Financial Aid Information & Guidance

The academic year is defined as no fewer than 30 weeks encompassing the fall and spring semesters, generally beginning in late August/early September through mid-December, and mid-January through mid-May. The specific dates of the academic year are defined by our Registrar's Office.

Domestic Students

If an appeal is approved, a student’s financial aid will be re-evaluated to determine their eligibility for federal and institutional financial aid funds. F&M's expectation is that all need-based financial aid funds, including student loans, will be accepted. Otherwise, the student’s financial aid package will revert back to its original status prior to the appeal. Financial Aid appeals are approved for one academic year.

International Students

Need-based financial aid for international students is based on the information provided on the CSS Profile or the Application for Financial Assistance. Franklin & Marshall will meet 100% of your demonstrated need for all four years based upon your family contribution and the information that you provide prior to admission.

Changes in circumstances that affect your family contribution after you are accepted by the Office of Admission (or in subsequent years) will not be considered.

If you are admitted without financial aid in your first year, you will not be eligible for financial assistance in subsequent years.

Full-time, enrolled students who have not completed their financial aid files will not be eligible to be hired for or begin work in any campus-based (College-Funded) job.

Students who enter the College as traditional, full-time, degree-seeking dependent students will remain as dependent students (in terms of institutional financial aid) throughout their enrollment up until graduation, regardless of what age that may occur.  

Students who enter as dependent students whose enrollment is prolonged (and approved as such by the College) beyond the age of federally determined independent student status may be considered for federal aid via the FAFSA as an independent student; however, these students will remain as dependent students for institutionally determined financial aid and will need to include their parent(s)' information as part of the application process for institutional financial aid via the College Board CSS Profile.

One general example: A dependent student who entered the college as a full-time, degree seeking, first-year student at age 18 who applies for full consideration of financial aid would, in that year, need to include his/her parent(s)' information as part of the FAFSA and the CSS Profile.

If this student were to take a College-approved extended leave of absence and return with approval to the College to complete their degree at, say, age 27, they would be directed to submit the FAFSA as an independent student without parental information. However, should the student wish to apply for institutional aid, they would be required to submit parental information as part of the Profile application.

All tax documents and supplemental financial aid forms must be uploaded via the College Board IDOC Form Submission Service. After you complete the CSS Profile, you will receive an email from the College Board that provides instructions for uploading your federal tax documents.

Federal tax documents include:

• Your SIGNED Federal Tax Return
• All W-2s, all schedules and business schedules for S-Corporations (Form 1120S, Schedule K-1 for 1120S)
• Partnerships (Form 1065, Schedule K-1 for 1065)

A college that participates in any FSA program must annually distribute the following information to its students, faculty, and employees to prevent drug and alcohol abuse:

• information on preventing drug and alcohol abuse:
• standards of conduct that clearly prohibit, at a minimum, the unlawful possession, use or distribution of drugs and alcohol by students and employees on the school’s property, or as part of the school’s activities;
• a description of the sanctions under local, state, and federal law for unlawful possession, use, or distribution of illicit drugs and alcohol;
• a description of any drug and alcohol counseling, treatment or rehabilitation programs available to students and employees;
• a description of the health risks associated with the use of illicit drugs and alcohol; and
• a clear statement that the college will impose sanctions on students and employees who violate the standards of conduct (consistent with local, state, and federal law) and a description of these sanctions, up to and including expulsion, termination of employment, and referral for prosecution.

If new students enroll or new employees are hired after the initial distribution for the year, the college must make sure that they also receive the materials.

Reference: 34 CFR 668.14(c); The Federal Student Financial Aid Handbook, Volume 2, Chapter 6; Common Manual, Chapter 4.

Employee tuition benefits that travel with a dependent student whose parents work at other institutions of higher education or organizations will be included in the student's financial aid package. These benefits are beneficial to the student regardless of how they interact with other aspects of the need-based financial aid package. Students are required to report to the Office of Financial Aid any employee tuition benefits they receive.

For students who qualify for need-based financial aid, the employee tuition benefit will be added on top of the package up to meeting full Federal demonstrated need (similarly to the way F&M includes outside scholarships in aid packages). Any amount of the benefit that exceeds Federal demonstrated need will reduce other components of the financial aid package by the overage amount.

The College will first reduce the self-help portion (loans and/or job) of the need-based aid package that has already been provided to the student. The order of the reduction will be Federal Work Study, F&M Loan, and Federal Direct Loan.

