2009-10 Academic Year
Academic Scholarships | Need-Based Financial Aid | Family Contribution Formulas | Treatment of Privately-Funded Awards | Annual Determination of Financial Aid Eligibility | Appeal Policy I. Academic Scholarships. In order to attract the caliber of students who value the tradition of quality Jesuit education that Loyola College offers, we award academic scholarships unrelated to financial need. The awards are based on superior academic ability and potential to contribute to the academic climate of the campus community. Entering Freshmen applicants who meet the admissions application deadline are automatically considered for Loyola's academic scholarships. Students are selected on a competitive basis considering high school grade performance, course selection, rank-in-class, and SAT (Reading and Math) or ACT results. The intensity of the competition each year depends on the size and quality of the freshman class applicant pool. Loyola currently offers academic scholarships at three levels, $10,000, $15,000 and $25,000 for four years. Scholarships below the full-tuition level do not increase as tuition increases. The number of scholarship awards offered to entering freshmen is based on our institutional budget and anticipated yield rate. Therefore, many more scholarship offers will be made than our budget allows, recognizing that a percentage of students will decline our offer and attend other colleges and universities. Our goal is to make the best scholarship offer possible considering Loyola's level of selectivity, and budget constraints. We are unable to "match" other colleges' academic scholarship awards. Loyola College administers a limited number of endowed scholarships and privately-funded scholarships reserved for members of the junior and senior classes. Therefore, currently enrolled students who have achieved an outstanding academic record (minimum GPA of 3.00) at the end of their sophomore and junior years and who meet other donor-specified selection criteria will be considered for scholarships from these funds. Endowed scholarships and privately-funded scholarships administered by Loyola College may be used to fund (in full or part) institutional academic scholarships and may be substituted for institutional need-based grant assistance.
Return to top of page. II. Need-Based Financial Aid. Demonstrated financial need is determined by subtracting the contribution Loyola College expects parents and the student to make toward educational expenses (the family contribution) from the amount we estimate that it will cost the student to attend Loyola (the student expense budget). The student expense budget minus the family contribution equals financial need. There are three standard student expense budgets: on-campus, off campus, and living at home with parents. The student expense budget includes actual charges for tuition, fees and room, and standard allowances for meal services, books and supplies, transportation, and personal expenses. The formula used to determine a family's ability to pay college expenses are based on a number of factors, including current assets and prior year's income for both parents and the student. The formulas do not assume the expected family contribution will be available entirely from current income or assets. Nor is it assumed that all families will finance a college education in the same way. Rather, the formulas attempt to use a "snapshot" of current assets and prior year's income to measure the total financial strength of the family over time. It is further assumed that families will make individual decisions about how to finance their share of educational costs using a combination of assets, current income, and borrowing against future income.
Return to top of page. III. Family Contribution Formulas. There are two methods of determining a family's expected contribution toward educational costs. The Federal Methodology is used to determine a student's eligibility for federal aid, including Pell Grants, and Direct Stafford Loans, and most forms of state grant assistance. The federal family contribution is determined using the data provided on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Because the Federal Methodology ignores some forms of income and eliminates some types of assets from consideration, Loyola College uses an Institutional Methodology to determine a student's need for institutionally-controlled and funded forms of financial aid. The institutional family contribution is determined using the data provided on the College Scholarship Service's PROFILE Application. Federal financial aid regulations stipulate that a student's total financial aid package may not exceed the federally-determined need analysis result when federal forms of financial aid are included in the aid package. Therefore, Loyola will use the Federal Methodology need analysis results in cases where the Institutional Methodology yields a lower expected family contribution than the Federal Methodology. We believe the institutional need analysis formula more accurately and more equitably measures a family's financial strength by using sound economic principles, practices, and assumptions. The treatment of the main institutional need analysis variables is explained below: A. Family Size. This is the number of family members living in the same household. Relatives living outside the home, even when supported by the family, are not included. Siblings attending graduate school or siblings who are 24 or older are considered independent and will not be included in family size. B. Family Members Enrolled in College. For families with two or more children attending four-year private or public colleges, the parent contribution is assessed at 60 percent for each child if two children are enrolled and 45 percent for each child if three children are enrolled. If a sibling attends a two-year community college, the parent contribution is increased proportionally. There is no adjustment in the parental contribution when parents are enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program or for children enrolled in graduate school, or for children enrolled part-time in an undergraduate program.
