Admission

Federal Pell Grant is a form of need-based federal financial aid that typically does not have to be repaid, which makes it highly desirable. It is awarded by the U.S. Department of Education to help eligible low-income students pay for college costs, including tuition, fees, room and board, and other educational expenses.

Federal Supplemental Education Opportunities Grant (FSEOG) program provides need-based grants to help low-income undergraduate students. The students with “exceptional need” (those with the lowest Expected Family Contributions, or EFCs) have priority.

Federal Work Study (FWS) provides part-time jobs for students with financial need, allowing them to earn money to help pay education expenses.

Federal student loan program is the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program. Under this program, the U.S. Department of Education is your lender.

Students may borrow up to the amount of the student’s cost of attendance less other expected financial assistance (not to exceed annual loan limits) Funds received from either of the loan programs are subjected to repayment from the student. Before a loan document is submitted to the USDE, students must be fully aware of the financial responsibilities under these loan programs, the rights that the student has under the individual loan program conditions, and the consequences of failing to meet the repayment obligations.

• Direct Subsidized Loans (Interest earned while in school and during grace period is covered by the USDE)are loans made to eligible undergraduate students who demonstrate financial need to help cover the costs of higher education at a college or career school.
• Direct Unsubsidized Loans (Interest earned while in school and during grace period may be delayed until the repay- ment period and will be added to the loan balance) are loans made to eligible undergraduate, graduate, and profes- sional students, but eligibility is not based on financial need.
• Direct PLUS Loans are loans made to graduate or professional students and parents of dependent undergraduate students to help pay for education expenses not covered by other financial aid. Eligibility is not based on financial need, but a credit check is required. Borrowers who have an adverse credit history must meet additional require- ments to qualify.

Students are encouraged to keep their loan debt as low as possible. These loans are agressively collected by the usde and its contractors. Interest liability on late payments is very expensive. Lack of payment is a very damaging to units history and future borrowing power.

Determining need : the information you report on the fafsa form when you apply for aid, is used in a formula established by u.s. congress that calculated your expected family contribution.

Deadlines: applications need to be submitted at least 30 days before the end of the loan period for which the loan has been requested.

Disbursement: checks are issued to the school and deposited to the student’s tuition account. It is the student’s responsibility to submit all required forms and documentation to the financial aid office before disbursement.

Annual loan limits and based on educational levels within the course of enrollment. Loan levels are specifically designated to the course of study at this institution.

For more specific information on each program please refer to the student guides available at student guide:

Our general eligibility requirements are that you must

• demonstrate financial need.
• be a U.S. citizen or an eligible noncitizen.
• have a valid Social Security number (with the exception of students from the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau);
• Your registration status with Selective Service no longer affects your eligibility to receive federal student aid. For general information about registering, call Selective Service toll-free at 1-888-655-1825 or visit sss.gov.
• be enrolled or accepted for enrollment as a regular student in an eligible degree or certificate program;
• maintain satisfactory academic progress and attendance
• provide consent and approval to have your federal tax information transferred directly into your 2024–25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form, if you’re applying for aid for July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025.
• On the 2024–25 FAFSA form, a contributor refers to anyone (you, your spouse, your biological or adoptive parent, or your parent's spouse) who's required to provide information on the FAFSA form. If a required contributor doesn't provide consent and approval to have their federal tax information transferred into your FAFSA form, you won’t be eligible for federal student aid—even if they manually enter tax information into the FAFSA form.
• sign the certification statement on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) stating that
• you are not in default on a federal student loan and do not owe money on a federal student grant and
• you will use federal student aid only for educational purposes; and
• show you’re qualified to obtain a college or career school education by
• having a high school diploma or a recognized equivalent such as a General Educational Development (GED) certificate;
• completing a high school education in a homeschool setting approved under state law (or—if state law does not require a homeschooled student to obtain a completion credential—completing a high school education in a homeschool setting that qualifies as an exemption from compulsory attendance requirements under state law); or

To apply for Title IV aid, a student must submit a Free Application for Federal Student Financial Aid (FSFA). This is required for all students who wish to receive FSA. Through established formula a student’s need is calculated based on an analysis of household and financial information from the FAFSA.

