In This Issue

• Message from the President

• Upcoming Events

• Board Member List

• How Colleges Determine the Amount of Financial Aid Students Receive

• Made in China Products Recalls

• Call for Volunteers

• Selected photos of CFAP hiking group

• Editor’s Note

A Message from the President

Why Volunteer?

hen talking about volunteering, people naturally associate it with self-sacrifice. It is true that you may have to cut back the time spent on watching TV, or chatting with friends and family, to be able to spare a few hours to serve the community. I would argue, however, the knowledge, experience, and skills you gain from volunteering are more than enough compensation for the loss. The gratification we obtain from watching TV is transitory, whereas the self-improvement we achieve from volunteering benefits us forever.

I volunteered in local law enforcement and political campaigns in the past. Learning the mechanism of planning and implementing each project, observing the interactions of diverse personalities, and witnessing the resolutions of conflicting opinions, are such an enlightening experience that few pastime could offer. When the projects were over, I walked away a fuller person with skills I can bank on. I believe that is why community service experience is an emphasis of today’s college recruiting criteria. Many companies also consider it a preferable experience for employment. A person’s capability is defined not by what his/her grade point average is, or whether he/she has an advanced degree from Ivy League school, but by whether he/she can apply his/her knowledge to make a difference in a society. One’s value is realized and credibility is earned through actions for the betterment of others.

When I was a network administrator, I attended a technical training course for the newly launched Microsoft NT 4. The instructor was an energetic Chinese man. He came over when I seemed to have trouble with a problem. What he said resonated with me till the present day. “Don’t forget you are Chinese”, he said proudly. “Chinese can figure anything out simply with intuition,” he explained. I thought about what he said often: What does it mean to be a Chinese? We are hard working, excellent at learning, adaptable and pragmatic. We are great believers of common sense and moderation. We love peace and regard education as religion. We have a lot to be proud of. Yet, with five thousand years of history and five thousand years of accumulated wisdom, we did not pioneer democracy! We are a people who do not want to get involved. As a result, China was one of the poorest countries in the world in most part of the 20th century and a large percentage of people in China still struggle for subsistence today. Isn’t it time we change our inveterate habit to remake our image and to make a difference in our legacy?

There are many well-educated Chinese professionals in the greater Portland area. As a group, however, we are more or less silent and invisible. CFAP consists of skilled professionals of all trades, some of whom are trained high-tech technicians. Yet our website, the flagship of this organization does not reflect the kind of ingenuity we claim as characteristically Chinese. We need sorely more web technicians to contribute their skills and time to improve our website. Considering the website is the only online representation of the Chinese community in this area, we should all feel compelled to make it the best it can be, because it represents all of us in this region. I would like to call on all the web-savvy professionals of this community to come forward to devote a couple of hours on a few weekends, making our website the true representative of our collective talents and skills, and the envy of our peers. As the old adage goes: “where there is a will, there is a way.” Nothing will change until we act.

If you would like to volunteer, please email: president@portlandcfa.org.

-- Victoria Yu

Upcoming Events

Save the dates for our upcoming fun-filled as well as educational activities.

Photo Contest: 5/1/07 – 6/30/07

Essay Contest: 7/1/07 – 9/30/07

Ballroom Dance Party: June 2, 8PM-10PM

Beaverton Community Center
12350 SW 5th St. Suite 100
Beaverton, OR 97005

Summer Picnic: August 25 East Waluga park

Golf Tournament: TBD

Karaoke Contest: TBD

College Financial Aid Seminar: TBD

New Year’s Party: TBD

Group Activities:

Hiking Group (web site): meets regularly

Ballroom dancing: meets first Saturday of each month

Golf: meets on members’ request

2007 Board Member list

President: Victoria Yu

Vice President : James Huang

Vice President/Treasurer/Secretary: Lin Luo

Public Relations: Hardy Li

Art Director: Zifen Qian

Technical Director: Mike Zhang

Newsletter Executive Editor: Jerry Lin

Performing Art: Li Zhang

Sponsorship: Mei Chen

Membership: Ming Xie

How Colleges Determine the Amount of Financial Aid Students Receive?

A lot of parents with college-bound children nowadays are more likely saddled with such a dilemma: They would like to provide their children with a good education, but they don't want to wipe out their family savings and retirement accounts or go into overwhelming debt on their home or business. One way to deal with this dilemma is to take advantage of the financial aid. This article offers some fundamentals for your understanding of how the government and colleges determine your family’s ability to pay for student’s education before offering you any financial aid.