Parents should expect a significant increase in their expected contribution when a dependent child graduates or is no longer enrolled in an undergraduate program. C. Divorce/Separation. In cases of divorce or separation, the parent with whom the student resides (and if applicable, a stepparent) is responsible for completing the FAFSA and PROFILE applications. Loyola College also requires the non-custodial parent to complete the Noncustodial Parent's PROFILE Application. While divorce or separation may complicate the extent to which one or both parents can contribute, it does not absolve either parent of this obligation. Our policy for determining the financial need of students whose parents are divorced or separated derives from the central principle upon which we determine financial need for all of our students, that is, both parents are responsible for the support of their children to the extent that they are financially capable. D. Parents' Income. Income is the most weighted factor in determining the expected parental contribution toward educational expenses. The formulas use the most recent complete year of financial information to determine the expected contribution for the upcoming academic year. Therefore, annual fluctuations in income (and assets) are considered annually using the most complete tax year information. Taxable Income. This category includes wages, salaries, interest, and dividends. It can also include business /farm profit, pensions, annuities, rents, royalties, trust income, and other forms of miscellaneous taxable income. For parents who own businesses, depreciation on real property or automobiles, and part or all of other forms of depreciation, wages paid to dependent children, and noncash benefits such as automobile use and insurance coverage are typically added back to income. Losses, including those from business and rental ventures, capital losses and losses carried forward from prior years will not affect other forms of income. One-time additions to income, such as capital gains or the liquidation of an annuity or pension are considered an exchange of assets and are not included in income. Untaxed Income. This income category includes social security benefits, veterans benefits, welfare, or child support. It also includes voluntary annual contributions to tax deferred savings/retirement plans, housing/living allowances, untaxed portions of pensions/annuities, workers compensation, and any other form of untaxed income or benefits.
E. Parents' Assets. Because assets contribute to a family's financial strength, they also are considered in determining the parents' contribution. Assets included in the formula are: equity in real estate, including the family home, savings, investments of all kinds, a portion of business/farm net value, trusts, and annuities. Real estate will not be accepted at a lower value than the purchase price and national real estate appreciation multipliers are often used to project market value. For family owned businesses, accumulated depreciation, loans from shareholders, capital stock, and retained earnings are not considered liabilities in calculating net value of these assets. Automobiles and consumer goods are not included as assets, nor is the value of the parents' primary retirement fund. F. Student's Contribution. Since students are the primary beneficiaries of a college education, they are expected to assist their parents in meeting their educational expenses. Therefore, it is expected that students will work during the summer and use a portion of any assets held in their name. Entering freshmen are expected to contribute a minimum of $2,100 plus 20 percent of assets; sophomores, juniors, and seniors are expected to contribute a minimum of $2,400 plus 20 percent of assets.
Return to top of page. IV. Treatment of Privately-Funded Awards and Awards from Other Outside Sources. A. Non-Need Based Financial Aid Packages. Privately-funded scholarships, state grants, and grants from other outside sources are added to Loyola's institutionally-funded academic scholarships, endowed scholarships, or Resident Assistantships up to a maximum of full-tuition, fees, room and the standard meal allowance. B. Need-Based Financial Aid Packages. Privately-funded scholarships, merit-based state grants and grants from other outside sources are incorporated in need-based financial aid packages in the following sequence: - added to meet any unmet institutionally determined need
- substituted for the Loyola Student Loan (up to $2,500 per year)
- substituted for the Federal Perkins Loan (up to $1,000 per year)
- substituted for Federal Work-Study (up to $2,800 per year)
- substituted for institutional need-based grant
- there is no substitution for the subsidized Federal Direct Stafford Loan
Our goal is to incorporate privately-funded awards or awards from other outside sources in a student's financial aid package as favorably as possible. These awards are added to meet any unmet need first and then substituted for self-help forms of financial aid (excluding Federal Direct Stafford Loan funds) before adjusting institutional grant assistance. Additionally, the awards are applied evenly to the students account between the fall and spring semesters unless otherwise specified by the donor.
Return to top of page. V. Annual Determination of Financial Aid Eligibility. Eligibility for all forms of need-based institutional and federal forms of aid is determined based upon an annual review of the information submitted on the College scholarship Service PROFILE Application and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Annual changes in family income, assets, family size, and number of dependent children enrolled in college will effect the annual expected family contribution toward educational expenses.
Return to top of page. VI. Appeal Policy. Loyola College's goal is to offer students the best financial aid decision possible considering the policies described above, our federal financial aid funding levels, and our institutional financial aid budget constraints. Therefore, we are unable to address appeals based on the disagreement with any of our financial aid policies. We do not negotiate financial aid offers with families, nor are we able to match financial aid offers made by other colleges and universities. Families who suffer significant losses of income due to temporary or long term loss of employment or the death of a wage earner, or families who incur significant medical expenses not covered by insurance may appeal for a mid-academic year review of the financial aid decision. In these unusual situations, Loyola College will use "current year" income rather than the "prior year" income to determine a change in financial aid eligibility. All requests for a mid-academic year review must be made in writing and must include a copy of the parents' 2010 Federal Tax Return.
All federal, state, and institutional student financial aid recipients must be U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, or eligible noncitizens with a valid Social Security number. An eligible noncitizen is a U.S. permanent resident who has an I-151, I-551, or I551C (Permanent Resident Card). Return to top of page. |
