How Your Eligibility for Financial Aid is Determined

Eligibility for University and Federal Aid Programs

Eligibility criteria for Federal financial aid are determined by the US Department of Education. Click here for a detailed list of criteria required to qualify for Federal financial aid.

In order to establish eligibility for Title IV programs, such as Federal Pell Grant, Federal College Work-Study, Federal Supplemental Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Federal Perkins Loans, and Federal (subsidized and unsubsidized) Direct Loans, a student must be enrolled in a degree-seeking program at Gallaudet. The student must meet the requirement of U.S. citizenship. With the exception of unsubsidized Direct, Grad Plus, and Parent Plus loans, all of the federal programs are need-based.

In order to receive assistance from these programs, the student must:

• Be making satisfactory progress toward the completion of a degree in his or her field of study
• Not be in default on a Perkins or Direct/Stafford loan
• Not owe a repayment on a Pell Grant or Perkins loan
• Must not have met lifetime limits for Pell Grants or loans

Most of Gallaudet’s financial aid programs require that you demonstrate “financial need.” Financial need is the difference between the estimated cost to attend Gallaudet for an academic year and the amount that a student and his or her parents together are expected to contribute from their resources (the result of your FAFSA application). Following is an example of how it works:

The financial need amount is the total that a student is permitted to receive in financial aid from all sources. It is assumed that parents who are responsible for their children’s college expenses will pay as much of the costs as they possibly can. Regular family income and assets are the basis for determining your eligibility for financial aid. Consideration is made for family size, the number of children in college, the age of parents, and the marital status of parents. The Financial Aid Office makes every effort to see that the majority of an undergraduate student’s financial need is satisfied by grants and scholarship support, including those from sources such as VR, state grants, and private scholarships. More or less may be awarded depending on the availability of funds, enrollment records, and the date applications are received. Financial aid is applied towards disbursed to student accounts and applied to direct costs./ Remaining need and indirect costs, if any, may be met through loans and/or work programs.

Your Financial Aid Costs

The purpose of financial aid is to assist in covering your Educational Costs. These costs include tuition, fees, room, board, transportation, and an average allowance for personal expenses. Financial aid is NOT intended to meet all of your living costs, and students must be prepared to meet their own non-educational living needs when they attend. The average financial aid cost of attendance* for 2018-2019 is $38,238 for Undergraduate students and $45,106 for Graduate students. Your financial aid from ALL sources cannot exceed this amount.

*Cost of Attendance includes expected costs (and allowances) above those charged by the Institution for tuition, fees, room, and board. These figures do not represent amounts billed to students by the institution. For more information on direct charges See Tuition and Fees.

Cost of Attendance

The Cost of Attendance (COA) figure represents the expenses associated with student attendance for one or two semesters at Gallaudet University and usually is a nine-month figure. The COA is not the same as Gallaudet direct charges for tuition, fees, room, and/or board. COA figures do include these direct charges, but also include estimated expenses for transportation, books and supplies, and personal (medical, dental, recreational) expenses. Financial aid must consider all educationally -related expenses in determining financial aid types and amounts. Students/Parents should not confuse Cost of Attendance, or student expense budget, with the amount required to cover tuition, fees and living expenses on campus (which is less).

Expected Family Contribution

Expected Family Contributions (EFC) is calculated by the FAFSA information that is reported by the applicant and his/her parents (if the student is determined dependent). This figure represents the family’s financial responsibility toward meeting the total Cost of Attendance (see above section). The difference between the cost of education and family contribution is the maximum amount that a student may receive in need-based financial aid from all sources. Financial aid does not dictate how the family contribution is used (whether toward direct charges or non-direct expenses), but it does have to assume that the contribution will be made. Financial aid will not be awarded beyond the financial need amount and should aid be received in excess of the financial need figure, reductions/cancellations in financial aid awarded by the Financial Aid Office will have to be made. For information, refer Financial Aid Awards. Students/Parents who need assistance in meeting this family contribution amount may apply for Unsubsidized Stafford or PLUS Loans (if otherwise eligible).

Or, you may also request an increase to their cost of attendance for unusual expenses they may have during the academic year, such as purchasing a new computer, or books and supplies that exceed the budgeted amount. To determine your eligibility for professional judgment, please click here to complete the financial aid appeal form.

Dependency Override:

For financial aid purposes, a student is considered a dependent of their parents unless the student is:

• 24 years old
• married
• serving on active duty in the US Armed Forces
• a veteran
• a parent with dependents
• an emancipated minor
• homeless
• assigned a legal guardian before the age of 18

If you have an unusual circumstance such as an abusive family environment, abandonment, incarceration of a parent, etc., you may appeal to be independent of your parents. You may also request limited financial aid if your parents simply refuse to provide their information on the FAFSA. To begin the appeal process, contact the Financial Aid Office for more information.

Verification of FAFSA Information

The Federal (FAFSA) Processor may select your application for “Verification”, which is indicated on your Student Aid Report (SAR -FAFSA results) by an asterisk ( * ) beside the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) number. Verification selection means that information/documents supporting the FAFSA entries must be submitted to the Financial Aid Office for review. The Financial Aid Office also may select applications for verification if there is some indication that information was omitted or entered incorrectly. All students selected for verification will be notified that information must be submitted to the Financial Aid Office.

For additional information and assistance through the process of satisfying Verification requirements, please refer to our FAFSA Verification page. Financial aid awards will not be determined until all verification documents are received. Applicants are required to provide these documents within 30 days from the verification notification date. Students that choose NOT to complete FAFSA Verification requirements may opt to borrow unsubsidized Federal Stafford loans only, up to the maximum annual limit. Note that the maximum annual limit in unsubsidized Federal Stafford loan is insufficient to finance the sum of basic direct costs, such as tuition and fees.

Students must be alert to the fact that during the semester these notifications will be sent via email and/or mailed to campus PO Boxes, NOT to parents at home. For this reason, Gallaudet email and campus PO Boxes should be checked on a regular basis.

Independent Student Definition

The statutory definition of an independent student is one who is at least 24 years of age by December 31 of the award year, an orphan or ward of the court, a veteran of the Armed Forces, married, a graduate or professional student, one who has legal dependents other than a spouse, is in legal guardianship as determined by a court in their state of legal residence, determined by a high school or school district homeless liaison as an unaccompanied homeless youth, or at any time on or after July 1, 2012 determined by the director of an emergency shelter or transitional housing program funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to be an unaccompanied homeless youth. Students who do not meet one of the above criteria are considered to be dependent and must provide parents’ financial information on the FAFSA.