Admissions

Financial Aid & Veterans Affairs

Federal (Title IV) School Code 001640

General Eligibility

In order to be considered eligible for federal and state financial aid, you must meet the following criteria:

High School Equivalence – You must:
1. hold a high school diploma or
2. have earned an equivalent diploma (GED certificate)
Citizenship – to be eligible for aid, you must be either:
1. a citizen or national of the United States;
2. a permanent resident (Form I-51 or I-551)
3. an eligible non citizen with a Department Record (I94) from the United States Immigration and Naturalization service showing any one of the following designations: “Refugee,” “Asylum Granted,” or "Cuban-Haitian entrant.”
Degree Seeking Status - All students applying for financial aid must be pursuing a degree or a one year certificate. Career study certificate courses do not qualify for Federal and State financial aid programs. Eligible certificates require more than one semester to complete.
Satisfactory Progress- Under federal and state regulation, if you receive financial assistance you must fulfill the requirements of the Satisfactory Academic Progress Guidelines. Failure to meet this requirement will result in financial aid termination. Details of the College’s Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Guidelines are available in the Financial Aid Office and online(PDF).

How to apply for financial aid:

To apply for federal and state need-based assistance, you must complete the federally approved financial aid application, called Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). You can also apply online at www.fafsa.ed.gov. The information you report on the FAFSA is used to determine your eligibility for the Federal Pell Grant and to calculate your family’s financial need. The information reported on the FAFSA is confidential and remains within the Financial Aid office. You will be asked to submit additional documentation (like income tax returns) to the Financial Aid office to verify the information reported on the FAFSA.

Apply early. Institution dollars are sometimes awarded on first-come, first-served basis. Be sure to complete the entire application and provide required signatures. Incomplete forms will cause delays. Always keep a copy of every form you complete and submit.

Application Process:

Step 1. Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This application is available in a paper format or an electronic format.

If you choose the paper application, complete and mail the form to the Federal Processing Center. If you choose the online electronic application, visit the website at www.fafsa.ed.gov. When completing either application, remember that the Prairie State College school code is 001640.

Step 2. After the Department of Education processes your application, you will receive notification in the mail if you applied through the paper format, or electronically if you applied online.

If you listed our school code as mentioned above, the Financial Aid Office at Prairie State College will receive an electronic version of your report in 4 to 6 weeks if you applied through the paper process, or in 14 days if you applied on-line. The electronic report that we receive will be used to determine any other required documents our office needs to process your financial aid. You will be notified in writing of any required documents.

Step 3. All students are required to complete a Prairie State College Financial Aid Application (2006/until June 30, 2007) and 2007-2008 Application. Some students will need to submit additional information, such as copies of income tax forms and bank statements.

Step 4. Once all required documents are submitted to our office, you will be notified of your financial aid eligibility.

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Sources of Financial Aid

A college education should be affordable to everyone. Prairie State College understands this, which is why our tuition rates are reasonable. We also provide numerous financial aid opportunities for students who need money for college expenses. Sources of financial aid include Grants, Scholarships, Federal Work Study, and Student Loans. Some of these sources are listed below:

Federal Pell Grant
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant
Illinois Monetary Award Program (MAP)
Illinois Incentive for Access (IIA)

Specialized Grant Programs:

Grants for Dependents of Police/Fire/Correction Officers Program
Arthur F. Quern Information Technology (IT) Grant Program
Grants for Illinois Veterans and National Guard Members
Bonus Incentive Grant Program

Federal Work Study

Federal Stafford Loan

Federal Unsubsidized Stafford Loan

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Financial Aid Academic Progress

Prairie State College maintains Standards of Academic Progress that Financial Aid recipients must meet in order to receive financial assistance. Students must maintain academic progress toward a degree or certificate as evidenced by passing (grades of A, B, C, D) at least 67 percent of courses and obtaining an overall 2.0 cumulative grade point average in all Prairie State College coursework. If you receive a grade of I, F, W, or Audit, you have not completed the course. You may take a maximum of 90 credit hours to still be eligible for financial aid. This includes credit hours transferred to PSC from other institutions and all Prairie State College coursework. Academic Progress is reviewed every semester.

If a student fails to meet the Standards during a given semester or summer term, he/she is placed on Financial Aid Eligibility Probation. Students on aid Probation are still allowed further financial assistance; thereby, everyone is allowed to fall short of the Standards once during their college career. Failure to perform at the prescribed level in any subsequent term is cause to place the student on Financial Aid Eligibility Termination. Students on termination status are not allowed to receive further financial aid without first paying for and enrolling in a semester or summer session in which they earn at least six (6) credit hours and maintain a cumulative grade point average of 2.0.

Once this has occurred, the student should file a petition to request reinstatement of his/her aid eligibility. Academic readmission to the College does not automatically restore financial aid eligibility.

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Special Circumstances

Financial Aid eligibility is determined by parental and /or student income from the prior year. Understandably, there are times when some unique set of circumstances warrant special attention.

If the unusual circumstance causes a reduction of income in the current year of attendance, we will use "professional judgement" to make adjustments that adequately reflect the family's ability to pay.

While the use of professional judgement can be quite broad in theory, some general rules are applied in a case by case. At a minimum:

The family's mitigating circumstance must be documented. The documents required will be determined on a case by case basis.
The expenses or loss of income must be of such nature that they were beyond the family's control.

While the range of reasons for professional judgment are many, some very common reasons we would review a student's assistance include: Loss of income as a result of unemployment, illness, injury, divorce, death, loss of child support, or social security benefits. Also, extreme medical expenses paid out.

Professional judgment will only be performed in circumstances where the total income for the current year is at least ten percent less than the previous year.

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Veterans Information

The Financial aid and Veterans Affairs Office provides administrative assistance to veterans and their eligible dependents enrolled at Prairie State College. Some of the benefits available to veterans include:

G.I. Bill - Monthly Veterans Administration educational benefits;

Veterans Dependents Allowance - For dependents of deceased or disabled veterans;
Vocational Rehabilitation Benefits;
Tutorial Assistance
Illinois Veterans Grant - Pays tuition and some fees.
Illinois Nationa Guard - Pays tuition and some fees.

Illinois Veterans Grant Eligibility Requirements:

service in the armed forces for a least one year;
entered service from Illinois and returned to Illinois after service;
a discharge rating of "honorable," "under honorable conditions," "general," or "service-connected medical discharge."

Veterans meeting the above requirements may be eligible for IVG assistance even if their GI Bill benefits have expired. For more information about the GI Bill, go to www.gibill.va.gov for more information about the Illinois Veterans Grant or Illinois National Guard Grant programs, go to www. collegezone.com under military service.

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Student Loans

As part of the default management plan to minimize the college default rate, all students interested in borrowing through the Federal Family Educational Loan Program (FFELP) must complete six credit hours at PSC before applying for a loan. You must maintain a 2.0 grade point average to continue borrowing under this program. To apply for a loan, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Step 2: Submit all required documents .

Step 3: Call and make an appointment with the loan counselor at Prairie State College at (708) 709-3520.

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