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Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships

Understanding Your Undergraduate
Financial Aid Award

 

How Your Financial Aid is Determined

At RIT, we believe that the primary responsibility for funding higher education costs belongs with the student, and in the case of dependent students, with the student’s family. Many of the aid programs administered by the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships require that the student show need for assistance beyond whatever financial contribution can be reasonably expected from a student and their family.

Your eligibility for these aid programs is based on the difference between the estimated cost of RIT/NTID and your family contribution. Estimated costs include tuition, fees, room, board, books, transportation, supplies, and personal expenses. If you plan to live at home with your parents and commute to RIT, your cost of attendance will not include room and board. Your family contribution is based on information provided on the FAFSA and is the amount you, and if you are dependent, your parents are expected to contribute towards these costs. The specific combination of federal, state, and/or RIT/NTID sponsored financial aid listed on your award letter is based on your financial need and the availability of funds.

The aid listed on your Financial Aid Award comes from a variety of sources and may include grants, scholarships, vocational rehabilitation, student loans, and/or part-time employment. These funds are provided by federal and state governments, as well as by RIT/NTID and private donors. Grants, scholarships and vocational rehabilitation are considered gift aid, and do not have to be repaid. Student loans and part-time employment are considered self-help aid. Student loans have to be repaid and student employment requires the student to work while attending school.

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Financial Aid and Your Billing Statement

The Office of Student Financial Services sends electronic billing statements prior to the beginning of each quarter. The billing statement reflects charges for tuition and fees and can be viewed on-line at https://ipay.rit.edu/. If you are living in RIT housing, your room and meal plan charges will also appear on your statement.

An estimate of your financial aid will be reflected on your bill as anticipated aid. The billing statement will show the anticipated financial aid deducted from your total charges. You will be required to pay any balance due after the financial aid has been deducted from your charges. On occasion, an anticipated award amount from an outside source may be different from the actual amount of funds received. In this case, your bill will be adjusted upon receipt and your revised balance will be reflected on your next billing statement. Most scholarships and grants awarded by RIT will be credited to your account once we receive all required financial aid documents. Scholarships and grants will be credited to your student account after the end of each quarter's Add/Drop period, with the exception of summer. Summer quarter financial aid cannot be disbursed until after July 1. Remember that you will need to bring money for books, supplies, personal expenses, and transportation. While you are not billed for these expenses, you should anticipate them as part of your overall costs. If your financial aid exceeds your student account charges, you may use the excess funds for these other educational expenses.

Tentative 2007-2008 Billing Dates

 
Fall
Winter
Spring
Summer
First Bill Generated
7/21/07
10/27/07
2/9/08
5/3/08
First Bill Due
8/15/07
11/16/07
3/5/08
5/21/08
Second Bill Generated
9/22/07
12/27/07
3/26/08
6/4/08
Second Bill Due
10/10/07
1/16/08
4/9/08
6/30/08

 

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What's Next - Financial Aid Checklist

All students should…

If your award includes…

Estimated VR:

New York State (NYS) TAP Grant:

RIT Loan:

“Pending Verification” Message:

RIT does not require your tax returns unless either your award letter or your most recent SAR indicates that you have been selected for the verification process.

Once all of the above steps have been completed, you should follow the steps below for each federal loan offered on your award letter, if you are a first time borrower:

Direct Subsidized and/or Unsubsidized Student Loans:

Federal Perkins Loan:

Federal PLUS Loan (parents of dependent students):

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RIT/NTID Grants and Scholarships

RIT & NTID Grants are awarded by the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships, and award amounts are based on your demonstrated financial need.

Named Scholarships are awarded from money given to RIT and NTID by individuals or organizations and are named by or for the donor. If you meet the specifications of the donor and you demonstrate financial need, you will automatically be considered for a named scholarship. Separate applications are not required.

Merit Scholarships are awarded by various RIT and NTID departments based on a student's academic performance. Examples include: RIT Presidential Scholarships, RIT Achievement Scholarships, and NTID Vice Presidential and Dean's Scholarships for Academic Excellence. Upperclassmen may receive merit scholarships based upon their academic performance while enrolled. The combined value of merit scholarships may not exceed tuition. Merit scholarships generally require a minimum of a 2.8 cumulative grade point average for renewal. Additional conditions for merit scholarship renewal may be outlined by specific scholarship programs at the time of selection and notification.

