How Your Financial Aid Offer was Determined

Albertus Magnus College uses Federal Methodology and its standard formula to determine your financial need. The elements of this formula help determine your demonstrated need, which is calculated as Cost of Attendance (COA) minus Student Aid Index (SAI):

COA-SAI=Demonstrated Need

Estimated Cost of Attendance (COA)

The first component of this formula is your estimated cost of attendance (COA). Your COA is a standard amount used to represent the expected costs to attend one year at Albertus Magnus College. These costs include tuition and fees, averages for room and board and meal plan, books and supplies, personal expenses, and transportation expenses.

The COA is an estimated amount used to determine eligibility for financial aid and is not meant to represent the actual expenses for each individual student. You can view the College Financing Plan to see the COA components specific to your program.

Student Aid Index (SAI)

The Student Aid Index (SAI) is a number that is used to determine your eligibility for specific types of financial student aid, such as the Federal Pell Grant. The SAI is calculated from the information you provided on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The SAI will determine whether you qualify for the Federal Pell Grant and the amount you can receive. The SAI is also used to determine what type of federal student loan you qualify for. The SAI is not the amount that you will need to pay to Albertus Magnus College. Therefore, if your SAI is zero, it does not mean that you will not have to make a payment to attend Albertus.

Demonstrated Financial Need

Your demonstrated financial need is the difference between the COA and your SAI, which determines the maximum amount of need-based assistance you can receive from federal, state, institutional, and outside agency sources. Albertus Magnus College is not able to meet 100% of every student’s demonstrated financial need.

Awarding Process

Once your financial need is determined, the Financial Aid Office awards federal, state, and institutional aid based on general eligibility criteria.

First-Year Students

Your COA budget is based on the following: we have assumed that you will enroll full time (12 or more credits) and your room and board budget is based on a double room with a blue meal plan.

Transfer Students

Your budget is based on the following: we have assumed that you will enroll full time (12 or more credits), your room and board budget is based on a triple room with a blue meal plan, and we award Federal Direct Loan(s) based on first-year student status until official transfer credits are received.

We encourage you to notify the Financial Aid Office of any changes to your planned enrollment, housing status, meal plan, or eligibility criteria.

Your Financial Aid Offer

The Financial Aid Office awards you the maximum amount available from each funding source, within federal, state, and College regulations, without exceeding financial need. For institutional funds, priority funding is given to those applicants who meet published Admissions and Financial Aid priority funding deadlines. Please note the following:

  • Federal funds are awarded based on the result of the federal formula, federal eligibility criteria, and the availability of campus-based federal funds.
  • State funds are awarded based on state-specified eligibility requirements such as GPA, family income, assets, and household size.
  • Institutional funds are awarded according to policies established by Albertus Magnus College.
  • Outside grants and scholarships will not replace institutional aid. However, they can impact your federal and state eligibility. It is important that you notify the Financial Aid Office of any additional outside sources of funding you may be receiving.
  • The total amount of financial aid awarded can never exceed your COA budget, regardless of the source of additional funding.

Reasons for a Reduction in your Financial Aid Offer from the Prior Year

  • Changes in federal, state or institutional aid program eligibility requirements.
  • A reduction in the family size reported on the FAFSA reduction in the number in college reported on the FAFSA.
  • Increase in parent (or student) income significantly beyond the cost of living adjustment.
  • Increase in parent (or student) assets.
  • An appeal was submitted to consider projected year income and actual income significantly exceeds the projection.
  • You were offered a work-study award and did not utilize it.