Ithaca College participates in a wide variety of aid programs designed to meet the needs of most students. These include federal, state, and our own institutional aid programs. Please feel free to contact the office of financial aid by phone at 800-429-4275, by fax at 607-274-1895, or e-mail at finaid@ithaca.edu.
All applicants for admission to Ithaca College and all continuing students are eligible to apply for financial aid in the form of scholarships, grants, work, and loans. Ithaca College institutional aid programs consist of merit, merit within need, and need-based only programs.
· Ithaca College offers a significant number of presidential, dean's, and minority scholarships awarded to students of exceptional academic ability regardless of financial need. These awards are determined at the time a student is accepted for admission to the College.
· Ithaca access grants are awarded to students based on the demonstrated need for financial aid, using a combination of federal and institutional assessments.
· Endowed scholarships and special awards are based on the criteria established by the donor and institutional policy. Primarily awarded to students who have attended the College for at least one semester.
· Ithaca College scholarships are awarded on the basis of merit and/or need and a variety of other criteria such as academic performance or promise, special talents, and other characteristics that Ithaca College deems of value. Consideration for these awards was provided to students who began enrollment prior to the 1995-96 academic year.
All students (incoming and continuing) who wish to be considered for any federal or need-based institutional assistance must submit a free application for federal student aid (FAFSA) to the appropriate agency. Additional applications may be required for state programs. Students should check with their state education department or local high school or college for application information.
The following college codes are used in the completion of certain applications to assure that Ithaca College receives the information. Refer to individual applications for instructions on where to indicate these codes.
FAFSA 002739
Profile 2325
New York State TAP 0330
The priority filing date of the FAFSA for incoming students is February 1 of the year in which financial aid is desired. Students who are applying for admission to the College through the early decision process and who wish to receive advance notification of their eligibility for institutional aid must also submit the Profile application, available from the College Scholarship Service (CSS). To receive the application, applicants must register with and submit a fee to CSS beginning no earlier than late September. Completed application materials must be returned to CSS for processing by November 1. Incoming students applying for admission to the physical therapy program follow the same guidelines for applying for financial aid as early decision applicants.
For continuing students, the priority filing date for the FAFSA is March 1 of the year in which financial aid is desired. In addition, continuing students must file with the financial aid office an Ithaca College continuing student application for aid (CSAA) by March 1.
FAFSA applications are generally available at high schools in mid-November of the year before a student wishes to receive aid. The FAFSA may be filed electronically at www.fafsa.ed.gov or by software downloaded from www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/express.html. Electronic applications are not available until January 1 of the year in which aid is being requested.
Applications of incoming and continuing students who apply after these dates will be reviewed, but cannot be guaranteed full consideration for all aid programs.
It is the student's responsibility to complete any application for aid for which he or she is determined to be eligible, unless the student wishes to decline the aid source being offered.
Aid is awarded for one year - Except for the president's, dean's, Ithaca recognition, Ithaca premier talent scholarship, and minority scholarship awards, which are based on merit, all forms of financial aid - scholarships, grants, jobs, and loans - are committed for the period of one academic year only and must be reapplied for annually.
Aid goes with you if you transfer - Ithaca College need-based scholarships and grants remain with the student regardless of transfer from school to school, as long as he or she continues to demonstrate financial need, maintains full-time status, and meets the College's standards for good standing and satisfactory progress for state and federal programs.
Aid is renewed as long as you're progressing - Ithaca College president's, dean's, and minority scholarship awards are renewed for the student until he or she completes his or her bachelor's degree program as long as he or she maintains full-time status and a cumulative grade point average of 3.00 at the end of each spring semester, and meets the College's standards for good standing and satisfactory progress. A student must complete at least 12 credits per semester to be considered as making satisfactory academic progress for the purpose of the merit-based scholarship program.
Aid stops if you withdraw from the College - A student automatically forfeits financial aid when he or she withdraws, is suspended, or is dismissed from any program at Ithaca College. President's, dean's, minority, and Ithaca recognition scholarships are not renewed if a student withdraws from the College or returns to the College without an approved leave of absence. A student who does not enroll full time or drops to part-time status loses his or her merit-based scholarship award for that semester. Students taking a leave of absence must contact the financial aid office before leaving school. All financial aid must be reapplied for under the usual guidelines for students who wish to return.
Special TAP Standards - There are special New York State standards for students receiving Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) awards set out in the state programs section of this catalog (p. 329). Financial aid recipients must notify the financial aid office of changes to part-time status, internal transfers to other schools, and any changes of major.
Aid is adjusted as need changes - Should a student's financial need increase, his or her financial aid may be increased; should a student's need decrease, need-based financial aid may be decreased. Need-based scholarships and grants are not renewed if a student fails to meet the prescribed deadlines or if funds become unavailable for any reason.
