Financial Aid

GIFT AID

The Federal PELL Grant

Undergraduate students can qualify for between $0 and $4,310 per year. To determine your eligibility, the U.S. Department of Education uses a standard formula, established by Congress, to evaluate the information you report on your application. The formula produces an "Expected Family Contribution" (EFC) number. If your EFC is 4,110 or less, you may receive a Federal PELL Grant.

Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) Grant

Undergraduate, Pennsylvania residents, can qualify for up to $4,000 per year in addition to their PELL Grant eligibility. Your family size, financial resources, enrollment status, and educational costs are all important to determine your eligibility.

ACADEMIC COMPETETIVENESS GRANT

In order to qualify for an ACG grant, the student must be Pell eligible and have financial need. The student must have completed a rigorous secondary school program. The student must be a US citizen. The student must be in their first or second year of the program. First year students may not have been previously enrolled in a program of undergraduate education and they must have completed their high school program after January 1, 2006. All potentially eligible students should have completed the questions on the FAFSA form that asked about their high school coursework. Second year students must have completed their high school program after January 1, 2005 and they must have at least a 3.0 in their first year PSU coursework. Students must be full-time and must make satisfactory academic progress. This grant may only be received for a maximum of 2 years. Award amounts are up to $750 for first year students and up to $1300 for second year students.

NURSING FOUNDATION GRANT

Students must be in the second or third year of the nursing program and they must complete a FAFSA form and have unmet financial need.
Award amount vary up to $2000 each year.

Scholarships

Students are encouraged to seek out and apply for scholarships. Students should check with their local high school guidance office for a list of available resources. Students should seek assistance from local foundations, religious organizations, fraternities or sororities, and town and civic clubs. Include in your search, community organizations such as the Kiwanis, Lion's, Jaycees, 4-H, American Legion, Girl and Boy Scouts, Soroptomists, and BPW Clubs. In addition to any scholarship funds in which the student seeks out on his/her own, the Pottsville Hospital S.O.N. also administers over 20 Scholarship programs each year. A complete list of the Scholarships (including dollar amounts and criteria) is available annually in the Student Handbook.

Employer Tuition Assistance

Many companies, as well as labor unions, have programs to help pay the cost of post-secondary education for employees or members (or their children). Check with your employer.

Veteran's Funding

If you're a Veteran or a dependent of a Veteran, Veterans' Educational Benefits may be available. Check with your local VA Office.

Assistance Agencies

Students with special circumstances may be eligible for additional financial assistance from other governmental programs. Some examples: Office of Vocational Rehabilitation - OVR (for students in need of retraining due to a disability); Single Point of Contact - SPOC (for single mothers looking to better themselves financially); Schuylkill Training Employment Program - STEP (for low income students working to better themselves financially); Trade Adjustment Assistance - TAA (for displaced workers seeking skills to be re-employed).

LOAN AID

Subsidized Federal Stafford Student Loan

The Federal government will pay the interest on this loan while you are in the School and during your grace period. You must have "financial need" to qualify for these interest subsidy benefits. "Need" is your cost of education (tuition, fees, room and board, living and travel expenses), minus your other financial aid (grants, scholarships, other loans), minus your Expected Family Contribution (how much of your family's finances should be available to help pay your educational costs). You can get an annual subsidized Stafford Loan to cover this "need" up to:

• $3,500 (annual loan limit for first year undergraduates)
• $4,500 (annual loan limit for second year undergraduates)
• $5,500 (annual loan limit for third year undergraduates)

Students must begin repaying their Subsidized Stafford Student Loans starting six months from the date the student ceases at least half-time enrollment. The interest rate is fixed at 6.8%. Students can take up to ten years to repay their loan; but, they must make a minimum monthly payment of $50 ($600 annually). Students may be charged a 2% origination fee, and a 1% guaranty fee when they borrow. Deferment and forbearance options are available.

Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Student Loan

The student borrower is responsible for all interest from date of disbursement. The student borrower may make interest payments while in School and during the grace period OR the interest may be capitalized (added to the principal). The interest rate, loan fees, and repayment terms are exactly the same as for the Subsidized Stafford Loans. Annual Unsubsidized Stafford Loan limits are as follows:

For Dependent Students:
• $5,500 minus Subsidized Stafford Eligibility (First Year Student)
• $6,500 minus Subsidized Stafford Eligibility (Second Year Student)
• $7,500 minus Subsidized Stafford Eligibility (Third Year Student)

For Independent Students:
• $3,500 minus Subsidized Stafford plus $6,000 (First Year Student)
• $4,500 minus Subsidized Stafford plus $6,000 (Second Year Student)
• $5,500 minus Subsidized Stafford plus $7,000 (Third Year Student)

The Federal Student Loans have the following declining interest rates:
• 6.8% for loans disbursed 7/1/06-6/30/08
• 6.0% for loans disbursed 7/1/08-6/30/09
• 5.6% for loans disbursed 7/1/09 -6/30/10
• 4.5% for loans disbursed 7/1/10- 6/30/11
• 3.4% for loans disbursed 7/1/11- 6/30/12

The total Federal Student Loan limit for an undergraduate dependent student is $23,000. An undergraduate independent student can receive up to $46,000.