If necessary, the College's need-based gift aid (i.e. Trustee Grant) would then be reduced, dollar for dollar, at the point where the employee tuition benefit and the College's need-based gift aid begin to exceed the higher of the student's calculated federal or institutional financial need.

Enrollment Status and Institutional Aid

Institutional aid, both need-based and non-need-based, is limited to students who are enrolled full-time – three (3) or more F&M credits per semester. Students who drop below three (3) F&M credits (full-time enrollment) in a semester are no longer eligible to receive institutional aid. When a student reduces their enrollment status to less than full-time, the Office of Financial Aid will make appropriate changes to the student's financial aid package following notification from the Dean's Office.

Student Employment

Campus-based employment is available only to full-time enrolled students. When a student employee reduces their enrollment status to less than full-time, they are required to notify their campus employer/supervisor, resign from their campus employment, and contact the Office of Financial Aid.

Our largest fund, the Trustee Grant, is offered to needy students to fill the gap between federal need-based aid funds and overall institutional need eligibility. The Trustee Grant is revised to accommodate any grant money a student might receive from the following programs:

• Federal Grant
• State Grant
• College-Endowed Scholarship
• Employee Tuition Benefit
• Tuition Exchange

Example: a student receives $10,000 in Trustee Grant in their initial package and later receives a Federal Pell Grant of $1,500. The Trustee Grant amount would be reduced to $8,500 to accommodate the $1,500 Federal Pell Grant and ensure the
total amount of grant aid in the package remains at $10,000.

Financial aid is applied to your bill within the first two (2) weeks of the fall semester and the first two (2) weeks of the spring semester. It will disburse from the Federal agency, lending agency, or the College itself as an electronic funds transfer (EFT) or paper check to the College's Student Accounts Office.

All entering students must apply for institutional need-based financial aid from Franklin & Marshall College (F&M) in order to be considered for institutional need-based aid during the duration of their matriculation at the College. This means that students must apply for need-based financial aid prior to being admitted to the College. Therefore, as an entering student completing the Financial Aid Intent question on the Common Application or the Coalition Application, the response must be yes.

Students may apply – and will be considered – for federal financial aid every year whether or not they applied for institutional need-based aid as a first-year or transfer student. Federal financial aid includes the Federal Pell Grant, Federal SEOG, Federal Work-Study, and the Federal Direct Loan Program.

Domestic Students

Appeals due to changes in a family’s financial situation (such as loss of employment or additional child(ren) enrolling full-time in a four-year, undergraduate degree program), will be considered by the Office of Financial Aid. Parent(s) are encouraged to contact the Office of Financial Aid to discuss their situation and to determine which documents must be submitted. The Office of Financial Aid makes every effort to provide additional support when extenuating circumstances occur, though funds may be limited.

Currently enrolled students who wish to request financial aid for the first time due to a change in financial circumstances must meet all pertinent filing deadlines. Aid consideration is limited to U.S. citizens and permanent residents and is based on available funds and demonstrated institutional need.

International Students

Changes in circumstances that affect your family contribution after acceptance by the Office of Admission or in subsequent years will not be considered. Need-based financial aid for international students is based on the information provided on the CSS Profile or the Application for Financial Assistance. Franklin & Marshall will meet 100% of your demonstrated need for all four years based upon your family contribution and the information you provide prior to admission.

If you are admitted without financial aid in your first year, you will not be eligible for financial assistance in subsequent years.

Eight (8) Semester Limit

Students with demonstrated need can receive institutional aid for up to eight (8) semesters as long as they remain in good academic standing, are enrolled full-time, and submit the required documents by April 1:

• FAFSA
• CSS Profile
• Your SIGNED Federal Tax Return
• All W-2s, all schedules and business schedules for S-Corporations (Form 1120S, Schedule K-1 for 1120S)
• Partnerships (Form 1065, Schedule K-1 for 1065)

Students are generally eligible to receive need-based College funds for a maximum of eight (8) semesters. Federal Aid is still available past the eighth semester, but may not be sufficient to cover a student’s educational expenses. For that reason, it is in a student’s best interest to complete eight course units per academic year. Appeals for a ninth semester of campus funds are considered on a case-by-case basis.

International students are eligible for only one semester of financial aid for off-campus study, and no financial aid will be granted for study in the student's home country. 

