Palm Beach Atlantic University

Financial Aid Application Guide

Financial Aid Eligibility

For most financial aid programs at PBA, you must:

• be a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident alien
• be enrolled or accepted for enrollment at least half-time in a degree program
• make satisfactory academic progress toward a degree program. See PBA's Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements at https://my.pba.edu/ICS/Departments/Financial_Aid/Satisfactory_Academic_Progress.jnz
• register with the Selective Service Administration, if required to do so
• not be in default on a federal or institutional loan or owe a repayment on a previous financial aid award received at PBA or another institution.

How to Apply

Complete the FAFSA on or after January 1, 2012. Apply each year - financial aid is not renewed automatically.

Apply online at www.fafsa.ed.gov

• If you don't already have a federal PIN, apply for one at www.pin.ed.gov
• Go to FAFSA on the Web at www.fafsa.ed.gov
• Sign in using your student information and follow the instructions on the site.
• List "Palm Beach Atlantic University" and the PBA School Code (008849) as a school choice in step Six of the FAFSA.
• When completing the financial information section, use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to transfer your tax information from the IRS to your FAFSA. If you do not use this tool you are more likely to be selected to provide additional documentation to our office.
• Sign your FAFSA. Students can sign the FAFSA electronically using their federal PIN. Parents of dependent students can also sign electronically but must either request their own PIN or print, sign, and mail the signature page to the processor.
• If you or your parents haven't filed your federal income tax returns for the previous year when it is time to apply for aid, report "estimated" income information on your FAFSA. You must correct your FAFSA if the estimated differs from your actual income.
• After applying, you can check the status of your application and make corrections online at www.fafsa.ed.gov

You will receive a Federal Student Aid Report (SAR) from the federal processor after you submit your FAFSA.

The SAR indicates your Expected Family Contribution (EFC), which is used to determine your eligibility for financial aid. It also lists information you recorded on your FAFSA, so you can check your information for accuracy.

• If you provide your e-mail address on your FAFSA, you will get an online SAR as soon as 24 hours after your FAFSA is processed. If no corrections are needed, keep the SAR with your financial aid records.
• To be considered for aid PBA must be listed on the SAR's "College Release Section." If PBA is not listed, you must use your Federal PIN to make a correction at www.fafsa.ed.gov. You can also call the federal processor at 1-800-433-3243.
• If your e-mail or mailing address changes, update it with the federal processor to make sure you get your SAR, electronic PIN, Renewal Reminder, and other correspondence. You can make these updates at www.fafsa.ed.gov.

Follow up on your application. It may be selected for Verification.

• You are responsible for following up on your aid application.
• Check the status of your aid application for missing documentation on myPBA, https://my.pba.edu/. Once logged into myPBA, click on "View Financial Aid Information" and then review the "My Required Documents" tab.
• Do not click wait until school beings to submit required documents. Ask questions if you are unsure about any part of the application process.
• If you application is selected for Verification, you will be required to provide verifying documentation before aid can be disbursed to you. Respond promptly to requests for information or documentation. All forms for this process are available on the My Required Documents page on myPBA.
• Your aid is not finalized until all outstanding documents have been turned in.

You will receive a Financial Aid Award Letter from us.

• When PBA receives your application information from the federal processor and you have been admitted to PBA, the Office of Financial Aid will award you an aid package based on your eligibility.
• You will receive your Award Letter via e-mail with a link and instructions to access your awards online.
• It generally takes two weeks after receipt of the FAFSA and acceptance to the university to receive your award.
   

Summer Financial Aid

The Office of Financial Aid will award summer money if:

1. a student has remaining eligibility after the fall and spring semesters, or
2. a student chooses to use aid originally awarded for fall or spring term terms during the summer.