Frequently Asked Questions
Financial Aid Terms
Do I make too much money to get any financial aid?
Every student, regardless of income, can be eligible for a student loan. We advise every student to fill out the FAFSA early each year so we can review all of your financial options for paying for college, including Pell grants, student loans, and work-study funding. You have the right to accept or reject what is being offered when you receive an award letter. You might be surprised what you qualify for!
Do I have to report any grants or scholarships to the IRS as income?
Part or all of a grant or scholarship may be taxable even if you do not receive a W-2 form. If you are in a degree program, amounts you use for expenses other than tuition and course-related expenses (e.g. amounts used for room, board, and travel) are taxable. To determine this taxable amount, add up all grant and scholarship awards received in a calendar year. Then subtract all tuition, fee, books, and supply expenses. If the remaining amount is a positive number, it must be reported as income. If you are not in a degree program, the full amount of the grant or scholarship is taxable.
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Where can I find additional scholarship funding?
You can find scholarship search engines on our web site under Related Sites.
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Where can I find information on the Bureau of Indian Affairs?
You can find a link to the Bureau of Indian Affairs on our web site under Related Sites.
What is college work-study? Is this taxable income?
Yes. Any money received as a result of work (Work-Study employment, temporary employment on or off campus, etc.) is considered taxable income. You will be asked to file a withholding (W-4) form, and you will receive a statement of income and taxes withheld (W-2) form each calendar year.
The Federal Work-Study program is awarded based on financial need. Undergraduate and graduate students are eligible for work-study. To enable your work-study amount, you must find a job on campus. You will be paid from the total amount of work-study awarded. You will not receive it in one lump sum. You will be paid by stipend or hourly, usually minimum wage, and receive a paycheck bi-weekly. You cannot work more than 20 hours per week when school is in session and no more than 40 hours per week when school is not in session. The actual number of hours worked depends on the department in which you are employed. Contact Student Employment for available positions. See Types of Aid.
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If I have a parent who is enrolled in a college or university, can this parent be counted as a family member in college when calculating my financial aid?
No. Federal regulations no longer allow parents of students to be considered as part of the "number of family members in college" when calculating students' financial aid. The Office of Student Financial Assistance will reduce the number of family members in college if you include a parent in this number; only the student and the student's siblings may be included. A reduction in the number of family members in college may significantly reduce your financial aid eligibility.
If you do have a parent that is attending college please see a financial aid counselor for special consideration.
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Is my Financial Aid Award Letter the same as my University Fee Statement?
No. The Office of Student Financial Assistance sends you a Financial Aid Award Letter listing any scholarships, grants, loans, or Work-Study that you are eligible to receive. Your PSU Fee Statement is sent to you by the Registrar's Office. This statement is the actual amount you owe PSU. Financial aid administered by the OSFA is applied directly to the charges listed on your Account Statement, usually during the first month of the term. You are responsible for paying any amount not covered by these awards.
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Will my financial aid be renewed after freshman year?
No. You are required to complete a FAFSA and submit all other requested documents each academic year.
It is likely that you will receive similar financial aid packages (awards) throughout your degree program, IF the following remain true:
- A scholarship or award received is not limited to only one year;
- Your family's financial situation remains similar--dramatic changes in income, marital status, or a change in the number of family members in college will affect Expected Family Contribution and therefore the amount of financial aid eligibility;
- The federal, state, and institutional funding of financial aid programs remains similar;
- You submit the appropriate application materials by the required deadlines;
- You continue to meet the enrollment level and Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements. The Office of Student Financial Assistance monitors enrollment levels (the number of credit hours you take) during each term. If you drop courses and fall below the minimum credit hour requirements, you may be required to repay all or part of the aid you received; and
- You report accurate information (income, assets, etc.) on your financial aid application(s).
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What will happen to my financial aid awards if I move to off-campus housing?
Please see a financial aid counselor to see if an adjustment should be made.
