It is the student's responsibility to file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) each academic year. The FAFSA determines eligibility for all Federal and State aid programs as well as some institutional aid programs. File the FAFSA at fafsa.gov each year.

Financial Aid is offered on the basis of expected full-time enrollment and attendance, with equal payments for the fall and spring terms. With the exception of Federal Work-Study, half of the student's total accepted financial aid offer will be credited to the fall semester bill and half to the spring bill. After all requirements are met, these amounts will be transmitted to the Bursar’s Office and posted on the student's account to show on the bill as a credit.

Financial Aid offers are based on information provided by the applicant and are subject to revisions and/or cancellation at any time if: federal or state regulations change; federal, state or institutional fund allocations change; the Student Aid Index (SAI) changes; the student receives a scholarship, VA educational benefits, NJ National Guard Waiver, NJ Dept. of Labor Waiver programs; or an error is made in the calculation of your eligibility or award, whether by the servicer or the institution.

The institution, state, and federal governments are absolved of any and all responsibility for funding in the event that a grant and/or a loan or any other financial assistance is based upon fraudulent, inaccurate or misleading information.

Learn more about the Terms and Conditions of individual financial aid programs here.

After the aid is disbursed (paid to the school by the source) and the student's account is paid in full, the Bursar’s Office will issue any remaining balance of financial aid funds to the student. Processing of refunds for the fall semester begins in October, while processing for the spring begins in February. Students will receive notification of the exact date from the Bursar’s Office.

If a student's financial aid does not cover their bill, the student will be responsible for covering the gap. Some ways to cover the gap include: applying for additional private scholarships, applying for education loans or utilizing a payment plan. To learn more about scholarship and loan options, visit stockton.edu/fafsa. To enroll in a payment plan, visit stockton.edu/bursars.

Visit stockton.edu/bursars to learn more about institutional refund policies.

Financial Aid is offered on the basis of expected full-time enrollment and attendance. Full-time enrollment for undergraduate students is 12 or more credits per semester. Full-time enrollment for graduate students is 9 or more credits per semester.

*Any changes in enrollment status, such as number of credits, leave of absence, withdrawal, graduation or completed requirements for bachelors degree, may result in re-evaluation and possible adjustment of a student's financial aid offer. The student may then become responsible for the balance of their bill and all late fees.

See below for Enrollment Requirements to receive financial aid:

• Financial Aid recipients must be matriculated and enrolled in a degree-seeking program.
• Financial Aid programs that require full time enrollment (12 credits or more for an undergraduate student): the Stockton Promise, the Garden State Guarantee (GSG), Stockton University Institutional Scholarships, Stockton University Foundation Scholarships, SGIA, SEOG, TAG, Alternative TAG for NJ Dreamers, NJSTARS II, EOF, the Governor's Urban Award and any other state financial aid programs.
• Financial Aid programs that require at least half-time enrollment. Half-time enrollment for undergraduate students is at least 6 credits. Half-time enrollment for graduate students is at least 5 credits in the fall and spring and 3 credits in the summer): Federal Direct Loans (including Parent & Graduate PLUS loans) and Federal Work Study.
• The Pell Grant is prorated based on enrollment. Students must be at least half-time (6 credits for undergraduate students) in the summer to receive any amount of Pell.

For more information on the sources of financial aid and the terms and conditions of individual aid programs, click here.

Beginning with the Spring 2021 semester, prospective first year students are not required to submit SAT or ACT scores as part of the scholarship review process.

The Office of Admissions utilizes both academic and extracurricular achievement to determine scholarship eligibility for accepted first-year students. Accepted transfer students are considered for scholarships based on previous college performance.Students who have already earned a bachelor's degree are ineligible for transfer scholarships. 

To receive and retain institutional scholarships, students must:

• File a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) or NJ Alternative Application (NJ Dreamers Only) annually
• Maintain continuous, full-time enrollment (12 credits or more per semester)
  • Scholarships will be cancelled upon withdrawal from Stockton
• Maintain a cumulative Stockton GPA of 3.0

Please Note: Institutional scholarships are designated for educational expenses and cannot be refunded to students. If institutional aid exceeds direct costs, any excess amount will not be issued to you as a refund. Instead, these funds will be adjusted accordingly to ensure compliance with financial aid policies and regulations.

