1. Review and Submit your Financial Aid Offer
You have the right to decline or lower the amount of any funds that you do not want to accept.
- Login to your student portal and navigate to My Financial Aid to accept/reject and submit your financial aid offer.
- If you are accepting your Federal Direct Loans (Subsidized/Unsubsidized) and you are a first-time borrower at Carroll, you will be required to complete and sign a master promissory note (MPN), a legal obligation to repay the loan, before the loan can be disbursed and participate in loan entrance counseling. You may complete these requirements online at studentaid.gov.
2. Review the number of credits and housing status that your Financial Aid Offer was based on.
If any information is incorrect, contact the Financial Aid Office and your offer will be adjusted accordingly.
- Note: The Financial Aid Office will verify your enrollment and housing information. If there is a discrepancy between the information on your financial aid offer and the information we receive from the Registrar and/or Housing Office, appropriate adjustments will be made to your offer.
3. Complete any additional forms found on your student portal under My Documents.
Financial aid consists of grants, scholarships, loans and employment. The funding for these programs comes from the federal government, state government, Carroll University and a variety of private sources. A Carroll University financial aid offer is generally a combination of various types and sources of financial aid. In order to be eligible to receive financial aid, you must:
- Be admitted to Carroll as a regular student in a degree seeking program
- Be enrolled in a minimum of 12 credit hours per semester to receive Carroll-funded aid. You must be enrolled in at least six credit hours per semester (by the first week of the semester/session) to receive certain federal and state financial aid (some students enrolled less than six credits may be eligible for certain federal grants)
- Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen with a valid Social Security Number
- Be registered with the Selective Service Administration, if required
- Not be in default or owe a refund on any federal student aid
- Be making satisfactory academic progress in accordance with financial aid policies
Eligibility
The Financial Aid Office has determined the types and amounts of grants, scholarships, loans and work you are eligible to receive. Financial aid is determined by using your Student Aid Index (SAI) as calculated by the U.S. Department of Education using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). We followed all applicable federal, state and institutional awarding guidelines to determine the aid shown on your financial aid offer.
Census Date and Financial Aid Eligibility
The financial aid census date is one week after classes begin for the Fall and Spring terms. Census Day is the last day students are permitted to add classes and change their enrollment status. Financial aid will be based upon enrollment as of this date.
For the Summer term, please check with the Financial Aid Office for the census date that pertains to your specific program.
- Undergraduate Full Time status = 12+ credits/semester
- Undergraduate Three-quarter time status = 9-11 credits/semester
- Undergraduate Half-time status = 6-8 credits/semester
- Undergraduate Less-than-half time status = less than 6 credits/semester
- Graduate Full Time status = 6+ credits/semester
- Graduate Half time status = 3-5 credits/semester
Key Items
- Adjustments will not be made for additional class(es) a student registers for after census date
- To be eligible for Federal Loans, an Undergraduate student typically has to be 6+ credits and a Graduate student typically has to 3+ credits
- A student’s Federal Pell Grant may be recalculated if they do not attend a course
- A student who completely withdraws from all courses will follow the refund policy
Cost of attendance includes all direct costs while attending school, as well as indirect costs (transportation, books and supplies and miscellaneous expenses). Cost of attendance budgets were constructed based on a student survey as well as fixed costs set by Carroll. These budgets are available upon request to all students. Students have the right to review their budget and request that their budget be re-evaluated based on additional expenses (i.e. study abroad programs, child care expenses, disability related expenses, etc). An increase in your educational budget may enable you to become eligible for additional student loans. Below are the most common budgets for full-time undergraduate students.
To see a complete list of 2023-24 full time cost of attendance by program, click here.
To see a complete list of 2024-25 full time cost of attendance by program, click here.
