Determining Eligibility & Receiving Aid

To be eligible for institutional financial aid, including scholarships and grants, students must:

  • Be admitted to the College of Arts & Sciences or the College of Education as a regular student pursuing a bachelor's degree for the first time. Students admitted as undergraduates to the College of Arts & Sciences or the College of Education must remain enrolled as undergraduates in that college to be eligible for the institutional aid they were offered.
  • Maintain full-time enrollment.
  • Make satisfactory academic progress.

To be eligible for federal and state financial aid, students must:

  • Be admitted as a regular student in an eligible degree or certificate program.
  • Make satisfactory academic progress.
  • Have a valid high school diploma or a General Education Development (GED) certificate, or have completed a high school education in a homeschool setting, or have satisfactorily completed two years of study fully acceptable toward a bachelor's degree.
  • Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen.
  • Have a valid Social Security number.
  • Not be in default on a federal student loan, and not owe a repayment on a federal student grant.
  • Certify that financial aid will be used only for educational purposes at Pacific University.

Demonstrated Need

Students must demonstrate federally defined need to be considered for the following financial aid resources:

  • Pacific Grant
  • Federal Pell Grant
  • Federal SEOG
  • Federal Subsidized Direct Loan
  • Federal Work-Study
  • Oregon Opportunity Grant

An applicant’s federally defined need is the difference between the annual Cost of Attendance for their academic program and the Student Aid Index (SAI) derived from financial information submitted on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

     Cost of Attendance (COA)
-    Student Aid Index (SAI)     
=       Demonstrated Need

The SAIis calculated using a standard federal formula, which considers an applicant’s dependency status, household size, income, assets, and other information. For dependent applicants, student and parent income and assets are used in the calculation of the SAI. For independent applicants, student and spouse (if applicable) income and assets are used in the calculation of the SAI.

The Financial Aid Package

Once an applicant is admitted to the university and the FAFSA is received by Pacific, the Financial Aid Office builds a financial aid offer based on the level of demonstrated need and other eligibility factors. The financial aid offer may include any combination of institutional grants and scholarships, federal and state grants, federal student loans, and/or federally funded employment opportunities. The total amount of institutionally funded grants and scholarships awarded to a student will not exceed the annual cost of tuition. Students may accept or decline any part of the financial aid package.

Financial aid packages for admitted first year and transfer applicants are available beginning in mid-March for the upcoming academic year. Financial aid packages for current Pacific undergraduates are available beginning in early May for the upcoming academic year.

Renewal

Merit based aid is renewable as long as a student makes Satisfactory Academic Progress. Need-based financial aid is renewable as long as a student files the FAFSA by the stated deadline, demonstrates need, and makes Satisfactory Academic Progress.

There are time limits on student eligibility for financial aid. First-year undergraduates are eligible for their renewable institutional aid for up to four academic years. Transfer undergraduate students are eligible for their renewable institutional aid for up to three academic years, depending on the number of transfer credits Pacific accepts toward the student’s degree program. Federal and state aid is usually available for up to 150 percent of the normal length of a student’s academic program.