How does Sewanee award?

Financial aid funds are always limited. To guarantee fairness and equity in awarding available funds, and to provide funding toward calculated need-based eligibility (as is currently the school’s policy), Sewanee has instituted an aid allocation system which combines three factors:
  1. A student must have need-based aid eligibility, computed on the basis of family financial information submitted on the FAFSA and the Application.
  2. Priority consideration will be given to students whose complete applications are postmarked by March 1. (March 3, 2008 for 2008-2009.)
  3. A student’s academic potential or performance will be considered in the composition and extent of the aid award.
     The University has different award criteria for the current undergraduate population, depending upon when students entered Sewanee. The different criteria, though, contain some common elements:
  1. All students are first considered for grant eligibility. The initial grant (depending on need) is no less than $1,000.
  2. Students with need beyond the initial grant will be considered for work eligibility. Currently, the maximum work award is $1,500 per academic year; as the federal minimum wage changes, this amount could also change in future years.
  3. Students with remaining need beyond the initial grant and work eligibility will be offered a student loan. The maximum annual need-based loan amount any student will be asked to borrow will be $6,500.
  4. A reduction in the maximum annual need-based loan expectation will be made for students who have attained a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.00 at the end of their sophomore and junior years. For students who entered Sewanee beginning with the Advent (Fall) Semester of 2006, the cumulative average needed to attain loan reduction is 3.25. This reduction in the need-based loan expectation is not retroactive, but affects the upcoming academic year’s award, and is contingent upon the student being eligible for a need-based loan in the upcoming year. Parent loan and financing options, and non-need-based student loans (federal or private) are not eligible for loan reduction. Additionally, any student whose initial award contains a reduced need-based loan cannot receive a further reduction.
     Continuing academic eligibility for need-based aid awards will be contingent upon an achieved cumulative grade-point average of at least 1.85 by the end of the freshman year and at least 2.00 by the end of the sophomore and junior years. For administrative purposes in determining the points at which the minimum grade-point averages of 1.85 and 2.00 must be achieved, the end of the freshman year will be defined as the point at which 23 credit hours should have been completed, and the end of the sophomore year as the point at which 63 credit hours should have been completed. Determination of loan expectation for the upcoming academic year will be made at the end of each Easter (Spring) Semester. (This assumes normal two-semester enrollment each academic year; special determination will be made for students not enrolling in this manner.)
     Should fiscal considerations warrant, the University reserves the right to adjust the work and/or loan expectation to more fully utilize its institutional grant and scholarship funds in any academic year.

The Award Notice
Prior to May 1, prospective students with complete applications will receive an Award Notice. This award will indicate the financial assistance for which these students are eligible at that time. This award may be “contingent” because, in order to credit aid to the student’s bill, the prospective student and his/her parents must:
  1. Submit to the Office of Financial Aid signed copies of the parent’s filed 2007 Federal Income Tax Return with all schedules and W-2’s and (if a student return was filed) the student’s filed 2007 Federal Income Tax Return with all schedules and W-2’s (this is to verify the information submitted on the FAFSA and Application) and,
  2. Complete any and all verification materials required by either the federal government or the Office of Financial Aid. (Completion of verification materials must take place within the time frame specified on the materials.)
The University has the right to request that copies of Federal tax returns be submitted directly to Sewanee from the IRS. Additionally, when payments are made to tax filers via the Form 1099 process, copies of Forms 1099 may be requested.
     Aid cannot be credited to bills until (a) Sewanee is notified of its federal allocation under the applicable aid programs and (b) the tax return submission and/or verification process is completed. (Families who file an extension of their tax return filing should expect to have their aid credits delayed or reduced because of this.) Additionally, prospective students must submit their reservation deposit before aid will be credited. As noted previously, continuing students begin receiving Award Notices after grades are issued for the Easter Semester.

     The Award Notice is for your information, and need not be returned to the Office of Financial Aid unless you decline any part of your total award. You may accept all or part of the financial aid award package, keeping in mind that choosing to reduce any work award can result in a reduction of your need-based scholarship.

    While the amounts shown on an Award Notice are usually fixed, the award amounts are subject to revision due to changes in Pell Grant eligibility, receipt of additional funds, changes in family circumstances, changes in the number of family members in college, federal reductions in prior appropriations, etc.


Terms of the Award
The acceptance of financial assistance carries with it certain conditions and expectations:
 
A. The offer of aid assumes truthful and correct information. If an individual deliberately falsifies information, that individual will be denied all aid and is subject to potential legal consequences.
B. Should you receive any other assistance not awarded by the Office of Financial Aid, whether it be from private, state, or federal sources, you must inform the Office of Financial Aid. Such assistance is considered an additional resource and will result in the adjustment of your aid award.
C. If your aid award is based upon the assumption that other dependent siblings will be attending college during the award year, this assumption will be verified through the sibling's home institution. Should other dependent siblings not enroll as planned or as defined by federal regulations, or not meet the conditions to be considered a dependent sibling, your award will be revised accordingly.
D. To receive aid you must agree to enroll as at least a half-time, degree-seeking student during each semester covered by the aid award.
E. If you are a male student who has reached eighteen (18) years of age, you must have registered with the Selective Service or provide proof of why you are not required to be registered.
F. You must use all funds received solely for the purpose of meeting your educational expenses.
G. You must not be in default on a federal student loan, or owe any refund on a previously-received federal student grant.
H. You must make satisfactory progress toward attaining a degree. (A further description is contained under the “Satisfactory Academic Progress” section of this Guide.)


How Do I Actually Receive My Aid? 
With the exception of Federal Work-Study and Work Scholarships, aid at Sewanee is received through a voucher system; that is, aid is credited to the student’s account by the Office of the Treasurer to help offset the charges for tuition, fees, room and board. Should the aid amount credited exceed these charges, a student may request the Office of the Treasurer to issue him or her a check in the amount of the credit balance in the account.
      Federal Work-Study and Work Scholarship earnings are paid directly to the student in the form of a monthly check based upon actual hours worked, and are to be used to meet ongoing student costs, such as travel costs and day-to-day living expenses.
      Even if a student’s aid covers his/her entire charges for tuition, fees, room and board, the student and his/her family should plan to have funds available from the family to pay for books and other indirect costs when school begins (as earnings from work will not be available until later in the semester).