Types of Financial Aid - Undergraduate Students

Types of Financial Aid - Undergraduate Students

The Undergraduate Student Services area of the IUPUC Office of Student Financial Aid Services administers the Federal, State, and University Financial Aid Programs for students pursuing an undergraduate degree or who are enrolled in a Teacher Certification program or certain other eligible certification programs.

Federal Work-Study
Federal Work-Study
Federal Work-Study is a financial aid award for undergraduate and graduate students with financial need. Students may earn this award by working for an on-campus department or off-campus at an approved non-profit or government agency. Students are encouraged to utilize their federal work-study awards in community service work and work related to their program of study.

Fee Credits
CVO & VA Educational Benefits
The Child of a Disabled Veteran Program (CVO)-provides tuition and fee assistance for eligible Children of Disabled Indiana Veterans and eligible Children and Spouses of certain Indiana Public Safety Officers killed in the line of duty. The grant pays 100% of tuition and some mandatory fees.

Grants
Federal Pell Grant
The Federal Pell Grant program provides financial assistance to students who could not otherwise afford to pay for college as an undergraduate. The government awards grants according to each students financial need as determined by federal methodology, a congressionally established need analysis formula. Need for other aid is based upon and determined around the student's eligibility for Federal Pell Grant. Awards range from $400 to $4,310 per academic year.

To be eligible, the student must:

Be a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident;
Show financial need according to the Federal Student Aid Report (SAR);
Be an undergraduate enrolled in a degree-seeking program;
Maintain satisfactory academic progress;
Not have defaulted on or owe a refund to any previous aid program.

Academic Competitiveness (AC) Grant
Academic Competitiveness (AC) Grant, available for the 1st time for the 2006/07 aid year, was established to encourage students to complete a rigorous program of high school study that research has demonstrated increases student retention and graduation from the university. The maximum AC Grant is $750 for eligible freshman and $1,300 for eligible sophomore students.

To be eligible, you must:

Apply for financial aid by submitting the Free Application for Student Financial Aid (FAFSA) for the appropriate aid year;
Be a US Citizen;
Be a Federal Pell Grant recipient;
Be enrolled in a two-year or four-year program of study;
Be enrolled full-time (12 semester hours or more);
Be enrolled in the 1st academic year (semester hours completed = 0 to 30 semester hours completed) or 2nd academic year (semester hours completed = 31 to 60) of a two or four-year degree program;

First-year students must have graduated from high school on or after January 1, 2006 with an initial entry semester as a degree seeking student no earlier than fall 2006;
Second-year students must have graduated from high school on or after January 1, 2005;
For a second year AC Grant, you must have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.00 on a 4.0 scale;
You must have completed:

A rigorous high school program of study as designated by your state (Indiana = Academic Honors or Core 40 diploma); or
A high school course of study with at least:

Three years of high school math, including Algebra I and another higher level math course;
TThree years of high school science, that must include two years of biology, chemistry and physics;
TThree years of high school social studies; and
TOne year of high school foreign language; or

Taken and passed the tests for at least two Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses.

You may be required to provide documentation to verify the rigorous secondary school program of student that you completed to qualify for the AC Grant.

National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) Grant
The National SMART Grant, available for the 1st time for the 2006/07 aid year, was created to encourage students to pursue majors in high demand in the global economy such as science, mathematics, technology, engineering, and critical foreign languages. The maximum National SMART Grant for eligible juniors or seniors is $4,000.

To be eligible, you must:

Apply for financial aid by submitting the Application for Student Financial Aid for the appropriate aid year;
Be a US Citizen;
Be a Federal Pell Grant recipient;
Be enrolled in a four-year program of study;
Be enrolled full-time (12 semester hours or more);
Be enrolled in the 3rd academic year (semester hours completed = 60 to 90 semester hours) or 4th academic year (semester hours completed = 91 to 120) of a four-year degree program;
Have a cumulative grade point average of 3.00 on a 4.0 scale;
Be pursuing an eligible major in computer science, engineering, critical foreign languages, life science, mathematics, physical science, technology, or multidisciplinary studies.

For the National SMART Grant program, an eligible student may only receive one SMART Grant for each of the third and fourth years.

Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant
Awarded to undergraduate students with exceptional financial need. By federal regulations, priority is given to students who receive Pell Grants. Awards range from $250 to $1000 per academic year.

