Office of Financial Aid
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The Office of Financial Aid at Miles College provides a comprehensive array of options to finance your college education. The decision to attend Miles College is important to your academic and professional success. It is the goal of our trained counselors to answer your financial aid questions and explain your aid options.
The Office, in accordance with the Department of Education, offers financial aid in the form of grants, loans, and work study. Grants and scholarships are gift aid, as they do not have to be repaid. Loans, by definition, must be repaid. Paying for college requires planning and preparation, but you can start the process by determining the cost of attendance through the Miles College Net Price Calculator, Financial Aid Forecaster, and Student Loan Advisory.
- Financial Aid Checklist for Students -
- Net Price Calculator -
How to Apply for Aid | How do I Pay for College | Repaying My Loans | Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) | Forms | Veterans Benefit (VA) | Financial Aid Resource Links | Glossary of Terms | Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) | Financial Aid Staff and Contact Information | Dates and Deadlines
How do I Apply for Aid
Applying for Financial Aid at Miles College | A summary of Federal Student Aid | Determining Eligibility for Financial Aid | Completing your Financial Aid | IRS Data Retrieval Tool | Review of Aid | Receiving your Aid | Transfer Students | Viewing Your Award | Requesting Additional Funds |Verification | Verification Forms | Summer School Application | Applying for Work Study |
How do I Pay for College
Five Things you Need to Know About Your Student Loans
· Miles College Scholarship Search
Budgeting and Managing my Finances
Repaying My Loans
How to Manage Your Student Loan
Public Service Loan Forgiveness Programs
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
Forms
- Financial Aid at a Glance
- Alabama Student Grant Program
- Request for Increase
- Dependent Verification Worksheet
- Independent Verification Worksheet
Financial Aid Resource Links
Financial Aid Checklist for New Applicants and Current Students
Financial Aid Scholarship Links
New Borrower Loan Entrance Counseling
Master Promissory Note
Loan Exit Counseling
Previous Federal Loans National Student Loan Database
The Smart Student Guide to Financial Aid
Financial Aid Calendar
A. Determining Eligibility For Financial Aid
To qualify for financial aid programs at Miles College, you must:
i. Have a high school diploma or equivalent
ii. Be a U. S. citizen, national, or permanent resident alien
iii. Be enrolled or accepted for enrollment at least half time in a degree program
iv. Make satisfactory academic progress (SAP) toward a degree
v. Register with the Selective Service Administration, if required to do so
vi. Not be in default on a federal or institutional loan or owe a repayment on a previous
financial aid award received at Miles College or other institution
vii. Have a valid social security number
B. Applying for Financial Aid at Miles College
New Students
- Apply for admissions to Miles College
- Observe the priority date for Miles College Priority date is April 1
- Review Miles College Financial Aid at a Glance
- Review criteria for Federal Student Aid ( Stafford Loans and Pell Grant)
- Review scholarships available from Miles College and other sources
- Determine a one year budget for your education
- Review 7 Easy Steps to Completing the FAFSA
- Determining if you are an Independent or Dependent Student
- View Responsible Borrowing
- Complete the FAFSA Miles College Code is 001028. You must compete the FAFSA each year to receive your award
Current Students
- File Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by April 1
- Complete Preregistration
- Receive Student Aid Report (SAR) from federal loan processor
- Use IRS Data Retrieval Tool to retrieve income tax information or submit Verification Form (IVF) and Federal Income Tax Returns to the Student Financial Aid if needed.
- Check email to receive notification award
Complete and submit promissory notes and entrance loan counseling if needed at https://studentloans.gov/myDirectLoan/index.action - Check the status of your award at the financial aid office or Bear’s Den
- Receive your refund check
C. Completing your Financial Aid
You are now accepted to become a Miles College student, however, you must ensure that all paperwork needed to complete your financial aid application is submitted. It is important that you monitor your email daily and provide immediately the documents requested. Your FAFSA is processed by the Central Processing System (CPS) which provides a printed Student Aid Report (SAR) for you.
