Undergraduate Financial Aid Eligibility

Undergraduate Financial Aid

We strongly urge every undergraduate applicant and student to explore and apply for financial aid. To be eligible for financial aid you must be matriculated into a degree-granting program, be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident or eligible non-citizen as defined by the FAFSA, be in compliance with various regulatory requirements of federal and state programs and university policies and procedures including making Satisfactory Academic Progress. In addition, you must be enrolled as least part-time (6 or more credits each semester).

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Renewal of Aid

Renewal is not automatic. Because your aid is need based, you must re-establish your need each year by completing the FAFSA form prior to the April 1 renewal deadline. As a general rule, if family circumstances remain the same, grant dollars remain the same from year to year. The FAFSA must be electronically date stamped by April 1 to be considered on time.

Students can go online each year after October 1 to update their FAFSA information and submit it to the university.

Returning students who initially file the FAFSA will have much of their personal information pre-populated when they file the FAFSA for the upcoming year.
Students who have never filed a FAFSA will need to complete the FAFSA in its entirety.

Financial aid eligibility is contingent upon maintaining satisfactory academic progress, according to the university’s policy. Copies of the policy are available in the university catalog, at qu.edu/finaid or in the financial aid office.

Our office works with all applicants to ensure that they receive the maximum state and federal aid for which they are eligible.

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) federal law prohibits our office from disclosing certain types of information to individuals other than the student.

If you want us to release information to a non-custodial parent or other person who may be acting on your behalf, you may sign an information release form, which is available online or in the financial aid office.
Complete an information release form

For further questions regarding FERPA with regard to your situation, you may edit or remove permissions for individuals at any time.
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Academic Scholarship Policies

Merit scholarships are awarded to incoming students through the admissions office and there are no separate applications to complete for merit scholarship consideration.

Students are notified of their award in their letter of acceptance, and scholarships are renewable for up to four years of undergraduate study (or until the student achieves their bachelor's degree) as specified in the full policy linked below, or as indicated otherwise on the initial scholarship letter. The amount of the scholarship remains the same each year, provided eligibility requirements are met.

Merit scholarships are not available to students who do not receive them in their initial year and the amount of the scholarship awarded will remain the same each year, provided eligibility requirements are met.

Students who drop below full-time, or fail to meet the minimum cumulative grade point average, will be notified by the Office of Financial Aid if their merit scholarship is at risk of non-renewal.

Students who lose their merit scholarship can appeal this decision and may be re-evaluated by the appeal committee to have their merit scholarship reinstated.

Read the full policy

Definition of an Independent Student

Many forms of financial assistance assume that a student is considered a dependent member of the family. An increasing number of students who qualify as independent seek admission to the university. One or more of the following qualifications must be met to apply for funding as an independent student:

The student is 24 years of age or older
Married
A graduate or professional student
Someone with legal dependents other than a spouse
An orphan or ward of the court
A veteran
An emancipated minor, in a court-appointed legal guardianship or an unaccompanied homeless youth.

Change of Circumstance, Enrollment Status or Housing Arrangements

You may request a review of your financial aid if there is a major change in your family’s financial circumstances. The Office of Financial Aid can send you a review request form. You must meet the conditions set forth on this form, and you must document any changes to assist with this reconsideration.

Most financial aid awards are based originally upon the assumption that a student will enroll full time unless he or she has notified us to the contrary. If a student changes his or her academic plan from full time to part time or changes the housing status from on campus or off campus to a commuter student living at home, the Office of Financial Aid must be notified as an aid adjustment may be necessary.

The Office of Financial Aid reserves the privilege of reviewing and possibly revising awards. The applicant should notify the Office of Financial Aid if there is a change in the family’s situation, enrollment status or housing plans.

Standards for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) for Financial Aid Recipients and Applicants

Undergraduate students who wish to maintain eligibility for federal, state and/or institutional aid, including grants, loans, and work-study, must meet the following standards for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). SAP evaluations are completed at the end of the Spring term. Students who do not meet the SAP standards at that point are not eligible for continuation of their aid, without a successful appeal.

Credit and GPA Requirements

To be in Academic Good Standing at Quinnipiac and meeting SAP, undergraduate students must meet both a minimum grade point average and completed credit requirements.

A student fails to meet Academic Good Standing requirements if his or her:

cumulative GPA is below 2.0
semester GPA is below 2.0 in any two consecutive semesters

If a student also fails to satisfactorily complete remedial actions as stipulated in their Improvement Plan after being placed on financial aid probation, they will be considered unsatisfactory for financial aid eligibility purposes.

In addition to the GPA requirements, all students must complete course work over a period no longer than 150% of their program length to maintain the satisfactory academic progress standards of the university. For example, a full-time student enrolled in a four-year degree program must successfully complete an average of 10 credits per semester registered.

A part-time student must complete an average of 6 credits per semester registered. Some individual degree programs have higher GPA and credit requirements for students to maintain program eligibility. Consequently, students should consult the program description in the catalog for the requirements of their individual program.

The Academic Good Standing requirements for transfer students are based on the number of credits accepted for transfer. For example, students who enter Quinnipiac with 20 transfer credits are considered to have completed two semesters and are subject to the requirements of a third-semester student during her/his first semester at Quinnipiac. However, minimum GPA is based only on courses completed at Quinnipiac, as grades do not transfer.