Financial aid is funding that will help you and your family meet college expenses such as tuition, fees, books, supplies, etc. The basic sources of aid are grants, scholarships and employment. You and your parents (if you are dependent) are still considered the primary source of funding for these costs. Financial aid is intended to fill the gaps where you and your parents might fall short in paying for your education. Follow these three steps to apply for financial aid:

01

Submit the

FAFSA

• All students who wish to be considered for federal and state financial aid must complete a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). The FAFSA or Renewal FAFSA should be completed at www.studentaid.gov as soon as possible after October 1 for the upcoming academic year.
• Students whose FAFSAs are received by the priority filing date are given first consideration for some federal financial aid programs that have limited funds.
• PTSA’s school code for the FAFSA is 041228.
• Retain the printout of your confirmation page after submitting your FAFSA online. This is your proof that you applied. Save to your computer a copy of the FAFSA submitted online or retain a copy of the paper FAFSA or Renewal FAFSA for your file.

02

Watch your email

• Within approximately two weeks after submitting your FAFSA online you should receive a SAR (Student Aid Report) indicating that your FAFSA has been processed and sent to the institutions you designated. Check the SAR for accuracy, and make sure that PTSA is listed as the school you plan to attend.

03

Submit all requested documents

• Upon receipt of your electronic FAFSA data from the federal processing center, we will mail you a letter requesting documents needed to complete your file. SUBMIT all requested documentation promptly. You may be asked to submit copies of tax transcripts or other documentation to complete your financial aid application. Respond promptly to these requests (and any follow-up requests) to assure timely processing of your application. Please check your e-mail often to see if there is any other correspondence from the Financial Aid Office. The Financial Aid Office uses the PRIMARY e-mail address registered with Admissions.
• To stay compliant with federal regulations, the financial aid office must determine if your high school credential is valid. You must also submit all previously attended college transcripts to be a fully admitted student, whether or not you plan on transferring any of the credits to your new degree/diploma at PTSA.
• Once documentation is received by the financial aid office, it takes approximately 2-3 weeks to process. Please plan accordingly.

The Financial Aid office is available to assist students with the application.

Award Notifications: Financial aid award packages are e-mailed to those students whose files are complete by the priority date.

Award conditions and responsibilities: Be sure to read the emails for conditions attached to your award. Every student has to keep attendance and grades.( It should be above GPA 2.0)

Financial aid disbursement: Financial aid is awarded by the Financial Aid Office, but is disbursed by the PTSA Business Office. If you have financial aid in excess of your tuition/fees, a check for the balance will be given to you by a check. Financial Aid awards made for the academic year are usually disbursed in two installments; one each semester, assuming you are registered for the number of hours on which your financial aid award was based.

If you have any questions, please stop by, call at

562-926-1023(Ext. 302)

or e-mail us at

Fsa@ptsa.edu.

Reapplying for Financial Aid You must apply for federal student aid for every school year that you attend. A PELL Grant award is received for one award year (July 1 to June 30 of the following year), and is not automatically renewed for the next award year. Students must re-apply for the PELL Grant and submit a copy of the new SAR or ISIR to the financial aid office for each award year. To reapply, you should submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). If you submitted a FAFSA last year, and you are eligible to complete a Renewal FAFSA, you may choose to have most of the questions pre-filled with the information you provided. Simply updating the information for the new school year on a Renewal FAFSA may be faster. However, the Renewal FAFSA is available solely for your convenience. If you prefer to start fresh with a new FAFSA, you are free to do so. To reapply, click Login on the home page to log in to FAFSA on the Web, and then click FAFSA Renewal

• Please note The amount of Federal Pell Grant funds you may receive over your lifetime is limited by federal law to be the equivalent of six years of Pell Grant funding. Since the maximum amount of Pell Grant funding you can receive each year is equal to 100%, the six-year equivalent is 600%.
• Percent used: To determine how much of the maximum six years (600%) of Pell Grant you have used each year, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) compares the actual amount you received for the award year with your scheduled award amount for that award year. Of course, if you receive the full amount of your scheduled award, you will have used 100%. It’s possible that you might not receive your entire scheduled award for an award year. There are a number of reasons for this, the most common of which are that you are not enrolled for the full year or that you are not enrolled full-time, or both.
• If you did not receive the full amount of your scheduled award, we calculate the percentage of the scheduled award that you did receive. For example, if your scheduled award for an award year is $5,000, but because you were enrolled for only one semester you received only $2,500, you would have received 50% of the scheduled award for that award year. Or if you received only $3,750 for the award year because you were enrolled three-quarter-time and not full-time, you would have received 75% for that year.

