Fund Descriptions

Grants

(All grants on your award are automatically accepted. Grants do not have to be repaid.)

Pell Grant: Students must be first time undergraduates and have a low Expected Family Contribution to qualify. At Eastern Oregon University, the offered amount of Pell Grant is for full-time enrollment. Part-time students will receive a prorated amount of the full award.

Academic Competitiveness Grant and National SMART Grant:  These two federal grants are new programs starting in the 2006-07 academic year.  The A.C.G. is only for students in their first or second academic year of college, and the SMART Grant is for students in their 3rd and 4th academic year of study.   

Federal requirements for both of these grants require that schools define the length of an academic year.  This definition does not relate to the number of terms (or semesters for transfer students) that a student has attended.   The definition is based instead on the number of credit hours a student has earned.  For the purposes of these two grants at EOU, an academic year is defined as 36 earned credit hours.   Put another way:

 

If a student's earned hours are between:	This is their academic year for A.C.G. and National SMART Grant
0 - 36	1st academic year
37 - 72	2nd academic year
73 - 108	3rd academic year
109 - 144	4th academic year

 

For more information about A.C.G. and National SMART Grant, including requirements, please refer to the following:

• Academic Competitiveness Grant
• National SMART Grant

Oregon Opportunity Grant: Administered by the Oregon Student Assistance Commission (OSAC), the Oregon Opportunity Grant is offered to Oregon residents, ( RESIDENCY RULES ) attending in Oregon. You must be taking no less than 6 credit hours per term and be PELL eligible to receive this grant. The Oregon Opportunity Grant has a 12 term limit for eligibility.

SEOG: Funding for the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG) is limited on this program, so it is offered to high need students who apply for financial aid early (and who are admitted early).  SEOG awards are subject to change due to fund availability.

 

Work Programs

Federal Work Study: This is financial aid that students work to earn. It does not have to be repaid. If awarded work study, students must find a work study job either on or off campus. Students are not guaranteed work under this program. It is their responsibility to find employment. Students can check current job postings at the Career Services Center. Federal Work Study is limited, and so it is offered to students with a low Expected Family Contribution who indicate an interest for work study on their FAFSA, and apply for financial aid and admission early.  FWS awards are subject to change due to fund availability.

Student Wage: While not financial aid, student wage offers students an opportunity to work. Students do not need to have financial aid to be hired under student wage. Check with the Career Services Center for a current job listing. Since this is not financial aid, it will not show up on an award.

Loan Programs

( If accepting only one Stafford Loan, you must accept the Subsidized loan if you have been offered one )

Perkins Loan: The Federal Perkins Loan is a loan and must be repaid. It has a very low, fixed interest rate of 5%. Students have a 9 month grace period after they no longer are attending school at least 1/2 time. Interest begins accruing after the grace period is over. Students who accept the Perkins loan must complete a Master Promissory Note and Entrance Interview. Since the loan comes directly from the University and not an independent lender, the promissory note and entrance counseling are separate from the ones a student completes for the Stafford Loans. Funding is limited on the Perkins loan, so it is offered to students who indicate an interest in loans on their FAFSA, who have a low Expected Family Contribution, and who apply for financial aid and admission early.  Perkins Loan awards are subject to change due to fund availability.

Federal Stafford Loan: The Stafford loan is a program that must be repaid. Students may qualify by completing the FAFSA. These loans can either be Direct or FFELP loans. At Eastern, we offer FFELP loans, or loans through banks. There are two types of Stafford loans: Subsidized and unsubsidized. Subsidized loans means that the federal government is subsidizing the loan. The government pays the interest on the loan until the student enters repayment. Students qualify for subsidized loan if they show a need (difference between the budget and the expected family contribution (EFC), minus any resources). Unsubsidized loans do not have the interest paid on them prior to the borrower entering repayment. Students start accruing interest on these loans as soon as the school receives funds. Interest rates are variable on Stafford Loans, and will change each year. Students will complete a Master Promissory Note (MPN) that will follow them throughout their college career at Eastern.

PLUS: The Federal PLUS Loan (Parent Loan) is a loan that parents take out on behalf of their college-bound child. PLUS loans are offered to dependent students who have room in their budget for more aid after their own loans and other aid are counted. Parents who accept the PLUS loan for the first time will be sent a pre-approval packet from Eastern. They then will need to be pre-approved for the loan by one of several lenders. This pre-approval includes a credit check. If the parent is approved, the lender will send the parent a full application. The parent then needs to complete the application and send it to Eastern for certification. Starting with the 2003-2004 academic year, PLUS loans may have a Master Promissory Note (MPN). Parents who have filled out an MPN for the PLUS loan are not required to fill out another promissory note each year. However, they will still have to let the Financial Aid Office know that they are interested in taking another PLUS loan for the year. PLUS loans, like stafford loans, have a variable interest rate. Generally repayment begins after the last disbursement for the academic year. However, interest begins accruing as soon as the school receives the first disbursement. Students who have had a parent denied for a PLUS are eligible to request additional funding through the Stafford loan program.

Note: All credit balances on a students' account, as a result of PLUS loan funds received, will be mailed directly to the parent borrower.

GradPLUS:  The Federal Graduate/Professional PLUS loan is a loan taken out by a student that is enrolled in a Graduate or Professional program.  This loan is similar to the Parent PLUS loan in that the loan has a fixed interest rate of 8.5%.  In contrast to the Stafford Loan programs, the GradPLUS loan does not offer a six month grace period prior to repayment.   The GradPLUS is offered to students, however, student's must still complete a credit check and pre-approval screening through one of several lenders.  If the student is approved they will be sent a full application from the lender that can be completed and returned to Eastern for loan certification.  Please Note: This is a loan for the student and is not automatically applied to the student's account upon acceptance.  The GradPLUS loan is subject to a credit approval through a lender.  The GradPLUS loan is also only offered to students to supplement their Subsidized and Unsibsidized loan limits.  For questions on this new program please contact the Financial Aid Office or visit:

• GradPLUS Information from the Department of Education
  

Alternative Loan: This is a private loan through one of several lenders. Alternative loans are not federal and generally have higher interest rates and charges than federal loans. They also do not have the same repayment options that federal loans have. Students who are applying for alternative loans must be credit worthy, or have a cosigner that is credit worthy. Maximum eligibility for alternative loans is budget less other aid and resources. We will only certify alternative loans for one lender at a time.

Alaska Loan: An alternative loan program for Alaska residents. It has benefits that are specific to the Alaska Loan Program.

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