If a student totally withdraws for the semester, the student will keep the institutional aid (Stockton scholarship and/or grant), as long as there is no refund generated from the withdrawal. If a credit balance is created due to the withdraw, the Office of Financial Aid will adjust the institutional aid so there is no refund of institutional aid.

For more information about institutional scholarships, visit stockton.edu/scholarships or contact the Office of Admissions at 609.652.4261.

First-time Federal Direct Loan borrowers are required to complete Entrance Counseling and a Master Promissory Note (MPN) on studentaid.gov. Federal Direct loan funds will not be disbursed until the student completes these requirements.

Students must be enrolled in a degree-seeking program at least half-time (6 credits per semester for undergraduate students and 5 credits per semester for graduate students) to receive Federal Direct Loan funds.

Amounts are for the year and are set by the U.S. Department of Education. Learn more about yearly loan amounts here.

The federal government limits the amount a student may borrow in Federal Direct Loans in their lifetime. You are responsible for managing your Federal Direct Loan borrowing. Click here to learn more about aggregate loan limits. Federal borrowing history can be accessed on studentaid.gov.

Offered Federal Direct Loans will be reduced upon notification from the federal government that a student is close to or has reached their aggregate loan limit. As a result, this may create an outstanding balance with the Bursar's Office. Students are responsible for any outstanding balance that is created.

Federal Direct PLUS and/or Private/Alternative loan funds will be applied to the bill after an approval and all requirements are received. Learn more about Federal Direct PLUS loans as well as Private/Alternative Loan resources here.

Federal Direct PLUS and/or Private/Alternative loans will be awarded based on the Cost of Attendance, minus any financial aid already offered and accepted. We cannot certify a PLUS and/or private/alternative loan for more than the Cost of Attendance minus offered and accepted financial aid, even if the student or parent is approved for over that amount. To learn more about the Cost of Attendance, click here.

View the institutional Title IV Student Loan Code of Conduct here.

Once a student files the FAFSA, they may be randomly selected by the U.S. Department of Education, for a review of their financial aid eligibility and/or financial aid application. Stockton University is required by federal regulations to verify all information required by the U.S Department of Education as well as the information reported on the application of each student selected.

In order to comply with these regulations, we may need to collect additional documentation.

Students are responsible for completing these requirements as soon as possible in order to receive aid. Financial aid will not be processed until all requirements are completed. Any student who does not comply with verification requirements and complete the process within the academic year for which aid would be offered will not be eligible for financial aid. Once all requirements are completed and a review is finalized, student’s whose aid is adjusted due to this process will receive a revised financial aid offer notification within 7-10 business days of the completed and processed review.

Click here to learn more about the verification process.

Please Note: The Office of Financial Aid reserves the right to request verification of any data submitted by parents or applicants. If the data is found to be incorrect, the data may be corrected and the financial aid offer will be revised. If the applicant is determined ineligible for financial aid, the applicant’s offer can be withdrawn. The applicant will then be responsible for payment of all expenses incurred at Stockton University.

Please note that students cannot use any current financial aid to pay prior educational expenses at Stockton. There are some private lenders that will lend to students with past due balances. Click here to view a historic list of lenders. Remember to check with each lender to see if they will lend to students with past due balances before borrowing.

Contact the Bursar's Office for payment due dates and more information on paying a past due balance.

The Federal Work Study (FWS) program is a need-based, federally funded work program administered by the Office of Financial Aid. The program allows students to work part-time on or off campus to help offset their educational expenses. The funds will not be directly credited to a student's account, instead they are paid biweekly. Students apply by filing a FAFSA. If a student is offered FWS, it will be included in their financial aid offer. Students need to accept the offer and find employment. 

Click here to learn more about the Federal Work Study Program and Terms and Conditions of the program.