Time limit for aid - Financial aid is usually terminated after eight semesters unless the course of study normally requires additional semesters. Financial aid for transfer students is terminated at the completion of the number of semesters the student's dean designates for degree completion when the student enters the College. Exceptions to these time limitations must receive the approval of the student's academic dean and the financial aid office. A student retains financial aid as long as he or she meets the standards prescribed for satisfactory progress and program pursuit for each specific program from which the student receives funds.
Report all awards - Recipients of financial aid are required to report all financial aid awards received from outside organizations and agencies immediately upon receiving such assistance. The report must be made in writing to the financial aid office. Ithaca College reserves the right to change financial aid awards when students receive additional awards from any source. Award packages normally include estimates of anticipated Pell grant and state scholarship awards. In the event that the actual award is larger than estimated, Ithaca College awards may be reduced. Should actual awards be less than estimated, an increase in Ithaca College awards may be considered, if funds are available.
Academic status decisions, such as academic warning and suspension, are made independently of a student's financial aid status. (See "Academic Standards," p. 353). Thus, standards of eligibility for financial aid may be stricter than standards of eligibility to remain at the institution. Individual schools and departments may have more stringent academic requirements than the minimum standards indicated in the tables above. Therefore students should check their school and department listings for special academic status policies.
Institutional assistance for summer school is very limited. The summer school application deadline is April 1 in the year the student wishes to be considered for aid. Tentative notifications are made by May 1. Some students who are not awarded assistance may be allowed to defer tuition payments until the fall semester.
An Ithaca College summer school aid application is required in addition to filing the FAFSA, and is available in the financial aid office. Physical therapy and occupational therapy students progressing normally within their program are exempt from this process. HEOP and IOP students apply for summer aid directly through the HEOP/IOP office. Consideration for institutional aid is given in the following order: a) students who will graduate at the end of the summer, fall, or spring semester; b) students who must attend summer session as part of the natural sequence of their major; c) all others.
Student Contribution - All students on financial aid are expected to find summer employment while enrolled at Ithaca College and to use a portion of those earnings toward upcoming educational expenses. A minimum self-help contribution of $1,500 from summer earnings is required for institutional need-based aid, regardless of the federally calculated student contribution. HEOP students are exempt from this requirement. Any student who intends to travel or attend summer school must advise the financial aid office in advance and receive a written waiver of the summer employment requirement in order to be exempt from consideration of summer earnings as a portion of available funds.
Aid Allocations - Allocations for financial assistance through employment programs are not guarantees of jobs. This allocation represents the amount a student is eligible to earn once he or she finds a campus job with the assistance of the student employment adviser of the financial aid office. Students may not work at on-campus or federal work-study (FWS) community service positions more than an average of 20 hours per week while classes are in session.
Loans - Federal Perkins loans and federal Stafford student loans are liabilities incurred by the student and must be repaid. Repayment schedules, which include interest, begin six or nine months after graduation or withdrawal from school, depending on the type of loan.
In order to be considered for federal, state, or educational opportunity programs, foreign students must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents; possess a valid alien registration receipt card; have an arrival-departure record (I-94) from the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service showing a status of refugee, asylum granted, indefinite parole, humanitarian parole, or Cuban-Haitian entrant; possess a valid temporary resident card (I-688); or have a conditional permanent resident card (I-151C).
Financial aid for noncitizens is limited to institutional aid sources, including presidential and dean's scholarships, Ithaca access grants, Ithaca leadership scholarships, endowed and special awards, and campus employment.
International students applying for need-based assistance for the first time must complete a foreign student financial aid application and a certification of finances form, available in the admission or financial aid office. Prior aid recipients are required to complete the Ithaca College continuing student application for aid (CSAA).
Financial aid is credited to a student's account in equal amounts for each semester. Under special circumstances, a student may request permission to use financial aid for summer school attendance. It is a student's responsibility to see that bills are paid in full by the due date - August 15 for the fall semester and January 10 for the spring semester. Bills not paid in full by those dates are assessed a $100 late fee. Students expecting to use a Stafford student loan for payment of their bills must demonstrate loan approval to the financial aid office before July 15 for fall semester payments and before November 15 for spring semester payments. Anticipated earnings from a student's employment may not be used as payment on his or her account. All federal (except Stafford loans, Plus loans, and federal work-study), state, and institutional aid (excluding employment programs) is credited to a student's account after the drop/add period of the semester for which the funds are intended, providing the student meets all requirements.
Students applying for financial aid will not be discriminated against on the basis of age, color, creed, disability, handicap, national origin, race, sex, or sexual orientation.
The College recognizes that a student may be receiving several different types of financial aid and that these resources typically do not arrive at the College at the same time. A student may need anticipated aid that exceeds his or her charges to help meet educational expenses such as books and supplies, rent, utilities, and so forth. When a student has met the obligations of filing for financial aid in a timely fashion and has provided all the required documents and forms to receive aid for which he or she is eligible, the College provides an opportunity for a small advance against anticipated financial aid once the semester has begun. This is not a loan, and no interest is charged for this service. Students must complete an Ithaca College advance request form. An application and additional information on eligibility and process are available in the Office of Financial Aid.
