Financial Aid

This section explains the requirements for receiving federal financial aid and how the amount of aid is determined. Students apply for aid by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Eligible students receive financial aid funds at the beginning of each term. Goldfarb's FAFSA School Code is 006389.

A student’s eligibility for aid refers to:

• Whether or not the student meets the requirements to receive funds for college
• The amount of available aid the student is eligible to receive

Federal Student Eligibility Requirements

(Infographic on Aid Eligibility)

The federal government is a primary source of financial aid for many college students. Students must meet requirements to be eligible for federal aid. Please visit studentaid.gov to learn all of the current information regarding Federal Student Aid requirements and aid options.

For students who enter into an agreement regarding a Title IV or HEA loan, this information will be submitted to NSLDS and is accessible by authorized agencies, lenders and institutions. In order to be eligible for HEA Loans including Direct Loans, PLUS loans, etc. a valid Master Promissory Note must be submitted either electronically at https://studentaid.gov/mpn/ or submitted via paper to the U.S. Dept. of Education.

Students must enroll for coursework that is accepted for credit by the degree-granting program. If a student enrolls in coursework that does not count toward their degree, it cannot be used to determine enrollment status. If the course(s) are eligible remedial courses or the course(s) have been approved by the college/department to count toward the student’s degree progress then there will be an exception.

Students must attend all classes for which they enroll. Failure to attend class may result in the adjustment of aid.

Restrictions on Eligibility

Second Bachelor’s Degree
Students are eligible for federal aid if they are pursuing double majors or dual-degree programs as long as they meet satisfactory academic progress requirements. If a student has earned an undergraduate degree and continues or re-enters college to pursue another bachelor’s degree, federal financial aid is limited to loans only.

Non-Degree Undergraduate Students
A student admitted as a non-degree undergraduate student is not eligible for federal aid.

Non-Degree Graduate Students
A student admitted as a non-degree graduate student may qualify for federal loan assistance if the student is taking prerequisite courses for admittance into a Goldfarb School of Nursing graduate degree program. For more information, contact your financial aid counselor.

Enrollment at More than One Institution
Students who are enrolled at more than one college or university at the same time may receive aid from only one institution.

How Much is a Student Eligible to Receive?

Financial aid programs were created with the idea that the primary responsibility for paying college costs rests with the student and their family. The amount of aid for which a student is eligible depends on their family’s financial circumstances and resources, year in school, enrollment status and the cost of attendance at the school they are attending.

When a student completes the free application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the Department of Education uses the information provided to assess the family’s financial situation and calculate a Student Aid Index (SAI). The SAI is an index number that determines the amount of need-based aid a student may qualify for; it is not the amount owed to Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes-Jewish College. The SAI replaces the EFC figure determined on the FAFSA as of the 2024-2025 FAFSA cycle.

Once the Department of Education has calculated the SAI, the amount of federal, state and institutional need-based aid is calculated as follows:

Cost of Attendance – SAI = Financial Need

The cost of attendance (COA) includes estimated amounts for tuition and fees, books and supplies, room and board (housing and food) and a modest allowance for personal/miscellaneous expenses. The COA represents the amount of aid a student is eligible to receive.

Undergraduate Students
If a student’s SAI is less than a college’s cost of attendance, then the student qualifies for need-based financial aid. Need-based aid (including Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), state grants, institutional grants and Federal Direct Subsidized loans) cannot exceed the financial need figure. However, there are other types of aid that can be awarded regardless of your financial need (including Federal Direct Unsubsidized, Federal Direct Parent PLUS loans and/or private educational loans).

Parents of Undergraduate Students
Federal regulations require that a Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan borrower be either a biological parent or an adoptive parent. A step-parent may also borrow the Federal Direct Parent PLUS loan for their student as long as their income is listed on the FAFSA with one of the biological or adoptive parents. View an infographic on Who’s My Parent When I Fill Out My FAFSA? or text on reporting parent information.

Graduate Students
Graduate students are only eligible for non-need-based federal aid including Federal Direct Unsubsidized loans, Federal Direct Grad PLUS loans and/or private educational loans. Need-based aid may be offered by UA departments or outside scholarship entities.