Receipt of any outside sources of financial aid, including grants or scholarships, may require adjustments to a student's financial aid package. Examples of financial aid resources that could adjust your financial aid package including but not limited to: waivers of tuition and fees, assistantships, housing and meal benefits as a resident assistant (RA).

If a student receives an outside scholarship, their financial aid may be adjusted. It is the student's responsibility to provide scholarship information to the Office of Financial Aid.

If a student officially or unofficially withdraws during a payment period or period of enrollment, the amount of financial aid that the student has earned up to that point is calculated by a specific formula. If no last date of attendance can be determined through our Academic Engagement process, the student must repay all funds credited to his or her account. If the student receives more financial aid than they earned (based on the number of weeks they attended), the excess funds must be returned. Available, upon request, in the Office of Financial Aid is “Treatment of Federal Student Aid When a Student Withdraws” and the calculation worksheet for the “Treatment of Title IV Funds when a student withdraws from a credit hour program.”

---

Withdrawing from a Class:

Students who decide to drop classes after the add/drop period may see adjustments to their aid. Many aid programs have enrollment criteria associated with them. For example, most state financial aid programs require students to be enrolled for 12 credits or more. Federal financial aid loan programs require students to be enrolled 6 credits or more. For aid to disburse to the school, students must meet enrollment criteria.

If withdrawing from a class will drop you below full of half time status, please contact the Office of Financial Aid at finaid@stockton.edu to learn how this could effect your aid.

Learn more about adjustments to aid here.

---

Complete Withdrawal from the University:

Students who completely withdraw from the university or declare a leave of absence during an academic semester will have their aid adjusted up through the 60% point of the term. This means that some financial aid funds may have to be returned to federal and state governments when a student withdraws. This process is called Return of Title IV and is required by law.

Aid is disbursed at the beginning of the semester with the expectation that the student will successfully complete the enrollment term and thereby earn the aid that was disbursed. If the student withdraws or stops attending their courses, our office must determine how long the student attended and how much of the aid was earned. Unearned aid must be returned to the aid programs. A formula established by the federal government is used to calculate this amount. In most cases this will result in a balance owed to the University.

After funds are returned, any balance will need to be paid to the Bursar.

If a student totally withdraws for the semester, the student will keep the institutional aid (Stockton scholarship and/or grant), as long as there is no refund generated from the withdrawal. If a credit balance is created due to the withdraw, the Office of Financial Aid will adjust the institutional aid so there is no refund of institutional aid.

Institutional policies regarding refunds differ from financial aid policies.

Visit stockton.edu/bursars to learn more about institutional refunds.

Learn more about adjustments to aid here.

---

Academic Engagement:

Before financial aid is disbursed, the University must be able to document that a student has begun attendance in the courses for which they will receive funds. We receive this information from faculty members at the start of the semester.

We will monitor the Academic Engagement process, and if necessary, make downward adjustments to aid, if necessary.

Visit stockton.edu/academic engagement for more information.

---

Federal Direct Loan Proration:

Federal direct loans are offered at the beginning of an academic year and are based on expected full time enrollment (12 or more credits a semester for undergraduate students). Per federal regulations, institutions are required to prorate loans for graduating undergraduate students when their final period of enrollment is less than a full academic year.

Learn more about Federal Direct Loan Proration here.

Students must notify the Office of Financial Aid as well as Office of the Registrar of any change of the following: address, withdrawal, leave of absence or change in the number of credits attempted.

Financial Appeals:

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) requests for your financial information from two years prior to the year of the application. We realize that there may be cases where your financial situation may have changed substantially and is now very different from the information you reported on the FAFSA. In other cases, a unique circumstance may also exist financially or relating to the dependency of a student.

Click here to learn more about financial aid appeals. If you meet any of the criteria for one of these appeals, follow the directions to submit your appeal to our office.

---

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP):

Financial Aid recipients must meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) is evaluated annually at the close of the Spring semester.

At the time of each evaluation, a student who has not achieved the required GPA, or who is not successfully completing his or her educational program at the required pace, is no longer eligible to receive financial aid. However, students who have experienced extenuating circumstances beyond their control may appeal to be reinstated.

For more information on SAP requirements and appeals, click here.