Financial Aid
Pell Grants & Stafford Loans
Education is expensive ... but so is the lack of it! Unlike some of the other expenses in your life, investing in your education is "good debt." There is a sense of satisfaction and pride you will feel at completing your degree. Unlike the money spent on a car, your investment won't lose value over time. It will be immediately marketable and will only continue to increase in value.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, individuals with a four year college degree experience only a 2.4% unemployment rate, while those with two years of college experience 3.7%.
In this set of web pages, we provide you with instructions intended to make it easier for you to complete the Free Application for Free Student Aid (FAFSA) form. This form will enable you to apply for both Pell Grants and Stafford Loans.
The Stafford Loans are guaranteed to all students in our program who have not defaulted previously on a student loan. There is no upper income limit on this loan. The loan has a 10-year payback which begins after you are finished with school. If you have any questions contact the Lancaster office.
Please note that if you complete the FAFSA form, you must also complete an EMU Financial Aid Information Sheet and return it to the EMU Lancaster office. You may obtain this form by contacting the Lancaster office or by writing directly to Torrie Martin, Program Representative.
What happens next?
In about two weeks, you will receive a return postcard indicating that your application has been received and is being processed. Since this is a multi-purpose form, several things happen automatically when you submit it. You will receive information indicating your eligibility for a Pell Grant. Please note, most of our students are ineligible for Pell Grants because of their income level.
Do not be discouraged by the letter which will tell you you are ineligible. You will also receive a rejection notice from the PHEAA (Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Association). PHEAA does not award monies to non-traditional students in non- traditional programs, so NONE of our students receive money from this. Again, do not be discouraged by this rejection notice. It is not nicely worded and some of our students have found it offensive. Just ignore it.
About a week or two later, you will receive information from the federal government which will detail all of the answers your supplied on your application form. Hopefully, the final sentence on the first page will end with "no credit history is associated with your social security number." It sounds bad, but this is actually exactly what we want the report to say. It means you will receive the loan money.
If you have any questions about this form, call our office. About a week later, you will receive information from the Financial Assistance office on your main campus. It will provide you with information about your loan options and will instruct you to select a loan guarantor. Again, if you have any questions, please contact us.
