FAQs

 

General Questions

PennWest Edinboro's school code for the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is 003316 and the website to apply is: https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa.

 

The financial obligation of the noncustodial parent lies within the court agreement that the parents have arranged. Both the custodial parent and current spouse, if any, must complete the FAFSA form. The noncustodial parent is not required to report information for federal student aid purposes.

 

The Financial Aid Office determines financial aid eligibility and awards grants, scholarships, loans and work study while the Student Accounts Office processes bills and collects payments, receives loan proceeds and issues refund checks.

 

The dates for refund checks vary from semester to semester but will generally be available the third Friday after the semester begins. Refund dates will be posted on the Student Accounts Office homepage for each semester.

 

A payment plan can be set up in your eBill account or with the Student Accounts Office. See the Student Accounts Office for more information.

 

If you have at least $1,500 in financial aid, even if you owe a balance to the University, you can charge up to $650 in books to your student account. Please note, if you owe money to your student account already because your financial aid does not cover the entire balance, this charge will increase your balance due by the amount you charge. If you charge less than $650, you do not get refunded any amount for the unused portion. This process simply allows students to either have their needs covered by their financial aid or be able to pay for books on a monthly payment plan instead of all up front at the bookstore.

 

Financial Aid Awards

You can accept or decline your financial aid via your S.C.O.T.S. account. To do so, click here go to our forms webpage. Then click the first form, titled Accepting the Terms and Conditions of Award, for step-by-step instructions.

 

Log into My Edinboro

  • Click on S.C.O.T.S.
  • Click Student
  • Click Financial Aid
  • Make sure you are in correct Award Year in top right corner

The unsatisfied requirements will display as outstanding requirements. These requirements may delay your financial aid. The satisfied requirements will display as completed requirements. Be sure to check the requirements periodically to make sure the Financial Aid Office has all the necessary information to process your aid for the year.

 

 

To complete the Entrance Counseling and Master Promissory Note (MPN) along with the Informed Borrowing Confirmation, go to https://studentaid.gov/ and sign in using your FAFSA ID. A new MPN along with the Informed Borrowing Confirmation must be completed each year before the University is able to pay a student's Federal Direct loans, including Federal Direct PLUS loans.

 

You have two ways to reduce or decline your award amount. One way is via your S.C.O.T.S. account. To do so, click here go to our forms webpage. Click the first form, titled Accepting the Terms and Conditions of Award, for step-by-step instructions. The other way is to email us your request from your secure student email account.

 

Loans and Grants

You can file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) after Oct. 1 for each new award year.

PennWest Edinboro's preferred deadline is Dec. 15. Students who meet the preferred filing deadline will receive full consideration of University scholarships, Federal SEOG, Federal Work Study and discretionary scholarships and grants. However, students can file for financial aid at any time during the award year, allowing at least a month for processing for the award period. Pa State Grant's deadline is May 1. Edinboro's school code for the FAFSA is 003321.

 

All federal, state, and University assistance are processed using the one application.

 

The student must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) each academic year to be eligible for Federal Pell Grant, Federal Stafford Loan, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG), and Work-Study as well as the Pa State Grant aid programs. Prior year FAFSA filers will receive a "Renewal" version of the FAFSA from the federal processor. New students will complete the original version or have the option to file their FAFSA electronically through FAFSA on the web.

Other documents may be required for those students selected for verification or to validate circumstances. See our Forms page for more information.

 

No. Eligibility for the Federal Stafford Loan is determined using the FAFSA form. However, every year borrowers are required to complete the Informed Borrowers Confirmation before the University can process the loan. First-time borrowers must also complete the Entrance Counseling. These can be completed online at https://studentaid.gov/ under the heading-Complete Aid Process.

 

The University splits loans over the course of the year; half for Fall and half for Spring. So, if you receive a Fall bill and still owe $1,000, you should apply for $2,000 to cover the entire year. There would then be two disbursements of the loan: one $1,000 disbursement in the Fall and one $1,000 disbursement in the Spring.

 

Please click here and review the section called Federal Direct Stafford Loans.

 

The Financial Aid Office at PennWest Edinboro offers a wide variety of institutional scholarships. Computer programming identifies eligible students and a selection committee determines recipients. Students are notified via their student email if they meet the minimum requirements and are encouraged to apply. Numerous external scholarships also are available.

 

When you complete the FAFSA, you are automatically considered for a Federal Pell Grant. You can apply for your FAFSA on-line here: https://studentaid.gov/ and our FAFSA school code is 003321.

 

Undergraduate students must be enrolled in a minimum of six (6) credits in order to receive federal student aid.

Graduate students must be enrolled in a minimum of six (6) graduate level credits in order to qualify for federal student aid. If a graduate student is taking all undergraduate courses or enrolled in a post-baccalaureate program (i.e., teacher certification), aid will be awarded based on undergraduate rules. Aid for teacher certification, innovated nursing, and second bachelor's degree and/or post-baccalaureate certification programs:

  • Must be enrolled at least half-time (six credits) to be eligible for federal student loans
  • Students enrolled are considered fifth-year undergraduate and subject to undergraduate lifetime loan limits
  • Students are not eligible for state and federal grants, since they already have a bachelor's degree

 

Winter Session

Winter Session at Edinboro is an academic term that takes place between the Fall and Spring semesters. It is a session that allows you to register for two courses. Winter Session provides a unique opportunity for you to further your academic goals through an intensive study program. By registering, you can accelerate your academic progress, reduce your Fall or Spring course load while staying on track to graduate, and even participate in educational travel opportunities.

Winter Session is considered by the Financial Aid Office to be a part of the nine-month school year; therefore, some financial aid may be available from your Spring award.

Students enrolled for the Winter term may be eligible for financial aid to help with those expenses. All students enrolling for Winter term will receive an increase in their Cost of Attendance, which may result in increased aid eligibility for grants and/or loans. Those credits will be evaluated and if aid adjustments are needed, they will occur with the Spring term disbursement. In many cases, students already enrolled full time in either Fall or Spring may only be eligible to borrow additional funds through alternative loans to help with Winter term expenses.

Students with Pell and/or Pa State Grant grants that are enrolled full time in either Fall or Spring semester will not see a change in those awards. However, if the addition of your Winter term credits increases your eligibility for Pell/Pa State Grant, those adjustments will be made accordingly. Evaluation of students enrolled for winter will begin in November.

Winter term billing students will receive a separate bill for the term. However, if they have financial aid scheduled for Spring term that is sufficient to cover both Winter and Spring term charges, there will be no balance due for winter. You will need to contact the Student Accounts Office and let them know of your intentions.

There will be no penalties for the Winter bill not being paid until the Spring financial aid disburses. However, students must have completed everything needed for aid to disburse on time and have enough aid to cover their charges to avoid any delays or late fees.

 

Contact Us

Financial Aid Office
Hamilton Hall
210 Glasgow Road
Edinboro, PA 16444
Email: finaid-edn@pennwest.edu
Phone: 814-732-3500
Fax: 814-732-2129

Hours of Operation:
Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.