Learn More

Federal Title IV Refund Policy

When a student who receives Federal Student Aid funds withdraws from the PTSA prior to completing 60% of a payment period (Fall and Spring Semesters), the student – after the return calculation – may be required to return a portion of the received Aid within 45 days of the student withdrawing. A return is only required of those students who withdraw from the school/who cease to be enrolled. A student who reduced his/her course load is considered a reduction and not a withdrawal. A return calculation is not required for such students. The required calculation determines a student’s earned and unearned Title IV aid based on the percentage of the enrollment period completed by the student. The percentage of the period that the student remained enrolled is derived by dividing the number of days the student attended by the number of days in the enrollment period. If the withdrawal date is after the 60% point in the payment period or period of enrollment, a student is considered to have earned 100% of the Title IV funds he or she was scheduled to receive during the period. For such a student there are no unearned funds. PTSA will still complete a return calculation in order to determine whether the student is eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement. PTSA must determine the student’s withdrawal date. The withdrawal date is defined as: The date the student began the withdrawal process or officially notified PTSA of his/her intent to withdraw; or The last date of attendance at an academically-related activity by a student who does not notify PTSA. Based on the date of the withdrawal, the Financial Aid Office will determine the actual date of the student’s withdrawal and, using the Return of Title IV form provided by the Department of Education, they will calculate the amount, if any, the student must return. The student will then be notified by mail of the amount the Federal Student Financial Aid stated that they must return. In some cases, both the school and the student may be required to return unused or unearned portions of Federal Aid to the Federal Title IV program.

Withdrawal, Refund, & Repayment

Withdrawing or dropping courses can impact your financial aid eligibility.

AID DISBURSED & THEN DROP A CLASS

If you drop a class on or before census date (the 20th day of instruction) and your enrollment status changes as a result, you may be required to repay part or all of the funds received. For example, if you receive a full-time Federal Pell Grant payment (100% of the awarded amount) and you drop to 9 units by the start of the fifth week of the semester, your enrollment status changes from full-time to three-quarter time and you may have to repay 25% of the paid amount. Your enrollment status is “frozen” on census date and you are expected to earn credit for all classes in which you were enrolled. Therefore, if you drop a class after that date, you may jeopardize your future financial aid for failure to meet satisfactory academic progress requirements. However, your enrollment status is not adjusted and you are not required to repay funds received.

AID DISBURSED PART-TIME & LATER INCREASED ENROLLED UNITS

It is possible to receive several disbursements at the beginning of the semester if your enrollment status changes. For example, if you are enrolled in 6 units when initial payment is made, you may receive only 50% of your Federal Pell Grant award.

COMPLETE WITHDRAWAL

If you completely withdrawal from the university or cease attending classes on or before the 60% point in the semester and you received financial aid for the semester, we will determine how much of the financial aid you “earned” based on the number of days you attended classes. You may be required to return part/all of the unearned portion. Student Financial Services will perform a calculation to determine if part of your fees must be refunded. If a refund is made, it will first be applied toward your “unearned” financial aid.

Overpayments and Over-awards

There are times when a student’s award package exceeds the student’s need. There may be circumstances that change a student’s award package after the aid has been awarded that result in an overpayment. For example, a student may receive a scholarship or grant from an outside source or organization, or the student may want to extend his or her work-study employment. In case of overpayments or over-awards the PTSA financial aid office will need to make adjustments to the other Federal Student Financial Aid in the package. Pell Grants are never adjusted to take into account other forms of aid. Therefore, the adjustments will be made to the Stafford Loans and/or Campus-Based programs. Students who owe funds due to overpayment or over-award will be required to make payment of those funds within 30 days of receiving a written notice from the Financial Aid office. Student can send in the overpayment or over-award to the PTSA and the payment will be forwarded to the U.S. Department of Education. If a student is unable to pay their overpayment in full, they can set up a repayment plan with the U.S. Department of Education. Before doing this, they must contact the PTSA Financial Aid Office. They will need to make sure we have referred their situation to the U.S. Department of Education before any repayment plan can be set up. If the student whose overpayment case has been accepted by the Department of Education wishes to establish a repayment schedule, the student should contact

Borrower Services by calling 1-800-621-3115 or write to: U.S. Department of Education

Borrower Services – Default Resolution

P.O. Box 5609

Greenville, Texas 75403

For examples of the Return of Title IV Funds calculations or questions regarding the overpayment policy, please contact the Financial Aid Office.