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Am I allowed to receive financial aid from more than one institution at the same time?
No. If you are enrolled at more than one college or university at the same time, you may receive financial aid from one of the institutions, not both. Contact OSFA for more information.
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I have already completed my first bachelor's degree and I'm taking classes toward my next bachelor's degree--what aid is available to me?
Undergraduate students who have already received their bachelor's degree will only be eligible for loans and Work-Study while pursuing additional bachelor's degree(s). This includes students in dual degree programs who have already met the requirements for one of their degrees and are continuing their education toward the additional degree.
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How can I learn more about the Hope Scholarship and the Lifetime Learning Credit?
The Hope Scholarship is a tax credit for eligible first- or second-year undergraduates or their parents; it is for certain educational expenses paid on or after January 1, 1998. The Lifetime Learning Credit is for eligible students who are beyond their second year of college or their parents; it is for certain educational expenses paid on or after July 1, 1998.
To take advantage of the tax credits, taxpayers must submit IRS form 8863, Education Credits (Hope and Lifetime Learning Credits), with their federal tax returns to the IRS. The University will supply students with Form 1098-T, which lists all dollar information relating to the provisions of the Taxpayer Relief Act. Form 1098-T also shows the student's demographic information (name, Social Security number, etc.) that the University provides to the IRS (the University does not supply dollar amount information to the IRS). For more information about the tax credits and these forms, visit the following Web sites:
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Are there special guidelines regarding the treatment of federal aid for military personnel who are activated or reassigned, as a result of the terrorist attacks?
As a result of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S., President Bush authorized, on September 14, 2001, the call-up of members of the National Guard and the Ready Reserves to active duty. Regular active duty members of the Armed Forces may also be reassigned to other duty stations. It is likely that there will be students and Title IV (federal) loan borrowers who will be ordered to military duty as part of the military mobilization. The Department of Education has established the following guidelines regarding the treatment of military personnel who are activated or reassigned for a period of more than 30 days. The Secretary of Education will treat borrowers who are ordered to active duty and who have loans held by the Department of Education (Perkins, Health Professions and Nursing Student Loans) in accordance with this guidance. The following is taken from the September 2001 Department of Education's Letter GEN-01-13 from Deputy Secretary William D. Hansen. For more information on guidelines regarding treatment of financial aid because of the terrorist attacks, see the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrator's Web site.
Loan Issues
Borrowers Whose Title IV (Federal) Loans are in an In-School, In-School Deferment, or Grace Period status:
If a borrower's loans are in an in-school status, an in-school deferment status, or in a grace period status when the borrower is ordered to active duty or reassigned, the loans must remain in that status during the period of the borrower's active duty service or reassignment, plus the time necessary for the borrower to resume enrollment in the next regular enrollment period that is reasonably available to the borrower, if the borrower wishes to go back to school. However, this maintenance of loan status may not exceed a total of three years including the period of time necessary for the borrower to resume enrollment. Additionally, if the loan was in a grace period status at the time the borrower was ordered to active duty, the period of time during which the borrower was serving on active duty is excluded and the borrower would receive the full grace period in the future.
Borrowers Whose Title IV (Federal) Loans are in Repayment (Other than in an In-School Deferment status):
For borrowers whose loans are in repayment (other than those in an in-school deferment status), a forbearance must be granted for the expected period of the borrower's active duty service, beginning on the first day of active duty, not to exceed one year (Forbearance is an arrangement to postpone or reduce a borrower's monthly payment amount for a limited and specified period. Interest is charged during a forbearance period, regardless of the loan type.) The forbearance must be granted based upon the request of the borrower, the borrower's family or another reliable source. The request need not be in writing and the forbearance can be granted without supporting documentation and without a written forbearance agreement. The reasons for granting the forbearance must be documented in the borrower's loan records. Forbearance beyond the initial period will require supporting documentation and a written agreement with the borrower, unless the Department of Education provides guidance extending the one-year limitation. During the initial forbearance process, lenders are encouraged to examine the borrower's eligibility for a military or other deferment.
