Frequently Asked Questions
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How and when are students informed of their financial aid award? If my award does not cover my costs, what options do I have? What do I need to do to keep my awards from year to year? How do I know if I am making Satisfactory Academic Progress(SAP)? What happens if I do not make satisfactory academic progress? Do I have any options once financial assistance/scholarship has been lost? What happens if I withdraw,drop out or dismissed? Where do I begin?The first step toward receiving scholarships and financial aid is to apply for admission to Virginia Wesleyan College. Only admitted students are eligible to receive a financial aid award package. Virginia Wesleyan does not have on specific application deadline; however, many scholarships, grants and other financial aid opportunities require acceptance to the College by a certain date. Note: While accepted students are immediately considered for merit-based scholarships, students must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to be considered for grants, loans and other resources. In addition to completing the FAFSA, if you are a domiciliary resident or permanent duty stationed military in Virginia, you should complete the Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant application (VTAG). The application is available in downloadable format or you can request one from the Financial Aid office. Send the completed application to Virginia Wesleyan by JULY 31. If you have questions regarding domiciliary status, please contact our office. VTAG is automatically renewable each year with continuous full-time enrollment. Virginia Wesleyan also offers merit scholarships in such areas as academic excellence, superior choral abilities, as well as grants for those individuals whose parent is a minister in the Virginia United Methodist Conference. Students who plan to pursue employment in full-time Christian Service can apply for a cancelable loan. For information on any of these non-need based scholarship, grant or cancelable loan opportunities, please contact our Financial Aid or Admissions Office. How and when are students informed of their financial aid award?If you are an admitted student who has filed your FAFSA by the recommended deadline of March 1, you should receive your award offer via mail by April 1. You have until May 1 to confirm your acceptance of the award package and our enrollment offer by signing and returning one copy of your award letter with you initial deposit. Students notified after April 15 have two weeks from the time they receive their award package to accept their offer. If you have not heard from us by this time, and you feel you should have, please call the Financial Aid Office so we can assist you. How do I accept my awards?After you have received your award package, you have until May 1 to confirm your acceptance of the award offer. Students notified after April 15 have two weeks from the time they receive their award package to accept their offer. In order to accept your awards you must sign and return one copy of your award letter. If you wish to decline a portion of your award package, simply write "decline" next to the award you do not wish to accept. If a portion of your package includes a Stafford Loan (subsidized or unsubsidized), you will need to complete a Federal Stafford Master Promissory Note to receive these funds. The Financial Aid Office will include instructions to complete the Master Promissory Note for any student who has been awarded a loan. Please make sure you follow these instructions to avoid delays. Note: Returning students: If you have previously borrowed Stafford Loans while at VWC, another Master Promissory Note may not necessary. Your signed award letter, returned to us, will be your acceptance for a new loan for the new academic year. A disclosure notice will be sent to you indicating the loan amount approved. If you wish to reduce your loan, please e-mail the reduced amount to the Financial Aid Office at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it as soon as possible. If my award does not cover my costs, what options do I have?Each student will receive a bill from the Business Office in July for the fall semester charges and another bill in November for the spring semester charges less any financial aid the student has been awarded and accepted. If a family chooses, they may simply pay any difference remaining by the billing due dates. In addition, each student will be mailed information from the Business Office outlining a payment option which can be used to pay any remaining cost over a ten-month period. This option has no finance charge and can be used in lieu of paying the remaining costs in a lump-sum payment. Another option for paying the remaining cost is a Parent Loan (PLUS). The instructions for completing this application are included in the student's award package. PLUS loans are low-interest loans (currently 8.5%) which can be repaid over a longer period of time (up to ten years with a $50 minimum monthly payment). Still another option is an Alternative Loan for undergraduate students. This type of loan is borrowed by the student with a credit-worthy co-signer. Information is provided in each student's award package to outline lender options. Students may contact the Financial Aid Office for additional information. What do I need to do to keep my awards from year to year?Continuation of federal funding requires completion of the FAFSA each academic year(priority awarding deadline is March 1). Students must continue to show demonstrated need to continue receiving those funds deemed "need-based". VWC scholarships, need-based grants and most federal financial aid require full-time enrollment (12 credit hours) to maintain total aid eligibility. Continuation of state funding requires the student and student's parent, if applicable, to maintain domiciliary residency. In most cases, this means the student and parent must continue to reside and pay taxes to the state of Virginia. Students are required to notify the Financial Aid Office if a change in residency has occurred. In addition, all continuing students must be making Satisfactory Academic Progress(SAP) to be considered for financial assistance. Financial assistance includes Pell Grants, Supplemental Grants, Federal Work-study, Perkins Loans, Stafford Loans, and PLUS Loans. It also includes institutional funds such as VWC Scholarships, need-based grants, Christian Service cancelable loans, etc. How do I know if I am making Satisfactory Academic Progress?Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requires a full-time student to complete a minimum of 20 semester hours in any given academic year (fall, spring, summer) and to maintain an appropriate cumulative grade-point average for his or her grade level. A student classified as a freshman must have a cumulative grade point average of at least 1.6; a student classified as a sophomore must have a cumulative grade point average of 1.8; and students classified as juniors and seniors must maintain a cumulative grade point average of 2.0. Students who are considered part-time (enrolled less than twelve credit hours each semester) are expected to progress at proportionately the same rate as full-time students and will be limited to twelve academic years of eligibility. The satisfactory progress of transfer students is based on the student's class status at the time of enrollment. Total enrollment at all institutions is limited to six years of full-time enrollment. Enrollment at previous institutions will be assessed only on the hours transferred for credit to Virginia Wesleyan College. Note: Academic Standing (academic probation, dismissal, suspension) is determined by the Committee on Academic Standing. This is a separate review that may not affect financial aid eligibility. What happens if I do not make satisfactory academic progress?At the end of the fall and spring semesters, students receiving financial assistance are evaluated to determine whether or not they are making satisfactory progress. Those students who have not made satisfactory progress will be mailed a warning letter which will allow them one semester on probation. During this probationary period, the student will continue to receive financial assistance in the hope that satisfactory academic progress will be achieved by the end of the probationary period. Summer enrollment is encouraged to improve review of academic standing at the end of the fall semester. At the end of the probationary period, students' records will again be checked to determine whether or not satisfactory progress is being achieved. Those students who have not made satisfactory academic progress for a second semester will receive a letter informing them they are no longer eligible for financial assistance. A student may submit appeal of the SAP review. Please click to here to see options for appeal. Warning! As required by federal regulations, students who do not earn credits in a given semester may not be entitled to all of their financial aid. Therefore, financial aid will be re-calculated based on the last documented date of attendance or 50% of the term (whichever is less). Any adjustment to financial aid based on this re-calculation will result in a remaining balance due to Virginia Wesleyan. Students in attendance for at least 60% of the semester may appeal in writing with documentation from the instructor to include last date of attendance and/or verification of an incomplete assignment. Do I have any options once financial assistance/scholarship has been lost?Students who have lost their financial assistance or scholarship because they failed to make satisfactory academic progress or minimum gpa requirement may appeal the decision if they believe there were extenuating circumstances (such as: death of relative; illness or injury of student ; or other special circumstance) which prevented them from making satisfactory progress. Appeals must be made in writing to the Financial Aid Committee in care of the Financial Aid Office. The written request must contain an explanation as to why the student did not meet the minimum standards and reasons why the student believes those standards can be achieved in the future. The Financial Aid Committee will review each appeal received and will notify each student of the decision reached in a timely manner. Students who have lost their financial assistance, and do not have extenuating circumstances, may regain assistance once satisfactory academic progress has been achieved. A student may regain eligibility by fulfilling the grade-point average and credit-hour requirements during fall or spring session, excluding summer, in which the student's enrollment status is consistent with the status at the time of the unsatisfactory SAP review. Once satisfactory academic progress has been achieved, the student will then be eligible to receive funding for the following semester. What happens if I withdraw,drop out or dismissed?The Financial Aid Office is required by federal statute to recalculate federal financial aid eligibility for students who withdraw, drop out, are dismissed, or take a leave of absence prior to completing 60% of a payment period or term. The federal Title IV financial aid programs must be recalculated in these situations. If a student leaves the institution prior to completing 60% of a payment period or term, the financial aid office recalculates eligibility for Title IV funds. Recalculation is based on the percentage of earned aid using the following Federal Return of Title IV funds formula: Percentage of payment period or term completed = the number of days completed up to the withdrawal date divided by the total days in the payment period or term. (Any break of five days or more is not counted as part of the days in the term.) This percentage is also the percentage of earned aid. Funds are returned to the appropriate federal program based on the percentage of unearned aid using the following formula: If a student earned less aid than was disbursed, the institution would be required to return a portion of the funds and the student would be required to return a portion of the funds. Keep in mind that when Title IV funds are returned, the student borrower may owe a debit balance to the institution. If a student earned more aid than was disbursed to him/her, the institution would owe the student a post-withdrawal disbursement which must be paid within 120 days of the student's withdrawal. The institution must return the amount of Title IV funds for which it is responsible no later than 45 days after the date of the determination of the date of the student’s withdrawal. Refunds are allocated in the following order:
Please contact the Financial Aid Office directly if you have any questions or concerns regarding this federal mandate. |