Lenders have the right to deduct up to 4% in loan fees at the time of disbursement. Some lenders are better than others in the benefits that they provide to students. The Office of Financial Aid provides borrowers with a list of recommended lenders. These lenders have established themselves as quality institutions based upon efficiency in the loan serving, responsiveness to questions, quality of servicing, and borrower benefits. The lender that you chose is a very important step in the loan process. Although the financial aid office provides a recommended lender list, borrowers are free to choose any lender participating in the Federal Family Education Loan FFEL program.

The Pottsville Hospital School of Nursing prefers the following lenders:
• PNC Bank.........Lender Code 809921KB
• Citizens Bank....Lender Code 833880KB
• Edamerica........Lender Code 831453KB

Federal PLUS Loan

Federal PLUS Loans are for parents who want to borrow to help pay for their children's education. Federal PLUS Loans enable parents with a good credit history to borrow for each child who is enrolled at least half-time and is a dependent student. The annual loan limit for a PLUS Loan is the child's "Cost of Education" minus any estimated financial aid received. PLUS Loan repayment generally begins within 60 days after the final loan disbursement. There is no "grace period" on this Loan. The interest rate on this Loan is fixed at 8.5%. The lender may collect an insurance premium of up to 3% of the loan principal, and 1% origination fee may also be charged. The insurance premium and origination fee must be deducted proportionately from each disbursement made to your parents.

Pottsville Hospital & Warne Clinic Student Loan

This is a loan program of last resort. A student must exhaust all other grant and loan options and still have unmet need in order to use the PHWC Program. Second and third year students may borrow up to $2,000 per year from the PHWC program. Students begin repaying their PHWC loan six months from the date they either graduate or leave the School. The interest rate on the PHWC program is 5%, and the in-school grace period is interest free. When repayment starts, a borrower will make four payments per year (billed quarterly) for ten years. Deferment and Forbearance options are available.

HOW TO APPLY

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid is the form that determines eligibility for the following financial aid programs:
• Federal Pell Grant
• Academic Competitiveness Grant
• State PHEAA Grant
• Pottsville Hospital School of Nursing Institutional Aid
• Nursing Foundation Grants
• Federal Subsidized and Unsubsidized Student Loan
• Federal PLUS Loan

Students must complete a FAFSA form on-line each year at www.fafsa.ed.gov.

First year/ PSU Schuylkill students should complete the FAFSA form by February 15 and they should list Penn State (School Code: 003329) as the school that they will be attending on the FAFSA form when they apply for their Freshman year financial aid.

Second and Third year students must complete a FAFSA form by May 1. They should list Pottsville Hospital School of Nursing as the School that they will be attending (School Code 011715).

Before beginning the FAFSA form, students should apply for a Federal Student Aid Personal Identification Number (PIN) at www.pin.ed.gov. The PIN will allow a student to sign their FAFSA form electronically and later to access the processed FAFSA form on-line. If a student must provide parental information on their FAFSA form, one parent must also sign the FAFSA form, and therefore, will also need to apply for a PIN number.

Students who wish to apply for a Federal Student Loan can do so simply by answering the question “What types of aid interest you?” on the FAFSA form. If a student answers code 2 or 3 expressing an interest in student loan aid, the FAFSA form will act as the loan application. The student must then take two more steps to complete the loan process:

A first time borrower must complete a financial aid entrance counseling session simply by going to

The School of Nursing will not certify a student loan until the student applicant has completed entrance counseling.

The student must complete and sign a Master Promissory Note MPN on-line before the loan funds can be disbursed to his/her account. To access an MPN on-line, go to

The student will need to use their PIN to sign the MPN. A MPN is valid for a period of ten years unless the student changes lenders or schools. A student that signed a MPN as a first year PSU student will need to sign a new MPN when they become a second year Pottsville Hospital School of Nursing Student.

Parents who wish to get a PLUS loan on behalf of their student, should apply by going to www.aessuccess.org. Scroll down to “Parent PLUS” and click on “Apply Now”

The student will receive a financial aid award letter outlining all aid the student is eligible to receive in the Spring before the academic year the student will attend. First year students will receive their financial aid award letter from Pennsylvania State University. Second and Third year students will receive their financial aid from the Pottsville Hospital School of Nursing.