Borrowers Whose Loans are in a Default status:
If a borrower is in default on a loan, schools must, upon being notified that the borrower has been called to active duty, cease all collection activities for the expected period of the borrower's military service, through September 14, 2002, unless the Department of Education provides guidance extending this period. Collection activities must resume no later than 30 days after the end of the borrower's military service or September 14, 2002, whichever is earlier. Borrowers with defaulted loans held by the Department will be treated the same way.
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How do I apply for summer financial assistance?
You must submit a FAFSA application for the academic year prior to the summer session in which you will attend. In addition, you must complete the Summer Application for Financial Assistance along with a copy of your Summer schedule. The Summer Application will be available in the Office of Student Financial Assistance and on our web site around April 1st. After processing your file you will receive a new award letter for summer aid, if you are eligible.
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What is Satisfactory Progress (SP)?
Satisfactory Progress (SP) is the term used to denote a student's successful completion of coursework toward a certificate or degree. Federal regulations require the Office of Student Financial Assistance to monitor the progress of each student toward certificate/degree completion. Students who fall behind in their coursework, or fail to achieve minimum standards for grade point average and completion of classes, may lose their eligibility for all types of federal and state aid, and University aid administered by OSFA.
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What is required to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress?
Maintain a minimum cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA)
Generally, the minimum GPA for undergraduate and graduate students is 2.0. For students who have attempted 60 credit hours or more, a 2.0 GPA is required to continue financial aid eligibility.
Maintain minimum completion rate for attempted credit hours
While students are expected to enroll at least part-time to be eligible for financial assistance, each student must complete at least 75% of the hours their financial aid was based upon each semester in order to continue eligibility. For example, an undergraduate student enrolls and receives financial aid for 12 credit hours, and completes only 9 credit hours, has completed the required 75% of financial aid hours.
Complete a degree or certificate program in no more than 150% of the average length of the program
Students are expected to complete degree requirements within a reasonable time frame based on the average length of their program. Students must complete graduation requirements in no more than 150% of the average length of their program.
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How am I notified when I fail to achieve Satisfactory Academic Progress standards?
At the end of each semester, OSFA will review the progress of each student. If you have not met all Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards, you will be notified in writing via U.S. Mail.
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What is a Satisfactory Academic Progress Warning?
Satisfactory Academic Progress Warning occurs when your academic progress has fallen below a level of standard during a fall semester. In this case, a warning letter is mailed to you at the end of the semester. The warning allows you to receive financial aid for the spring semester on a probationary basis, meaning you have the spring semester to make up any deficiencies as well as successfully complete your spring semester coursework.
If, then, you do not complete the necessary deficiencies or you do not successfully complete the spring semester, you will be ineligible to receive federal financial aid for subsequent semesters.
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What if special circumstances exist that prevented me from making Satisfactory Academic Progress?
If you feel that unique circumstances exist, you may appeal the decision in writing to the Financial Assistance Appeals Committee. This appeal requires a Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal Form, a copy of your unofficial transcript, as well as supporting documentation. Special deadlines do apply, so please visit OSFA for more information.
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How do Academic Holds affect my financial aid?
A Hold on your student account will prevent your financial assistance from crediting (i.e. will not pay any PSU tuition and/or housing charges), nor will a refund check be processed for you. In other words, all holds must be taken care of prior to receiving financial assistance. Examples of student holds are parking tickets, library fines, transcript fees, past due tuition, etc.
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How do incomplete courses, poor grades, and withdrawal from classes, affect my SP status?
Any one of the above reasons may affect your financial aid eligibility for the next semester if it does not fulfill Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards (SP). Incomplete courses do not count as a completed course until you receive a final grade for that course. Poor grades (such as an F or NC) or withdrawal of courses will not count as successfully completing a course. Please see the Satisfactory Progress Policy or visit with a financial aid counselor for more specific information regarding your situation.
