Our standard response is: Financial is available for those who qualify. Well, how does one qualify? First, you start with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA as we usually hear it called.
The FAFSA will tell us what you as a student qualify for in grants and loans, depending on each individual situation. Once the FAFSA is finished and we have your results, we can provide you with an estimated award letter.
The award letter will list all funding sources, including Gift Aid (grants) if you qualify, Federal Student Loans, and Institutional Loans. The Gift Aid and Federal Student Loans are issued through the Federal Government’s Department of Education. That’s where the similarities end.
Gift Aid, such as Pell and SEOG grants, does not need to be repaid under normal circumstances. These are provided to you to further your education while minimizing your out-of-pocket expense. The application for these is the FAFSA and there is no further application needed to receive these benefit grants.
Federal Student Loans do require repayment. We offer Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans to students. These currently have a fixed interest rate of 4.66% and are subject to a 1.073% origination fee. This fee is literally the fee the government is charging to originate the loans on the student’s behalf. The government pays the interest that accrues on the Subsidized Loans while the student is in school and up to six months after graduation. The Unsubsidized Loans begin to accrue interest from the date that they are disbursed. While you are not required to pay that interest while you are in school, it is a good option to keep your accrued interest to a minimum.
PCI also offers an On-Time Payment Advantage Program. This program is set up to cover the balance that may be left after applying all Federal Aid (grants and loans). These loans are offered on a case-by-case basis to students who require additional funding. All of the programs under this section do offer some loan forgiveness, based on meeting qualification such as on-time payments and maintaining SAP (Satisfactory Academic Progress) requirements.
For more information on any of these programs, please contact Financial Aid.