Glossary of Financial Aid Terms
Welcome! This page is designed to help clarify the terms that are used most often in the Office of Financial Aid. You may hear employees mentioning these terms, or you may seem them in writing through letter and email correspondences. Hopefully this page will be a useful tool in helping you manage your financial aid.
Please feel free to contact us about any of the information listed below. Phone: 412-392-3930 or Email: financialaid@pointpark.edu
Terms and Definitions:
Academic Year: The period of time generally extending from late August to the beginning of May; at Point Park University this is equated to two semesters.
Award Letter: An official document issued by a school's financial aid office that lists all of the financial aid awarded to the student. This letter provides details on their analysis of your financial need and the breakdown of your financial aid package according to amount, source and type of aid.
Board Charges: Charges assessed to students each academic semester for meals.
Books and Supplies: A budgeting term that represents the average cost of books and supplies for a typical student for an entire academic year. Does not include unusual costs for special groups of students (e.g. engineering or art majors).
Cost of Attendance (COA) Budget: The total amount it should cost the student to go to school, including tuition and fees, room and board, allowances for books and supplies, transportation, loan fees, and personal and incidental expenses. Schools establish different standard budget amounts for students living on-campus, off-campus, and commuter students at different enrollment levels (full-time, part-time, etc).
Degree/Certificate Seeking Students: Students enrolled in courses for credit and recognized by the institution as seeking a degree, certificate, or other formal award. High school students also enrolled in postsecondary courses for credit are not considered degree/certificate seeking.
Direct Loans: The William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program is the current federal loan program. To learn more about this program please click here to visit our Direct Loan Information Web page.
Disbursement: Disbursement is the release of loan funds to the school for delivery to the borrower. Funds are first credited to the student's account for payment of tuition, fees, room and board and other school charges. Any excess funds are then refunded to the student by check by the Office of Student Accounts. Point Park University will mail your refund; you cannot receive your refund in person.
Expected Family Contribution (EFC): The amount of money that the family is expected to be able to contribute to the student's education, as determined by the Federal Methodology need analysis formula used on the FAFSA. The EFC includes the parent contribution and the student contribution, and depends on the student's dependency status, family size, number of family members in school, taxable and nontaxable income and assets. If you have unusual financial circumstances (such as high medical expenses, loss of employment or death of a parent) that may affect your ability to pay for your education, talk with your financial aid counselor.
Federal Work-Study (FWS): Program providing undergraduate and graduate students with part-time employment during the school year. Eligibility for FWS is based on need. A student must complete a FAFSA to be considered.
Financial Aid: Grants, loans, assistantships, scholarships, fellowships, tuition waivers, tuition discounts, veteran’s benefits, employer aid (tuition reimbursement), and other monies (other than from relatives/friends) provided to students to meet expenses. This includes federal Direct subsidized and unsubsidized loans made directly to students.
Financial Need: The difference between the Cost of Attendance (COA) and the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is the student's financial need, and is used in determining the student's eligibility for need-based financial aid.
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA): Form used to apply for Pell Grants and all other need-based aid. As the name suggests, no fee is charged to file a FAFSA. The Web site for FAFSA is www.fafsa.gov.
Half-Time Enrollment: Most financial aid programs require that the student be enrolled at least half-time to be eligible for aid. Point Park University defines half-time as 6 credits per semester.
Off-Campus Housing: Any housing facility that is occupied by students but is not owned or controlled by the educational institution. Students living with a parent(s) or relative(s) are commuter students, which is a separate designation, and should note their housing status as "With Parent" on the FAFSA.
On-Campus Housing: Any residence halls owned or controlled by an institution within the same reasonably contiguous geographic area and used by the institution in direct support of, or in a manner related to, the institution’s educational purposes.
Other Expenses: The amount of money (estimated by the financial aid office) needed by a student to cover expenses such as laundry, transportation, and entertainment.
Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA): This non-profit agency is responsible for administering the Pennsylvania State Grant as well as several other special programs. PHEAA is the sister company of American Education Services (AES), a loan servicing company. PHEAA’s Web site is www.pheaa.org. They can also be reached at 1-800-233-0557
Private Student Loans: Education loan programs established by private lenders to supplement the student and parent education loan programs available from federal and state governments. These loans are subject to credit checks by the lender. Many students require the assistance of a co-signer in order to be approved for these loans (also referred to as Alternative Student Loans). Click here to find more information about private student loans.
Required Fees: A fixed sum charged to students for items not covered by tuition. This includes university fees, activity fees and any specialized instructional fees required by academic departments.
Room Charges: Charges assessed to students each academic semester for University supported housing.
Scholarships: Grants-in-aid, trainee stipends, tuition and fee waivers, prizes, or other monetary awards given to undergraduate students.
Semester: A calendar system that consists of two sessions called semesters during the academic year with about 15 weeks for each semester of instruction. There may be an additional summer session.
Tuition: The amount of money charged to students for instructional services. Generally, full-time undergraduate students are charged per semester. Graduate students are charged per credit. Exceptions for specialized programs may exist.
Verification: Verification is a review process in which the Office of Financial determines the accuracy of the information provided on the student's financial aid application. The federal government randomly selects 30% of all applicants to have their FAFSA verified.
During the verification process the student and parent will be required to submit documentation for the amounts listed (or not listed) on the financial aid application. Common documentation may include the Verification Worksheet, signed copies of the most recent Federal tax returns (Form 1040, 1040A, or 1040EZ), W-2s, or other tax documents.
If there is an asterisk next to the EFC figure on your Student Aid Report (SAR), your SAR has been selected for verification.
If any discrepancies are uncovered during verification, the financial aid office may require additional information to clear up the discrepancies. Such discrepancies may cause your final financial aid package to be different from the initial package described on the award letter you received from the school. If you refuse to submit the required documentation, your financial aid package will be cancelled and no aid awarded.
Also see: Glossary of Student Accounts Terms