2024-2025 Full-time Undergraduate Students (Academic Year Budget)
- On-Campus
- Tuition: $38,040
- Fees: $850
- Books/Supplies: $1,000
- Room & Board: $14,280
- Miscellaneous: $2,076
- Transportation: $1,926
- Loan Fees: $66
- Total: $58,238
- Off-Campus with Parents
- Tuition: $38,040
- Fees: $850
- Books/Supplies: $1,000
- Room & Board: $4,860
- Miscellaneous: $2,076
- Transportation: $2,956
- Loan Fees: $66
- Total: $49,848
- Off-Campus
- Tuition: $38,040
- Fees: $850
- Books/Supplies: $1,000
- Room & Board: $8,362
- Miscellaneous: $2,076
- Transportation: $2,724
- Loan Fees: $66
- Total: $53,118
2024-2025 Full-time (14 credits per semester) Associate Degree in Nursing Students (Academic Year Budget)
- Off-Campus with Parents
- Tuition: $10,920
- Fees: $1,620
- Books/Supplies: $1,000
- Room & Board: $4,860
- Miscellaneous: $2,076
- Transportation: $2,956
- Loan Fees: $66
- Total: $23,498
- Off-Campus
- Tuition: $10,920
- Fees: $1,620
- Books/Supplies: $1,000
- Room & Board: $8,362
- Miscellaneous: $2,076
- Transportation: $2,724
- Loan Fees: $66
- Total: $26,768
RA budget is the same as on-campus budget minus the room and board component; therefore, RA cost of attendance budget is $43,958.
**Remember, cost of attendance budgets are not what you owe to Carroll University. These are budgets constructed to help with cost of attending college.
Financial aid comes in many forms and may consist of grants, scholarships, loans and campus employment. The funding for these programs comes from the federal government, state government, Carroll University and a variety of private sources. Learn more about the types of financial aid that are available for undergraduate students.
Your financial aid offer lists the aid for which you are eligible by term. Your aid will be disbursed to your student account accordingly. The university will not disburse any aid prior to the beginning of a term. To have your aid disbursed during the second week of classes (the third day after the last day to add), you must complete the following steps, and they must be completed by the following dates. If you complete the process any time after the specified dates, we will disburse your financial aid as soon as possible.
Summer Term: May 1, 2024
Fall Term: August 1, 2024
Spring Term: January 1, 2025
Reminder: We cannot guarantee that all of your funds will be disbursed to your account during the second week of classes. Federal, state and private funds are not always available during the first week. Those funds will be disbursed to your account as soon as they are received.
- Receive and review your financial aid offer, including the number of credits and housing status that your offer is based on.
- If you are accepting your Federal Direct Loans (Subsidized/Unsubsidized) and you are a first-time borrower at Carroll, you will be required to complete and sign a master promissory note (MPN), a legal obligation to repay the loan, before the loan can be disbursed and participate in loan entrance counseling. You may complete these requirements online at studentaid.gov.
- Certain funds are not directly applied to your account. For example, outside scholarships/loans may come directly to Carroll University but they may need your signature. Please check with the Financial Aid Office if this applies to you.
Books & Supplies: Students can charge their books and supplies, including rental textbooks, directly to their student account using BookCHARGE. BookCHARGE is available to currently enrolled students (graduate, undergraduate, full-time, part-time) who have a Pioneer Card and have no holds on their student account. BookCHARGE purchases will be reflected on your student account, and will be billed to you on the next billing statement.
Title IV recipients must have a way to purchase or obtain books and supplies no later than the seventh day of a payment period if a) The institution could disburse the title IV, HEA program funds for which the student is eligible; and b) Presuming the funds were disbursed, the student would have a credit balance under 34 CFR 668.164(h). Carroll ensures this by allowing all students to charge books and supplies from the Carroll bookstore to their student account. Students may purchase books from the Carroll bookstore; however, they are not required to do so.
Generally, there are four reasons that would warrant a revision to your financial aid offer.
- Outside resources. Federal regulations require that the Financial Aid Office be notified of ALL forms of financial assistance a student might be receiving (i.e. outside scholarships, employer reimbursements, etc). If you receive any outside resources, complete the Outside Scholarship/Resource form (available on our financial aid downloadable forms page or on the Financial Aid page of your my.vbj4.com student portal).
Note: If the total of your aid from Carroll, plus outside aid, exceeds your calculated need or budget, a portion of your financial aid offer must be reduced. We will first reduce loan and work offers before reducing grants.
- Change in living arrangements. If your living arrangements (on-campus, off-campus or with parents) are different than what your financial aid offer indicates, please notify the Financial Aid Office. Appropriate adjustments will be made to your financial aid offer, including a possible reduction in institutional grant aid.
