Frequently Asked Questions: Financial Aid

Financial aid is any kind of money that is either given or loaned to a student for a period of time, which can assist in paying for school. At Ohio Christian University last year, our students received over 5.5 million dollars in financial assistance of some type.

Yes, Ohio Christian University has been approved to receive both Federal and State financial aid funds. OCU has been approved to do so since 1973.

Yes, Ohio Christian University has been approved to receive funds through the Union Education Trust. For more information on this program, go to www.uedtrust.org or contact your financial aid advisor.

Ohio Christian University does accept employer assistance or reimbursements. For specific terms regarding your employer's reimbursement and tuition assistance policies, please see your employee handbook or inquire at your company about the program. OCU is happy to work with students and companies to ensure that education is affordable and easy to access.

Ohio Christian University does accept funds through military benefits. For questions about the program, ask your military contact or Financial Aid Counselor, Wes Brothers at 740-477-7757.

To apply for financial aid, you must first complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The FAFSA can be found at www.fafsa.ed.gov. By completing the FAFSA, you are applying for federal grants and loans, along with state grants. Your financial aid advisor cannot determine your financial aid eligibility until you have completed and signed the FAFSA. The FAFSA must be completed annually. Also, the deadline to complete the FAFSA and still be eligible to receive state grants is October 1st of each year.

FAFSA stands for, "Free Application for Federal Student Aid." Finally, something that has to do with college is free! Specifically, the FAFSA is a government document created by the United States Department of Education which assists in determining how much aid each college student is eligible for.

Yes!! You (and your parents, if you are a dependent student) will need to acquire a PIN (Personal Identification Number) from the following website: www.pin.ed.gov. The PIN is your electronic signature for the FAFSA. Financial aid eligibility cannot be determined until the FAFSA has been completed and signed electronically with a PIN. Be sure to request that the PIN be sent to your current e-mail address. If you submit your FAFSA before you receive your PIN then you will need to return to the FAFSA website to sign and resubmit your FAFSA once you have received your PIN. If you have completed a FAFSA before, you should already have a PIN. Also, it is helpful (but not required) to complete the FAFSA worksheets found on the FAFSA website before filling out the actual FAFSA. These worksheets can be very helpful "cheat sheets" when you are working on giving the government your official financial information.

The FAFSA will ask for specific tax information; basically, the Department of Education wants to know how much you (and your parents, if you are a dependent student) made during the last tax year so that they can calculate how much aid you are eligible to receive. Therefore, you will need to be prepared to enter information that can be found on the following items:

• Your (and your parents', if you are a dependent student) 1040 tax forms from last year. For example, if you are going to be entering school anytime during the 2007-2008 school year, you will need to obtain your 1040 tax forms from the year 2006.

• Any W2 forms from your employer (and your parents’ employer, if you are a dependent student) from last year.

These are the main forms that you will want to have on hand as you complete the FAFSA. If other forms are required, the directions on the FAFSA will state exactly what is needed.

When you come to the FAFSA website, you may have a choice as to the FAFSA that you can complete. You will want to complete the FAFSA that applies to the year of school in which you will be entering. For example, if you plan on beginning school in the fall of 2007, then you will want to complete the 2007-2008 FAFSA.

You may contact your financial aid advisor for assistance in one of the following ways:

• For students enrolled in the adult programs, Gateway or AIM:

  • Email: spayton@ohiochristian.edu
    Phone: 740-477-7864 or toll-free @ 1-877-496-8342
  • Students may use the two available computers in the Financial Aid Office, located in the welcome center, to fill out their FAFSA. The computer lab located in the OCU library may also be used.
  • Note to AIM and Gateway students: If you do not have a computer with internet access, you will need to gain access to one via family, local library or otherwise. You will need this in order to complete coursework, download course guides, etc.
• For students enrolled in the Traditional program:
  • E-mail: finaid@ohiochristian.edu
    Phone: 740-477-7758 or toll-free at 1-877-7OCU-NOW
  • The Traditional Financial Aid Office is located in the Welcome Center, across from Admissions. There are two computers available for student use in this office.
  • The computer lab(s) in the OCU library may be used as well.

It is highly recommended that you complete and sign the FAFSA online. Technically, you may complete a paper application and submit it to the Department of Education by mail. However, it will take several weeks for your information to be processed, which could delay the awarding of financial aid and potentially your entrance into OCU. Do not hesitate to contact your financial aid advisor if you need help completing the FAFSA online.

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! Please remember, WHEN ASKED TO ENTER YOUR SCHOOL CODE, TYPE 003030. This will ensure that we receive all of your FAFSA information.

The FAFSA is our way of seeing how much aid you are eligible to receive. Based on the information you enter on your FAFSA, we are able to put together a package of financial aid awards and payment options for you.

For students enrolled in the AIM or Gateway programs, a financial aid award packet will be mailed to you after registration. For students enrolled in the Traditional program, a financial aid packet will be mailed to you as soon as your FAFSA information is received and processed.

The award packet will include an award letter that will show your financial aid eligibility by listing the names and amounts of all awards offered to you. You can also contact your financial aid advisor for estimates prior to registering, as long as your FASFA has been completed in its entirety.