Verification Policy and Procedure

Verification Deadline

The priority deadline for federal aid is six weeks prior to the term. The financial aid office will issue a request for additional information if a student is chosen for verification and follow up with a reminder every 21 days. While the final request gives a two-week deadline, the student’s file automatically will reopen if the verification information is submitted after this date. Please note that while we have a priority deadline, all information will continue to be reviewed after this priority deadline and aid will continue to be determined.

In order to be considered for federal grant funds, students selected for verification must return all requested verification documentation within 120 days from the last date of enrollment or September 21, 2024, whichever is earlier for the 23/24 academic year. Students in the V4 verification group must submit documentation within 60 days of notification. Please note that the school also must have received a valid FAFSA result before the end date of the term. If the student fails to complete the verification process, the file will remain incomplete and federal aid will not be awarded.

If a student was chosen for verification after aid has been determined, the student must complete the verification process within this time frame to remain eligible for the funds. If the student’s eligibility for aid has changed due to the verification process, the aid will be recalculated. If the student fails to submit the verification information, any federal grants will be returned to the Department of Education and any undelivered or non-disbursed federal Stafford loans will be returned to the lender.

Documentation Needed to Satisfy the Verification Requirements

Once a student is chosen for verification, he or she will receive a request to submit additional information and/or materials. Federal regulations have customized the verification process. Therefore, not all students selected for verification will be required to verify the same data. Our office will notify the student which data must be verified and what information or materials will be required to verify that particular data. Some of the requested materials may include, but are not limited to:

• A verification form
• An official IRS Tax Return Transcript
• W-2 wage statement(s)
• A signed copy of the federal tax return
• A written statement declaring any untaxed income received
• Verification of identity
• A statement of educational purpose

Tax data can also be provided by utilizing the Direct Data Exchange (DDX), made available on the FAFSA for the 2024-2025 FAFSA cycles. Please note that if the student is a dependent they will be asked to supply parental information on the verification form and will need to obtain a parent signature on the verification certification. A dependent student also will be required to supply tax information for their parents and should also utilize the IRS Data Retrieval on the FAFSA to supply such information. If any part of the verification documentation is not fully completed or if any discrepancies exist, the student may be asked to supply additional information or explanation.

Filing Extensions

Only individuals granted a filing extension by the IRS beyond the automatic six-month extension for the tax year 2022 (for 2024-2025 applicants) may submit a copy of IRS Form 4868: the Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return.

Notification to Students

Once the verification process is complete, students will be notified through postal mail of their award eligibility. Please note that if federal aid was awarded before a student was chosen for verification and eligibility has changed as a result of the verification process, the student will receive an updated financial aid offer letter. If the aid has been reduced, the student will be billed accordingly.

Sources that May Affect Eligibility

Students may seek scholarships from private sources at any time. In accordance with federal regulations and Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes-Jewish College policies, scholarships from external sources must be counted as financial resources when calculating a student’s eligibility for need-based aid.

Some scholarships and awards administered by GSON are awarded based on student need. Although this may reduce a student’s institutional grant and/or other need-based aid, their total aid awarded should remain the same or may increase. Total aid should not be reduced if there has not been a change to a student’s Student Aid Index (SAI).

Student Rights and Responsibilities

As a student consumer, you have the right to know:

• What financial assistance is available, including information on all federal, state and institutional financial assistance programs
• The deadlines for submitting applications for each of the financial assistance programs available
• How your financial need is determined
  • This process includes how costs for tuition and fees, room and board, travel, books and supplies and personal expenses are decided in developing cost of attendance budgets
• What resources (such as parental contribution, other financial assistance, student assets, etc.) are considered in the calculation of your financial need
• How much of your financial need, as determined by Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes-Jewish College, has been met
• How to request an explanation of the various programs in your student aid package from the financial aid office
• What portion of the financial assistance received must be repaid, and what portion is grant aid. If the aid is a loan, you have the right to know what the interest rate is, the total amount that must be repaid, the payback procedures, the length of time you have to repay the loan and when repayment is to begin
• How the financial aid office determines whether you are making satisfactory academic progress and what happens if you are not

It is your responsibility to:

• Review and consider all information about the financial aid programs at GSON prior to enrolling
• Complete all financial assistance applications and forms accurately and submit them to the financial aid office by the appropriate deadlines
• Fill out the free application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or renewal FAFSA completely because it determines your eligibility for a wide variety of financial assistance
  • You may experience delays in receiving a decision about financial aid if forms are filled out incompletely or incorrectly
  • Falsification of information on application forms for federal financial assistance is considered a criminal offense, and you may be subject to penalties under the U.S. Criminal Code
• Respond quickly to all requests for additional documentation related to verification or corrections
• Notify the financial aid office if there is a change in any of the information reported on the FAFSA
• Read and understand all forms that you are asked to submit or sign and keep copies of these forms because you are legally responsible for all agreements which you sign
• Complete a Master Promissory Note (MPN), Entrance Counseling and Exit Counseling if you are a Stafford or Grad PLUS borrower
• Notify your lender of any changes in your name, address or school status if a loan is part of your financial aid
• Know and comply with the GSON’s refund procedures, should you withdraw from GSON
• Be formally admitted to GSON in a degree-seeking program

Disbursement of Funds

The financial aid office will disburse funds (Federal Student Aid and Alternative loans) to be credited to student accounts no earlier than the 11th day of the term. The earliest disbursement day for each term is:

• June 5th for the Summer 2024 term
• September 18th for the Fall 2024 term
• January 29th for the Spring 2025 term

Institutional Scholarship Awarding & Disbursement Policies

GSON awards scholarships to incoming students based on their eligibility as determined by using our scholarship application. Eligibility may be based on academic merit, financial need, race/ethnic background, dependent of BJC Employee, etc. Students are notified of their scholarship via letter and if the scholarship is conditional, of the terms the student must meet in order for the scholarship to disburse. If additional information is needed to verify a student’s eligibility, the application indicates so. Should a student withdraw from the college, there will be no proration of the scholarship based on the student’s time of enrollment. The full amount of the scholarship will be canceled out, and no amount will be posted against the student’s charges for their time of enrollment during the term.

Disbursement of institutional scholarship funds will not occur until at least 21 days into the term for returning or new students. New students will also have to complete a Thank You card for their donor during the first few weeks of their term. Failure to complete this requirement will result in a further delay in the disbursement or the rescinding of their scholarship award.

Provisions for Books and Supplies

If you have federal student aid that creates a credit balance 10 days before a term, you are entitled to request an early refund from Goldfarb which will be processed as requests are received rather than waiting for normal refunding. Non-federal aid is not accounted for in this calculation. If eligible, you will receive information about this procedure via your GSON email address. If you choose to request an early refund as payment for your books and supplies, you have authorized Goldfarb to use financial aid funds, and no written authorization is required.

You must complete the Textbooks & Supplies Estimation Form [downloadable form from resource center], and e-mail it to the library (GSON_Library@bjc.org). The library will then forward the form to the Business Office where a refund will be processed if eligible. It is GSON’s intent that all the procedural steps take place by the 7th day of the term, and the student has the refund check in hand or ACH direct deposit in their bank account. This is reliant upon you submitting your early refund request immediately upon receipt of notification that you are eligible. You also have the right to opt-out of requesting an early refund. If you choose to opt-out, you will need to wait until the financial aid credit balance reaches you under the normal refunding policy.

For additional information on the refund policy, please see below.

Drug Conviction

Federal law provides that if a student has been convicted of an offense under any federal or state law involving the possession or sale of a controlled substance during a period of enrollment for which the student was receiving financial aid, the student shall not be eligible to receive any federal or institutional grant, loan or work assistance.

Learn more about the Federal Policy on Eligibility for Financial Aid

Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes-Jewish College prohibits all forms of substantial misrepresentations or misleading statements, including those made in any advertising or promotional materials. Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes-Jewish College will not engage in substantial misrepresentation by having the college itself or one of its representatives, make a substantial misrepresentation regarding the institution, including the nature of its educational program, its financial charges, employability of its graduates or its relationship with the Department of Education. Substantial misrepresentations are prohibited in all forms, including those made in any promotional materials, or in the marketing programs of instruction offered by the college. Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes-Jewish College intends to relay true and accurate information in all forms.