The State Student Assistance Commission of Indiana (SSACI)
Determines eligibility for the State of Indiana Higher Education Award; State of Indiana Twenty-First Century Scholars Scholarship and the State of Indiana National Guard Supplemental Grant.

SSACI grants are estimated by IUPUC based on the student's registered hours. The final determination of the student's eligibility and award amount is not made by IUPUC; rather, it is determined by The State Student Assistance Commission of Indiana.

However, the student can verify his or her eligibility by checking their account through eStudent. On this site the student can check his or her eligibility, change school choice, update their address and phone number, and check to see if there are any outstanding edits. If everything is clear on the student's account with SSACI and he or she is eligible to receive an award, the student will receive a final award notification from SSACI in July.

Students who are eligible for a SSACI award will be notified in writing from SSACI as to the exact amount he or she will receive for the upcoming academic year.

The award amounts listed on the SSACI award notification are amounts the student may receive IF he or she is enrolled in a minimum of 15 credit hours each semester (30 hours of enrollment per academic year). The student's ESTIMATED SSACI that IUPUC has predicted is also based upon 15 credit hours per semester. So, if the student is enrolled in LESS than 15 credit hours per semester, the amount of SSACI the student will receive will be LESS THAN THE FINAL AWARD AMOUNT.

Students can receive a full time SSACI award for enrollment in either 12 credits a semester, 13 credits a semester, 14 credits a semester or 15+ credits a semester. The student's SSACI award must be adjusted based upon the total credit hours he or she enrolls each semester.

Throughout the first 4 weeks of a semester, we will monitor the student's enrollment on a daily basis.

If the student drops a class, we adjust the SSACI award (which usually means it will be reduced).
If the student adds a class we will assess his or her status and determine if we can increase their SSACI award.
If the student's enrollment drops below 12 credit hours during this period, his or her entire full time SSACI award will be cancelled.
Then after the drop add period, we will review ALL students receiving a SSACI award and whatever the student's enrollment reflects on that day, we will then adjust his or her SSACI for the semester accordingly.

Overseas Study & Consortium Agreements

RECEIVING AID FROM IUPUC WHILE ATTENDING ANOTHER IU CAMPUS
Students enrolled at IUPUC and attending classes at another campus may qualify for financial aid for those classes taken at another campus. To determine eligibility and apply for aid while attending another IU campus, the student must submit a Consortium Agreement.

Scholarships

IUPUC Office of Student Scholarships
The online resource for scholarship applications and information from the Office of Student Scholarships at IUPUC.

Student Loan Programs

FFELP Stafford Loans
The Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) is the largest single source of federal aid for students pursuing a higher education. There are two types of Federal Stafford Loans: subsidized and unsubsidized.

Subsidized
If students meet certain financial need criteria (based upon information supplied on the FAFSA and the student's cost of attendance), the federal government will pay the interest on their loan while they attend school at least half time or during times when they qualify for an authorized deferment.

Unsubsidized
If students do not meet the financial need criteria (based upon information supplied on the FAFSA and the student's cost of attendance) to qualify for a subsidized loan, they still can apply for an unsubsidized loan. Students are responsible for paying the interest while they are in school. If they do not want to make the interest payments, the interest can be added to their principal balance through capitalization. Capitalization with most lenders occurs only once as the student seperates from IUPUC.

Undergraduate Federal Stafford loan limits are determined by student class standing and dependency status.

Other Student Loan Programs

FFELP PLUS (Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students)
If students are dependent, according to federal guidelines, their parents may qualify for a Federal PLUS loan. The lender is required, however, to determine whether the parent borrower is eligible. The parent must not be in default on any education loan or owe a refund on any education grant. Parents may borrow up to the full cost of attendance minus all other aid awarded. They are responsible for repaying the loan; repayment begins 60 days after the loan is fully disbursed. To apply on line, access the PLUS loan application.

Federal Perkins Loans
A Federal Perkins Loan is a low-interest rate program loan which is issued to IUPUC students based on criteria set by the Office of Student Financial Aid Services. IUPUC is the lender. The loan is made with government funds with a share contributed by the school. The student must repay this loan to his or her school.

Private Loans & Alternative
Private or Alternative Loans are unsecured, credit-based loan programs that can help families with costs of education. These loans are offered directly through various lenders. The terms and limits and application process will vary from lender to lender.