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- Award Letter
- Official notification of the amount financial aid a student is eligible to receive.
- Book Vouchers
- After tuition and fees are paid from the Pell Grant, any amount remaining is given
to the student in the form of a voucher to purchase books.
- Career Programs
- Programs that lead to employment upon completion.
- Dependent Student
- Whether or not the student is financially dependent on his or her parents is based
on federal guidelines. All students are considered dependents unless he or she is
24 years or older, is a graduate student, is married, has legal dependents, is an
orphan or ward of the court, or is a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces.
- Eligible Programs
- Students must pursue a two-year degree program or a minimum one-year certificate to
be eligible for financial aid.
- Financial Aid and No Class Attendance
- Upon the receipt of the Midterm Verification Form, students who are not attending
all of their classes will receive a reduced award.
Financial Aid and Withdrawal
- Students who withdraw from a class may receive a reduced award. See the Financial
Aid Office for details.
- Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA)
- A required form that must be completed as the first step in applying for many types
of financial aid.
- Full-Time Student
- Anyone taking 12 credit hours or more during the fall or spring semesters, or six
or more credit hours during the summer semester.
- Grants
- Financial aid which does not have to be repaid.
- Independent Student
- A student is considered independent if he or she is 24 years or older, is a graduate
student, is married, has legal dependents, is an orphan or ward of the court, or is
a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces.
- MAP Grant
- Available to Illinois residents who will attend approved Illinois colleges and demonstrate
financial need based on the information provided on the FAFSA.
- Part-time Student
- Anyone taking 11 credit hours or less during the fall and spring semesters or five
credit hours or less during the summer semester.
- Pell Grant
- Need-based financial aid awarded to undergraduate students. Repayment is not required.
- Pell Refund
- The remaining balance of funds in the Pell Grant that students are eligible for.
- Priority Deadline
- July 1—Date that all paperwork is due to be given priority consideration for financial
aid dollars.
- Program Intent
- Students must pursue a two-year degree program or a minimum one-year certificate to
be eligible for financial aid. Students must declare this on their FAFSA.
- Standards of Academic Progress
- Standards that identify students’ expected progress in terms of credits earned and
time elapsed.
- Scholarships
- A form of financial assistance that does not need to be repaid. Scholarships are generally
offered to students who possess certain characteristics important to the scholarship
provider (such as academic performance, talent, hobbies, ethnicity, etc.) The PSC
Foundation offers a wide-range of scholarships. See the Financial Aid Office for details.
- Summer Financial Aid
- Students who attend full-time and received during fall and spring terms are not eligible
for aid in the summer.
- Verification
- Process whereby a student must document information reported on their FAFSA and submit
it to the Financial Aid Department.