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Federal and State Grants

Federal Pell Grants are awarded to undergraduate students who meet the federal government's criteria, and who have not already earned a bachelor's or professional degree. A Federal Pell Grant may be received for only one school for the same period of enrollment.

Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG) are awarded from a combination of RIT and federal funds. Recipients must be eligible for a Federal Pell Grant and must demonstrate exceptional financial need. Grant amounts are variable and are determined by the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships.

Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG) is one of two new federal grant programs. This program is for first and second year students who have completed a rigorous high school program of study as defined by the U.S. Department of Education. In addition, recipients must be Pell eligible, be US citizens, and must maintain a 3.0 GPA in an eligible program.

National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant (SMART) is a new federal aid program. This grant is for third and fourth year students in specific majors identified by the US Department of Education. Additionally, recipients must be Pell eligible, be US citizens and must maintain a 3.0 GPA in an eligible program.

New York State Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) and Scholarships are for students meeting residence, income, academic and/or other requirements, established by New York State. Although a TAP estimate may be included as a part of your Financial Aid Award, the state’s notification is your official approved award. Academic requirements for New York State programs differ from requirements for RIT/NTID or federal aid programs. Academic eligibility is reviewed at the end of each quarter a state award is received. In addition to accruing degree credits and earning a minimum grade point average, TAP recipients must:

Completion of a course is defined as meeting course requirements and receiving a letter grade of A, B, C, D, or F. In addition, state regulations mandate that if a student repeats a course in which a passing grade acceptable to the institution was received, the repeated course does not count toward the minimum 12-credit-hour course load required for TAP and other state programs. Students are encouraged to contact their Financial Aid Counselor when considering repeating a course. In addition to New York State TAP, students may be awarded additional state sponsored awards such as the Academic Excellence Scholarship or the Persian Gulf Benefit. The total of all state awards will be reflected as a TAP grant on your Financial Aid Award Letter.

Other State Grants may be awarded by Vermont, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and the District of Columbia. If you are approved for a state grant, funds will be sent directly to RIT.

Vocational Rehabilitation Assistance (also known in some states as: DVR, MRC, VR, VESID, OVR) is provided by state agencies to residents who meet specific requirements. Contact the Vocational Rehabilitation Office near your home to apply for VR support. If you appear to be a candidate for VR support, you will see VR included in your financial aid award. Since there is no national standard for determining VR support, it is difficult for RIT to estimate the amount. Each agency in each state has their own method for determining awards. If the actual amount of VR support you receive is different from the estimated amount in your Financial Aid Award, RIT will make any required adjustments to your award. All NTID students who apply for financial aid are expected to also apply for VR assistance. If a VR amount is included in your financial aid award and you have not applied through your state agency, RIT will not be able to replace the estimated VR amount.

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Loan Resources

Loans are an invaluable resource for students because repayment is traditionally scheduled over a ten-year period beginning 6 months after you leave school or drop below half-time (6 credits) enrollment. Therefore, you are delaying payment on a portion of your educational costs.

Federal Loan Limits
Dependent
Independent
Academic Year
Maximum Federal
Direct (Sub & Unsub)
Maximum Federal
Subsidized Direct
Maximum Federal
Direct (Sub & Unsub)
Annual Limits
Year 1
$3,500
$3,500
$7,500
Years 2
$4,500
$4,500
$8,500
Years 3, 4, & 5
$5,500
$5,500
$10,500
Graduate/
Professional
n/a
$8,500
$20,500
Aggregate Limits
Dependent
Undergraduate
$23,000
n/a
n/a
Independent
Undergraduate
n/a
$23,000
$46,000
Graduate
n/a
$65,500
$138,500

 

