Financial Aid
Matthew Vassar bequeathed to the college its first scholarship fund. Through the years, generous friends of the college have added permanent scholarship funds and annual gifts to help promising students meet their college costs.
During the academic 2000/01 year, approximately sixty percent of the student body received financial aid totaling more than $26 million from the college, federal, state, and private sources. Of that amount, over $17 million was awarded in the form of Vassar Scholarship assistance, all of which was awarded on the basis of financial need as determined by the college.
Students applying for admission will receive a freshman application for financial aid and detailed information about financial aid at Vassar, including expenses, how assistance is awarded, and the application procedures. Applicants and their families must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to apply for assistance from federal financial aid programs. Applicants must also file a supplemental form, the CSS PROFILE form, with the College Scholarship Service. This last form is required by Vassar College prior to the awarding of its own resources. Both forms are available in school guidance offices. Complete instructions and deadlines for first–year and transfer students are included in the admission application booklet and financial aid brochure available from the Office of Admission.
Instructions and application materials for financial aid for returning students are available from the Office of Financial Aid in late February, with a filing deadline of mid–April.
Eligibility for federal student financial aid is determined by a federally mandated formula. Financial need for a Vassar Scholarship is determined through the use of the assessment principles of the College Scholarship Service and subject to the professional judgement of the student financial aid officers of the college.
Students who are residents of New York State may be eligible for assistance from the following sources:
The Tuition Assistance Plan (TAP)
Regents Awards for Children of Deceased or Disabled VeteransVassar requires all financial aid applicants who are New York residents and United States citizens to apply for TAP. Information about these programs can be obtained from school guidance offices, Vassar's Office of Financial Aid, or the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation.
The Committee on Student Records provides the TAP certifying officer and the financial aid officer of the college with a means for detailed analysis of any individual student's status and academic progress to determine continuing eligibility for New York State financial assistance and federal Title IV financial aid programs.
Information about State Aid to Native Indians is also available in the Office of Financial Aid, or students may write to the Native American Education Unit, New York State Education Department, Albany, NY 12234.
Financial Aid Awards
Financial aid for entering students is awarded on the basis of financial need. The college expects students and parents to assume the primary responsibility for financing college costs. Need is defined as the difference between Vassar's costs and a family's expected contribution. Awards are packaged so that the first portion of the student's need is covered with the offer of a loan and a job. Any remaining need is met with a scholarship. Recipients of freshman awards can expect continuing financial aid in relation to their need. They must, of course, remain members in good standing of the college community. Demonstrated need is reassessed each academic year and may indeed change if a family's circumstances change.
Applicants for financial aid are expected to investigate all possible sources of assistance for which they may be eligible, such as state scholarships and awards offered by community organizations.
The following scholarships from funds not held by Vassar are available to applicants who meet the qualifications:
|
Financial Aid and Athletics
Athletic ability is never a factor in the awarding of financial aid by Vassar College. Vassar College fields teams at the Division III level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Division III regulations prohibit the awarding of any financial aid based on athletic considerations.
Scholarships in the Performing Arts
A limited number of art–supplies stipends and music–performance scholarships are given on the basis of merit and financial need. Applications may be obtained at the financial aid office in the first week of college for new students, in March for students already enrolled.
Hager Moral Obligation Scholarship Program
The Hager Scholar Program provides moral obligation scholarships to a small number of juniors and seniors who are selected on the basis of academic excellence, service to the college community, and financial need. The award replaces a portion of the Self–Help component (loan/student income contribution) of the recipients' financial aid package. Donors contributing to this scholarship fund do so with the explicit hope that recipients will contribute to the college scholarship program, in the years after graduation, an amount equal to or greater than the funds they received as undergraduates. The concept was devised by the late Peter Hager when he was a trustee and chair of the Committee for Investments and Finance.
Loan Funds
The Federal Stafford Student Loan Program offers federally insured loans at a low rate of interest. You pay no interest or principal while you are in college and have up to 10 years to repay the loan. Deferment and forbearance provisions are available in special circumstances. An origination fee and finance charges are deducted from the loan prior to disbursement by the lender. Applicants for Stafford Loans must demonstrate need under criteria used in determining eligibility for federal student–aid programs administered by the college. Applicants found ineligible for a subsidized Stafford Loan may still receive a Stafford Loanthey will be required to at least make interest payments or capitalize the interest while in school. Application and additional information may be obtained from the Office of Financial Aid or your local lender.
