Institutional Aid is determined based on both merit and demonstrated need. Institutional aid is comprised of all scholarships and grants awarded by the college. The college reserves the right to change institutional financial aid should the status of a student change. Please be aware that any changes in federal aid, outside scholarships, number of credits taken per semester, or housing status may impact your financial aid eligibility. For example, if you change from on-campus to off-campus your estimated Cost Of Attendance (COA) will be reduced as the estimated COA for living off-campus is less than the estimated COA for living on-campus. In turn, your financial aid eligibility will be reduced. Depending on your aid eligibility, grants/scholarships, loans or work-study opportunities may be reduced. In nearly every case, if you are offered a Providence Grant or Scholarship that award will be adjusted.

Aid will be stacked in the following order (unless otherwise stated):

• Federal Grants
• State Grants
• Outside Aid (depending on what the scholarship/award is designated to help cover)
• Institutional Aid, in the following order:
  • Athletic Scholarship – cannot be stacked with other institutional aid
  • Witherspoon Scholarship – cannot be stacked with other institutional aid
  • Early Application Scholarship
  • Academic Merit Scholarship
  • Reformed, Christian School or Homeschool Scholarship
  • Christian Leadership Scholarship or Multicultural Scholarship
  • Christian Ministry Grant
  • Travel Grant
  • Sibling Grant
  • Canadian Exchange Rate GrantDirect Subsidized Student Loan
• Direct Unsubsidized Student Loan
• PLUS Loan – Parent
• Alternative Loan

Step 1 – Cost of Attendance

Financial aid cannot stack above Cost of Attendance (COA.)

Step 2 – Institutional Aid

Providence scholarships and grants cannot stack above tuition.

Financial Aid Forms

Need Based Appeal Form Printable

Student Complaint Process

Beginning October 1 and ongoing

• Submit Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by March 2. Our federal code for the FAFSA is 041539.
• Submit Cal Grant GPA Verification Form by March 2
  (California residents only)
• Apply for outside scholarships in your area, online and through your high school guidance office
• You may choose not to complete the FAFSA form; however, your financial aid will then be awarded with scholarships only, no grants or loans. Please complete the FAFSA Declination Form and send it with your other financial aid materials if you DO NOT plan to complete the FAFSA form.

• Apply for merit-based scholarships at Providence. See the list of scholarships or contact your admissions counselor for advice on what to apply for.

January/February

• Providence’s Office of Financial Aid may mail you an estimated award letter that lists the scholarships, grants and loans you are being offered based on the FAFSA and the college.
• Return requested forms that are mailed to you.

May 1

• National Deposit Deadline
• Secure your place at Providence:
  • Pay your Enrollment Deposit: $100 (non-refundable after May 1)

June

• Apply for the Direct Parent PLUS Loan and/or any other alternative loans if needed
• Complete the VFAO – Virtual Financial Aid Office application if you want to receive federal grants and loans. See Federal Financial Aid section on this website for more information.

August

• Down payment due on August 1 (view cost and payment procedures)
• Complete enrollment paperwork and move in at the end of August!

Disbursement of aid is the process by which financial aid is actually placed into the students Populi account. Refunding is the process where the student receives payment of funds from their financial aid in excess of bills and fees due to the college.

A student’s financial aid (except Student Employment and Federal Work-Study) is credited directly to his/her student account and applied to tuition and fees for each semester. For on campus students, financial aid is also applied to housing costs each semester. Student Employment and Federal Work-Study funds are paid in the form of a semi-monthly paycheck. Funds are paid for authorized hours worked.

The initial financial aid award is evenly distributed between two 16-week periods or semesters. This distribution is based on the assumption that the recipient is attending courses starting in August and continuing through May.

Financial aid disbursements at Providence Christian College occur Monday through Friday during each semester, starting on the first official disbursement day. This official disbursement day will change depending on the semester and year, specific dates can be found below.

U.S. Department of Education regulations allow schools to use Federal Student Aid only to pay current academic year charges. Therefore, students are not able to use Federal Student Aid to pay student account charges for a previous academic year.

Before any funds are paid to a student, the Financial Aid Office must check for enrolled units, satisfactory academic progress, and verification status. Some verification items will prevent financial aid from disbursing to a student account. We encourage students to check their emails often and especially prior to disbursement.

Not all students will be eligible for a refund. If you do receive a refund, a check will be processed by the Business Office and you will be notified by email to pick it up or have it mailed to the address that you provide. Refunds take approximately 2-4 business days to process.

2024-2025 Disbursement Schedule

Fall 2024

• Fall 2024 Disbursements will begin to post to students’ Populi accounts the week of August 31st.

Spring 2025

• Spring 2025 Disbursements will begin to post to students’ Populi account beginning January 11th . The majority of students will see aid release during the week of January 11th.

In order for financial aid to be released, students must meet all enrollment and disbursement conditions. For additional information, see the General Disbursement Policy below.

General Disbursement Policy

Grants and Scholarships

After the Financial Aid Office verifies that disbursement conditions are met, grants and scholarships will be posted to the student’s Populi account within 2-4 business days.

Loans

The process for receiving student loan funding is as follows:

For Federal Direct Subsidized and Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans

1. Accept Federal Direct Subsidized and Federal Direct Unsubsidized loans through the VFAO-Virtual Financial Aid Office interview and the Financial Aid Award Estimate.
2. E-Sign the Federal Direct Subsidized and Federal Direct Unsubsidized Master Promissory Note (MPN). You will only need to sign the MPN once per each type of loan.
3. To fulfill the loan entrance counseling requirement with the U.S. Department of Education (ED) if you are a first time Federal Direct borrower at Providence Christian College you will need to complete the VFAO-Virtual Financial Aid Office interview or ED loan entrance counseling which can be found on studentaid.gov.
4. You should receive your Federal Direct Subsidized and Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan in your Populi student account within 3-5 business days of completing all steps listed above. The gross amount of the loan is always paid in two equal halves – half for the fall term and half for the spring term.
5. Your loan funds will first pay for any outstanding charges in your Populi student account. If there are any funds remaining, you will receive a refund. The refund takes 2-4 business days to be processed through the Business Office.

For Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loans

1. Your parent must apply for the Federal Direct Parent PLUS loan on the studentaid.gov website. Your parent must confirm application of this loan by responding to the email sent to them by the Financial Aid Office.
2. The same parent that accepts the Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan must E-Sign the Federal Direct Parent PLUS Master Promissory Note (MPN). This parent will only need to sign the MPN once for the Parent PLUS Loan, unless your parent obtains an endorser. If a different parent accepts a Parent PLUS Loan, that parent must sign their own MPN.
3. The Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan should disburse to your Populi account within 1-2 weeks. The gross amount of the loan is always paid in two equal halves – half for the fall term and half for the spring term.
4. The funds will first pay for any outstanding charges in your Populi account. If there are any funds remaining, you will receive a refund. The refund takes 2-4 business days to be processed through the Business Office.

For Private Education Loans

1. Private loans are available through Sallie Mae. Please contact the Financial Aid Office for more information on these types of loans.
2. The funds will first pay for any outstanding charges in your Populi account. If there are any funds remaining, you will receive a refund. The refund takes 2-4 business days to be processed through the Business Office.