Financial Aid Director:

Sunny Kim

fsa@ptsa.edutel: 562-926-1023 ext. 302

FAFSA

US Dept of Education

Student Aid

Professional Judgement Policy & Procedures

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) does not provide families with a place to explain special circumstances affecting their ability to pay for the student’s education. To remedy this, Congress, through The Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1992, delegated to school’s financial aid administrators to make professional judgment decisions when there are special or unusual family or student circumstances that may call for adjustments in determining a student’s eligibility for financial aid. Circumstances requiring professional judgment will be analyzed on a case-by-case basis and will be documented. Professional judgment refers to the authority of a school’s financial aid administrator to adjust the data elements on the FAFSA. The Director for Financial Aid may exercise professional judgment and change elements in the federal need analysis to account for circumstances that he/she feels have not been adequately considered in the original FAFSA. The Director for Financial Aid has the final authority in making professional judgment decisions. There is no appeal. By law, neither the school’s president nor the U.S. Department of Education can override the financial aid administrator’s decision. (Higher Education Act of 1965, Sections 479A and 480(d) (7). The FAFSA Simplification ACT distinguishes between different categories of professional judgement by amending section 479A of the HEA.

• Special Circumstances
• Unusual Circumstances

A student may have both a special circumstance and an unusual circumstance. Financial aid administrators (FAAs) may make adjustments that are appropriate to each student’s situation with appropriate documentation.

Circumstances that may warrant a professional judgment decision include, but are not limited to the following:

• Parent’s death or divorce for dependent students; death of or divorce from spouse of independent students.
• Significant loss of income/loss of employment
• Loss of untaxed income/benefits (e.g. disability, child support, or other benefits)
• Excessive medical expenses (not covered by insurance)
• One-time taxable income used for life changing event (e.g. IRA, pension distribution)
• Other special circumstances not listed

Circumstances that are NOT considered extenuating include, but are not limited to:

• Standard living expenses (e.g. utilities, credit card payments, children’s allowances, etc.)
• Mortgage payments
• Car payments
• Credit card or other personal debts
• Vacation expenses
• All other discretionary expenses

Requesting a Professional Judgment Review:

Student should submit the signed Professional Judgement form, along with all supporting documents establishing the special circumstances for which an adjustment is sought, to Financial Aid. After receiving a professional judgment request, the Financial Aid Office will first examine the request to determine whether the requested adjustment, if granted, will impact a student’s financial aid package before going through the formal professional judgment decision process.

Cal Grant Policy

The Cal Grant is a California-specific financial aid allocation that does not need to be paid back. Cal Grant applicants must apply for the FAFSA or CADAA by the deadline and meet all eligibility, financial, and minimum GPA requirements of either program.

Depending on the Cal Grant you receive, the money can be used to pay for tuition, fees, books, supplies, housing, food and even transportation costs to and from classes. You must submit your FAFSA or California Dream Application AND your verified Cal Grant GPA by the March 2.

Eligibility for Cal Grant

• Meet the California residency requirements.
• Meet U.S. Selective Service requirements
• Maintain satisfactory academic progress as defined by the school. (3.0 GPA for Cal Grant A 2.0 GPA for Cal Grant B)
• Be a U.S. citizen, eligible noncitizen or be exempt from nonresident tuition.
• Attend an eligible California college or university.
• Not have completed a prior baccalaureate degree.
• Be enrolled at least half time.
• Not be in default on any federal or state education loan or owe a grant refund.
• Submit a completed FAFSA or CAL ISIR (for DREAM applicants) and a verified Cal Grant GPA by the March 2nd, deadline.
• Have family income and assets below the established ceilings.

Understanding my Cal Grant

Cal Grant Comparison Chart

Cal Grant Application

The deadline to apply is March 2nd.

Procedure

Complete either the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or California Dream Act Application (CADAA)

Submit a GPA to the California Student Aid Commission by March 2nd.

Create a WebGrants Students Account.

Transfer students should complete the G6 Form and submit to the CSAC.

You should receive your notification for renewal by mid-July from the Commission. If you are a renewal Cal Grant student and you have not heard from the Commission by August 1, please contact CSAC.

Payments & Disbursements:

PTSA applies student’s Cal Grant Tuition/Fee awards directly to Tuition/Fee charges on the student billing account based on their disbursement schedules.

If the school determines that a student is not eligible, they have the authority to withdraw the award. Note: To receive a Cal Grant payment, you must be attending at least half-time, provide all necessary documentation to the school, and maintain a Satisfactory Academic Progress as reported by the school. A student who is denied a Cal Grant their first year may be eligible for the Cal Grant in subsequent years but must file a FAFSA and submit a Cal Grant GPA Verification Form by the March 2nd deadline.