The Federal Perkins Loan program is a federally funded program administered by the college. You may have up to 10 years to repay the loan at 5 percent interest. There are no interest or principal payments while attending college on at least a half–time basis. Deferment and cancellation provisions are available in special circumstances.
Vassar Signature Premier Loan Program and Vassar Signature Select Loan Program are offered to international students in cooperation with Chase Manhattan Bank. The interest rates vary from prime to prime plus 1.5%, and may or may not include a 5% origination fee. The interest rates and origination fee are determined by whether the student secures a U.S. citizen as a co–borrower and the credit rating of the student and co–borrower. Students have up to 15 years to repay, and deferment on payments while in graduate school is available.
The Office of Financial Aid determines which loan is most appropriate for a student receiving financial aid.
Other Federal Loan Programs
The Federal Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students is available to the parents of dependent undergraduate students. This loan carries a low variable interest rate. The maximum amount that can be borrowed is the cost of education less financial aid. Availability is also subject to credit review of the borrower(s). Repayment begins shortly after the date of disbursement.
Student Employment
A campus job is part of all financial aid awards and priority for certain jobs is given to financial aid recipients. Students receive an allocation for either Federal Work Study (federally funded) or Institutional Employment. Presently, financial aid allocations are $1,300 to $1,630 requiring a student to work 8 to 10 hours per week. Some positions, which are funded through the Federal Work–Study Program (FWS) are off–campus community service positions. The Student Employment Office assists all students with job placements.
Temporary Loans
The college is fortunate to have modest funds donated to help students needing temporary emergency assistance. These loans are interest free, and are to be repaid in the shortest time possible. Application should be made to the director of financial aid.
Vassar Scholarship for Study Away and Exchange Programs
A limited amount of Vassar scholarship is made available for students to participate in programs of study away from the college. Once the scholarship funds for these programs are exhausted, students will be limited to their eligibility for Federal student financial aid to assist them with their study–away expenses.
Scholarship Funds
All Vassar scholarships are awarded solely on the basis of financial need, as determined by the college. The endowed funds listed below help support the Vassar scholarship program. Students do not apply for specific endowed funds; rather, they apply for financial aid.
For students seeking admission to Vassar College, the financial aid information is available in the admissions packet.
|
|
Additional scholarship funds were made available by the following Vassar Clubs during the 1999/00 academic year from gifts and endowments:
|
|
Fellowships
A limited number of fellowships are available for graduate study. The fellowship funds have been established by friends of the college to encourage Vassar graduates to continue their studies in the United States or abroad, either in work toward an advanced degree or in the creative arts. Since the stipends do not cover the full amount needed for graduate work, applicants are strongly advised to apply simultaneously for outside grants. For information concerning graduate fellowships, students should consult their departmental adviser or the Director of the Office for Fellowships and Graduate School/Preprofessional Advising.
Members of the graduating class and recent graduates of Vassar College are eligible as specified under each fellowship. Applications should be made before February 2002, to the Committee on Fellowships. Application forms for all Vassar fellowships are available from the Office for Fellowships and Graduate School/Preprofessional Advising.
Vassar College Fellowships
|
|
W. K. Rose Fellowship
This fellowship is made possible by a bequest from the estate of W. K. Rose, a distinguished scholar and teacher who was a member of the Vassar English department from 1953 until his untimely death in the fall of 1968. Its object is to provide a worthy young artist with a chance to be free after college to pursue his/her work as an artist. All Vassar graduating seniors and Vassar alumnae/i under the age of 36 at the time of the deadline who demonstrated a creative talent in their years of undergraduate study, who are not presently employed by the college, and who have not already attained substantial recognition in their field will be considered eligible. Applications should be requested through the W. K. Rose Fellowship Committee or the Director of the Office for Fellowships and Graduate School/Preprofessional Advising and are due by January 15, 2002.
Academic Internship Funds
The funds listed below help support Vassar's endowment for academic internships in the sciences, humanities, and social sciences. Students do not apply for specific endowed funds; rather, they apply for participation in either the URSI or Ford Scholars academic internship programs.
|
|
Catalogue Home | Admission | Search | Calendar | Vassar Home
124 Raymond Avenue | Poughkeepsie, N.Y. 12604 |
tel. 845.437.7000
Comments: colrel@vassar.edu
| Technical:webmanager@vassar.edu
© 2001 Vassar College