Eligibility, Policies and Unique Circumstances

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 to update their FAFSA information and submit it to the university. Please note: The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) will open in December 2023; the Department of Education has not yet released the exact date. Applicants are encouraged to file the FAFSA to apply for financial aid as early as possible.

• 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 (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.
Learn more information about proxy access

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

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.

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.

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.

The following policy applies to undergraduate students who are undocumented, which includes those with DACA status (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). Effective Fall 2022, undocumented students may apply for and receive Quinnipiac institutional financial aid. They are eligible for institutional aid using the same need-based eligibility formulas as domestic students. Per federal law, these students are not eligible for any federal student aid.

Política de institucional financias económicas para estudiantes indocumentados

La siguiente política aplica para estudiantes obteniendo su título pregados y son indocumentados, en cuáles incluyen estado DACA, (Consideración de Acción Diferida para los Llegados en la Infancia). Efectivo otoño del año 2022, estudiantes indocumentados pueden aplicar y recibir ayuda económica de la institución de Quinnipiac University. Los estudiantes so elegibles para ayuda institucional usando las mismas bases de necesidad elegibles en las fórmulas como los estudiantes domésticos. De acuerdo al gobierno federal, estudiantes indocumentados no son elegibles por ayuda económica del gobierno federal.

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.