The Free Application for Student Financial Aid (FASFA) form, a federal designed and approved application is necessary for this process. The information you provide in this application helps appropriate officials assess your ability to pay and determine a financial package to help you meet your needs. You may obtain the FASFA at the Financial Services Office. The FASFA application can be ordered by calling1-800-4FEDAID or it can be found on the Web at www.fafsa.ed.gov.

SOURCES FOR FINANCIAL AID
St. Philip's College participates in a variety of federal and state financial aid programs. The following is a listing of the programs:

Educational Aides Exemption Program
Early High School Graduate Program
Federal Pell Grant
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants
Federal Work-Study

Federal Stafford Loans
Federal PLUS Loans
Hazlewood Program for Texas Veterans
Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (LEAP)

Special Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (SLEAP)
Texas Public Education Grant for Texas residents, nonresidents, and for Continuing Education courses
Towards Excellence Access and Success Grants (Texas & Texas II Grants)

Financial Aid for Texas Students

Grants are financial aid funds you do not have to pay back.
Work-Study lets you work and earn money to help pay for school.
Loans are borrowed funds that you must pay back with interest.
Scholarships may be awarded from internal (SPC or ACCD funds) or external agencies. A single common scholarship application for all SPC and/or ACCD scholarships can be found in the Office of Student Financial Services.

Return to the Title Four Policy
Students who withdraw from all courses before the completion of sixty percent of the semester may be required to repay all or some of the financial aid funds issued to them. Notification of the amount owed is sent to the student once the complete withdrawal from classes occurs. Payment instructions will be included with this letter. Outstanding balances must be paid within forty-five days from receipt of the notification letter. Failure to pay the balance will place the student in “DEFAULT” of their Title IV account. Defaulted accounts are reported to the Department of Education (DOE) on the forty-sixth day. In addition,
students in default are ineligible to receive any financial aid funds. The student’s eligibility will be reinstated upon written notification from the DOE stating the account has been paid in full. Reinstatement occurs during the semester the letter from the DOE is submitted to the Financial Services Office. All other financial aid requirements remain in effect at the time of re-eligibility. Contradictory information pertaining to payment of the outstanding balance may reverse reinstatement of eligibility.

FINANCIAL AID ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible to receive financial aid at St. Philip's College, you must meet the following requirements:

• Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form and provide the Student Aid Report (SAR) to the Financial Services Office.
• Be enrolled at least 3-semester hours as a regular student in an eligible program, for Pell Grant, or be enrolled at least halftime (6-semester hours) at St. Philip's College if applying for other types of aid.
• Be a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen.
• Have a high school diploma or a General Education Development (GED) certificate.
• Not be in default on any student loan or owe a refund to a federal financial aid program.
• Make satisfactory progress in a declared course of study.
• Have an established need as determined by the federal need analysis methodology and institutional guidelines.

CALCULATING FINANCIAL NEED
The information you report when you apply for aid is used in a formula, established by Congress, that calculates your Expected Family Contribution (EFC), an amount you and your family are expected to pay toward your education. For the Federal Pell Grant Program, if your EFC is below a certain number, you are eligible for a Pell Grant, assuming you meet all other eligibility requirements.

There is not a maximum EFC that defines eligibility for the campus-based programs and for need-based Federal Stafford Loans. Instead, your EFC is used in an equation to determine your financial need:

Cost of Education
– Expected Family Contribution
= Financial Need

Your financial aid administrator takes the cost of education at your school and subtracts the amount you and your family are expected to pay toward that cost. If there is anything left over, you are considered to have financial need.

VERIFICATION
If your Student Aid Report indicates you are selected for verification, the following documents (if applicable to your file or situation) must be submitted:

1. A signed copy of your prior year 2006 income tax return and W-2s
2. A signed copy of your parents prior year 2006 income tax return and W-2s
3. The Verification Worksheet (available at the financial aid office or online)
4. Documentation that verifies benefits or untaxed income such as:
    a. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), formerly AFDC

    b. Social Security Benefits
    b. Veteran benefits
    c. Other untaxed income and benefits

NOTIFICATION
An award notification will be sent informing you of your eligibility is sent by email to your PALS account. You must accept your award online. Instructions are provided here.

SATISFACTORY PROGRESS
You must make satisfactory progress in your selected program of study to receive financial aid. Your academic history will be reviewed to ensure that a minimum of a 2.0 grade point average and completion of a specified percentage of attempted hours has been met. This review includes course work attempted at all colleges, universities and/or proprietary schools previously attended. The award notification includes the academic progress policy in detail.

If you do not make satisfactory progress, you will be placed on financial aid probation for the following year. If you do not meet the requirements the next semester, you will be suspended from receiving financial aid until you re-establish eligibility. You have the right to appeal the suspension, however, you should do so only if extenuating circumstances have occurred. The satisfactory progress requirements for financial aid may be different from the academic requirements set by the college.

You may view the St. Philip's College  “Academic Progress Policy” here .

HAZELWOOD ACT
The Hazelwood Act (Article 2654 B-I) aids ex-veterans who have exhausted all of their VA educational benefits. Information about the Hazelwood Act can be obtained through the St. Philip's College Veteran Affairs page here.