An international student receiving Franklin & Marshall financial aid who does not return to campus in the semester immediately following a semester or year-long off-campus study experience is required to reimburse the College for the institutional aid received during the off-campus study period.

APPEALS: Need-based financial aid for international students is based on the information they provide on the CSS Profile or the Application for Financial Assistance. Franklin & Marshall will meet 100% of your demonstrated need for all four years based upon your family contribution and the information that you provide prior to admission. Changes in circumstances that affect your family contribution after you are accepted by the Office of Admission or in subsequent years will not be considered.

If you are admitted without financial aid in your first year, you will not be eligible for financial assistance in subsequent years.

The 1998 amendments to the Higher Education Act made substantial changes to the way an institution treats a student who fails to complete a period of attendance for which he or she has been charged.

A student who withdraws from all classes may only keep the financial aid they have earned up to the time of withdrawal. Title IV funds that were disbursed in excess of the earned amounts must be returned. 

A student has earned the portion of Title IV aid that directly corresponds to the percentage of days completed within an academic term, up to and including 60% of the term. Once a student has completed more than 60% of the term, the student has earned 100% of their Title IV aid. All calendar days within an academic term are counted except for periods of five days or longer when the school is not in session.

If a refund is due, it will be made to the appropriate Title IV fund within 45 days of the date of official withdrawal or within 45 days of the date of determination of withdrawal if the student does not officially withdraw.

The order of refunds is as follows:

1. Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan
2. Federal Direct Subsidized Loan
3. Federal Direct PLUS Loans
4. Federal PELL Grant
5. Federal SEOG
6. Examples of Title IV funds calculations are available upon request from the Office of Financial Aid.

Declining student loans will not affect your current or future financial aid.

However, if you are submitting an appeal to have your financial aid re-evaluated due to a reduction in your parent(s)' income or extenuating circumstance that have negatively affected your parent(s)' financial position, this information will be considered in the review process.

In essence, if an appeal is approved, a student’s financial aid will be re-evaluated to determine eligibility for federal and institutional financial aid funds. It is expected that all need-based financial aid funds, including student loans, will be accepted. Otherwise, the student’s financial aid package will revert to its original status prior to the appeal.

The Office of Financial Aid recognizes that extenuating circumstances in individual cases may make it impossible to obtain information and/or support of the noncustodial parent. If the noncustodial parent's whereabouts are unknown, if there is an established history of no contact, or if there are certain other extenuating circumstances, we may exempt the student from providing information for the noncustodial parent.

Submission of the waiver does not guarantee its approval. Requests based solely on a noncustodial parent’s unwillingness to contribute or submit application materials will not be considered.  Need-based aid is a measure of ability, not willingness, to pay for a student’s college education.

Students whose waiver petitions are approved do not need to resubmit a petition each year. The waiver approval will carry forward throughout the student's undergraduate career.

NOTE: If you are a single adoptive parent or a single parent of donor conceived child, please contact the Office of Financial Aid.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS - must be submitted PRIOR to being admitted to the College.

• CSS Profile and FAFSA on file with Office of Financial Aid.
• Common Application/Coalition Application on file with the Office of Admission.
• The CSS Profile Waiver Request for the Noncustodial Parent.
• A signed statement from an impartial third party.  See instructions for 3rd PARTY STATEMENT.
• All documents must be uploaded to IDOC

3RD PARTY STATEMENT

• Statement must be from a professional individual - guidance counselor, physician, social worker, licensed therapist, clergy person, police or another impartial source familiar with your situation in a professional capacity. They must address how they know you, how long they have known you, how they have been involved and/or have first-hand personal knowledge of your situation and the amount of contact you have with your noncustodial parent.
• Statement must be on the agency’s letterhead and must include the individual’s name, title or position, address, and signature. NOTE: Pen/Ink Signatures required - computer generated signatures are not acceptable.
• The individual submitting statement cannot work or reside at the same address as the student or the custodial parent. In addition, they cannot be related to the student or the student’s family.

Students attending an Off-Campus Study Program during the fall semester, summer, or the academic year, must have a completed financial aid file by January 15 before the Office of Financial Aid will complete any forms for Off-Campus Study.

Students who receive need-based financial aid and who study off campus will receive the same amount of financial aid they would have otherwise received had they remained on campus. More simply, financial aid packages are not adjusted, increased, or decreased due to a student's intention to study off campus. 

