Financial Aid Glossary

Glossary of Terms for the Early Estimate Form

To determine who is considered a parent when completing Step 2:

If your parents are both living and married to each other, answer the questions about them.
If your parent is widowed or single, answer the questions about that parent. If your widowed parent is remarried as of today, answer the questions about that parent and the person whom your parent married (your stepparent).
If your parents are divorced or separated, answer the questions about the parent you lived with more during the past 12 months. (If you did not live with either parent more than the other, give answers about the parent who provided more financial support during the last 12 months, or during the most recent year that you actually received support from a parent. If this parent is remarried as of today, answer the questions on the rest of this form about that parent and the person whom your parent married (your stepparent).
Answer all questions in Step 2 about them, even if you do not live with them.

To determine who is included in your parents’ household when completing question 10: Include in your parents’ household:

Yourself and your parent(s) (including stepparent) even if you don’t live with your parents, and
Your parents’ other children if (a) your parents will provide more than half of their support from July 1, 2011, through June 30, 2012, or (b) the children would be required to provide parental information when applying for Federal Student Aid, and
Other people if they now live with your parents, your parents provide more than half of their support, and your parents will continue to provide more than half of their support from July 1, 2011, through June 30, 2012.

Questions 13 to 26 on the Estimate Form use the following terms. It may be helpful to review these definitions as you complete those items.

Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) includes wages, interest, capital gains, income from retirement accounts minus your maximum allowable adjustments. Estimate your 2010 adjusted gross income from your 2010 pay stubs and 2009 federal tax form. AGI is the amount at the bottom of page 1 of your federal tax form (IRS Form 1040, 1040A)
U.S. Income Tax Paid reflects the amount withheld or paid in advance, subtracting any refund or adding any amount due upon completion of a federal tax return. Do not include self-employment tax.
Income Earned from Work is the sum of wages, salaries, tips, includible in gross income and net earnings from self employment.
Net worth means current value minus debt. If net worth is negative, enter 0.
Investments include real estate (do not include the home you live in), trust funds, money market funds, mutual funds, certificates of deposit, stocks, stock options, bonds, other securities, education IRA’s, college savings plans, installment and land sale contracts (including mortgages held), commodities, etc. Investment value includes the market value of these investments as of today. Investment debt means only those debts that are related to the investments.
Investments do not include the home you live in, cash, savings, checking accounts, the value of life insurance and retirement plans (pension funds, annuities, non-education IRA’s, Keogh plans, etc.), or the value of prepaid tuition plans.
Business and/or investment farm value includes the market value of the land, buildings, machinery, equipment, inventory, etc. Business and/or investment farm debt means only those debts for which the business or investment farm was used as collateral.

To determine what to include for payments to tax - deferred pension or other retirement or savings plans when completing question 17:

Include payments to tax-deferred pension and savings plans (paid directly or withheld from earnings), including but not limited to, amounts reported on the W-2 Form in Boxes 12a through 12d, codes D, E, F, G, H, and S.
Include IRA deductions and payments to self-employed SEP, SIMPLE, and Keogh and other qualified plans.