Financial Aid Award FAQ
After you have been awarded, you will be able to see your award letter in the DUCK Message Portal.
Yes! It is the official email address we will use to keep you informed of important financial aid information. You are responsible for all email sent to your Clayton State University email address, and we recommend that you check it frequently. More information is available on the HUB website.
Students who are awarded for Fall and Spring Semesters are awarded their entire eligibility for the academic year. Students who attend full-time both semesters and accept all loan funds offered may not have additional federal funds available for Summer Semester. However, there are many variables that determine aid eligibility such as the Spring Check Point for HOPE, SAP, etc. For that reason, a survey question will be available when you log on to the DUCK in early Spring Semester regarding Summer financial aid. You must complete the one question survey to be reviewed for Summer financial aid. Once you complete the Summer survey it will no longer be available in your message portal. After the review is complete, you will receive notification of your Summer financial aid eligibility. Please note that the review of your file can take several weeks.
Students will need to email the Financial Aid Office to let the office know of your future plans for attending. Your financial aid awards will be adjusted accordingly within that particular academic year. Please note that financial aid does not roll over from one academic year to another. Fall always begins a new financial aid year.
You may not receive any funds for the next term of enrollment until all grades have been reported. This is necessary to ensure continued eligibility for all federal and state aid.
A Stafford Loan is a government-guaranteed loan available to students. There are two types of Stafford loans; subsidized and unsubsidized. The subsidized Federal Stafford loan, is based on financial need. With a subsidized Stafford, the government pays the interest while you're in school.
With an unsubsidized Stafford, the amount you are eligible to receive is not based on your financial need. You are responsible for the interest while you are in school. You can either pay the interest while you are in school or defer it until after graduation. You should note that if you defer the interest, it will be capitalized upon graduation and will raise the overall cost of your loan.
Yes. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2012 becomes effective July 1, 2012 which limits the receipt of a Pell Grant to a LIFETIME limit of 600%, which is 12 full-time semesters of study.
A student who has received 600% (the equivalent of 6 full year awards or 12 semesters) of Federal Pell Grant will no longer be eligible for the Pell Grant. This includes community colleges, vocational schools, and four year public and private universities. The US Department of Education will track the limit. Students who have earned a Bachelor’s Degree remain ineligible for Pell even if the 600% eligibility has not been reached.
How this affects you:When you receive the Pell grant for full-time study, you use 50% of the award per semester. This means that after your first full-time semester, you have used 50%; after your second full-time semester, you have used 100%; after your third full-time semester, you have used 150% and so on until you reach 600%. Part-time attendance is prorated based on credits enrolled.
You can log on to Federal Student Aid site using your Federal Student Aid ID and view your LEU. The LEU will be found on
the Financial Aid Review page.
HOPE will no longer cover learning support courses. Students can receive federal financial aid such as grants and/or loans for a total of 30 attempted hours for learning support courses.
No. Audit status in a class does not qualify for financial aid. Auditing a course means that a student may enroll in the class but will not receive credit for the course. Audited classes cannot be used at a later date for college credit or to fulfill admission or graduation requirements.
No. Courses that are not required for your major are not covered by financial aid. You must notify the Financial Aid Office if you are taking courses not required for your major, and you will be responsible for paying out-of-pocket for those courses.
No. MSL courses cannot be used to satisfy any graduation requirement (even electives) and are only required for those in ROTC. Therefore, courses are not required for your major and cannot be covered by financial aid or count toward enrollment hours for federal or state aid. You will be responsible for paying out-of-pocket for those courses.
No, you do not have to be enrolled full-time to receive the HOPE Grant or the HOPE Scholarship but the amount is prorated when you are enrolled less than full-time (12 hours).
It can. Students who withdraw may be required to repay to the federal program the amount of unearned financial aid funds disbursed to them based upon their withdrawal date. If you owe funds, you will be billed by the Bursar’s Office approximately 4 to 6 weeks after you withdraw. Also, withdrawals can affect your future financial aid eligibility due to your completion ratio. For more information, see the Frequently Asked Questions regarding Withdrawals.
Book money is available to you, if after payment of tuition and fees, you have remaining financial aid funds in your student account. Your book money will only show when your LakerCard is scanned in the Campus Store. Check the The Loch Shop website each semester for the dates that your book money can be used.
After your student account charges (tuition, fees, book store purchases, etc) in the Bursar's Office have been paid in full, you will receive any financial aid amount remaining on your account. The refund/reimbursement will be processed for you according to your refund preference you set at RefundSelection.com. For more information, visit BankMobileDisbursements.com/how-it-works or contact the LakerCard Center at (678) 466-4215.
The Financial Aid Office does not process or mail refunds so we cannot tell you the amount of your refund or when it will be processed. If you have additional questions about refunds, contact the Bursar's Office or see the Frequently Asked Questions regarding Refunds on their website.
Yes. Effective Fall Semester 2011, students have ONE opportunity to regain the HOPE Scholarship after they attempt 30 semester hours, 60 semester hours or 90 semester hours of study with a 3.00 cumulative HOPE GPA.
Students who have the Zell Miller Scholarship have ONE opportunity to regain eligibility after they attempt 30 semester hours, 60 semester hours or 90 semester hours of study with a 3.3 cumulative HOPE GPA.