William D. Ford Federal Direct Loans are provided by the federal government. The Direct Loan Program provides a simple way to obtain and repay student loans; the U.S. Department of Education is the lender and the loan funds are sent directly to RIT. If you borrowed federal loans at a previous institution, you can combine those loans with the Federal Direct Loans under the Direct Consolidation Loan Program. Effective July 1, 2006 the Federal Direct Loan interest rate is fixed at 6.8%. A 2.5% origination fee is deducted by the government from each loan disbursement. As an incentive to encourage timely repayment of Direct Loans, a 1.5% rebate is offered at the time of disbursement. If a borrower makes all of the first 12 monthly payments on time, the borrower can keep the rebate for the life of the loan. If you are a first time Federal Direct Loan borrower you must sign a Master Promissory Note and complete an Entrance Interview. The Master Promissory Note can be completed at http://dlenote.ed.gov and the Entrance Interview can be completed at www.ed.gov/directloan. You may also complete both the Master Promissory Note and the Entrance Interview in person at the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships.

Based on the information reported on the FAFSA, you may receive either a Subsidized Direct Loan or an Unsubsidized Direct Loan.

Once your application has been approved with a credit check, we will certify your eligibility and schedule the disbursement of funds directly into your RIT account. The total value of your requested loan amount will be divided equally over each quarter you are scheduled to enroll at RIT. Credit checks on alternative loans are only valid for a period of time that is determined by the lender. In many cases the lenders use 180 days. An application completed too soon before the start of your first term may not be valid.

Tuition Waivers and Outside Scholarships

RIT Tuition Waivers are administered by Human Resources. If you are a recipient of an RIT tuition waiver, and the tuition waiver amount that you anticipate is not reflected on your financial aid award, you should contact the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships. RIT tuition waiver recipients who plan to enroll full-time and who are New York State residents are required to apply for TAP by completing a FAFSA and, if required, an Express TAP Application. Students who are eligible for a 100% tuition waiver will have the waiver reduced by the value of their TAP award. Students who are eligible for a partial waiver will receive both their waiver and their TAP award, as long as the combination does not exceed the tuition charge. Full tuition waiver recipients may not receive a combination of tuition waiver and RIT merit scholarships that exceed RIT tuition charges by more than $1,000 in an academic year.

Outside Scholarships and Other Tuition Waivers are awarded by private organizations. We encourage students to apply for outside scholarships since these are an excellent source of funding and may reduce the need to borrow loans. In many cases, no adjustments to a student’s financial aid award are necessary. If, however, your award includes a Federal Perkins Loan, the outside scholarship will reduce the Perkins Loan dollar-for-dollar. If you are receiving a Tuition Waiver or a scholarship from an outside source, regulations require that you notify the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships. The total value of your reported outside scholarship will be divided equally over each quarter you are scheduled to enroll at RIT unless the donor specifies otherwise.

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Federal PLUS Loans for Undergraduate Students versus Private/Alternative Loans

  Federal PLUS Loan Alternative Loans

Borrower

Parent of a dependent undergraduate student.

Student is the borrower with a cosigner.

Credit Review

Minimal credit review, based on federal standards & credit history. Approval is not based on income, financial need or debt-to-income ratio.

Comprehensive credit review process required. Credit scoring and/or debt to income ratio may be reviewed.

Repayment

Parent is responsible for repayment.

Student is responsible for repayment. A co-signer is also equally liable. The loan and payment history are listed on the co-signer’s credit report as well as the student’s.

Interest Rate

Fixed at 7.9%.

Variable; can change monthly or quarterly. Usually no cap.

Capitalization of Interest

Once at repayment.

Can be as often as monthly.

Fees

Up to 4%, deducted proportionately from each disbursement. However, with the 1.5% rebate the fee is actually 2.5%.

RIT’s recommended lenders, CitiAssist and Key Alternative Loans, have no fees. However, other various lenders may.

Discharge

PLUS loans are federally insured and are discharged in the event of disability or death.

Alternative loans are not federally insured and may not offer discharge in the event of disability or death.

Payment Options

Repayment begins within 60 days of final disbursement. At RIT, the final disbursement is typically late February for spring quarter.

Payments may be deferred while a student is enrolled at least half-time.

Deferment and/or Forbearance

Unemployment and hardship deferments are available.