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What is Verification?
The U.S. Department of Education requires schools, including Pittsburg State University, to verify the accuracy of data submitted on the FAFSA form. Therefore, we may ask you to submit various documents, such as a federal income tax return, to our office. Disbursement of financial aid will be held until all requested documents have been received and processed by OSFA. Participation is mandatory for students selected for Verification, and non-compliance can result in cancellation of financial aid.
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Why is my file being verified?
There are several possibilities:
- Some students are selected by the U.S. Department of Education through a series of edits. Nationally, at least 30% of all FAFSAs are selected.
- Some students are selected by Pittsburg State University if the FAFSA appears to have incomplete or inconsistent information, or if the data indicates a high probability for error. Verification is likely for students who provided estimated tax information, negative income, or very low income on the FAFSA.
- Other possibilities exist, but the purpose of Verification is to prevent Student Financial Assistance from disbursing inaccurate amounts of financial aid to students.
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What will happen if I am selected for Verification?
The Office of Student Financial Assistance will notify you (either by email or regular mail) that more information is needed to complete your file. You are required to submit certain documents in order to verify the information provided on the FAFSA no later than two weeks prior to the end of the semester(s) of attendance at PSU.
Some of the most common documents required for Verification are:
- Copies of your Federal Income Tax forms: this includes the 1040 form, all W-2's, 1099's, schedules, and benefits statements.
- Verification Worksheet (provided by PSU OSFA)
- Many others could be requested.
The type of documents required will vary by student, and not all students selected for Verification will have to submit the same documents.
Once all required documents have been submitted to OSFA, the information on the documents is compared to the FAFSA application we received from the Federal Processor. If errors are found on your financial aid application, corrections will be made electronically to the Federal Processor. You will receive a revised Student Aid Report (SAR) from the Federal Processor showing the corrections made to your application. Further, PSU OSFA will award financial aid based on the corrected FASFA information, either via your initial Award Letter or a revised Award Letter.
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When and how often can I be verified?
Usually, you will be notified that you are selected for Verification after PSU receives your FASFA but prior to disbursement of funds. However it is possible that you could be selected for Verification at anytime throughout the financial aid year (fall, spring, or summer semesters), even if aid has been disbursed. It is very important to keep handy the documents you used to complete the FAFSA.
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What can I do to speed up processing of my file if it is selected for Verification?
- Turn in all documents we request for your file as soon as possible.
- Please have copies made of your Tax Return, W-2's, and schedules, and have your Verification Worksheet completed when you turn in requested documents to our office.
- Make sure the copies you submit are legible.
- Make sure that all copies of documents needed for your file have your name and PSU Student ID# at the top of each page.
- Turn in all requested documents at the same time.
- Be patient. Realize that a large number of students are selected for Verification, and it takes time for our office to process everything. Periodically checking on the status of your file is a good idea.
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Student Data Form (SDF)
Students applying for financial aid at Pittsburg State University must complete and submit a Student Data Form to the OSFA. This supplemental information is used to calculate financial aid awards. The SDF is available from OSFA and on the Forms page of this web site.
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Federal Processor
This is the U.S. Department of Education agency that you submit your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to in order to apply for financial aid. Your FAFSA is sent to the federal processor either electronically if you apply online or by mail in the envelope provided with the paper version of the FAFSA. Following federal rules for aid (see Federal Methodology above), the federal processor calculates what you and your family are expected to pay for your college costs for a year (see Expected Family Contribution above). The federal processor then mails this information to you in a Student Aid Report. The federal processor also sends this information to the schools you list in Section Six of the FAFSA. Each school is then able to calculate a financial aid package for you.
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Financial Aid Award Letter/Financial Aid Package
If you are eligible for financial aid, you will be awarded a financial aid package that consists of any combination of grants, scholarships, loans, and Work-Study. You will be sent a Financial Aid Award Letter listing the aid for which you are eligible. You may be requested to send to OSFA additional documents such as your and your parents' (and your spouse's, if married) income tax returns. For more information, see Financial Aid Award Letters.
