Types of Financial Aid
 

Grants, loans, Federal Work-Study and a limited number of scholarships are available through this office to help defray educational expenses at  Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. Grants do not have to be repaid. Federal Work-Study awards are earned during the period of enrollment. Most loans must be repaid in cash. You must be enrolled at least half time (6 hours) to receive a Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Work- Study,  LEAP Award, Federal Stafford Loan or Federal Parent (PLUS) Loan. Federal Pell Grants are available for less than full time students depending on need. HOPE Scholarships are available for one or more hours of enrollment. All student financial aid will be awarded based on anticipated full time enrollment unless otherwise noted on your Award Letter. The following programs are available at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.   The Federal Pell Grant Federal Pell Grants are generally awarded only to undergraduate students who have not earned a bachelor's or professional degree.  Federal Pell Grants do not have to be repaid and are usually the foundation of financial aid to which other aid may be added. A student's eligibility for the Federal Pell Grant is determined by the U.S. Department of Education using a standard formula established by Congress.  Information provided on the FAFSA is evaluated to produce an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) number.  This number is included on your Student Aid Report (SAR) and will tell you if you qualify. Awards depend on program funding; for the 2004-2005 award year, the maximum award is $4050.  You can receive only one Pell Grant in an award year.  The amount you receive will depend not only on your EFC but also on your cost of attendance, whether you're enrolled full-time or part-time, and whether you attend school for a full academic year.  You may not receive Pell Grant funds from more than one school at a time. At ABAC, Pell Grant funds are credited to student accounts. Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) A Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant is for undergraduates with exceptional financial need--that is, students with the lowest EFCs--and gives priority to students who receive Federal Pell Grants.  An FSEOG does not have to be repaid.  Funding for this program is limited, so not every student who is eligible will receive an FSEOG award. At ABAC, FSEOG awards vary in amount, are typically reserved for the Summer Semester and are credited to student accounts.   Federal Work-Study The Federal Work-Study Program provides jobs for undergraduate and graduate students with financial need, allowing them to earn money to help pay education expenses.  The program encourages community service work and work related to your course of study. At ABAC, participants in the Work-Study Program are paid $5.50 per hour and are paid every two weeks.  Most Work-Study positions are located on-campus; however, some off-campus positions are available.  The number of hours a student may work per week depends on the amount of his or her award.  However, the maximum number of hours a student may work in a given week is 15. At ABAC, FWS earnings are paid directly to the student by the College. HOPE Scholarship Significant changes in the HOPE program will affect students beginning their college career on or after May 1, 2007.  Specific information regarding these changes is available from the Office of Financial Aid and on-line through HOPE changes for 2007. HOPE Scholarship (Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally) is funded by the Georgia Lottery for Education and is available to certain eligible Georgia high school graduates. Others are eligible to receive the HOPE Scholarship as a renewal of their previous HOPE award, or by having a 3.0 cumulative GPA at the 30th, 60th or 90th Attempted Hour benchmark. Full time enrollment is not a requirement.  Grade point eligibility for entering freshmen is based on a final high school core curriculum GPA of 3.0 or better as determined by the high school and reported to the Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC). ABAC students currently receiving HOPE may renew the HOPE Scholarship based on ABAC's certification of their grade point eligibility on their course work attempted and completion of their student financial aid application for 2004-05. Students who have lost HOPE due to not having the required 3.0 GPA may regain it after their 60th or 90th attempted hour if their GPA has reached 3.0. Students who are applying for HOPE as well as other types of student financial aid must complete the 2004-05 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and provide verification information if required. Students who are applying for the HOPE Scholarship only are encouraged to complete the HOPE Alternate Application instead of the FAFSA.  