For all off-campus study programs, students will be charged by the College their regular F&M tuition. Students are not charged by the College for room, health service fees, or meal plan (board) costs. However, those costs, at standard F&M rates, are included in the cost of attendance budget used to determine a student's demonstrated need. Therefore, those costs are also used to determine a student's eligibility for need-based financial aid.

Students must pay directly to the off-campus study site/institution any room, meal plan (board), program fees, or miscellaneous charges. These charges will be billed directly to the student by the off-campus study site institution. Students who receive financial aid in the form of grants or loans above the cost of F&M's tuition (for the time period spent abroad) will be able to utilize the overage of aid toward those costs at their site institution. 

If the student needs a Payment Deferral Form or a Payment Deferral Letter to verify the amount of financial aid they have in order to defer the payment to the program, please contact the Office of Financial Aid. 

If a Payment Deferral Form or Payment Deferral Letter is completed on the student’s behalf, the student will also be required to complete the Student Refund Transfer Request Form. The student must complete the form and return it to Student Accounts with a copy of an invoice from the Off-Campus Study Program. 

• If the invoice from the program is more than the anticipated refund, the student is responsible for paying that difference.
• If the invoice from the program is less than the anticipated refund, the student must make arrangements with Student Accounts prior to departure to handle the additional refund check since it will be made out to the student. Typically, the chedk will be mailed to the student’s home address.

Students are required to notify the Office of Financial Aid of all outside awards they receive, including awards paid directly to the student.

Please email the Office of Financial Aid and include a copy of any correspondence from your scholarship donor. You should provide this information as soon as you become aware of the award.

Scholarship checks should be sent by mail to:

Franklin & Marshall College
ATTN: Cashier
P.O. Box 3003
Lancaster, PA 17604-3003

Outside scholarships awarded to F&M students will benefit students to the greatest extent possible. Outside scholarship awards will be added on top of a student's financial aid award package, dollar by dollar, up to meeting full Federal aid eligibility – the maximum limit of all financial aid awards that a student may receive from any source.

Should any outside scholarship dollars exceed a student's maximum Federal aid eligibility, the College will not reduce its own institutional grant aid that has already been awarded until the total gift aid reaches the student's Cost of Attendance.

The College will first reduce the self-help portion (loans and/or job) of the need-based aid package that has already been awarded to the student. The order of the reduction will be Federal Work Study, F&M Loan, and Federal Direct Loan. 

After reducing all eligible awarded self-help aid, any remaining outside scholarship amount in excess will not reduce Franklin & Marshall grant.

Franklin & Marshall College offers two Summer Sessions of coursework. For dates, please refer to the Registrar's Office.

In order to qualify for the Pennsylvania State Grant for the Summer term, you must meet the State Grant eligibility requirements, as well as be enrolled in at least 2 credits across both summer sessions. In other words, you must be enrolled in a minimum of at least one course per Summer session.You cannot qualify for PA State Grant if you are only enrolled in one course or only enrolled during one Summer session. Please also note that using a PA State Grant during the Summer will count toward the maximum of eight full-time awards of the PA State Grant.

If you will meet the requirements listed above for the PA State Grant and would like to apply for the summer term, please log into your PHEAA account at www.pheaa.org (you can create an account if you do not already have an one) and complete the “Summer State Grant Application.”

Learn more about Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy
Federal and Institutional Financial Aid.

The Higher Education Opportunity Act of August 14, 2008, requires that campuses participating in federal Title IV student aid programs publish a code of conduct, serving as the formal guiding principles in ensuring the integrity of the student loan process and ensuring the ethical conduct of Franklin & Marshall employees in regard to student loan practices.

We participate in the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan program through the United States Department of Education. This program includes Direct Subsidized, Direct Unsubsidized, and Direct Parent PLUS loans.

Private/Alternative Education loans are also processed for students at their request as needed.

We do not maintain a preferred lender list for private/alternative student loans nor do we recommend any private lender. Our office provides a historical list of private lenders our students have used on ELM Select and the lenders are displayed in no particular order. 

To avoid any conflict of interest with the responsibilities of our employees with respect to parent, student, and private/alternative loans, the Franklin & Marshall College Student Lending Code of Conduct prohibits the following:

• Revenue sharing arrangement with any lender. We will not promote or recommend any lender in exchange for a fee or other material benefit from a lender.
• The solicitation or acceptance of gifts from a lender, guarantor or servicer by anyone with responsibilities with respect to loans at the institution.
• Refusing to certify/originate or otherwise delay certification/origination of any loan, regardless of the lender the borrower selects.
• The acceptance of any funds to be used for private/alternative education loans in exchange for the institution providing concessions to the private lender.
• Requesting or accepting assistance with financial aid office staffing from any lender.
• Compensation of any type of consulting arrangement or contract to provide services to or on behalf of a lender relating to education loans
• Compensation for service on an advisory board, commission, or group established by lenders or guarantors, except for reimbursement for reasonable expenses.

