relatively low interest rates, uh, but it certainly is not the only option that’s out there. And so when families have the ability to sort of shop around for their financing, uh, especially going into 26, 27, this could be the year to think about home equity.

It could be the year to think about home equity line. It could be the year to think about other ways to finance. Their education, if they do think they’re going to approach those lifetime or yearly limits, um, but at your public schools, generally they’re, they’re not going to hit those limits too easily.

Julie Shields Rutyna: Thank you. So I guess, Jackie, I’ll start with you on this one. So counselors, you’re here today. Your school day probably just ended and you’re here because you are all about helping your students and wanting the best for them. And so what are some ways, um, that you can. Talk to counselors to tell ’em how can they be most helpful?

Uh, how can they [00:31:00] advocate best? How can they, are there things that sometimes they have to do as far as writing letters or connecting with all of you? Mm-hmm. Yeah. What can you share about what would be most helpful to help to advocate for a student?

Jackie Hayes: I would say, um, don’t hesitate to reach out to us or to any of the schools.

Um, if you have questions about something, um, call us, email us. You can set up, we can set up an appointment. Um, and we can really, you know, help them on whatever their particular circumstance is. Um, and yes, we may need them to, to give us some documentation or some background, but I would just say don’t, don’t be afraid to contact us.

We’re here to help.

Julie Shields Rutyna: And how about you, Jessica? We, anything el I Anything to add to that or similar?

Jessica Sabourin: No. Similar.

Julie Shields Rutyna: And Ryan, same.

Ryan Forsythe: Yeah. The, um, certainly reach out. Right. Uh, and what’s gonna happen when those families reach out is they’re gonna, they’re going to be a, uh, speaking to somebody at a financial aid office [00:32:00] perhaps, or a student accounts office that wants just as much to help that family as that family wants help.

Uh, right. Because. The goal is to make education accessible to those that that have the desire to go, and we know that we have the ability through education to improve lives. Uh, but in order to get a good return on investment, your investment has to be a solid one, right? And that paying too much what a family determines is too much for education is something that we all share the desire to avoid for all students.

So you’re gonna get great service from your financial aid, uh, offices. Um, and they’re going to walk you through the multiple options that are out there. So whether, uh, I, I forget who said it earlier, but someone talked about payment plans, uh, being a part of the, the consideration even more perhaps today than a few years ago.

Uh, that, that’s, that’s a real option for many families, right? These are typically no cost or low cost. [00:33:00] No interest or low interest payment plans, uh, that give us the ability to offer a financial vehicle to help students make college affordable, perhaps without borrowing as much, or perhaps, uh, with a combination of loans.

So, uh, reach out because that’s why we’re here, right? We’re here to help those families understand all of their options, make that, uh, education affordable, and make that return on investment a good one.

Julie Shields Rutyna: Great, thank you. I’m gonna take a few, there are a couple of questions from the audience, so let me see if I can take them.

Um, this is about appeals. Would you recommend students include other offers in their appeal, if applicable, if your school is their first choice? So I don’t know who might like to take that.

Jessica Sabourin: I can take it for us. I mean, the answer is no. So I mean, again, we go back to, um. You know, we’re going to look at the individual financial data that we have on file from the [00:34:00] student and the family, and then if there are changes, we’re going to ask for documentation.

So, I mean, we often get them submitted, but we do not renegotiate, like I said before, the merit scholarship. And we don’t, um, we don’t offer more aid, basically, just because you’re going to send me, this is what this other school is. You know, going to provide us, because again, as we’ve all talked about, every school is different, right?

So just because you’re getting a certain dollar amount from another school, that does not mean like WPI is not going to agree to match that, right? We’re going to wanna look at like what your financial changes are to see if there’s anything else we can help do for you. And then if we can’t, then we’ll have that counseling conversation.

So for us, no.

Julie Shields Rutyna: Okay. Yeah. And Jackie, what would you say?

