2003-2004 Award Information Terms and Conditions

Your award letter is the College of Medicine's offer of financial assistance for the terms indicated based upon the information that you provided on the FAFSA. Click here to view a typical award package for a Pennsylvania resident or Non-Pennsylvania Resident for an incoming student for the current academic year. Incoming students are mailed award letters by the end of April. Returning students are notified electronically in June of their financial aid eligibility. The Office of Student Aid will process the aid as shown on your award notification unless you request adjustments in writing or by emailing StudentAid@hmc.psu.edu by July 15th before the award year begins. You may choose to decline or reduce any types of offered assistance by notifying the Office of Student Aid in writing. Most students find that the amount of their award is sufficient to provide for their education expenses as well as moderate but adequate living expenses.

HOW ELIGIBILITY IS DETERMINED

A student must meet the following requirements to be eligible to receive federal or institutional financial assistance:

• Must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) each year. (Parental data must be included if the student desires institutional financial assistance. Parental data does not impact eligibility for Federal Stafford Loan eligibility.)
• Must comply with Penn State College of Medicine Academic Progress Standards.
• Must not be in default on an educational loan and must not owe a repayment on an adjusted federal grant.
• Must be enrolled in an eligible degree program.
• Must be enrolled at least half-time (5 credits for medical students).
• If male and age 18-25, must be registered for Selective Service.
• Must be a citizen or eligible non-citizen with valid Social Security number.
• Must have a high school diploma, a GED, or a passing "ability to benefit" test result.
  

Total awarded financial aid cannot exceed the institutionally determined cost of attendance. Cost of attendance minus student contribution from the FAFSA equals eligibility for need based financial assistance. Cost of attendance minus student and parent contributions from the FAFSA determined eligibility for institutional based financial assistance. Cost of attendance minus any awarded need based or institutional based financial aid equals eligibility for unsubsidized or alternative loans.

YOUR AWARD PACKAGE

The first component of your award is any institutional scholarship(s), institutional loan or non-institutional/outside assistance you are receiving. If you have remaining eligibility, the second component of your award is the Federal Subsidized Stafford Student Loan up to a maximum of $8,500. If you have remaining eligibility the third component of your award is the Unsubsidized Stafford Student Loan. If the cost of attendance is not met with these components, additional funds may be available through alternative loans. Information for loans is available in the Loan Information section of this web site.

The total award package will not exceed the institutionally determined cost of attendance. In order to receive your financial aid, you are required to enroll at least half time per semester. Initially, your award is made on the assumption that you will enroll as a full-time student. If your enrollment is not full-time, your aid eligibility must be recalculated. The amounts and types of financial assistance can change from year to year.

HOW YOU WILL RECEIVE YOUR FINANCIAL AID FUNDS

Each semester via email you will receive a bill from the Bursar's Office at University Park (August and November) that will include tuition and other unpaid charges. Please follow the instructions on the email.
Federal Stafford Loans and Alternative Loan Program funds are sent to the institution by the lender by an electronic process. Loans are credited to the student’s account. To receive your Federal Perkins, Primary Care Loan (PCL), or University Loans you must execute a promissory note before these funds are credited to your account.

APPLICATION RENEWAL

The financial aid awarded you by the College of Medicine is only for the time period stated on your award letter and can be used only at The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine. Your financial aid application, and all supporting documents received by the financial aid staff pertinent to your application, become the property of the Office of Student Aid and cannot be returned to you or transmitted to another institution.

If you will need financial assistance beyond the period of the award stated on your award letter, you must submit a new application for each additional enrollment period. A new application is required each year and may be filed after January 1st. Students are encouraged to file a renewal application using the FAFSA web site www.fafsa.ed.gov. Completed federal tax information should be used and the application submitted by April 15th for currently enrolled students.

RECEIPT OF OTHER FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

If you receive financial assistance, including scholarships, loans and grants, that is not included on your financial aid notification from the Office of Student Aid, you must report these amounts to the Office of Student Aid. Federal regulations require that these funds be taken into account in determining your eligibility for federal student aid. If the assistance that you receive from private or outside sources results in an over award, an adjustment will be made to your financial aid award so that your total financial assistance is not greater that the institutionally determined Cost of Attendance.

STANDARDS OF SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS

All students receiving federal student financial aid funds must comply with the College of Medicine Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress. The intent of this policy, which is mandated by the U.S. Department of Education, is to insure that students receiving federal financial aid for their education are making measurable progress toward completion of their degree in a reasonable period of time. In short, the purpose of this policy is to insure that federal funds are not provided to students who fail to perform and progress academically at a minimally accepted level.

Standards for satisfactory academic progress in medical school are not as easily defined as in undergraduate or graduate programs. The lengths of courses vary and differ from the semester calendar and grade-point averages cannot be calculated on an Honors/Pass/Fail system. For purposes of student eligibility for financial assistance under the programs governed by Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, the following general standards have been established for maintenance of satisfactory academic progress in the student’s course of study.

