Applying for Aid
- Application Procedures & Instructions
- Financial Aid Checklist
- Federal Stafford Loan Information
- Subsidized verses Unsubsidized Information
1. Application Procedures & Instructions
Academic Year 2003 - 2004
If you wish to be considered for financial assistance, including
a Federal Stafford Loan, for academic year 2003-2004, submit the
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the Bucknell Aid
Application and Verification Worksheet , and copies of 2002 federal
income taxes and W-2 forms for both the student and parent(s) as
indicated on the Financial Aid Checklist. Be sure to adhere to the
priority due date of April 4 listed with each item.
If you anticipate any difficulty in complying with the due dates
as indicated, please contact the Office of Financial Aid as soon
as possible. Financial aid application materials postmarked after
the stipulated due dates will be considered only to the extent that
funds remain available. Bucknell scholarship recipients who do not
file on time may experience a reduction in their scholarship funding.
Likewise, students who do not notify the Office of Financial Aid
of outside scholarships or grants prior to August 1 will have their
Bucknell scholarship reduced on a dollar-for-dollar basis.
Students who do not adhere to financial aid application procedures
and due dates also risk not having their financial aid funds credited
to their student accounts in a timely manner. In addition, financial
aid applicants who do not adhere to published procedures and due
dates will be liable for any late charges added to their student
accounts because of past due balances.
If you have applied on time and your file is complete, you can
expect to receive notification of your aid eligibility before your
first semester bill arrives.
Please remember that you must re-apply each academic year to be
considered for financial assistance from Bucknell, your state, and
the federal government. Also remember that financial aid awarded
directly by the university is typically based on documented financial
need.
In addition, you should note that your financial aid package may
change from year to year in response to changes in the amount of
your federal eligibility and aggregate funding available for financial
aid. However, we anticipate that for academic year 2003-2004, we
will be able to increase Bucknell University scholarships by the
same percentage as the rate of increase that will occur in the university’s
comprehensive fee. This scholarship increment will occur unless
family income and/or assets have increased significantly from academic
year 2002-2003 to academic year 2003-2004. A change in the number
of dependent children in college will not impact your scholarship
eligibility, since this factor was considered when you received
a financial aid package for our first year of attendance at Bucknell.
Please be aware that our projected increase in scholarship funding
for 2003-2004 financial aid packages is not assured for LATE applicants.
Indeed, due to limited funding, it may be necessary to reduce the
Bucknell scholarship component in financial aid packages prepared
for LATE applicants.
If you or your parents have any questions or problems regarding
the procedures and instructions which follow, please feel free to
contact the Office of Financial Aid at 570-577-1331.
2. Financial Aid Checklist
Academic Year 2003-2004
This checklist has been prepared to assist you with the process
of applying for and receiving financial aid. If you have questions
or problems with adhering to the listed deadlines, please contact
the Bucknell University Office of Financial Aid, (570) 577-1331.
The following documents MUST be on file in the Office of Financial
Aid for your application to be complete, enabling us to consider
it.
Renewal Free Application for Federal Student Aid (Renewal FAFSA)
or Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)- Postmarked
or filed electronically by: April 4, 2003
Complete all sections of the 2003-2004 Renewal FAFSA that you should
have received at your home address, being certain that Bucknell
University, Lewisburg, PA, federal code #003238, is listed as a
recipient institution. Mail it in the envelope provided to the federal
government. If you did not receive a Renewal FAFSA, or have misplaced
your copy, feel free to file Free Application for Federal Student
Aid (FAFSA) electronically at FAFSA online (www.fafsa.ed.gov) or
in paper copy, which is available from Bucknell’s Office of Financial
Aid. Please note that you must file either the Renewal FAFSA or
the FAFSA, not both applications. If you filed your FAFSA electronically
for 2002-2003, the federal government should have sent you a Personal
Identification Number (PIN) that will allow you to access your FAFSA
information online and update it electronically.
PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent changes in federal
law about the Federal Stafford Loan, when you complete a 2003-2004
FAFSA, you will be applying for the maximum legal amount of a Federal
Stafford Loan available to a student in your grade level. Click
on the Federal Stafford Loan Information link for additional information
about Federal Stafford Loans.
Bucknell Aid Application and Verification Worksheet- Postmarked
by: April 4, 2003
Complete the 2003-2004 Upper Class Bucknell Aid Application and
Verification Worksheet (PDF file). Complete all sections of the
Bucknell Aid Application, Academic Year 2003-2004, being sure that
you and one of your parents sign Part VII and that you include any
outside scholarships or grants that you anticipate receiving in
Part II.
Please note that Bucknell scholarship recipients must notify the
Office of Financial Aid of outside scholarships or grants they anticipate
receiving no later than August 1, or the amount of the outside funding
will be deducted from the Bucknell University scholarship on a dollar-for-dollar
basis.
Mail the completed Bucknell Aid Application and Verification Worksheet
directly to Bucknell's Office of Financial Aid, Lewisburg, PA 17837.
Copies of 2002 federal income tax returns and W-2, for both the
student and the custodial parent(s)- Postmarked by: April 4, 2003
Send signed copies of 2002 federal income tax returns and W-2 forms
for both the student and the parent(s) with whom s/he resides directly
to Bucknell's Office of Financial Aid. Financial aid applications
will not be able to be considered until these tax returns are received.
If the student and/or parent(s) will not file a 2002 federal income
tax return, please be sure to check the appropriate box on the Bucknell
Aid Application and Verification Worksheet.