Jackie Hayes: Um, I would say, we’ll review anything included in an appeal. There’s no guarantee, but one thing to keep in mind too, and I, we’ve kind of mentioned this, but [00:35:00] when comparing eight offers, just because the student has received a higher scholarship at another school, it doesn’t mean that that school’s going to be more affordable.

You really need to look at the net cost. Um, and that’s really the important thing. Um,

Julie Shields Rutyna: that’s great. Would you add anything to that, Ryan?

Ryan Forsythe: Same answer. Uh, we’re happy to look at anything, uh, but, uh, all circumstances are subject to the, uh, the characteristics of that institution and that, uh, school, uh, excuse me, student.

So, uh, happy to look at anything, but, uh, certainly not a guarantee that, that it would change a financial aid award for a student.

Julie Shields Rutyna: That’s great, and I’ll just, I’ll just put in a little plug right now too. Uh, we keep talking about comparing award offers. It’s really important to get what is going to be the cost to you, the family and MEFA does have a calculator on our website mm-hmm.

Called the college cost Calculator. If you just go and put that in the search bar that allows you to put in, I think it’s up to six. Schools and you [00:36:00] could put in the full costs and all the financial aid you received to see that bottom line, what you’ll need to come up with as a family. And that’s just a great way to, um.

To be, uh, you know, un understanding the affordability at each of the different institutions. I’ll say that. Um, okay. Two questions are about the mafa again. So, um, I’ll, I’ll ask what I think, I think is the easier one. First, uh, do the private institutions honor the mafa or is it just applicable to the public schools?

Jessica Sabourin: No, I mean, we do, we don’t see, I think during the time that the MAFA has been rolled out. We’ve seen maybe one on our side. So it’s not, I think the hard thing for the private institutions is the amount of state aid that students could be eligible for at a private institution can vary from a public or a community college.

And so while we [00:37:00] will. We’ll obviously receive them and do what all the paperwork that we need to do. It might be, you know, the student might be eligible for a Massachusetts grant, but where they’re not eligible for any federal aid, it just may not, it’s not going to necessarily for us, make the school affordable for the student, if that makes sense.

Yeah. Like there’s not a significant amount of Massachusetts aid that they could receive to really, I mean, it will help. But they’ll still be treated as essentially an an international student for us.

Julie Shields Rutyna: Right, right. Whereas at the public level. Right. Ryan, that is, um, that is a little bit different because say the free community college piece or something like that might be, be very affordable.

Ryan Forsythe: Yeah, there, there are some eligibility criteria that come along with a student receiving state financial aid from the Commonwealth without, uh, citizenship or permanent residency documentation. So right, not, not, uh, not [00:38:00] every student that applies receives aid, but for those students that complete the mafa, um, and complete the process, there could be a sizable, uh, amount of, uh, discount.

To their tuition, right? It brings their tuition from out-of-state tuition to in-state tuition, which is thousands and thousands of dollars less. Uh, and it has the chance of making them eligible for thousands of dollars worth of state financial aid, which for a public institution where the price starts low, you receive, you know, handfuls of thousands of dollars worth of financial aid, and, and suddenly the cost of a, a state institution becomes.

Significantly, uh, uh, more attainable. Uh, additionally, a number of our public institutions in Massachusetts, uh, mostly your state universities and your community colleges, not UMass, um, but your public four year state universities like Bridgewater and Westfield and Fitchburg, and your two year institutions like [00:39:00] Middlesex and Quinsigamond and Mount Massachusetts.

Um, they are offering combinations of state and institutional financial aid that make those institutions free for your lowest income students. Uh, these are on the federal side, on your Pell Grant eligible students, and for your less documented students on the mafa side. Your, uh, highly qualified Pell eligible or, or Pell adjacent students, um, with the mafa.

So for your students that have, uh, lower income backgrounds, they can very possibly be looking at a two year or a four year school in the state of Massachusetts right now that really cost no money out of pocket whatsoever. Uh, if they commute to the campus, if they live on campus, then there are housing costs and meal costs that are typically not completely covered.

