Financial Aid Application Process

Students begin the financial aid process by applying for admission to Pensacola State College, declaring a major or program of study and, when necessary, completing placement testing, orientation, and academic advising. Students must submit all official final transcripts directly to the Pensacola State College Admission/Records Office for review and evaluation by that department. All transcripts include the final high school, and/or official GED scores, plus all prior college and technical school transcripts.  No aid can be processed or awarded prior to receipt and evaluation of all transcripts.

Transcript evaluation will assist students to determine all necessary courses needed to complete their program of study at Pensacola State College. Federal financial aid is awarded to students for the credits required to complete their degree or certificate.

Students must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) each year. The FAFSA is available annually on January 1st for each new award year. U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) recommends that a student (and their spouse or their parents, as needed,) complete the FAFSA no earlier than three (3) weeks after submitting their Federal Income Tax Form in order to use the IRS retrieval tool successfully. Students apply electronically using their federal Personal Identification Number (PIN) and receive email notification of processing within five to seven days. A student must input Pensacola State College’s school code 001513 on their FAFSA in order for this College to receive their electronic file, their Student Aid Report.

FAFSA online processing allows the student/parent to use the IRS retrieval process to ensure accuracy of data. In some cases; however, it is inappropriate for the student and their family to use this process. Contact the FA/VS/Scholarships office for assistance if you are unsure as to whether or not you or your family can successfully complete the FAFSA using the IRS Retrieval upload tool. The initial letter the student receives from the federal processor of the FAFSA, the Student Aid Report (SAR) is a confirmation that the student submitted their FAFSA, not an award of funds.  The listed aid in the letter is general information concerning all potential federal aid and federal loans available through the FAFSA process. The student’s actual eligibility for aid is not determined until their enrollment, program of study, and academic progress are evaluated by the College.  In some cases the federal processor selects a student's data for verification by the College and additional documents and forms are then requested of the student and, as needed, from their parents.  Only students whose FAFSA information has been determined to be accurate will be awarded federal and state aid.

Title IV Federal Student Aid Repayment Policy Effective Fall 2000

This policy affects ALL students who receive Title IV Student Aid including:

  1. Federal PELL Grants;
  2. Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG); and
  3. William D. Ford Direct Loans (DIRECT) .

Federal Law states that federal student aid is to be awarded under the assumption students will attend school for the entire term (payment period).

Students who withdraw from all courses prior to completing more than 60% of the payment period or stop attending must have their aid eligibility recalculated based on the percent of the payment period completed. This recalculation may result in the student having to repay the federal government a percentage of the federal aid received. Students who withdraw from all courses and have future starting courses within the same term (payment period) for which they have not yet had the opportunity to begin attendance must affirm in writing to the College that they plan on beginning attendance in later starting course(s) within fourteen days of stopping all current attendance.

Pensacola State College is required to share with the student in this repayment responsibility for the courses that the student began attending. The student will have to repay Pensacola State College the debt resulting from the student’s failure to earn the aid awarded by the due date.  Unpaid debts will result in an overpayment of aid being reported to USDOE.  Until both the debt to the College and the debt to the USDOE are repaid by the student no College transcript will be released, no additional enrollment will be processed, and no institutional, federal or state aid may be awarded or disbursed to the student.

Students must pay the debt in full to re-enroll at Pensacola State College. Students will also lose their federal aid eligibility until they either repay the portion owed to the federal government or make repayment arrangements with the USDOE. All costs of collection including reasonable attorney fees will be the responsibility of the student.

It’s the law there are no appeals.

If you have questions concerning this federal law, contact the Financial Aid/Veteran Services/Scholarships Office.

Pensacola campus

484-1680

Milton campus

484-4412

Warrington campus

484-2370

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