Steps to Apply for Financial Aid

Step 1:

To apply for federal financial aid, complete the 2010-2011 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (using GCU's Federal Title IV Code: 002608) between January 1 and August 1, 2010. We recommend that you complete your 2009 taxes before completing the FAFSA. If this will delay completion of your application, you should submit estimated figures and use actual figures to correct that Student Aid Report at a later date. The FAFSA is available online. To complete the application on-line, click on the link above. Electronic processing takes approximately two weeks.

All students and parents are encouraged to sign up for a PIN in advance of filing the FAFSA. A PIN allows you to sign your application electronically, view and make corrections to your application on-line, and sign a master promissory note electronically.

To inquire about the status of your FAFSA, you may call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 800-433-3243.

Step 2:

For New Jersey Residents

To be considered for the Tuition Aid Grant (TAG), you will be asked by the state of New Jersey to supply the following data items: 

1. Driver's License number and state
2. Amount of Veteran's Benefit (for Independent Students)
3. Amount of untaxed Social Security Benefits
4. Amount of Earned income Credit (from tax return)

You will be contacted by NJ Higher Education Student Assistance Authority HESAA by either email or postcard.  You must reply to these contacts as soon as possible.  You will be provided a website to be used to enter this data.  If the answer is zero please place a zero in the field.  A blank will be considered incomplete.

Step 3:

Upon receiving an Award letter from the Office of Financial Aid review it carefully and notify us at financialaid@georgian.edu if you would like to decrease, increase or decline any of your loans. If a file has been selected for verification by the Federal Government students, parents, and stepparents must submit signed copies of federal income tax forms (including all schedules, partnership tax returns and schedules, and S-corporation tax returns.

After reviewing application materials, the Office of Student Financial Aid may determine that additional information is needed. The office will contact you to request any additional documentation needed to process your aid application. If you receive a request for additional information, respond promptly to avoid delaying your application.

If you need to submit any documents directly to GCU, please send them to the following address:

Georgian Court University
Office of Financial Aid
900 Lakewood Ave. Lakewood, New Jersey 08701

Step 4:

Once you have reviewed your Award letter you will want to sign your Master Promissory Note (https://opennet.salliemae.com/apploansummary/?school_id=00260800), Select a Lender and complete your On-line Entrance Counseling (http://mappingyourfuture.org).

Returning Students

All returning students must reapply for need-based financial aid each year by completing the Renewal FAFSA by April 15th, and submitting the required tax documentation by June 1st. Please be aware that significant changes in a family's financial circumstances will result in an adjustment of a student's award.

To inquire about the status of your FAFSA, you may call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 800-433-3243.

If the Federal Government selects your file for Verification students, parents, and stepparents must submit signed copies of federal income tax forms (including all schedules, partnership tax returns and schedules, and S-corporation tax returns and schedules).

Priority Dates and Deadlines:

To find out when semester charges are due, contact Bursar@georgian.edu.

The office of Student Financial Aid’s published deadline for new and prospective students to have submitted the 2010-2011 FAFSA is August 1, 2010. The published deadline for students’ and parents’ signed 2009 Federal Income Tax Returns and W-2 forms to be received by the University is August 15, 2010. Financial aid applications will not be complete until this information has been received by GCU.

Scholarships and Grant funds may be limited after the deadlines. As a result, students who complete their financial aid application after these published deadlines may find that their financial aid award is weighted more heavily toward need-based loans than need-based scholarships.

Summer School Students

Financial aid for summer school at GCU consists of any remaining eligibility for federal financial aid (Pell Grants, Stafford Loans, and PLUS Loans) and private educational loans. There are no institutional funds available for summer school. Applicants for Stafford and PLUS loans must enroll in at least 6 hours during the summer. Federal aid applicants must meet satisfactory academic progress requirements.