Um, but for your commuting students. Those Mafa applicants can find themselves sometimes with a great deal of eligibility, uh, to make, uh, a public institution, uh, free or close to free.

Julie Shields Rutyna: [00:40:00] Great. Then, um, I will give a resource to answer this question, but maybe, maybe some of you can answer it, but if not, I have a good resource at our Office of Student Financial Assistance.

But the question is, do students with a social security number and a work authorization based on asylum status, qualify for them to complete the Masa? Um, if they did not complete high school here.

Jessica Sabourin: Well, I think that, I think it hinges on the, did not complete high school here because for the mafa, um. You have to, and I double check this, you have to have attended at least three years of high school or approved homeschooling in Massachusetts and earned a Massachusetts high school diploma or equivalent and physically reside, reside in Massachusetts for at least one year prior to the academic year.

Jackie Hayes: Yep. Okay.

Jessica Sabourin: So in that instance I would say no because they’re saying that they did not complete high school here.

Julie Shields Rutyna: Yeah,

Jessica Sabourin: it’s, it, it’s a little, it’s a different situation. But I got a question [00:41:00] last week where. There was a student who, um, lives in New Hampshire, did his FAFSA in New Hampshire, but the parent, so he lives with a, um, aunt, I believe, but the parent actually lives in Massachusetts.

And so they were asking me, well, if he moves to Massachusetts with mom, could he then become eligible for Massachusetts aid and will you redo his aid? And I was like, no. Because he is doing high school. He’s in New Hampshire. Yes. He’s doing high school in New Hampshire. His home address is in New Hampshire.

And again, I think it also is going to hinge on that residency prior to the academic year. And it sounds like at least one year it’s a little bit different, but it’s not this, uh, easy switch of like, oh, you know, sometimes we have students who think they come from outta state and they’re like, well, now I go to school here and now my address is Worcester.

That doesn’t mean you’re going to qualify for state aid.

Julie Shields Rutyna: Yeah. Yep. Thank you. That’s good. And the, the, just, I’ll throw this [00:42:00] out there too. The, um, person I was gonna mention is at the Massachusetts Office of Student Financial Assistance, OSFA. Mm-hmm. Um, there’s a woman called Stephanie Barbosa, and she’s sort of the guru, um.

You know, final word, I guess I, I’ll call it, um, on, on information about the mafa. So more questions on the mafa you can always address to her. And she has given me permission to, to share her name widely. Um, so I’ll just add that too. Okay, so this question too is. I’ll ask any of you, um, what are any recommended resources or preparatory tips we can share with students and families who are navigating tricky legal situations such as recently deceased parents, atypical guardianship, financial support arrangement, arrangements, et cetera.

Do any of you have any resources on that?

Ryan Forsythe: Uh, so your financial aid office, uh, [00:43:00] can typically be a resource for guidance, counseling, information, uh, and that that can happen at, uh, really any institution that a student might be looking at. So if a student say, we’re looking at all three institutions that are on your screen right now, WPI, Worcester State and Assumption.

Uh, a student could talk to a financial aid counselor at Assumption and get guidance. They could talk to a counselor at WPI and get guidance. Um, outside of, uh, college financial aid offices, there are educational opportunity centers that exist around the state. There are fewer of them today than there were just a year ago.

Um, but we are hoping they’re coming back. Uh, and, uh, those are centers that exist like, uh, like uh, in a shopping mall, in a strip mall where you can enter into an office and sit down with, uh, with a professional that is aware of you, of the federal and state implications of. Financial aid and can talk you through those things.

Uh, there is still an educational [00:44:00] opportunity center in Leominster, Massachusetts, for instance, for anyone from North Central Massachusetts. If you go to BJ’s, it’s right next to BJ’s. Um, uh, and we are expecting, we are hoping for other educational opportunity centers to come back to various parts of the state.

Uh, and then last but not least, the Massachusetts Educational Finance Authority. Uh, if you haven’t heard of them, they’re a cool organization. I know this lady know named Julie over there. She’s Okay. Uh, they’re a great organization that is really set up for the purpose of supporting Massachusetts families as they finance their education.

