To apply for federal student aid and state grants, students must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) each year. Students may need to complete a renewal FAFSA for future payment periods that were not covered by the original application. To remain eligible for federal and state student aid, students must maintain satisfactory academic progress.
Students receiving federal student aid should review the Satisfactory Academic Progress policies.
Many students who apply for financial aid may be required to complete a verification process to confirm FAFSA information. If your file is verified, you will need to provide additional documentation. The Financial Aid Office will notify you in writing which documents and information you need to provide. You must complete all documentation prior to receiving any disbursements. The Financial Aid Office might be able to make retroactive disbursements for payment periods already completed in some cases, but this is not guaranteed. You are required to submit a valid ISIR while you are in school and must complete verification within 90 days of leaving school or September 1 of the following award year, whichever comes first. If you do not complete verification, you forfeit financial aid for the award year.
Once the Financial Aid Office has received all required paperwork to determine eligibility, they will give you an Award Notification, which will show how much you are eligible to receive. It will also tell you the period of time which each disbursement will cover, also known as a payment period. The payment period is an estimate of how long it will take you to complete the clock hours that each disbursement covers. Please note that you must complete all required seat hours and coursework associated with the hours for each payment period before you move on to the next payment period. If you do not complete all the clock hours in the payment period, you may have to repay a portion of your financial aid.
You can make corrections to your FAFSA at fafsa.gov. If you update your FAFSA, please be aware that this may change your financial aid eligibility. The Financial Aid Office will notify you in writing within 30 days if your award amounts change.
All disbursements and refunds are made at the cashier’s office. Most disbursements are applied to your student account within the first two weeks of each payment period. Any school costs related to the payment period will be deducted from the financial aid disbursement. If you have a remaining credit balance once all school costs have been deducted, the cashier will provide you with a refund check for the credit balance within 14 days after the disbursement was applied to your account. The cashier will notify you when the refund check is available. Please keep your contact information (mailing address, email, and phone number) current.
Confirmed financial aid applicants may qualify for tuition and book deferrals, and must be deferred prior to the financial aid credit refund being made to the student. This allows students who have not received their Pell disbursements to purchase required books from the campus bookstore within seven days of their payment period beginning. Students are encouraged to check with their instructor for a complete and current list of required books and supplies. Many textbooks and supplies are provided in the classroom. While most books are available in the campus bookstore, many students like to shop around for the best price on textbooks. Books may often be purchased for less money from another retailer.
Please note that Francis Tuttle no longer participates in the student loan program. Because we have kept tuition costs low and many students receive other types of financial aid, most students do not need to borrow loans to cover their direct school expenses. If you borrowed student loans in the past, please review the terms of your loan and information on loan counseling. It is very important that you repay your student loans. If you stop making payments and don’t get a deferment or forbearance, loans could go into default, which has serious consequences. More information on loan repayments, deferments, forbearance, and default.