Students are required to submit their financial aid applications on an annual basis. Priority considered for financial aid funds administered by the Financial Aid Officer shall be given to students who submit all required documentation by the assigned deadline. Students must also pass verification, if required.

As a Cal Grant recipient, you may receive up to the equivalent of four years of full-time grant payments. The duration of your eligibility will be based on your education level at the time you receive your first Cal Grant payment. Your eligibility will be reduced by each term that you receive payment. PTSA determines education level (EL) at the time of initial payment based on the number of units completed. The EL is based on all accepted transfer units at the institution and established institutional policy.

• Grade 1: 0 – 30 semester units or the equivalent
• Grade 2: 31- 60 semester units or the equivalent
• Grade 3: 61 -93 semester units or the equivalent
• Grade 4: 94 or more semester units or the equivalent

Refunds Policy

When a student who receives Federal Student Aid funds withdraws from the PTSA prior to completing 60% of a payment period (Fall and Spring Semesters), the student – after the return calculation – may be required to return a portion of the received Aid within 45 days of the student withdrawing.

A return is only required of those students who withdraw from the school/who cease to be enrolled. A student who reduced his/her course load is considered a reduction and not a withdrawal. A returncalculation is not required for such students.

The required calculation determines a students earned, and unearned Title IV aid based on the percentage of the enrollment period completed by the student. The percentage of the period that the student remained enrolled is derived by dividing the number of days the student attended by the number of days in the enrollment period. If the withdrawal date is after the 60% point in the payment period or period of enrollment, a student is considered to have earned 100% of the Title IV funds he or she was scheduled to receive during the period. For such a student there are no unearned funds. PTSA will still complete a return calculation in order to determine whether the student is eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement.

PTSA must determine the student’s withdrawal date. The withdrawal date is defined as:

• ulThe date the student began the withdrawal process or officially notified PTSA of his/her intent to withdraw; or
• The last date of attendance at an academically related activity by a student who does not notify PTSA.

Based on the date of the withdrawal, the Financial Aid Office will determine the actual date of the student’s withdrawal and, using the Return of Title IV form provided by the Department of Education, they will calculate the amount, if any, the student must return. The student will then be notified by mail of the amount the Federal Student Financial Aid stated that they must return. In some cases, both the school and the student may be required to return unused or unearned portions of Federal Aid to the Federal Title IV program.

Refunds Policy

The deadline to apply is March 2nd.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

The Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy (“SAP”) is composed of Qualitative Standard and Quantitative Standard.

Qualitative Standard

Students have to maintain a good academic standing. PTSA requires undergraduate students and ELSP students to maintain a 2.0 GPA in all courses attempted at PTSA and a 2.0 cumulative GPA. Graduate students are required to maintain a 2.5 GPA in all courses attempted at PTSA and a 2.5 cumulative GPA. Repeated courses which the student previously passed are not counted toward satisfactory academic progress requirements.

Quantitative Standard

There are two components in quantitative standard;

(a) Acceptable Passing Rate and (b) Unit and Time Limit to complete an education program.

(a) Acceptable Passing Rate: Excluding transfer units, an overall ratio of units earned at PTSA to units attempted is calculated. Withdrawn and incomplete units are attempted with zero units earned. Students must complete 67% of units attempted.

(b) Unit and Time Limit: To complete the program, no more than 150% of the number of units required can be attempted. For determination of satisfactory academic progress, all attempted units at PTSA are counted. For transfer students, only transferred units that apply to the degree program are counted.

SAP for Undergraduate Students

A full-time status of undergraduate students is obtained by completing a minimum of 12 credits per semester or 24 credits per academic year. A full-time undergraduate student is also required to complete the requirements of 128 credits while maintaining a 2.0 GPA in all courses attempted at PTSA and a 2.0 cumulative GPA.

A student on Academic Probation who does not successfully remove himself/herself from Academic Probation at the end of three consecutive semesters of Academic Probation will be recommended for dismissal from the institution.

The maximum period granted for the completion is 6 years, 12 semesters (150% of the published length of four years)

Additional Cal Grant Information:

Website: http://www.csac.ca.gov/

Student Website for Cal Grant Status mygrantinfo.csac.ca.gov/logon.asp or

www.webgrants4students.org

1-888-CA-GRANT