Financial Planning

2011-2012

The Office of Student Financial Planning coordinates all student aid programs for graduate students at Georgetown College. Please review the information below and contact us if you have questions.

Step One: File a FAFSA (required for all programs except Traineeship)

• The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is a form used by the U.S. Department of Education to determine a student’s eligibility for aid. It collects a variety of information about your/your family’s finances.
• File the FAFSA online at fafsa.ed.gov. To have your FAFSA results sent to Georgetown College, enter our school code (001964) in the school section.
• The FAFSA must be filed annually and can be filed after January 1 each year.
• In order to get your funds as soon as possible and avoid service charges on your student account, we strongly recommend that you file the FAFSA at least a month prior to enrolling.
• The FAFSA you file will be valid for the Fall, Spring, and Summer terms.
• The form must be filed to determine your eligibility for the following programs: the Stafford Loan, the Federal TEACH Grant, and the Kentucky Teacher Scholarship.

Step Two: Determine the programs for which you want and are eligible to apply.

Those programs include:

1. Federal TEACH Grant
   • The TEACH Grant (Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grants) is issued by the U.S. Department of Education.
   • A degree seeking graduate student can receive the maximum of $2,000 per semester, $8,000 maximum total.
   • You must file a FAFSA as your initial application step, although the grant is not need-based.
   • Students are required to teach in high need subjects at schools serving low income students. If all requirements are not met, this grant will become a loan. Read more about the program at studentaid.ed.gov.
   • Potential recipients must complete these steps:
     1. File a FAFSA at fafsa.ed.gov.
     2. Contact Student Financial Planning so that we can create a TEACH Grant record with the Department of Education at least 3-4 weeks prior to the beginning of the term.
     3. Complete an Entrance Interview and an Agreement to Serve at atteach.ats.gov.
   • The Agreement to Service and Entrance Counseling must be completed once per award year.
2. Kentucky Special Education Traineeship
   • This program provides federal professional development funds to assist certified regular education teachers in obtaining certification in an area of special education. Also, the program can assist special educators in obtaining special education certification in an area not previously completed.
   • To view program requirements and to download an application (which you must mail back), go to traineeship.nku.edu.
   • Communications about this program and funding decisions come directly from the Northern Kentucky University Traineeship office.
   • The FAFSA is not required to determine your eligibility for this program.
   • The Traineeship program pays $300 per credit hour for approved courses.
   • Students must apply every semester: contact the program office for deadlines.
   • For questions about this program, e-mail traineeship@nku.edu.
3. Federal Direct Loans
   • Federal Direct loans are fixed-rate student loans (6.8%) for graduate students attending a college or university at least half time.
   • Students must enroll for at least 3 hours per term to receive a Direct Loan.
   • Students can receive a loan totaling up to the cost of education. The cost of education includes both direct costs (your tuition and fees) and indirect costs (general allowances for housing, meals, etc.).
   • Origination fees will be deducted by your lender for any amount that you borrow.
   • The annual limit is $20,500 ($8,500 subsidized/$12,000 unsubsidized) and the lifetime limit is $138,500. Up to $65,000 may be subsidized.
   • Subsidized Direct Loans are awarded to graduate students based on financial need. You will not be charged interest before you begin repayment or during periods of deferment. The federal government “subsidizes” the interest during these times.
   • Unsubsidized Direct Loans are not awarded based on financial need. Any eligible graduate student can borrow an Unsubsidized Direct Loan. You will be charged interest from the time the loan is disbursed, to the time the loan is repaid in full.
   • Payments are generally made over the course of ten years.
   • To apply for a Stafford Loan:
     1. File the FAFSA for the relevant academic year at least 3-4 weeks prior to the semester beginning.
     2. Register for your coursework. View the Master Calendar for dates.
     3. Contact Student Financial Planning to let us know about your intent to borrow funds.
     4. For new borrowers only: Go to www.studentloans.gov and click on “Entrance Counseling” and proceed through the Entrance  Interview steps. Then, click on “Sign Master Promissory Note” and follow through all steps.
     5. After GC Student Financial Planning has all of your information on file, we will mail you an award letter. You can sign the paper version and return to us or sign electronically at my.georgetowncollege.edu.

Other Information

Best in Class

Best in Class, a loan forgiveness program sponsored by The Student Loan People, was eliminated in May 2008. However, there are federal loan forgiveness programs. For more information, go to http://studentaid.ed.gov/ LoanForgivenessForTeachers

Other Programs

Students are required to inform Georgetown College of other aid such as school district reimbursements they are receiving. We are required to consider these payments when determining how much aid a student can receive.