Your Expected Family Contribution (EFC)

Determining how much college aid the student will receive is a lengthy process. It begins when you complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (or FAFSA) and submit it to a government agency for processing. Once the government receives your FAFSA it determines the amount your family should be able to pay toward college costs, officially called your "expected family contribution," or EFC.

Accurate FAFSA = Accurate EFC

Since your EFC is so important in determining how much aid you may be eligible for, it is crucial that you fill out the FAFSA accurately and completely. Many of the FAFSA questions ask for figures from your and your child’s income tax returns. Most families complete the FAFSA in January or February, long before the April deadline for filing tax returns. Thus, you may have to estimate some of those figures on the FAFSA. You may also have to provide other information that is not normally handy early in the year, such as the value of investments and real estate, Social Security benefits, payments to pension plans, child support received, veterans' benefits and education credits. If you do estimate these figures and find out after you submit your FAFSA that the actual figures are different, you must submit revised information to the government and colleges so they can adjust your EFC accordingly.

The Federal Methodology (FM)

Once you submit the FAFSA, the government analyzes your information using a formula called the Federal Methodology (FM) to calculate what you will be expected to contribute for college for the next academic year. The government then sends this information in a report, called the Student Aid Report, or SAR, to you and up to six colleges that you specified on the FAFSA (you can add more colleges later, if necessary). The colleges subtract your EFC from the amount it would cost the student to attend (including tuition, fees, books, room and board) to come up with your financial need. That's the amount colleges will seek to fund with financial aid. In fact, the EFC derived from the FM is the amount colleges must use when awarding federal financial aid.

The Institutional Methodology (IM)

Many colleges use the SAR from the government to determine your eligibility for federal and state financial aid as well as for other types of financial aid the college awards. However, some private colleges use something called the Institutional Methodology (IM) to determine your eligibility for private and institutional aid, which is aid that comes from sources other than the state and federal governments. To figure your EFC using the IM, the colleges require an additional form, called the CSS PROFILE. Colleges feel that this method, especially when used along with the FM, gives a more complete and accurate view of a family's financial condition, ability to afford college and ability to repay any student loans that may be part of a financial aid package.

FM vs. IM

The IM takes into account factors that the FM does not, such as the current value of your family home and, if the student’s parents are divorced or separated, what the parent not living at home might be able to contribute toward the child’s education. These factors usually raise your EFC, meaning your financial need may appear less than from using the FM alone, but financial aid officers who use both EFC methods weigh the whole picture and try to tailor an aid package to your family’s unique situation.

-- Susan Yang

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Disclaimer

The information provided in the article is for general discussion only. It should not be construed as specific legal, tax, college or other financial planning advice suitable for your family’s finances. Please talk to your tax and college planning advisors before implementing any strategies.

About the Author

Susan Yang is a CPA and CCPS (Certified College Planning Specialist). With knowledge of both the tax and education funding systems, Susan has helped many families overcome their college funding challenges through the development of effective financial aid and tax strategies. She has presented seminars to high schools and taught classes to professional groups including CPAs, financial planners and estate planners. For further information, send email to: susan@susanyangcpa.com.

Made in China Product Recalls

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced the following recalls of products made in China.

Children's Puzzles. Small World Toys has recalled about 78,500 children's wooden puzzles because the knobs on the puzzle pieces can come off, posing a choking hazard to young children by their knobs from the puzzle boards.

Television Mount Brackets. Circuit City Stores Inc. has recalled approximately 9,900 flat panel television tilt-mount brackets because if upward force is applied to a mounted TV, the bracket's lock bar could unfasten.

Children's Pyjamas. Disney Stores North America has issued a recall for about 200 Baby Einstein Caterpillar sleepwear and Baby Einstein Duck sleepwear because they fail to meet the children's flammability standard, posing a risk of burn injury to children.

Children's Sweatshirts. RedEnvelope Inc. is recalling approximately 1,200 children's sweatshirts because they have a drawstring through the hood, posing a strangulation hazard to children. The recalled sweatshirts have "LIFE IS GOOD" written on the front in sewn-on letters.

Headbands. DreamWorks Animation SKG has recalled approximately 6,000 Shrek Ears headbands because a small wire can protrude through the fabric of the ears, posing a risk of cuts to consumers.

Electrical Outlets. Lamson & Sessions has issued a recall for some 100,000 electrical floor boxes because they are wired incorrectly, resulting in reverse polarity and posing a shock or electrocution hazard to consumers.