Furthermore, students who are on Academic Probation are considered to not be making Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Students should also know that failure to meet the academic good standing requirements may result in the loss of financial aid and/or scholarship and may affect their eligibility for campus housing. Also, individual programs may have other academic requirements to remain in good standing in the specific program. Students should refer to the program section of the catalog for information regarding individual program requirements. Individual programs or scholarships may have GPA and completed credit requirements that are higher than those listed above.

Quantitative and qualitative measurements are normally taken annually at the end of the spring semester. Students who are on probation as a result of a successful SAP appeal are considered to be making satisfactory academic progress. Any standards, conditions and requirements outlined in a student’s probationary letter will be measured at the end of the probationary term in order to assess continued financial aid eligibility. Students who fail to meet ANY terms and conditions set forth in their probation will lose eligibility for financial aid from that point, forward.

Appeal Process:

A student’s satisfactory academic progress will be determined by reviewing a student’s academic performance and satisfactory progress during the prior academic year. The academic year is defined as running from the beginning of the fall term to the end of the spring term. Non-credit or developmental courses recommended by the student’s academic advisor shall count on a semester-hour equivalent basis determined by the University as part of the semester-hour requirements. Failed courses or audited courses will not be counted toward these requirements.
This policy’s administration involves the Registrar providing the University Director of Financial Aid with an analysis of each student’s progress and performance at the end of each spring term. On the basis of this analysis, the University Director of Financial Aid determines which students have not met the University’s standards and notifies each financial aid applicant who has not made satisfactory academic progress.
Students who fail to meet minimum progress standards will lose eligibility for ALL federal, state, institutional and most private sources of aid. Students with financial aid applications on file for the upcoming year will receive a deficiency letter indicating the loss of aid at the end of May once final grades are posted. Students who are not making satisfactory progress and who have not filed an application for financial aid for the upcoming year will not receive this letter until such forms are filed.
Students whose performance or progress does not meet the required standards may repair the deficiency during the summer. Those who do not complete the required hours or attain the required GPA prior to the fall term will not be eligible for any form of federal, state or institutionally supported financial aid (loan, scholarship, grant, or work study program) until performance and progress is consistent with the standards stated herein.
Students should discuss a corrective action plan with their academic advisor. It is important to note that coursework taken outside Quinnipiac can repair credit deficiencies but will NOT help to restore a GPA deficiency.
Students who have corrected their satisfactory academic progress deficiencies MUST contact the University Director of Financial Aid if they wish to receive financial aid. Reinstatement of aid is not automatic, and a subsequent review of satisfactory academic progress is done only at the request of the student.
A student who wishes to appeal the loss of financial aid eligibility because of sickness or other extenuating circumstances may do so by submitting a written petition using the Appeal Form for Financial Aid/Scholarship Reinstatement.

Appeals should be submitted by completing the Appeal Form for Financial Aid/Scholarship Reinstatement online.

Complete the appeal form

Questions about the form may be directed to the Office of Undergraduate Financial Aid at finaid@qu.edu or 203-582-8750.

Your appeal should include:

A. any mitigating circumstances that may have caused your deficiency
B. documentation to support your circumstances
C. a corrective action plan

Once the Appeals Committee Chair receives your written appeal, (s)he will review the merits of your request. A written response will be sent to you within 10 days of this review outlining the results of your appeal. The Committee Chair will also notify the university Director of Financial Aid of this decision.
Students applying for re-admission to the university whose transcript shows deficiencies in the area of satisfactory academic progress should follow the appeals process listed above in order to be reconsidered for financial aid.
If a student believes there has been an error in assessing their eligibility, they may appeal to the university Director of Financial Aid.

For a complete listing of all academic standards required for financial aid, please consult the Quinnipiac University Catalog.

Rev. 05/22

Changes to a Financial Aid Offer

Quinnipiac reserves the right to change, update or modify a student’s offer if circumstances warrant. We make every attempt to provide the most accurate financial aid commitment to you; however, the following factors often result in a modified financial aid offer:

Inaccurate information reported on the FAFSA
Error in family size or the number of children attending college
Corrections/updates due to verification of information
Change in housing status (i.e., on-campus to living at home with parents)
Change in enrollment status (i.e., full time to part time)
Change in major, satisfactory academic progress deficiencies, or scholarship ineligibility
Large amounts of outside aid received (i.e., Tuition Exchange benefits, outside scholarships)
Funds received after the initial offer (outside scholarships, state grants, athletic aid, etc.)

This list is not meant to be all-inclusive, but rather to highlight some common items that might result in a revised financial aid offer.

Wait Lists

We are unable to guarantee funding for students who file late or whose financial aid file remains incomplete. Under either of these conditions, your financial aid offer may not contain all the funds for which you might have qualified. Federal work-study, Quinnipiac grants, federal and state grant funds are some of the more common programs that are limited in nature and eventually run out. Pell Grants, Federal Direct loans, Federal Direct PLUS loans and private loans are usually available regardless of filing deadlines.

Eligible students who did not receive federal work-study or grant aid because of a missed filing deadline or fund unavailability may call the Office of Undergraduate Financial Aid and request to be placed on a wait list.

Students placed on a work-study wait list are considered in late September after all funds have been reconciled and are considered for funds in wait list order. Students on a grant wait list will be reviewed only if funds become available and will be given preference based on their FAFSA filing date.

Questions?

We‘re here to help provide additional information and answer your questions about the financial aid process.

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Apply for Financial Aid
Eligibility and Policies
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