1) Criteria considered when selecting students for awards.
There are multiple rounds of awarding that take place for granting institutional financial aid. Several formulas are used to consider a student’s financial situation (this includes their income and cost of attendance). Initial awards are granted based on a student’s overall financial situation and the funds for which they are eligible. Another round of awarding involves looking more holistically at a student’s situation. Any special circumstances the student included on their application are considered, as well as grades, degree program, degree level, and other aid available to the student. Certain funds have more particular donor agreements and separate scholarship committees meet to decide on those awards. Some of these funds include Kingdom Diversity and some of the missions-related scholarships.
2) Eligibility Requirements
To be considered for any form of Southeastern’s institutional aid, each current or prospective student must fill out the Institutional Financial Aid Application and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. However, completion of these applications does not guarantee an award. Reapplication must be made annually.
Students who are selected for verification must complete the verification process in order to retain their institutional, state, or federal awards. Upon notification that they have been selected for verification, students have three weeks to complete the process. If they fail to do so, their awards will be removed. For institutional and state awards, if students complete the verification process by the institutional drop date, the award will be re-instated. For Federal Pell Grants, students will have their award re-instated if they complete verification by the federal deadline.
Additionally, students should maintain a 2.0 cumulative GPA or above to receive institutional aid, with preference given to students with higher GPAs. Some scholarships may require a 2.5 GPA or higher. Students with a status of Academic Probation (a term and/or cumulative GPA below 2.0) are ineligible for institutional aid and should expect their aid to be rescinded.
Students must be degree-seeking at SEBTS to be eligible for institutional financial aid; “credit-only” students are ineligible.
Students must remain enrolled at full-time status for the entire semester to receive the full amount of any Institutional award.
Students enrolled at part-time status before the drop-date will have their awards reduced by 50%.
Students who withdraw from courses after the drop-date and fall below full-time status will have their institutional financial aid reduced by 25% for each course they withdraw from.
Students who fall at half-time or below will lose any remaining aid. Please note, students who withdraw are charged the full cost of any courses they withdraw from.
Students who are enrolled at half-time or below are considered ineligible for any institutional awards.
Most institutional scholarships are tuition-specific and may not be refunded to the student as cash or a check.
Students in continuous enrollment classes should not expect to receive institutional financial aid.
Unless otherwise specified, all institutional scholarships are open to on-campus and distance learning students.
3) Methods and Frequency of disbursements of Aid
The Financial Aid Office conducts an award confirmation process after the last day to drop classes for the fall, spring and summer. Once a student is confirmed to meet the various eligibility standards, they may be approved to have their aid disbursed each semester.
For all other questions concerning the financial aid policies at Southeastern please visit the Financial Aid page.