- After you submit your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), you will get a Student Aid Report (SAR) that summarizes the information you provided on your FAFSA. You should receive an email for you to proceed to the SAR web page within three to four weeks. If this has not occurred, contact CPS at 1-800-433-3243 to check on your application status.
- It is important that you review your Student Aid Report carefully to ensure that it is correct and complete.
- If you have reviewed your SAR for accuracy and found any mistakes you will need to correct or update your FAFSA
- Visit FAFSAweb link and select “make correction” to correct any mistakes found. Common mistakes include information summary in part one and income figures in part two.
- Based on the information provided, Miles College may request verification of social security number, immigration status, selective services registration, and previous Federal loans borrowed. Please respond immediately to all request made by Miles College.
D. Review of Aid Received
You will receive your award letter notification once your financial aid application is completed. You will receive an email to review and accept your award. Review your award carefully. If you are receiving a loan you must the complete the Promissory Notes and Entrance Counseling at https://studentloans.gov/myDirectLoan/index.action
E. Data Retrieval Tool
Guide to using the DRT Video Instruction
The IRS Data Retrieval Tool allows applicants who have already filed their federal Income tax returns to prefill the answers to some questions on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by transferring data from their federal income tax returns. This can save the family some time in completing the FAFSA. It may also reduce the likelihood that your FAFSA will be selected for verification.
The IRS Data Retrieval Tool has been available since the 2009-10 award years. Millions of students used the IRS Data Retrieval Tool last year. Read more about the tool at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/help/irshlp9.htm
OPTION 2 - IRS Tax Return Transcript
If you/your parents are not eligible to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, or choose not to use it, you/they must instead request a Federal income tax return transcript from the IRS and submit it to our office. If you/your parents filed a joint return and are now separated, divorced, widowed or remarried, you/they must submit Federal income tax return transcripts as well as all W-2 forms. If you/your parents filed an amended tax return, you/they must submit both a Federal income tax return transcript and a signed copy of the amended tax return (1040X) to our office.
Tax transcripts may be requested from the IRS in the following ways:
1.Requesting on-line: www.ofas.uci.edu/TRTSteps
2.Calling (800) 908-9946
3.Mailing an IRS form 4506T-EZ www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4506tez.pdf
4.Visiting your local IRS office: http://www.irs.gov/uac/Contact-Your-Local-IRS-Office-
Tax Extensions:
If you/your parent(s) are unable to submit federal tax information by the deadline because you/they are filing an extension, you must submit to our office a signed copy of IRS form 4868 along with all of your/your parent(s)' W-2 forms. If you/your parent(s) are self-employed and do not have W-2 forms, you/your parents must instead submit a signed statement indicating their 2012 adjusted gross income (AGI).
F. Receiving your Aid
Once you have accepted your award, the Business Office will disburse excess funds in the form of a refund check. Refund checks can be picked up at the Business Office if you reside on campus. The office of financial aid is not responsible for the disbursement of refund checks. If you are living off campus your checks will be mailed to the address provided.
To have your aid from disbursed in a timely manner it is important they you promptly:
- Complete the Master promissory note.
- Register at least half time to meet the minimum hours required
- Complete the entrance counseling for Stafford Loan requirement
G. Transfer Students
The Office of Financial Aid at Miles College must have received valid financial aid transcript data via the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) from all post-secondary institutions you attended. This must be provided whether or not you received financial aid at those institutions.
All Title IV HEA Federal Student Loans are reported to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) and are accessible by guarantee agencies, lenders, and schools determined to be authorized users. To review your financial aid history and to better understand your federal student loan indebtedness, log in to http://www.nslds.ed.gov/nslds_SA/
You will need your name, date of birth, social security number and FAFSA PIN to access your confidential record.
If you have borrowed from one or more of the non-federal private financing programs, more information about those loans can be obtained from your lender or on your credit report at: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp
H. Requesting Additional Funds
If you have an award and wish to request additional funding to cover further expenses, you must submit to the Office of Financial Aid Request for Increase Form. This form must be completed and submitted one week after the school’s published date for start of class each semester or academic session.