1. GRADES

The student must complete each required course and the appropriate number of elective courses. Any course failure will be reviewed by the Promotions Committee and recommendations made to rectify the failure.

2. MAXIMUM TIME FRAME

The student must complete the medical school curriculum in a maximum of six years, assuming that the student is enrolled full-time and excluding periods during which the student obtains an approved leave(s) of absence, for the purpose of special study experiences, or other reasons approved by school officials. The student’s progress is to be measured in one-year (twelve-month) increments.

3. CONSISTENT APPLICATION OF STANDARD

These standards are applicable to all students while enrolled in the College of Medicine's MD Degree Program, which has academic responsibility for a single category of students and a single program of study.

4. SPECIAL POLICIES IN REGARD TO COURSE INCOMPLETES, WITHDRAWALS, REPETITIONS, AND NON-CREDIT REMEDIAL COURSES

The College of Medicine recognizes that there are circumstances under which it may not be desirable for a student who has encountered academic difficulty in the curriculum to proceed immediately to the next portion of the curriculum, without having repeated the failed portion(s) of the curriculum. The structure of the curriculum that encompasses the first seventy-three weeks of study may not permit immediate repetition of a course since the course may not be given again until the next year. The College of Medicine Promotions Committee may ask the student to take a leave of absence for the balance of an academic year and to repeat, at least in part, the portion of the curriculum where the failure(s) occurred. In such a case the student is considered to be making satisfactory academic progress during the repeated period, and the period of absence is not counted in the “maximum time frame” established for that purpose. Incomplete, deferred grades, or course audits are not considered in determination of academic progress or credit standards.

5. APPEAL PROCEDURES

If a student’s academic progress is found to be unsatisfactory, resulting in his/her ineligibility for financial assistance under the Title IV programs, the student may appeal for reinstatement of the aid. The student’s appeal must document the reasons for the failure to meet the standards for satisfactory academic progress and must include a plan that demonstrates a means for the student to bring his or her academic progress into conformance with the standards within a period of one year. The associate dean for medical education will review the plan and approve it, reject it, or suggest modifications. An accepted appeal results in the student’s academic progress being considered satisfactory on a probationary basis, for a period of no more than one year. If the appeal is denied, the student may not receive financial aid assistance under the Title IV programs until such a time as he or she again meets the standards of satisfactory academic progress.

DEBT MANAGEMENT AND LOAN COUNSELING

ENTRANCE LOAN COUNSELING is provided for all new medical students borrowing educational loan funds while in attendance at the PSU College of Medicine. Counseling sessions are scheduled during first-year orientation and attendance is required.

EXIT LOAN COUNSELING is provided to graduating medical students, student going on leave of absence or students who cease enrollment. Loan counseling is required of all graduating student loan borrowers prior to commencement. Small group sessions are scheduled throughout the spring semester. Students may register for one of these sessions.

INDIVIDUAL BUDGET COUNSELING and loan counseling is provided throughout the year. Students may make an appointment with a financial aid counselor to discuss and review their personal budgets or loans. Appointments may be made Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., by calling (717) 531-7052, email StudentAid@hmc.psu.edu or visit the Office of Student Aid, BMR C1802.

NOTICE OF TAXATION OF STUDENT ASSISTANCE

Please take special notice of the following provisions in the federal tax law and how it may affect you: Under the Tax Reform Act of 1986, many benefits (scholarships, stipends, and tuition waivers) that previously were not subject to taxation are now included in a student’s gross income for federal income tax purposes.

SCHOLARSHIPS – an award of money, waiver of tuition, and/or fees, including military waivers. Scholarship amounts as defined above may be included in a student’s gross income tax purposes. Degree candidates (enrolled in a degree program) may exclude from gross income the portion of the scholarship spent on institutional tuition and fees, and course-related expenses such as books, supplies, and equipment. Other expenses are not included (i.e., room, board, travel).

STIPENDS – students may no longer exclude stipends from gross income. All payments to students for services rendered to the institution are subject to income tax withholding and W-2 reporting.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION – students who have questions about the law for their specific circumstances as taxpayers should retain the services of appropriate experts. The University cannot and does not serve as legal counsel or tax advisor to individual students.

STUDENT'S RESPONSIBILITY – it is the student’s responsibility to file the appropriate tax returns to claim available exclusions from gross income to keep copies of award letters, bills, and receipts, for tuition and fees, receipts for course-related books, supplies and equipment, and other documents necessary to identify income sources and excluded expenses.

IF YOU NEED ASSISTANCE

If you need assistance regarding a financial aid concern, please contact the Office of Student Aid at (717) 531-7052, email StudentAid@hmc.psu.edu or visit the Office of Student Aid, room C1802 BMR building.

The Pennsylvania State University is committed to the policy that all persons shall have equal access to programs, facilities, admission, and employment without regard to personal characteristics not related to ability, performance, or qualifications as determined by University policy or by state or federal authorities.  The Pennsylvania State University does not discriminate against any person because of age, ancestry, color, disability, or handicap, national origin, race, religion creed, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status

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