- Change in enrollment status. If your enrollment status changes (full-time to part-time, etc.), please notify our office. In addition, if a student is enrolled in courses that do not count toward his/her degree, they cannot be used to determine enrollment status. The Financial Aid Office will work with the Registrar’s Office to determine eligible coursework needed for graduation.
- Unusual circumstances. If you and/or your spouse/parents have an unusual circumstance, you might qualify for a re-evaluation of your financial aid. If you believe you have an unusual circumstance, review the Request for Special Circumstance form. These circumstances must be communicated in writing and sent to the Financial Aid Office.
Students who receive federal or state financial aid and who withdraw from Carroll University prior to completing 60 percent of the semester will be subject to the federal return of Title IV funds policy in which the student will retain financial aid based on the percentage of the semester they’ve completed. The remainder of their financial aid must be returned to the appropriate funding source. You can review the refund policies in the Carroll University catalog under the fees section.
Summer 2024
Undergraduate degree seeking students who register for at least six credits during the summer term at Carroll University are eligible to receive student loans and federal grants (if eligible as determined by your FAFSA). Students who are less than six credits and are eligible for the federal Pell Grant (as determined by your FAFSA) will be eligible to receive this grant only. Graduate degree seeking students who register for at least three credits during the summer term at Carroll University are eligible to receive student loans (if eligible as determined by FAFSA).
When a student receives financial aid for the summer term, the funds received are not in addition to their fall and spring terms.
Example: A student is eligible and was offered a Federal Direct Loan of $3,500 for the academic year ($1,750 for the fall and $1,750 for the spring). The student enrolls for six credits for the summer term at Carroll and wants to borrow a $1,500 Direct Loan. Because the student borrowed the $1,500 for the summer term, he/she is now eligible to only borrow $2,000 for the academic year ($1,000 for the fall and $1,000 for the spring).
If you have registered for at least six credits at Carroll for the summer term and are interested in receiving financial assistance, you must complete and return the Summer Form to the Financial Aid Office as soon as possible. You also must complete the FAFSA, available at http://studentaid.gov/fafsa. The last day we will process summer financial aid offers is August 17, 2024. Keep in mind that by requesting financial aid for the summer term, your previous financial aid offer for the fall and spring terms will be adjusted accordingly.
Important: The Financial Aid Office will review your enrollment status during the summer to confirm that your financial aid offer is calculated on the appropriate status. Students are not eligible to receive the portion of their Federal Pell Grant for classes that they have not attended.
Winter 2025
Winter term enrollment is considered part of the spring semester hours for financial aid consideration. However, for billing purposes, winter term and spring are separate terms. Students taking winter term classes are eligible to have their financial aid budget increased for the related costs of this term. Students can request aid to cover this term. Typically, this includes increasing PLUS and alternative loan amounts. Students are required to contact the Financial Aid Office to apply for winter term aid.
Carroll University's financial aid year includes fall, winter, spring and summer terms. Because the winter term falls in the middle of the year between fall and spring semesters, most students already have an academic year financial aid offer that covers living expenses for the winter session. Thus, most students' cost of attendance for winter will only include expenses for tuition, fees and books. Winter costs associated with tuition, fees and books will be added to students' spring cost of attendance. The winter cost of attendance is calculated based the number of credits you are registered for and attend. This cost will be automatically added to your spring cost of attendance.
Because winter term is considered as part of the spring semester for financial aid purposes, if a student is registered for three credits during the winter term and nine credits during the spring, he/she would be considered a full-time student and federal and state financial aid would be offered as such. Billing, however, would be done at three credits and nine credits.
To be considered for winter term 2025 financial aid, a student must:
- Be enrolled as a degree-seeking student at Carroll University.
- Complete a 2024-25 FAFSA with accurate results processed by the Carroll University Financial Aid Office
- Maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress as defined by the Carroll University Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy.
We will verify your enrollment before we complete the budget increase. If you are not registered for the exact credits as indicated above, we will not process your request.
Loan Repayment Flier
Loan repayment information for our graduating students
Tuition Exchange Programs
Tuition exchanges are available to full-time, undergraduate students of eligible employees at participating institutions
State Agencies
If you have questions about financial aid from your state of residence, contact the agency directly
Consumer Information
Summary of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of institutional disclosure requirements
Downloadable Forms
Find downloadable forms for financial aid wards, loans, employment and more
Helpful Links
Links to federal, state, and other outside institutions