Students who complete the HAA are not eligible to receive federal student assistance (including student and parent loans) until the FAFSA process has been completed. Transfer students who received HOPE elsewhere will be evaluated on the basis of their GPA on all previous course work attempted after high school graduation. HOPE recipients who wish to enroll as transient students at other HOPE eligible institutions are eligible to receive HOPE funds at the transient institution. Contact the OFA and ask to speak with the HOPE Scholarship Coordinator to request the appropriate form to request payment for transient study.   You must complete the application process before the end of Spring Semester 2005 in order to be paid for the 2004-05 award year. Contact the GSFC at 1-800-546-HOPE or access the HOPE Scholarship Web site at http://www.gacollege411.org/finaid/scholarshipsandgrants/hopescholarship/overview.asp for further details. Effective beginning in the 2004-2005 academic year there will be a End-of-Spring (EOS) checkpoint and a Three-Term (TT) checkpoint.  The first EOS checkpoint will be conducted at the end of Spring Semester 2005.  All HOPE Scholarship recipients must have a 3.0 GPA at the end of each Spring term in order to continue their eligibility.  HOPE Scholarship eligibility can be lost at an EOS checkpoint, but cannot be gained or regained at an EOS checkpoint.  HOPE Scholarship eligibility can be lost at an EOS checkpoint, but then regained at a future Attempted Hours checkpoint.  The first TT checkpoint will be conducted at the end of Spring Semester 2005.  This checkpoint only applies to Freshmen (1st tier) HOPE Scholarship recipients who enrolled for less than 12 hours for each of their first three terms in a row.  Freshman HOPE Scholarship recipients who enrolled for less than 12 hours for each of their first three terms, and only these students, must have a 3.0 GPA in order to continue their eligibility.  After the TT checkpoint is applied once to a student, the EOS checkpoint must be applied to that student regardless of the number of hours enrolled each term.  HOPE Scholarship eligibility can be lost at a TT checkpoint, but cannot be gained or regained at the TT checkpoint.  HOPE Scholarship eligibility can be lost at a TT checkpoint, but then regained at a future Attempted Hours checkpoint. Effective Fall Semester 2004, HOPE Scholarship recipients will have a paid-hours limit in addition to an attempted hours limit.  Hours for which students received payment for the Accel, which replaced Post Secondary Options (PSO), program plus HOPE Grant plus HOPE Scholarship are included.  Hours for which HOPE Grant funds were paid will be tracked beginning with Summer term 2003.  Hours for which Accel (PSO) Program funds were paid will be tracked starting with the Fall Semester 2004.  Recipients are eligible for a maximum of 127 semester hours of HOPE Scholarship payment. Effective Summer Semester 2004, HOPE Mandatory Fees are capped.  The amount HOPE will pay for mandatory fees at public institutions is capped at the amount paid at each institution for the 2003-2004 year.  If an institution increases its fee, HOPE will not pay the difference.  The book allowance remains at $150 per semester for full/part time enrollment and $75 per semester for less than part time enrollment. HOPE Grant The HOPE grant is available to eligible certificate seeking students, regardless of high school graduation date or GPA requirements mentioned above.  Students must be a Georgia resident and may apply by completing the FAFSA or the HOPE Alternate Application.  Grant funds will fund only the courses that a student is required to take for the certificate.  Students must meet ABAC's Standards of Academic Progress Policy in order to be eligible. Effective Fall Semester 2004, HOPE Grant recipients will have a paid-hours limit.  The paid hours limit for HOPE Grant eligibility is determined by totaling only the hours for which a student received HOPE Grant payment.  Paid-hours are counted beginning with the Summer term of 2003.  Recipients are eligible for a maximum of 63 semester hours of HOPE Grant payment. Georgia's Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (LEAP) Program The LEAP Program was created to provide educational grant assistance to residents of Georgia who demonstrate substantial financial need to attend eligible postsecondary institutions in Georgia.  Recipients must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents who are also GA residents and must be enrolled at least half-time.  Other requirements apply.   Funding for this program is limited, so not every student who is eligible will receive an LEAP award. At ABAC, LEAP awards are credited to the student's account.  The amount awarded per term varies on a student-by-student basis. Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program Stafford Loans are available to students at ABAC and can be either subsidized or unsubsidized. A subsidized Stafford Loan is awarded on the basis of financial need.  A student is not charged interest on this loan while he or she is enrolled in school at least half time or during authorized periods of deferment.  The federal government "subsidizes" the interest during these periods. An unsubsidized loan is not awarded on the basis of financial need; therefore, the student will be charged interest on the loan from the time it is disbursed until the time it is paid in full.  If you allow the interest to accumulate, it will be capitalized-- that is, the interest will be added to the principal amount of your loan and additional interest will be based upon the higher amount.  Capitalization will increase the amount you have to repay.  ABAC suggests that you pay the interest prior to capitalization. First-year students may borrow up to $2,625 per year; second year students may borrow up to $3,500.  Independent students may borrow an additional amount up to $4,000 per year. The interest rate on Stafford Loans is variable and changes every July 1; however, it will never exceed 8.25 percent.  Lenders are required by law to notify students of changes in the interest rate.  Repayment of the loan usually begins six months after the student is no longer enrolled at least half-time in school.  If needed, students may defer repayment of their loans for a time. Eligibility for Stafford loans is determined upon completion of the FAFSA. At ABAC, Stafford loan funds are credited to the student's account once the funds are delivered to the school. Federal Parent Loan The Federal Direct Parent (PLUS) Loan is an educational loan for parents of dependent undergraduate students enrolled at least half time. Financial need is not a requirement, but good credit is required. Loan eligibility is based on the Cost of Attendance minus other aid received. Federal Parent (PLUS) Loan interest rates are variable. For the year beginning 1 July 2004, the interest rate for Federal Parent (PLUS) Loans is 4.17%. The interest rate is tied to the rate for 91 day Treasury bills plus 3.1%. A loan fee of 3% is deducted from each delivery of loan proceeds. The first payment is due 60 days after the loan is disbursed. Federal Parent (PLUS) Loan funds are credited to the student's account once the funds are delivered electronically to the school. The student financial aid application process (FAFSA) must be completed by ALL students requesting loans, even if the only aid being requested is the Federal Parent (PLUS) Loan. If the parent is denied the PLUS Loan and elects not to use an endorser, the student may be eligible for additional unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan funds, not to exceed the Cost of Attendance. Students may borrow an additional $4,000. Federal Perkins Loan The Federal Perkins Loan eligibility is a low interest loan for students with exceptional financial need.  Interest accrues at 5% per annum during repayment. The loan is processed by  ABAC and we serve as your lender.  The loan is made with government funds with a share contributed by ABAC.  You must repay the loan to ABAC.  Federal Perkins Loans are awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis to students whose files first become complete each year. These loan funds are traditionally awarded for Summer Semester of each year.  Service-Cancelable Stafford Loans Service-Cancelable Stafford Loans are made by the Georgia Student Finance Authority to Georgia residents preparing for professions in which there is a critical shortage in Georgia. You may cancel principal and interest payments by working in an approved Georgia location twelve months for each academic year of assistance. The current approved critical fields at ABAC are: Agricultural Education and Nursing (RN). Students who are in an approved field of study should contact the OFA to indicate their interest in this loan.  Application for these loans may be obtained from the OFA.  Students must have completed the FAFSA for eligibility to be determined.  Funds are extremely limited and awards are made on a first come, first serve basis. ABAC Institutional Scholarships Through the generosity of alumni, friends and supporter of ABAC, each year the ABAC Foundation grants many different scholarships.  Awards are based on various criteria and do not require repayment.  Academic excellence, financial need, and major of study are just a few of the criteria used for selecting recipients.  Scholarships are awarded and administered by various groups, both on ABAC's campus and off.  Further information on ABAC's Institutional Scholarships can be obtained from the ABAC Catalog or at www.abac.edu/scholarships.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009 11:23 AM