Undergraduate - Financial Aid Application Procedure

Students meeting the requirements for an Oglethorpe Scholars Award are considered for such based on their admission application. Students applying for an Oglethorpe Christian Scholarship must complete the appropriate scholarship application, which may be obtained from the Admission Office.

Loans, Grants, and Scholarships
Various educational loan programs are available at Oglethorpe University. Most loan applications are electronically certified by Oglethorpe University to the lender. The lender reserves the right to approve or deny a loan application. If approved, the Promissory Note will be sent to the student and/or parent for the appropriate signatures. The loan proceeds will be disbursed by the lender to Oglethorpe University for credit to the students Business Office account.

Procedure (Please read through the following information carefully)
The application procedures for the Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Stafford Loan, Federal Work-Study Program and the Georgia Tuition Equalization Grant are as follows:

1. Apply and be admitted as a regular degree-seeking student.
    
2. Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) after January 1, but no later than May 1. The Free Application For Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the application used at Oglethorpe to determine a student’s eligibility for federal, state, and institutional need-based aid programs. This includes grants, employment, and loan programs. (Note: Current aid applicants should complete the Federal Renewal Application instead.) Students should keep a copy of the FAFSA before submitting it to the federal processor. The original FAFSA may be filed electronically at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov or mailed to the processor using the paper form. Oglethorpe’s Federal Code is 001586.
   
   Families of first year students may be interested in filing the 2003-2004 Alternate FAFSA if only applying for merit-based funds.  This form can be found on the Financial Aid Forms page
    
3. Students have several options for sending their application to the federal aid processor:
    
   1. Transmit your application directly to the federal processor using FAFSA on the Web (fafsa.ed.gov). With a PIN number, students may sign their FAFSA electronically. Parents may also request and use a PIN to eliminate the need for mailing in a signature page (http://pin.ed.gov).
   2. The paper FAFSA may be mailed to the federal processor.
   3. The family may mail an original paper application to Oglethorpe’s Office of Financial Aid, where it will be electronically transmitted to the federal processor on the student’s behalf.

    

4. Once the FAFSA has been received and processed by the federal processor, an Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) will be sent to the Office of Financial Aid.
    
5. Keep copies of all federal income tax returns, etc. as these documents may be required in order to verify the information provided on the FAFSA.
    
6. Complete Oglethorpe’s Financial Aid Application, which is available from Financial Aid.
    
7. New students who wish to be considered for the Federal Work-Study Program must complete the Student Employment Application form from Financial Aid.
    
8. New students, who are legal residents of Georgia and will be attending full-time, are encouraged to apply for the Georgia Tuition Equalization Grant Program by completing the 2003-2004 Georgia Tuition Assistance Grant Application. The application is available from Financial Aid. (Current Georgia Grant recipients do not need to reapply.)
    
9. If eligible for a Federal Stafford Loan or Federal PLUS Loan, a Master Promissory Note (MPN) must be completed. Generally, loans are certified electronically and once guaranteed, a promissory note will be generated. Students are notified to come to the Office of Financial Aid to complete the note, or the note may be mailed to the student for completion. The Master Promissory Note is valid for ten years unless you change schools or your lender. Contact Financial Aid for more information.

The Office of Financial Aid will notify you if any additional information is needed in order to complete the your financial aid file.

All awards are contingent upon the accuracy of the information you have provided; final federal and state regulations; and the allocation of federal and state funding.