In order to qualify for the Off-Campus Budget to cover off-campus housing expenses, you must follow these instructions:
- Make application for on-campus housing through the college’s housing department on or before the housing deadline date.
- Pay the housing reservation fee and/or deposit on or before the deadline date.
- The Request for an Increase Form must be completed and signed off by the Director of Campus Housing.
- Submit the Request for an Increase Form to the Financial Aid office. The final date for submission is one week after the school’s published date for the start of class for each academic semester or academic session. See academic calendar
I. Verification
If your application has been selected for Federal Verification, you will be required to submit a separate Federal Verification Worksheet. Our office will send you this form or it may be downloaded at_________________________. You must respond to the verification request promptly for your application to be complete in a timely manner.
J. Summer School Application
The office of financial Aid begins awarding financial aid when summer registration begins each spring. Once summer registration is opened, students must complete the Summer School Application Form by by April 1 and submit it to the office of financial aid.
FILING INSTRUCTION
1. Students considering attending summer school must enroll for at least six hours to be eligible for summer financial aid. After a student is awarded, if enrollment hours change (a student withdraws from the College or drops an individual class), cost of attendance and financial aid may be adjusted and this may result in a student being billed for financial aid received and/or loss of Work-Study. Only a student who received federal student aid at Miles College during the 2012-2013 school year may use this application to apply for summer aid. All other students must file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid 2012-13 (See 1.2).
2. If you are applying for Federal Student Aid for the first time, you must file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. For the 2012-2013 summer session only the 2012-2013 Free Application for Federal Student aid will be used to secure aid for the 2012-2013 Summer Session.
3. If you did not receive federal aid at Miles College but you did receive federal aid at another college, please contact the Federal Student Aid Processing Center and add the Miles College school code (001028) to your Free Application for Federal Student Aid for the 2012-2013 school year, so that the College can receive your record. If you have received the full amount of your Federal Student Aid (Federal Pell Grant) at another school, you will not be eligible for additional aid for the 2012-13 School year. Ask the Financial Aid staff to assist in determining if you have received full aid for the 2012-13 school year. The College, as well as you (the student), have access to the data via the Federal Student Aid System. The Federal Code for Miles College is 001028. The telephone number for the Federal Student Aid Processing Center is 1-800-433-3243. Also you may use the PIN number assigned to you by the Federal Processing Center to return to your file at the website www.FAFSA.ed.gov and add Miles College to the list of schools you want to receive your Free Application for Federal Student Aid record.
4. You may contact the Financial Aid Office at Miles College by calling (205) 929-1665 if you need assistance
5. All aid for the Summer Session must be processed and applied to your Business Office Account no later than June 15, 2013.
H. Work Study
The Federal Work Study program is a limited funding part time employment to students with financial need. It is administered through the Federal work study program by Miles College. Students can only receive work study if they complete the FAFSA each year. The amount of money award will be evenly distributed between fall and spring semester. Work study cannot be awarded for housing, tuition, fees, meal plan cost, or balances owed.
The amount of work study listed in your award is the maximum amount of funds you can earn under the program and you can only work up to the amount listed in your award. To apply for work study you must:
- Preregister for your classes early
- Complete your FAFSA by April 1 and select yes for work study
- Check your EFC score (expected family contribution). EFC is used by your school to calculate how much financial aid you are eligible to receive. An EFC of less than 200 qualifies you for Work Study, but it is your responsibility to apply for the position to be hired.
- Report to the financial aid office to enquire about work study positions and complete the work study application form. The work study program has limited funding, therefore, it is awarded on a first come first serve basis. Successfully applicants are assigned based on availability, major, and areas of interest.
- Report to your assignment based on agreed schedule.
