Is financial aid available for all programs at the School of Health Sciences?

At this time, only the Nursing and Medical Imaging programs are approved for federal financial aid (which includes the Federal PELL grant, Federal Direct Subsidized loan, Federal Direct Unsubsidized loan and the Federal Direct PLUS loan programs). The Nursing program is also approved for the PA State Grant program administered by PHEAA (Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Authority).

How much does it cost to go to the School of Health Sciences?

Visit Tuition and Fees for more information.

How do I apply for financial aid?

After accepting the offer to be a School of Health Sciences Nursing or Medical Imaging student and submission of the confirmation fee, a financial aid packet will be mailed to your home. To be eligible for federal and state financial aid programs, you must complete the following steps

FSA ID - You can apply for financial aid completely online by using an FSA ID. The FSA ID is a username and password which must be used to log in to certain U.S. Department of Education websites. Your FSA ID confirms your identity when you access your financial aid information and electronically sign Federal Student Aid documents. If you do not already have an FSA ID, you can create one when logging in to fafsa.gov, StudentLoans.gov, or StudentAid.gov.

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) - To apply for federal, state and institutional aid, you need to complete the FAFSA every year. Completing the FAFSA is free and not as difficult as most students (and parents) fear! You can apply online at fafsa.gov or studentloans.gov.

MPN (Master Promissory Note) and Entrance Counseling- Go to the studentloans.gov website to complete both as soon as possible. This way you can make an informed decision whether or not you want to take out a federal loan. If you do decide to make an investment in your future and borrow student loans, both the MPN and EC are required.

What happens if I don’t qualify for enough aid (or I am not able to apply for aid) to cover my costs?

Interest-free payment plans are available each semester through the Student Accounts office. Private, alternative loans may be another option you can explore. Be sure to apply for scholarships too!

My parents don’t make much money and I don’t have any savings so I don’t think I can afford to go to school. What do I do?

It costs nothing to fill out ANY financial aid forms or applications. Most financial aid programs are based on need. When you complete the FAFSA, the information you report is used to calculate the EFC (Expected Family Contribution). The school will use this number to determine what type of and how much financial aid you will qualify for. You should ALWAYS complete the FAFSA every year so your school can tell you your options. You may be very pleasantly surprised – so go for it!

My parents make a lot of money so I probably won’t qualify for any financial aid. Should I still complete the FAFSA?

Yes! Many families mistakenly think they don't qualify for aid because they think of “financial aid” only as Federal or state grants. This prevents themselves from applying for low interest, non-need based loans that are available such as the Federal Direct Unsubsidized and PLUS loans. You should ALWAYS complete the FAFSA every year so your school can tell you your options.

How do my parents apply for a Federal Direct PLUS loan?

They can apply at studentloans.gov. They will need to log on with their User ID/password to apply. Please note that a PLUS loan can be approved or denied based on the parents' credit history. Once the application is complete, please notify the Financial Aid Office for further instructions.

Why do I have to put my parents’ tax information on the FAFSA if they are not paying for school?

There are questions for you to answer on the FAFSA to determine if you are dependent or independent. (Refer to the FAFSA for instructions regarding parental information.) If considered to be dependent, the federal government expects both the student and the parents to contribute to the student’s educational costs. Regardless of whether a parent will or will not contribute to your education, or even if you do not live with your parents, their income and assets must be reported on the FAFSA and be used to determine your financial aid eligibility.

How do I correct the information on my FAFSA if it is incorrect?

You can log back onto the FAFSA website to view your previously submitted FAFSA as well as to make corrections. You simply log in and click the link that states "Make Corrections to Submitted FAFSA". You will need to create a password for each corrected FAFSA. Corrections should be kept to a minimum. If you have questions, please contact the Financial Aid Office at your school for assistance.

My parents are divorced. I live with my mother, but my father claims me on his tax return. How do I complete the FAFSA?

Complete the FAFSA with your information and your mother's information. Only the parent you lived with most in the last 12 months is required to supply the necessary financial information. If you did not live with one parent more than the other, answer in terms of the parent who provided the most financial support during the last 12 months, or during the most recent calendar year that you actually were supported by a parent.

I have classes that I took previously at another school that should transfer in to RHSHS. Will my financial aid transfer in too?

If you change schools, your aid doesn’t automatically transfer with you. You will need to make corrections to your FAFSA to add the RHSHS school code of 014104. That way we can see what aid you already may have received and how to determine what aid you may be eligible for at RHSHS.

Someone from the Financial Aid Office called and said that my FAFSA was picked for verification. What does that mean?

Verification is mandated by the U.S. Department of Education and requires schools to gather additional documentation to check the accuracy of information submitted on the FAFSA. Approximately 30% of FAFSAs processed are selected for verification. Some are selected for verification randomly and some are selected because of inconsistent data. RHSHS may institutionally select FAFSAs for verification to also help catch errors. Corrections may be needed, and you will be notified if financial aid eligibility changes.