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Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
To apply for federal financial aid you must complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or a Renewal FAFSA (for students who completed a FAFSA the previous year and are continuing their education). The FAFSA and Renewal FAFSA are published by the U.S. Department of Education. Students complete and submit the form to the Department of Education's federal processor. The federal processor, in turn, processes the FAFSA information and sends a record to the colleges/universities that you designate on the form. The FAFSA can be completed on the Web at FAFSA on the Web. This method processes your FAFSA 7-14 days faster than completing a paper FAFSA. Paper copies of the FAFSA are available from the OSFA, high school guidance counselors, and by calling 1-800-4-FEDAID.
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Non-Filing Statement
Some PSU students are asked to submit signed copies of their and their parents' (and their spouse's, if married) federal income tax returns to the Office of Student Financial Assistance in order to fulfill application requirements for reapplying for financial aid. If you or your parents or your spouse are not required to file tax returns (based on income thresholds established by the Internal Revenue Service), we will need a statement from the person not required to file.
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PIN Number
The PIN is a unique identifier that lets you access and submit personal information on various U.S. Department of Education Web sites. For example, students must have a PIN to file an online FAFSA or Renewal FAFSA to apply for federal aid or to make online corrections to a submitted FAFSA.
Students can apply for a PIN at the PIN Registration site. When reapplying for aid, some students may automatically receive a PIN through the mail instead of a Renewal FAFSA.
The parent of a dependent student can also apply for and receive a PIN number that acts as the parent's signature when the student is completing the FAFSA on the Web. This way, the parent does not have to print, sign and submit a separate signature page.
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Priority Deadline/Priority Filing Date
When a student applies for financial aid at Pittsburg State University, if the Office of Student Financial Assistance receives all of the student's financial aid application materials/records by the priority deadline (priority consideration date), the student will be considered for all eligible aid programs. If the OSFA does not receive all of the student's financial aid application materials by the priority filing date, the student may not be guaranteed consideration for all eligible aid programs. For each approaching academic year, the priority filing date is the March 1.
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Promissory Note
The binding legal document you sign when you receive student loan. It lists the conditions under which you're borrowing and the terms under which you agree to pay back the loan. It may include information about the interest rate of the loan and deferment and cancellation provisions. It is very important to read and save your promissory notes, because you may need to refer to them later when you begin repaying your loan. Students receive promissory notes for different student loan programs (Stafford, Perkins, etc.). Each loan program has different procedures and terms. Some promissory notes must be signed/completed online.
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Renewal Free Application for Federal Student Aid (Renewal FAFSA)
If you applied for aid the previous year, the federal processor may send you a Renewal FAFSA to complete for the coming year. The Renewal FAFSA contains the information you provided on your FAFSA the year before. So you only have to correct the information that needs to be updated. If you do not receive a Renewal FAFSA, you will need to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Also see PIN Number.
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Student Aid Report (SAR)
The Student Aid Report (SAR) is a multi-paged document that assures that your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) has been received by the federal processor and reports back to you the information you supplied on the Renewal FAFSA or FAFSA. Review the data on the form and respond immediately to any required corrections. If necessary, return the signed SAR, with any corrections, to the federal processor (be sure to contact the Office of Student Financial Assistance first, however, so that we will be aware of the changes).
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Quality Assurance Program
The Office of Student Financial Assistance participates in the Quality Assurance Programs in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Education. The primary goal of the program is to improve equity and fairness in awarding public and private dollars to needy students and to assess the quality and accuracy of the financial aid process. This evaluation will take place through the study of a random sample of federal financial aid recipients and verification of information reported on those applications. The Quality Assurance Program enables us to determine the types of errors made by students and families as they complete their applications and develop procedures to promote correct filing. The program also enables us to determine problematic areas in the processing of your financial aid so we can provide better service.
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