Our Approach

We provide financial planning for our students through our Student Financial Services Department. To be considered for financial aid, you only have to apply for it. Once you complete the Financial Aid application forms, a Financial Aid Officer (FAO) assigned to you will review the forms and use a federally approved calculation to determine your eligibility for financial aid. The FAO will then work with you and your family to devise a Student Financial Plan to help you pay for your educational expenses, based on your financial aid eligibility and your family's circumstances. An individual payment plan will allow you to budget your payments for one quarter at a time, for one academic year at a time, or for your entire program. Our goal is to make your payments as affordable to you as possible.

Your Financial Aid Officer uses three steps to determine your eligibility for financial aid:

1. We estimate the total cost of your education. Your total costs are broken down into direct and indirect costs.
   • Direct costs include tuition, fees, and some supplies
   • Indirect costs include food, transportation, personal expenses, and some supplies. Standard budget figures (available for review in the Student Financial Services Department) are used to estimate indirect costs, based on where you will live when you attend school.
   • Housing can be considered part of either the direct or indirect costs, depending on your living arrangements. The Housing Services Department can provide you with information on school-sponsored and independent housing.
2. We add up all of the resources for which you are eligible and that can be used to pay educational costs. This can include scholarships, federal grants and loans, state aid, private loans, veteran's benefits, etc.
3. We subtract all of the available resources from the total estimated "direct" costs of your education. The difference is the amount that can be covered through the student financial planning process.

Deferring Payments
It is the policy of the school to defer payment on your bill for an amount that will be covered by financial aid, as long as these requirements are met:

1. All of the required paperwork has been completed.
2. Your eligibility for the type of financial aid and amount has been confirmed.
3. You have agreed to a Student Financial Plan for paying any balance due to the school that is not covered by financial aid. The Student Financial Services Department will assist you in applying for any aid for which you may be eligible. However, it is your responsibility to make sure that the school receives the aid funds.