Financial Aid for Returning Students – Albright College

Financial Aid for Returning Students

Financial aid is available for students who are returning to Albright College for their sophomore, junior or senior years.

Applying for Financial Aid

Students who are returning to Albright and wish to receive financial aid must submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) annually. This is a requirement for all sources of aid, including state, federal and institutional funds. The FAFSA can be found at https://www.studentaid.gov. When applying, you will need both your FSA ID and your parents’ FSA ID. The Albright College Federal school code for your FAFSA is 003229.

*Historically, the FAFSA has been available beginning October 1st each year. However, because of significant changes to the application and the rebuild of the FAFSA processing system, the 2024-25 FAFSA will not be available until sometime in December 2023. Updates on an exact date will be posted here when announced.

The filing deadline for completing the FAFSA is April 1st. Form completion by this deadline allows you to stay in-step with the financial aid processes. If the form is not completed by April 1st, you risk losing state, federal, and/or institutional aid.

Determining Your Status

All students accepted by Albright College as degree-seeking candidates are eligible to apply for financial aid using the FAFSA. Funds provided to Albright College from federal and state sources are awarded to United States citizens and permanent resident aliens. When determining your eligibility for Federal, State and Albright College financial aid, your enrollment status is defined as follows:

Full-Time enrollment status is considered to be three or more courses per semester (Traditional and Accelerated Degree Programs). Full-time status is required for the awarding of all institutional funds.
Half-Time enrollment status (in both the day and evening programs) is considered to be two courses per semester. At least half-time status is required for some grant programs, federal loan programs, and federal work study.
Less than Half-Time enrollment status, or one class each semester, may entitle a student to a modest Federal Pell Grant, but other aid programs are not applicable to this status.

Types of Aid

You will receive a letter with the total amount of your award, and the award amounts from each program. A typical financial aid award includes:

  • Grant/Scholarship/Award – a gift to you that does not have to be repaid
  • Other – funding based on specific requirements
  • Loan(s) – borrowed funds that must be repaid, with interest
  • Employment – on-campus jobs that provide money for educational costs. (Federal work study, college employee)

Grants

Albright College Trustee Grants
Albright College gives Trustee Grants on the basis of financial need. These funds originate from several sources, including funds donated to the college.

Federal Government Grants
Federal Pell Grants and Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants are given by the federal government on the basis of financial need. Both of these programs can change from year to year based off of the family’s financial need. The Federal Supplemental Opportunity Grant is need-based and is given until the Federal fund has been exhausted.

State Grants
Students who are Pennsylvania residents could be eligible for a Pennsylvania State Grant through the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA). Typically, the application for the PA State grant is initiated when a student from Pennsylvania submits a valid FAFSA. PHEAA has a strict filing deadline of May 1 prior to the start of each academic year. Please allow for processing time of two to three business days after you submit your FAFSA for PHEAA to receive it.

It is very important to note that applicants may be contacted by PHEAA or our Financial Aid Office concerning incomplete applications, grants assigned to other schools, or missing documentation. This correspondence will most likely be sent by email. Applicants should address these requests as soon as possible to ensure there are no delays with the funding of their PA State Grants. Additional information and updated grant statuses can be found by visiting www.aessuccess.org or by calling PHEAA at 1-800-692-7392.

Students who are not Pennsylvania residents could be eligible for similar state grant aid programs in their home state. Not all surrounding states allow the student to receive state aid when attending a Pennsylvania institution. For more information about these aid programs, including eligibility requirements and filing deadlines, please contact your high school guidance office or the corresponding state agency that manages the aid programs in your home state.

PA State Grant Change of School Request Form

Children of Fallen Heroes Act
If you believe you qualify for this program, please contact our office directly at 610-921-7515 or finaid@albright.edu

Fostering Independence Tuition Waiver Program
Created by Act 16 of 2019, this program seeks to remove barriers in accessing a postsecondary education for youth who are or have been in foster care. This will allow eligible foster youth to complete their studies, graduate with less debt, and have the opportunity to build a network of support. To see if you qualify please read the following.
FosterEd Student Brochure

How Do I Receive the Waiver?

  1. Complete a current year FAFSA.
  2. Enroll in a PA postsecondary institution approved by the U.S. Department of Education for Title IV funding.
  3. Apply for and be eligible for the Chafee Education and Training Grant (Chafee ETG) Program.
  4. Applicants for the 2023-2024 FosterEd waiver (including consideration for 2024 Summer) should submit the 2023-2024 Chafee ETG Application by May 1, 2024. Mail or fax your completed application to:

PHEAA
PA State Grant and Special Programs
P.O. Box 8157
Harrisburg, PA 17105-8157

Fax: (717) 720-3786

Students who wish to appeal their eligibility determination can do so by emailing FosterEd@pheaa.org.