If you have any questions about Work Study, contact the Office of Financial Aid at 205-929-1665
Repaying My Loans
How to Manage Your Student Loan
Grants and scholarships are gift aid, as they do not have to be repaid. Loans by definition must be repaid. Before you leave Miles College, through graduation or you decided to stop attending, you are required to complete an exit counseling if you are a Federal Direct Loan borrower. This is important for you to understand your responsibilities and right as a borrower. Please log on to http://www.nslds.ed.gov/nslds_SA/ to complete your exit counseling. If you have any questions about your loans after your exit counseling, you can contact Miles College Office of Financial Aid at 205-929-1665
If you have taken out any student loan, when you graduate or leave school, you must complete an exit counseling exam at the Office at Financial Aid in Brown Hall. It is essential that you log into the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS®) to get information about all of the federal student loans received.
If you have selected or assigned a payment plan when you first begin repaying your loan, you can change it at any time by contacting your loan service provider. To learn more about all Federal Student Loan repayment options visit http://studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/understand/plans for complete information. A summary of the repayment option is here.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
Congress created the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF) to encourage individuals to enter and continue to full time in public service jobs. Under this program, borrowers may qualify for forgiveness of the remaining balance due on their eligible federal student loans after they have made 120 payments on those loans under certain repayment plans while employed full time by certain public service employers. Learn more about the PSLF program at http://www.studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/charts/public-service#what-is-the-public
Loan Deferment or Forbearance
A deferment is a period during which repayment of the principal and interest of your loan is temporarily delayed. A deferment or forbearance allows you to temporarily postpone making your federal student loan payments or to temporarily reduce the amount you pay. Log on to http://studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/deferment-forbearance to learn more about deference and forbearance.
Loan Default
Defaulting on a loan is failing to make payments on your student loan on schedule as agree to in the terms of your promissory note. The terms are legally binding, and you are held accountable if you are not making payment or have an arrangement with your lender to reschedule the payments.
Remember student loans cannot be bankrupted and must be repaid. You need to have a clear understanding of your repayment options so that you can be properly manage your repayment. To learn more about managing your student loan log on to http://studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/understand. Loan providers report all delinquencies to the three credit agencies after 90 days (TransUnion, Equifax and Experian).
Consequences of Default
- You can be sued for the entire balance of the loan, and you will be responsible for the interest, the loan, court cost and, attorney fees
- Your wages may be garnished
- Your Federal and State Income Tax will be taken
- Your defaulted loans will appear on your credit history for up to 7 years after the default claim is paid, making it difficult for you to obtain an auto loan, mortgage, rent an apartment and obtain a credit card.
- You will not receive additional federal financial aid until you repay the loan in full or make arrangements to repay what you already owe and make at least six consecutive, on-time, monthly payments. (You will also be ineligible for assistance under most federal benefit programs.)
- You may not be able to get or renew a professional license (teacher, social workers, CPA etc.)
- You may be prohibited from enlisting in the Armed Forces
If you are having trouble making payments on a loan from the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program or the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program, immediately contact your loan servicer, the agency that handles the billing and other services for your loan. Find more about avoiding default management at http://studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/default/avoid
Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy
MEASUREMENT OF SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS
Financial Aid recipients must maintain satisfactory academic progress as one of the criteria for receiving Federal/State Financial Aid. The requirements for making satisfactory progress are:
Quantitative – the amount of course work students are required to complete (67% of attempted hours)
Qualitative – the grade point average students are required to maintain
Hrs. Attempted = Min GPA
0-31 = 1.60
32-63 = 1.80
64-above = 2.00
In addition to the cumulative grade point average requirements indicated above, a full-time or part-time student is expected to have completed 67% of the hours for which he/she has enrolled/attempted. By the end of the second year of enrollment, without regards to the number of hours attempted or earned, the student must have earned the grade point average which is consistent with the graduation requirement of a ―C. All Transfer and Re- Admitted students must meet the minimum grade-point standards as well as complete the percentage of work required in order to be eligible for financial aid.
Length of Time/Time Limit
Students a