***Keep in mind that if you have previously attended another institution, you may not have the same eligibility at OCU as you did at your previous institution. Eligibility is determined by the information on your FAFSA, and varies by the type of school (Private/Public/Proprietary) and your enrollment status (Full-time, ¾-time, ½-time, less than ½ time). ***

For students enrolled in the adult programs: OCU does not generally offer any institutional scholarships for adult students. However, pastors may be eligible to receive some institutional discounts. Please see your recruiter for details. If you are receiving a scholarship from an outside source, please inform your financial aid advisor as soon as possible.

For students enrolled in the Traditional program: OCU offers multiple scholarships and institutional grants that can help to reduce the cost of a traditional education program. Please contact the Traditional Financial Aid Office at 1-877-7OCU-NOW or finaid@ohiochristian.edu for more information.

As an OCU student, you will have access to your own student account. You can compare your award letter to your student account charges to get an idea of what excess funds - if any - will ultimately be on your account. Once you have access to your student account online, you will be able to see exactly what might be available for you to receive. Once all school related charges have been assessed to your student account, you do have the right to receive any excess funds.

For students enrolled in the adult programs: OCU policy states that a student must complete one class in a given semester with a passing grade before he/she can receive any excess funds. As previously mentioned, you will have access to your own student account, so you can monitor it for activity. Please note that before any credit can be given to you, your loan, grant and/or scholarship money must have been posted to your student account as a Credit. Grants, loans and scholarships that are still listed as Awards on your student bill have not actually arrived to the school, and therefore are not available to you as a credit. Please ask your financial aid advisor for more information about the various options available to you regarding the handling of credit on your account.

For students enrolled in the Traditional program: OCU policy for Traditional student refunds states that students must receive all excess funds from their account within 14 days of the disbursement of the loan, grant or scholarship that created the excess funds, unless otherwise stated in the student’s file. In order to be eligible to receive any excess funds however, a student must be enrolled in class in accordance with the requirements of their loan, grant or scholarship. Most loans, grants and scholarships require full-time enrollment, while a few require only half-time enrollment or less.

No. The only two scenarios in which you would not be eligible for student loans are the following:

1. You are in default on one or more previous student loans. This will be indicated on your Student Aid Report, which is mailed to you when your FAFSA is processed.
2. You have reached the aggregate limit on student loans. This is a maximum of $46,000 for Independent students (typically $23,000 each in subsidized and unsubsidized). Dependent students typically have an aggregate limit of $23,000.

For the Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford Loans, the two most common student loans, the interest rate is variable prior to the 2006-2007 school year. For the 2007-2008 school year, the interest rate is fixed at 6.8%.

The Subsidized Federal Stafford Loan is available to students who demonstrate a financial need and who are enrolled in at least half time and are pursuing a degree. Subsidized loans are awarded in limited amounts, which correspond with a student’s year in school. A chart of the current award limits are posted in the Financial Aid Office. The interest on a Subsidized Federal Stafford Loan is paid by the Federal Government while a student is attending school.

The Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan is available to students who are enrolled at least half time. There is no financial need taken into account for this loan; students of all income levels may take out an Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan. Students who are classified as Independent may request and accept an Unsubsidized Loan without having to apply for the Parent PLUS loan. The Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan does have yearly monetary limitations that correspond with a student’s year in school. A chart of the current award limits is posted in the Financial Aid Office. The interest on an Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan will accumulate while a student is attending school.*

*In order for a dependent student to receive an Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan award, a parent must apply for and be denied for the Parent PLUS loan. However, if a parent shows an Expected Family Contribution that is equal to or greater than the remaining difference between financial aid awards offered and the cost of education, a student may receive Unsubsidized funds in place of Subsidized funds without his or her parents having to apply for a PLUS loan.

The contents of the financial aid award packet includes a form that gives instructions on how to complete one or more of three additional payment options, which you may use to cover your remaining costs. Those three options are: Cash/Credit Card payment, AMS Payment Plan, or the Student Signature Loan.

If you are a dependant student (as determined by your FAFSA), you are eligible to have a parent apply for a Parent PLUS Loan. If you believe this is or will be the case, contact your financial aid advisor for instructions. For more information regarding the Student Signature Loan and Parent PLUS loan, go to www.salliemae.com. For more information regarding the AMS payment plan, please go to www.tuitionpayenroll.com.

You do not have to begin paying back your student loan(s) until six months after any of the following:

1. Graduation (based on last date of attendance, not date of graduation ceremony)
2. Withdrawal from school
3. Enrolled less than ½ time

If you have previously used a six-month grace period for other student loans, you may be required to begin repayment immediately following any of the three scenarios listed above.

If you wish, you may begin paying back your student loans while still enrolled in school. You are not required to wait until graduation or withdrawal.

The most important thing to remember regarding student loan payment is to be in contact with those to whom you are making the payments. Do not ignore the payment requests. You do have various deferment or forbearance options. You will also have multiple payment plan options. You can contact someone within the organization to which you are making the payments, or contact your financial aid advisor for more information. SallieMae services all OCU student loans, unless a different lender has been chosen by you.