FosterEd Point of Contact/ Financial Aid Administrator
Danielle Wambaugh
Systems Operations Manager
dwambaugh@albright.edu
610-921-7515

Veterans Benefits Administration
Apply for VA Education Benefits

After you have applied for admission and have been accepted to Albright College, you may obtain your education benefits by following these steps:

  1. Apply for your education benefits from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) at https://www.va.gov/education/eligibility/.
  2. If eligible, provide your Certificate of Eligibility (Or Notice of Basic Eligibility) to the Registrar Office. You may email your certificate to registrar@albright.edu for processing.

State, Federal, or Outside Tuition Grant Assistance

All students receiving grant assistance from other institutions, as well as other states, must notify the Financial Aid Office.  Tuition grants received from other institutions for tuition or from states other than Pennsylvania, will be used to meet any unmet need in the financial aid package.  However, if a need based grant is awarded by Albright before we are informed of the outside tuition grant award eligibility, the need based aid from Albright may be subject to change.  Albright will allow our academic scholarship awards to be used for charges associated with tuition as well as room and board.

Loans

Federal Direct Student Loan
A Master Promissory Note (MPN) and Entrance Counseling must be completed prior to receiving Federal Direct Student Loan funds. You may complete these steps online at www.studentaid.gov.

There are two types of Federal Direct Student Loans:
A Direct Subsidized Loan is awarded on the basis of financial need. You will not be charged any interest before you enter into repayment. The federal government will pay the interest while you are in school at least half time or during periods of deferment.
An Direct Unsubsidized Loan is not awarded on the basis of need. You will be charged interest from the time the loan is disbursed until it is paid in full. If you allow the interest to accumulate, it will be added to the principal amount of your loan and additional interest will be based upon the higher amount.
If you are a dependent student whose parents do not qualify for a Federal PLUS Loan, or you are an independent student, you may qualify for an additional Direct Unsubsidized Loan.

Federal Direct Student Loan Annual Limits

Undergraduate Grade Level Base Loan Amount
Subsidized		 Base Loan Amount
Unsubsidized		 Additional Unsubsidized Eligibility For Independent Students and Dependent Students whose parent is not eligible to borrow a PLUS Loan
1st year $3,500 $2,000 $4,000
2nd year $4,500 $2,000 $4,000
3rd, 4th or 5th year $5,500 $2,000 $5,000

 

Employment

The Federal Work-Study Program is designed to help students earn money during the academic year for books, supplies and other expenses. Students can apply for jobs through the student on-campus job search portal by clicking this link.​ The funding will not be applied directly to the student’s college account to offset costs. Payment will be made directly to the student for hours worked. Find out more by clicking on the Student Employment link on our Human Resources page. You can contact: Emma Alvarez, Student Employment Specialist, by email: ealvarez@albright.edu or telephone: 610-921-7797.

Payment Options

Federal Loans

Federal PLUS Loan
Through this program, parents of dependent undergraduate students may borrow up to the total cost of education, less any financial aid received. Graduate and professional students are also eligible to borrow under this program. Parents of Dependent undergraduate students can apply for the Parent PLUS Loan at www.studentloans.gov with their social security number and FSA ID.

Private Student Loans

Before applying for private student loans, undergraduate and graduate students should have filed an FAFSA. Make sure to maximize your federal and state aid options before applying for additional loans. Borrowers and co-signers should review and compare information about interest rates, fees, loan terms and repayment terms. Interest rates are often determined by the credit history of borrower and/or co-signer. During the application process, selecting options such as in-school deferment and repayment schedule can directly affect interest rates. For specific questions, please contact the lenders directly.

A list of lenders can be found at www.elmselect.com.

**New Jersey residents may be eligible for a NJ Class Loan. More information can be viewed at www.hesaa.org/njclass.

Interest Free Monthly Payment Plans

Please visit https://www.albright.edu/current-students-old/student-accounts/ for more information on payment plan options offered through our Student Accounts Office.

Verification

Verification is the process in which a financial aid office is required to test the accuracy of information reported by parents and students on the FAFSA.  Financial aid applications are randomly selected by the federal FAFSA processor for verification.  As part of the verification process you may be asked to provide any of the following: Federal IRS Tax Transcript, copies of W-2 forms, proof of citizenship, copies of Social Security benefit statements, 1099 forms, corporate earnings statements, or other information dealing with your income or assets.