Contact Information

For additional information, please contact:

Lynn Mayo, Office Student Financial Planning
Georgetown College
400 East College Street
Georgetown, KY 40324
Phone and Fax: (502) 863-8027
E-Mail: Lynn_Mayo@georgetowncollege.edu
Office Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:00 to 5:00 (Eastern Time)
Office Location: Patterson House, 2nd Floor

Expenses

As a private, faith-based institution, Georgetown College receives no support through taxes or public revenue. In fact, tuition covers only a part of the actual expenses involved. Support from the endowment, gifts and grants from alumni, friends of the college, and organizations total over 35% of the actual cost of each student’s education, helping to keep direct costs as low as possible. The College administers an extensive financial assistance program; no prospective student should overlook Georgetown College for purely financial reasons until investigating fully the amount and types of aid available

Basic Charges

For the 2011-2012 academic year, the following basic student charges apply:

Service Charges

The following service charges apply:

Billing

It is the responsibility of each student to access their bill at the website https://my.georgetowncollege.edu/ics. The Business Office sends all billing information by email to each student’s college email address. No paper bills are sent. If the student makes changes to their registration and the billed amount changes, a corrected e-bill may not be received prior to the due date. If the student registers late, a bill may not be received prior to the due date. If the student has not received a bill prior to the payment deadline, it is the students’ responsibility to contact the Business Office to arrange payment. Student billing information is always available on my.georgetowncollege.edu.

Current student accounts

Registration is complete upon receipt of either payment in full to the Business Office or partial payment and completion of the Deferred Payment Agreement. The Deferred Payment form is on the downloadable form section of the “finances” tab on my.georgetowncollege.edu. The student should print the form, sign it, and mail it to Georgetown College Student Accounts, 400 East College Street, Georgetown, KY 40324. Students need to complete financial clearance before class begins. To receive financial clearance for classes, students must confirm registration by paying charges in full or by making arrangements to pay the bill in installments. Both methods require the student to contact the Business Office. If registration is not confirmed by the student by Friday of the second week of class, registration will be cancelled and the student will be billed drop charges plus tuition and fees subject to the refund schedule. All student accounts should be paid in full by the end of each semester.

Deferred Payment

There is a Deferred Payment Agreement plan available by semester for graduate school  tuition. Initial billing will be e-mailed to students approximately three weeks before the start of class. Registration can be viewed on my.georgetowncollege.edu. Deferred payment  forms are available for downloading, and electronic payment can be made on my.georgetowncollege.edu.

Payments of at least 1/4 of the total charges for the semester will be made over
four consecutive months for fall and spring. For summer sessions, payments of at least 1/3 of the total charges for the summer will be made over three consecutive months. Signed Deferred Payment Agreement Form and payment is due by the first day of class.

Past Due Student Accounts

Any student with a past due account will not be permitted to register, nor will that student be able to receive a transcript or a diploma until the account is paid in full. At the end of each semester, the student with an open account assumes collection and legal fees, if any.

Services Fees

A service charge of 1% will be charged each month on student accounts.

Drops For Nonpayment/Reinstatement

Students who have not received financial clearance by the deadline will be dropped from all classes. In addition to the $20 drop fees, students will be billed according to the refund schedule. Please refer to the refund schedule on the Business Office website. Click on the link for the semester in which you are enrolled. If a student is dropped for nonpayment and wishes to make the payment to be reinstated in the class, the reinstatement fee will be $50.

Refunds

Reductions of charges billed will be made in the following circumstances:

1. withdrawal by the student due to illness or other reason subject to administrative review and approval (calculated from the date of submission to the Graduate office),
2. suspension or expulsion of the student (calculated from the date of official action),
3. reduction of course load from full-time to part-time (calculated from the date of official receipt by the Graduate office).

Students who withdraw during the first six weeks of classes may be eligible for a partial reduction in billed charges for tuition and fees as determined by the schedule below. The withdrawal process is completed when the student submits the withdrawal card to the Graduate office and signs a request for any applicable refund.

During spring or fall semester, students withdrawing due to reasons subject to administrative review and approval will be billed on a pro-rata basis for tuition and fees as follows:

• Week 1 0%
• Week 2 20%
• Weeks 3 and 4 40%
• Weeks 5 and 6 60%
• After week 6 100%

IMPORTANT NOTE: During summer mini terms, students withdrawing due to reasons subject to administrative review and approval will have tuition charges refunded on a pro-rata basis through 40% of the term. The class days and dates for this refund schedule are determined by the Business Office. The refund period is significantly different for summer. Students are advised to discuss drops or withdrawals with the Business Office and the Office of Financial Planning prior to making a decision.