FINANCIAL AID AND SCHOLARSHIPS

Admissions > Financial Aid and Scholarships > Resources > Determining Eligibility

DETERMINING ELIGIBILITY

Each student must meet these basic eligibility requirements to possibly be eligible for Financial Aid:

Demonstrate financial needfor need-based federal student aid programs;
Be a U.S. citizen or an eligible noncitizen;
Have a valid Social Security number (with the exception of students from the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau);
Be enrolled or accepted for enrollment as a regular studentin an eligible degree or certificate program;
Be enrolled at least half-time to be eligible for Direct LoanProgram funds;
Maintain satisfactory academic progressin college or career school;
Sign the certification statement on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid(FAFSA^®) form stating that you’re not in default on a federal student loan, you do not owe money on a federal student grant, and you’ll only use federal student aid for educational purposes; and
Having a high school diploma or a state-recognized equivalent such as a General Educational Development (GED) certificate
- Completing a high school education in a homeschool setting approved under state law (or—if state law does not require a homeschooled student to obtain a completion credential—completing a high school education in a homeschool setting that qualifies as an exemption from compulsory attendance requirements under state law)

If I meet the basic eligibility criteria above, who decides how much money I’ll get?

Your eligibility depends on your Expected Family Contribution, your year in school, your enrollment status, and the cost of attendance at the school you will be attending. Morehouse College determines how much financial aid you are eligible to receive.

The Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships starts by deciding upon your cost of attendance (COA).
Consider your Expected Family Contribution (EFC).
Subtract your EFC from your COA to determine the amount of your financial needand therefore how much need-based aid you can get.
To determine how much non-need-based aidyou can get, Morehouse College takes your cost of attendance and subtracts any financial aid you’ve already been awarded.

Expected Family Contribution

Your EFC is an index number that Morehouse College Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships use to determine how much financial aid you would receive if you were to attend. The information you report on your FAFSA form is used to calculate your EFC.

The EFC is calculated according to a formula established by law. Your family’s taxed and untaxed income, assets, and benefits (such as unemployment or Social Security) all could be considered in the formula. Also considered are your family size and the number of family members who will attend college or career school during the year. The EFC Formula guide shows exactly how an EFC is calculated.

Cost of Attendance (COA)

Your COA is the amount it will cost you to go to school. Morehouse College will calculate your COA to show your total cost for the school year (for instance, for the fall semester plus the spring semester).

If you’re attending at least half-time, your COA is the estimate of

tuition and fees;
the cost of room and board(or living expenses for students who do not contract with the school for room and board);
the cost of books, supplies, transportation, loanfees, and miscellaneous expenses (including a reasonable amount for the documented cost of a personal computer);

Calculating your Financial Need

Cost of Attendance (COA) − Expected Family Contribution (EFC) = Financial Need

Need-based aid is financial aid that you can receive if you have financial need and meet other eligibility criteria. You can’t receive more need-based aid than the amount of your financial need. For instance, if your COA is $16,000 and your EFC is 12000, your financial need is $4,000; so you aren’t eligible for more than $4,000 in need-based aid.

The following are the need-based federal student aid programs:

What is non-need-based aid and how does my school figure out how much I’ll get?

Morehouse College determines how much non-need-based aid you can get by using this formula:

Calculating Your Non-need-based Aid

Cost of Attendance (COA) − Financial Aid Awarded So Far* = Eligibility for Non-need-based Aid

*includes aid from all sources, such as the school, private scholarship providers, etc.

Non-need-based aid is financial aid that is not based on your EFC. What matters is your COA and how much other assistance you’ve been awarded so far. For instance, if your COA is $16,000 and you’ve been awarded a total of $4,000 in need-based aid and private scholarships, you can get up to $12,000 in non-need-based aid.

The following are the non-need-based federal student aid programs:

Determining Eligibility