Hence the name. Uh, so, uh, outreach to MEFA. I bet Julie has contact information for the right people and places. Um, but those are a few sources that that can help out with guidance.

Julie Shields Rutyna: Thank you. No, that’s great. And I will, I will share a, um, an email college [email protected] that you can always email us and, and we’re happy to help.

And for, I’ll give an example of, you know, I’m not gonna be giving any legal [00:45:00] advice, but of the type of thing that I have done with families where sometimes, um, maybe there’s a, a student who has divorced parents and, uh, the other parent is. Required to fill out the CSS profile at a college, but the other parent doesn’t want to and they don’t understand, and they think

Jackie Hayes: mm-hmm

Julie Shields Rutyna: they’re gonna be asked to pay more they can than they can afford, or something like that.

And I have been able to say to the student. Um, if you’d like, you can have your other parent call me, you know, and at MEFA we’re just going to tell you what’s actually the story that, um, you know, by completing the form, you’re not obligated to pay anything, but by not completing the form, you could be hurting your students’ chances at receiving financial aid.

So things, things like that, that we’re able to, um, talk with. Different sides of a family to give accurate information and hopefully help the process along. So thank you. Thank you for that. But I know you could have that at, at the specific [00:46:00] institutions that you’re working with too. So I’m gonna ask my last question and if, if others have questions, please put them in the q and a.

Um, but I’ll ask you, I guess I’ll start with you Jackie. Uh, what’s one thing you wish every counselor would better understand about? About your financial aid office and the way you work with their students.

Jackie Hayes: I would just say again to don’t be afraid to reach out. We know that the financial aid process can be very confusing and we’re not expecting any of you to be experts by any means.

So just reach out to us and, and we can help guide you.

Julie Shields Rutyna: And Jessica, how about you?

Jessica Sabourin: Sure. I mean, same as Jackie, but then also, um, I. You know, again, I go back to that four year commitment. Sometimes we see, we understand the desire to want to. Go to a specific school. Right. And sometimes yes, like the return on investment may be worth it.

It may be worth [00:47:00] it to take loans and um, you know, do what you need to do for the four years, right? But sometimes it’s also not, and that’s okay. Like there are a lot of schools, um, including hours, you know, that work with community colleges and, you know, students may start there and transfer in and really.

I think sometimes, especially the parents really wanna make it work. But I think you have to think about the four year commitment again, which is like, what is really reasonable, you know? And that it’s okay to maybe not go to the student’s dream school if it doesn’t make sense for the family financially.

Um, because we also do occasionally see families and students where, you know, they get through the first year and they say, well, now I. I can’t take out a loan for year two, or I’ve depleted the 5 29 plan. And it’s like, you know, especially when they tell us, you know, they got a better aid offer elsewhere or to their state institution, right?

It’s like [00:48:00] you need to do what makes the most sense. Right? And that may not necessarily be your dream school initially. It may, there may be a different path for the student and that the, it’s a hundred percent okay for that to happen. Um. And for the family to be realistic about the finances.

Julie Shields Rutyna: That’s great.

That’s great advice. Yeah.

Ryan Forsythe: I agree. Ryan, uh, Jessica made a good point about, uh, you know, sort of helping a family understand the, the commitment, right? And the, the long-term ness. Is that a word of, uh, enrolling in school for four years? Uh, Jackie made the, you know, great point. You know, reach out. Like use us, use us for what we are, right?

We are here to support your families just like you are. Um, and the only thing I would add is, is think about maybe bringing us to your students. Um, uh, MEFA runs a program, what’s it called? Julie? Ambassador Program. Uh,

Julie Shields Rutyna: the Ambassador Program.

Ryan Forsythe: Yep.

Julie Shields Rutyna: Yes.

Ryan Forsythe: Uh, this is where, uh, qualified [00:49:00] financial aid, uh, uh, experts, uh, are coordin are volunteering and they co are coordinated by MEFA to go out into communities like yours.