If your FAFSA is selected for verification, you will be notified by Albright’s Financial Aid Office, via email, to create and/or log in to your Student Forms account. Student Forms is our office’s secure portal used to upload documentation containing sensitive information. Once you are logged in to your Student Forms account, you will see an itemized list of materials needed specific to the verification of your FAFSA.

Awarding Process and Declining Aid

Upper-class awarding for the full academic year begins in June of any given year. Financial aid award letters will be sent to your Albright College student email account. If your file is selected for federal verification, no aid will be processed until verification is complete.

Students have the right to decline any awarded financial aid per academic year. If a student wishes to decline any financial aid, they must email us at finaid@albright.edu. We will make the requested adjustments and send a revised award letter to the Albright College student email account.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy for Title IV Federal Student Assistance (SAP)

Federal regulations (General Provision CRF 668.1) require that Albright College review the academic progress of a student before awarding Federal financial aid to assure the student has met and continues to meet the basic academic progress standards set forth by the College.

The Federal government requires a student receiving Federal aid to complete their degree within 150% of the published length of the academic program. Albright College also expects a full-time student to complete degree requirements within a maximum of 10 semesters and summer school (five years). The traditional academic programs at Albright College are four years in length. The requirement for a bachelor’s degree is 32 units. To graduate within the traditional four years, a student must enroll for a minimum of 4 units per semester. Enrolling in 3 units per semester (minimum for a full-time status) extends graduation one full academic year. NOTE: Most aid programs only offer aid assistance for a total of 8 semesters. Therefore, extending past 8 semesters will make financing of the fifth year difficult.

All students enrolled at Albright College are subject to the academic standards of the college. As a participant in the federal financial aid programs (Title IV), students are also required to make satisfactory academic progress toward their degree using both qualitative and quantitative measures as defined below:

Qualitatively, your progress is defined as academic good standing at the College, or grade attainment of a cumulative GPA of 1.7 after your first year of attempted units, and a cumulative GPA of a 2.0 thereafter. Graduate students must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0.

Quantitatively, you are required to complete 67% progress toward your graduation requirements. The measurement is the relationship between the cumulative units you have attempted to complete and those units you actually completed.

An aid recipient must display progress in both the qualitative and quantitative measures. If either test fails, the student is not making acceptable academic progress for the receipt of financial aid. Students are evaluated for progress at the end of the spring semester after final grades are submitted to Registrar. Students will be notified in June of any given year if they have not met the SAP guidelines for financial aid.

Students not making progress may appeal the results. A financial aid appeal form can be found on the financial aid website. Student must submit their appeal to the Financial Aid Office no later than August 5th for the fall semester and January 6th for the spring semester. If approved, the student will be placed on financial aid probation for a period of one academic year and will be required to establish an approved academic plan designed in coordination with the Albright Student Success Center.

Change of Financial Circumstances/ Financial Aid Appeals

You have the right to appeal your financial aid awards based on circumstances beyond the control of your family. Some examples of valid reasons for an appeal for additional federal, state and institutional grant aid include: significant out-of-pocket medical and dental expenses, catastrophic financial losses associated with a designated natural disaster, death of a parent, change in marital status, and loss of employment.

The college also has some additional funds available to assist students who have exhausted all other financial resources available to fund their education.

Scholarships for sophomores, juniors and seniors  

Because of the generosity of donors, Albright College offers certain scholarships to assist sophomores, juniors and seniors bridge the gap of increasing college costs including tuition and book or supply expenses not covered by financial aid. In addition to these scholarships, there are Advancing Lives Scholarships and the Donald B. and Dorothy F. Stabler Scholarships that students can apply for to receive additional financial assistance. 


Advancing Lives Scholarships 

There are more than 30 Advancing Lives Scholarships that award over $200,000 per year that support sophomores, juniors and seniors meet the rising cost of tuition.   


Donald B. and Dorothy F. Stabler Scholarships 

Since 2010, the Donald B. and Dorothy F. Stabler Foundation has funded more than $2 million to establish an endowed scholarship to help students with financial hardship stay in school. Having strong character, motivation, achievement and the eagerness to obtain a college education are determining factors when granting Donald B. and Dorothy F. Stabler Scholarships to students in need. 

To apply for Advancing Lives and Stable Foundation Scholarships, go to Financial Aid Forms and complete the Special Circumstance/Appeal Form for the current year. Return the form to the Financial Aid Office for further review by an appeals committee.  All students completing appeal requests must be full time students in good academic standing with the college and have filed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).