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I. Applying for Financial Aid
Students enrolled in the Adult Student Accelerated Programs (ASAP)
may be eligible to receive federal and state financial aid. To
be considered for these programs, a student must complete the
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for each year
they wish to receive financial aid. The FAFSA is available in
the Financial Aid Office and at
www.fafsa.ed.gov and needs to
be completed after January 1 for each year for the upcoming school
year beginning in August. To receive priority consideration for
federal financial aid, your FAFSA must be on file with the federal
processor by March 1. To be considered for the state grant program,
your FAFSA must reach the federal processor by July 1.
II. Awarding and Disbursing Financial Aid
If you are a student new to Mount Mercy College, please inform
the Financial Aid Office of your interest in receiving financial
aid once you have registered for classes. In general, initial
disbursements of financial aid are made at the beginning of Blocks
1, 4, 5 and 8.
III. Block Schedule and Financial Aid
To be eligible for loan assistance, you are required to be at
least a half-time student for each semester you receive loan funds
and you must be half-time to continue deferments on most student
loans. Half-time is defined as taking at least six credit hours
per semester/term/session. The following chart illustrates how
each block equates to a semester:
- Blocks
1, 2, & 3 = Fall Semester
- Block
4 = Winter Term
- Blocks
5,6, & 7 = Spring Semester
- Blocks
8 &9 = Summer Session
As
an example, you must be enrolled in six credit hours during Blocks
1, 2 and 3 combined to be eligible for a loan during these blocks.
This could mean taking a three credit course in Block 1 and another
three credit course in either Blocks 2 or 3 to satisfy the six
credit hour requirement.
IV.
Financial Aid for Block 4 (Winter Term)
For financial aid purposes only, Block 4 is considered part of
the spring semester when determining loan eligibility. Please
contact the Financial Aid Office if you have questions regarding
Block 4.
V. Summer Financial Aid
Summer session is considered the end of the academic year at Mount
Mercy College. If you are interested in financial aid for the
summer blocks, completion of the FAFSA form for the current school
year is required.
During the
summer session, only federal financial aid is available. Because
summer session is at the end of the academic year, many students
have exhausted their annual eligibility in the federal loan and
Pell Grant programs during the previous blocks. Many students
utilize private loan programs for summer funding. Information
on theses programs is available in the Financial Aid Office.
VI.
Deleting Classes
When you are awarded financial aid, you are normally awarded aid
for more than one block at a time. If you delete a class form
your schedule before the class has begun it will more than likely
change your financial aid. Be aware that dropping from six or
more credit hours to less than six credit hours during Blocks
1, 2 and 3 or Blocks 4, 5, 6 and 7 will cause you to be ineligible
to receive federal loan proceeds because you would be registered
less than half-time.
For example,
if you are registered for three credits in Block 1 and three credits
in Block 3, you may be eligible to have a student loan in your
financial aid. The entire loan for these two blocks would be disbursed
during Block 1. If you decide to delete Block 3 from your schedule
prior to the beginning of the class starting, you would be ineligible
to receive the entire loan because you are not a half-time student.
VII. Classes Overlapping Blocks
Students who register for classes that last for more than one
block need to keep in mind that the credit hours earned for the
class apply to the block in which the class started. For example,
if you are enrolled in a class the begins in Block 4 and ends
in Block 5, the credits you earn apply only to Block 4 for financial
aid purposes.
VIII. Employer Reimbursement
Any students receiving financial aid and employer reimbursement
must submit documents to Financial Aid Office detailing the amount
of reimbursement they are receiving. We are required to consider
this amount when calculating a financial aid package. Students
receiving reimbursement should also notify the Business Office
so arrangements can be made in regards to payment of the monthly
billing.
