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| Once the FAFSA application is completed, the information is used in a formula established by Congress that calculates ‘need’ and helps determine eligibility. Once the FAFSA is submitted, a Student Aid Report (SAR) with be returned that will include the student’s EFC. There are two ways to receive the SAR:
If you have questions about your EFC or the comments on your Student Aid Report, please contact the FSA Help Desk. ‘Cost of Attendance’ (also called the ‘Student Budget') is an estimate of the total costs for a student to attend any university. A student’s ‘cost of attendance’ is determined by rules established by law. If a student is attending at least half time, the Cost of Attendance is the sum of:
Costs unrelated to the completion of a student's course of study are not included in calculating that student's cost of attendance. Maximizing Loan Note: Online students do not have a transportation component to their cost of attendance figures. The university system will attempt to package you to your annual loan limits based on grade level, enrollment status and your student’s budget.Detailed below are educational expenses considered in determining the student's cost of attendance (personal, room and board) and information on how those costs were derived. When combined with other aid and resources, a student's aid package may not exceed the cost of attendance. The amount of personal expenses allowed all students is $240 per month (a figure determined by a national average obtained from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics). Room and board costs are also obtained from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics.
After submitting the FAFSA, students will be contacted regarding the amount of their award. For most students the process can be completed within 7-10 days, unless they are selected for verification, or additional information is needed. Some students may have to provide additional documentation which may include W-2 forms, signed copies of a recent tax return, or other documentation. We recommend that you have these documents handy when it comes time to file your forms so that your online financial aid process goes smoothly. Students using Federal Student Aid must complete a Statement of Intent form, complete the online Financial Aid Office process and confirm that they accept their financial aid award letter at least 7-10 days prior to the start of classes. To ensure the tmely arrival of your books you should complete your registration for all of your classes at least 14 days prior to the start of your semester. If you living outside the United States you will want to finalize your registrations at least a month before the semester begins. This will ensure that when you accept your financial aid award letter that you will gain access to their courses when the semester begins and will have your books in time when classes start. So how do you know if you can receive enough financial aid to pay for your education at our university? Let’s briefly examine an undergraduate student who takes twelve (12) credits a semester for two typical semesters and is not eligible for a Federal Pell Grant. Twelve credits x $250/credit = $3,000. For 2 semesters, that’s $6,000. The following table shows how student loans could cover those costs:
For Federal Student Aid purposes, veterans' education benefits are treated as resources (not income) and are included as financial assistance for the unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans. Students receiving GI Bill/Veterans' Benefits must include those benefits received during their education on their FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Please contact Financial Services for more information. Military Tuition Assistance, Scholarships and Federal Student Aid Students who are receiving Military Tuition Assistance (TA) and will also be receiving Federal Student Aid must be aware that TA is a form of financial assistance. We encourage all students to apply for any scholarship or aid resource that you can to help you with your educational costs. However, it is the responsibility of students to inform the Financial Aid Office of any or all outside sources of aid including Tuition Assistance, Employer Vouchers, outside scholarships, state grants, vocational rehabilitation, or agency funding. Failure to notify the Financial Aid Office of these resources could result in a loss of Federal aid or a reduction of Federal or state aid. If this happens after all of your aid has been disbursed then we may have to return portions of your Federal loans back to the lender. You will have the opportunity to disclose all outside resources through the online Financial Aid Office. Should you receive notice of a new scholarship or decide to take additional courses in your semester using TA, you must notify the Financial Aid Office. The best way to notify us of any outside scholarships or other types of non-Federal aid is to e-mail Financial Services at finaid@apus.edu. Notify them of the type of aid you are expecting to receive, attach a copy of the letter or notice from the company or agency and tell us the amount of the scholarship or aid source. Remember the sooner that you inform us about this new aid source the sooner that we can put this on your award letter and process refunds to you as timely as possible. Students with Prior Student Loans Students may not be eligible for partial or full amounts of Federal Loans if they have attended other post-secondary institutions within the last 30 weeks and if they have received or applied for Federal Student Loans to attend other post-secondary institutions. These students also may have an issue with loan periods that overlap between the two schools which may result in their financial aid package not covering the tuition bill. To resolve such issues, students may need to provide information from the other school or may need to push their start date back until the overlapping loan issue is resolved. Contact Financial Services for more information. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