Uh, to bring this kind of information to your families. Might be a virtual event on a Tuesday night, might be a, an event in an auditorium where, you know, you set up the whole thing and, you know, bring some, bring some cheese and water bottles and, but you have a, an opportunity right to, to really bring the information to your family.

It’s designed to support what you are probably already doing with your families, counseling, providing resources, setting up that, that scholarship list on your website, right? All those things that you’re probably already doing for your school and for your seniors and juniors. Um, you can bring someone in from, uh, that’s coordinated through MEFA to really provide the federal look, um, that we’ve been talking about today, the state information that we’ve been talking about, and then ultimately information about how financial aid packages are put together [00:50:00] and how they’re compared.

Um, that’s a really powerful program that MEFA puts on. And so, uh, I bet you, uh, Julie could probably provide more information than I can about how to, how to get involved in that.

Julie Shields Rutyna: I will thank you. Yes, yes. If you just go to MEFA.org, our website, and up at the top there’s a, a tab that’s specifically for counselors, and that’s your tab.

There’s a lot in there, but as you scroll down, one of the things, uh, so one of the things you see there is MEFA Institute programs like this one where you can watch a webinar, receive professional development points. Scroll a little further and you’ll see the ambassador program where you can go in. Find an ambassador who is in your area, and, um, ask them to, um, you know, come up with a mutually, uh, good date between you and the ambassador to hold one of those financial aid one-on-one programs, um, either on your, at your school or.

Yes, I know many, many high school counselors have told me recently that [00:51:00] they, they prefer virtual sometimes too. Our families do with everything going on in the evenings. But either way, I think you all know your school’s best and what would work. So thank you. I’m gonna actually, while right here, I’ll wait for a few more questions.

I’ll just, um, share this last screen right here. Oh, can you see that? Or maybe I can just see it myself.

Ryan Forsythe: We can’t see it, Julie.

Julie Shields Rutyna: Okay.

Jackie Hayes: I can’t see anything.

Julie Shields Rutyna: That’s what I thought. I’m gonna share then do it. Share and screen.

Okay. Sorry for the long way to get there. My desktop. But this. So,

oh, look at me. [00:52:00] We go. So there’s a QR code to register for Future MEFA Institute webinars, and then the second QR code is one that you can share with your families, um, about all of the MEFA resources that we have. But again, for you. You can go to that counselor tab on MEFA.org to find the ambassador program.

But I’m gonna do one more thing and here are all the ways that you can connect with MEFA on social media. Um, here are all our handles. I will mention because you both, you all mentioned this recently. Um, and Jessica, you talked a lot about it, about the sometimes hard decision that, um, a family needs to make at this time of year.

And we have a recent. Podcast episode. Um, so you can see our MEFA podcast is there anywhere you get your podcast. And the podcast episode is between a mother and a son. Who a number of years ago, um, the mother had to say, no, you can’t go to your first choice institution. You [00:53:00] know, financially, we, we aren’t able to afford that to help you enough.

And, uh, he had to make a different choice. And, uh, I won’t say anymore, but it’s, um, I think it’s a really great, um, episode, uh, for parents who are going through this to hear, because, you know, you hear that, that you’re not the only one making this. Difficult decision with your student and making sure that it’s gonna be a good decision for the whole family.

So, mm-hmm I, that’s what I’ll highly recommend today is that podcast episode. And here are the important MEFA telephone number 1-800-449-MEFA, and then our email college [email protected]. And, um, you can be in touch with us either in either of these ways, anytime about anything, and we’re happy to help you as we can.

So with that, I will stop sharing.

I thought I would stop sharing. There we go. [00:54:00] Alright. And I don’t see any further questions, so I just wanna say thank you to all of you, um, for sharing your expertise and all of the details from your different institutions and um, and how this works for your families. And I think I know that that was great information for, um, those.

Who, uh, who are attending. So thank you to all of you and thank you for all of you for your good questions and I wish you all a, a great day. Thanks so much.

Ryan Forsythe: Bye-bye.