It is also NECESSARY to file the following document
with the appropriate agency.
State Grant Application - Postmarked by: Date Varies with State
If you are a legal resident of Pennsylvania or a state that allows
its state grants to be used at a Pennsylvania college, you should
apply for a state scholarship or grant. Most states will automatically
send you a renewal state grant application, if you received such
assistance this year. Important Notice: Because most states adhere
strictly to published due dates for state grant applications, you
should keep a copy of your application, and be able to verify its
mailing date. Deadline dates for states that use the FAFSA as a
state grant application are listed on page 1 of the FAFSA application
booklet.
Pennsylvania's Deadline for filing the FAFSA or Renewal FAFSA as
a state grant application is May 1, 2002; however Bucknell's priority
date for filing the FAFSA is April 4, 2003.
3. Federal Stafford Loan Information
Academic Year 2003-2004
Due to changes in the application process for the Federal Stafford
Loan, it is important that you carefully read the following information
and act accordingly.
For those students who wish to borrow a Federal Stafford Loan,
the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or the Renewal
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (Renewal FAFSA), serves
as the application for the loan program.
Bucknell’s Office of Financial Aid will notify you of your eligibility
for the Federal Stafford Loan in your financial aid notification
packet. If you wish to borrow all or part of the Federal Stafford
Loan for which you are eligible, you must return the neon green
Stafford Loan Instruction Sheet that is included in the financial
aid notification. If you have misplaced this sheet, contact the
Office of Financial Aid at 570-577-1331.
If you do not wish to borrow the Federal Stafford Loan for which
you are eligible, simply do not return the Stafford Loan Instruction
Sheet. No Federal Stafford Loans for returning Bucknell students
will be processed by the Office of Financial Aid without a Stafford
Loan Instruction Sheet.
PLEASE NOTE: Under the present law, there are
two types of Federal Stafford Loans available at Bucknell University:
subsidized and unsubsidized. Please read the explanatory information
listed below.
If you wish to obtain a Federal Stafford Loan, you should file
both the FAFSA and the Bucknell Aid Application and Verification
Worksheet by the priority deadline date of April 4, as listed on
the Financial Aid Checklist.
Upon receipt of the Stafford Loan Instruction Sheet, Bucknell’s
Office of Financial Aid will certify Federal Stafford Loans with
students’ current lenders for those who have previously borrowed
from this program. The office will pre-certify Federal Stafford
Loans with PNC Bank and PHEAA for those students who have never
before borrowed under this program.
Upon Bucknell's loan certification, PHEAA will send new borrowers
a Master Promissory Note (MPN). Students should complete the note,
tearing off the "student copy" to retain for their records,
and returning the remainder to PHEAA in the envelope provided. PHEAA
will disburse loan funds to students at Bucknell when the Master
Promissory Note is returned.
Federal Stafford Loans for students who have filed a FAFSA and
a Bucknell Aid Application and returned their Master Promissory
Note in a timely manner will be disbursed electronically into student
accounts on the first day of classes of each semester, provided
that the Stafford Loan Entrance Counseling requirement has been
fulfilled. If you have borrowed a Stafford Loan in the past, you
have already completed this requirement.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Federal Stafford Loans for students
who submit a FAFSA, but not a Bucknell Aid Application, will not
be processed until after all other students have been packaged.
Therefore, it is important to submit a Bucknell Aid Application
to Bucknell’s Office of Financial Aid in a timely manner, so that
your loan proceeds can be received by Bucknell’s Office of Student
Accounts in time for crediting on the first day of each semester.
4. Subsidized verses Unsubsidized Information
- Subsidized Federal Stafford Loan
- Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan
Subsidized Federal Stafford Loan:
A Subsidized Federal Stafford Loan is awarded on the basis of financial
need as determined by information submitted on the Free Application
for Federal Student Aid. The federal government pays the interest
on Subsidized Stafford Loans, in other words, "subsidizes"
them, as long as the recipient is a full-time student. Repayment
of the principal usually begins six months after withdrawal from
the university, or upon completion of education, including graduate
study, with up to ten years to repay. Interest during the repayment
period may vary, with a cap of 8.25%.
Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan:
An Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan is not awarded on the basis
of need. Within the legal maximum amounts for each grade level,
Unsubsidized Stafford Loans are available to students who have not
received financial aid in excess of budgeted costs for college education.
While payment on the principal of an Unsubsidized Federal Stafford
Loan is deferred, students will be charged interest on an Unsubsidized
Stafford from the time the loan is disbursed until it is paid in
full. However, during enrollment periods students may choose to
capitalize unsubsidized Stafford loan interest, rather than paying
it. This process means the unpaid interest is added to the total
principal owed. In other ways, the terms of the Unsubsidized Stafford
mirror those of its subsidized version.
Legal Maximum Amounts for Federal Stafford Loans: Currently, the
legal maximum amounts for Federal Stafford Loans, subsidized and
unsubsidized combined, are $3,500 for the second year of college
study, and $5,500 for the third, fourth or fifth year, with an aggregate
loan limit of $23,000 for an entire undergraduate career. Prior
to disbursement, lenders assess origination and insurance fees on
all Federal Stafford Loans. Typically these fees total up to four
percent of the annual amount borrowed, which is deducted before
the loan proceeds are sent to the college. A Stafford Loan for an
entire academic year is disbursed to Bucknell electronically by
the bank in two equal payments, one each semester.
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