Students who receive need-based financial aid from the Federal government and from F&M who enter the College with the status of unmarried, single, and dependent will remain in that status regardless of whether or not they choose to marry post-enrollment.

F&M students who marry post-enrollment may see an adjustment to their Federal need-based aid, provided they file their FAFSA on time and as a married student at the time of application (but no change to marital status will affect institutional aid from the College, per the College Board CSS Profile).

Financial resources for summer coursework taken at Franklin & Marshall will depend upon the number of credits in which student enrolls. Taking at least two (2) course credits during the Summer sessions – either two credits in one summer session or one credit in each of the two summer sessions – is considered half-time enrollment and may make the student eligible for a Federal Direct Student Loan.

A student may be eligible to borrow a Federal Direct Subsidized and/or Unsubsidized Loan amount appropriate for their grade level. Should a student require additional loan funds, they are advised to ask their parent(s) to borrow a Federal Direct Parent PLUS loan for parents or a private student loan for themselves. Students who borrow a private student loan will require a creditworthy cosigner.

If a student is only taking one summer course, their only option would be to borrow a private student loan. Students should apply with a lender that does not require half-time enrollment. Refer to this list of private loans.

All students who will borrow any type of loan for Summer coursework should contact the Office of Financial Aid before classes begin. When you register for summer courses at Franklin & Marshall, you will be expected to pay the cost of tuition at time of registration. So be sure to plan ahead if you are borrowing loans to cover the cost of tuition.

If you are taking courses at another institution, a Consortium Agreement is required. This agreement is between F&M (home campus) and the college where you will be taking courses (host campus) certifies that only one school will administer Title IV financial aid (Federal Direct Loans). You will most likely be expected to pay upfront for the cost of tuition and reimburse yourself when the loan funds become available.

For more information about taking summer courses and loan options, please contact the Financial Aid Office at (717) 358-3991.

The section below explains your rights and responsibilities. Please read carefully.

Submission of Requested Documentation

All requested information must be provided to the Franklin & Marshall College Office of Financial Aid within six (6) weeks of the notification date. If the requested documentation is unavailable at the time of the request, an extension may be granted provided that the Office of Financial Aid receives a written request explaining the reason the documentation is not currently available and an estimated date the information will be available.

Federal and institutional aid cannot be finalized until all requested documentation is provided. Failure to satisfy all requests will result in the cancellation of all Federal aid and Franklin & Marshall College need-based grant aid.

Documentation Required

• A completed Verification Statement form, if required, will be available for you to download from IDOC.
• Signed copies of parents’ and student’s Federal Income Tax documents (1040, all schedules and all W-2s). If a copy was not retained, contact your local IRS Office for additional information call 1-800-829- 1040 or complete form 4506-T.
• Any parent or student who did NOT file a federal tax return must provide a confirmation from the IRS that they did not file a tax return. A confirmation of nonfiling can be obtained from the IRS using form 4506-T and checking box 7.
• Any other verification forms provided by the Office of Financial Aid such as asset verification forms, medical expense forms, household size verification form, etc.

Review of Information

After all requested information is submitted, your application data will be verified. If all application information is accurate or within Federally approved tolerances, your aid will be processed and/or finalized. If corrections are required, the Office of Financial Aid will correct the data electronically with the Federal Student Aid Program and process your aid request.

Notification of Verification Results

Notification of your award eligibility and/or certification of Federal loans will indicate your eli­gibility for Federal and institutional funds. In cases where aid had been previously awarded, you will be notified only when program eligibility changes.

Overpayment of Federal Funds

In cases where corrections result in an overpayment of Federal funds, you will receive notice on the steps you are required to take to repay the Federal programs and the consequences of not making proper repayment.

Reporting Fraud

In cases where intent to commit fraud to obtain federal funds is suspected, the College will refer the case to the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Inspector General for review and resolu­tion, and no further processing of financial aid will occur until the case is resolved.

Any questions concerning these policies and procedures should be directed to the Franklin & Marshall College Office of Financial Aid.