Unemployment and hardship deferments are generally not available.

Consolidation

Can be consolidated in a federal Consolidation Loan.

Limited consolidation options available at a variable rate.

 

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Application for the William D. Ford Federal Direct Parent Loan (PLUS)

The application is available as either a Word Document or a PDF file.

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2007-2008 Cost of Attendance Worksheet

The cost of attendance worksheet is available as either a Word Document or a PDF file.

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Student Employment Options

There are a variety of on-campus employment opportunities for RIT students. The hourly rate of pay begins at $7.15 per hour and is dependent upon the skill or experience required for the job. Student employees are paid bi-weekly and these earnings are taxable. Most students use their earnings to pay for books, travel, and personal expenses rather than for tuition and fees.

Student employment opportunities can be viewed at www.rit.edu/seojobs. On-campus student employment is limited to students who are full-time (minimum 12 credit hours) and matriculated (accepted into a degree program). Students are responsible for contacting potential employers to set up an interview. The employer listing the position makes the hiring decision. The following documents are required to obtain an employment eligibility card which is required for all student employees:

  1. a photo ID
  2. an original U.S. social security card or an original birth certificate

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Cooperative Education Program (Co-op)

Co-op employment is full-time, paid work experience in your career field. Depending upon your major, a co-op may be a required or an optional component for your degree. Students typically begin their co-op in their third year of study. Co-op earnings can be substantial in helping to offset college expenses and in some cases may allow a family to spread four years of tuition expenses over five years. There is no tuition charged for quarters that a student is enrolled in a co-op and with the exception of the Federal Pell Grant, students are not eligible for financial aid (including federal and alternative loans). The Undergraduate Admissions Office or the Office of Cooperative Education and Career Services can provide typical quarterly salaries for various co-op majors.

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Other Financing Options

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Verification Process

In order to check the accuracy of information reported on the FAFSA, the federal government selects approximately 30% of all aid applicants to undergo the verification process. An applicant can be selected for verification when they initially submit a FAFSA, or when they submit corrections on a SAR. Students initially selected for verification have a message printed on both their SAR and on their RIT Financial Aid Award Letter. Students who are selected for verification as a result of submitting corrections will have a message printed on their corrected SAR.

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Contacting You

Check your department mail folder and your RIT e-mail account regularly once you are on campus. These are our most common means of communicating critical financial aid news to you when you are enrolled. The RIT portal is another convenient tool that lets you know when important financial aid documents are required. You can check your financial aid status at https://my.rit.edu/.

Student Aid Reports (SAR)
Students who complete a FAFSA and provide an e-mail address will receive an e-mail with a link to their SAR on the web. Students who do not provide an e-mail address will be mailed a paper SAR from the federal processor. If RIT is listed on the SAR, we have received the same information electronically. Please review the SAR for accuracy. If corrections are required, follow the instructions and submit the corrections to the processor. Be sure to sign the corrected SAR. As a result of sending corrections to the processor, you will receive a revised SAR and you may be selected for the verification process.

 

Satisfactory Academic Progress

You must maintain satisfactory academic progress towards the completion of a degree program. Academic progress standards for federal and RIT sponsored aid are outlined below:

  1st year
(3 quarters) 		2nd year
(6 quarters) 		3rd year
(9 quarters) 		4th year
(12 quarters)		 5th year
(15 quarters)
Minimum cumulative GPA 1.4 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
RIT credits required 30 60 90 120 150

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Your Rights and Responsibilities

Each RIT Student is assigned a Financial Aid Counselor based on their academic major. Counselors are committed to working with students to make RIT affordable. Also, as a financial aid recipient, you have certain rights and responsibilities, including the following:

Reapplying for Financial Aid

You must reapply for financial aid each year. Current RIT/NTID students are required to complete two forms.

Priority deadline for receipt of applications is April 1 for the following academic year. Students who apply by the priority deadline and who maintain satisfactory academic progress standards will receive full consideration for available funding. Late applications will be considered as long as funds remain available. In order to continue receiving need based financial aid you must demonstrate financial need. If your financial need changes, your financial aid may also be adjusted.

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