Financial Assistance Programs | Office of Student Financial Planning

Federal Grants

Pell Grant

The Federal Pell Grant Program provides need-based grants to low-income undergraduate students to promote access to post secondary education. For many students, the Pell grant is the cornerstone of their financial aid package. To be considered for this grant, students must fill out the FAFSA .

Eligibility

Available to undergraduate students pursuing their first undergraduate degree and not enrolled in a professional program. Students with a prior bachelor’s degree cannot be considered.
Students must also be making Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP).

Grant Limits

Awards ranged from $692 to $6,895 during the 2022-2023 academic year depending on the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) calculated from the FAFSA. The closer to zero the EFC, the larger the possible award.

Required Credits

To receive the maximum award (100%) you must be enrolled in 12 or more credit hours per semester.
If enrolling in 9 to 11 credit hours per semester, you may receive up to 75% of the maximum award.
If enrolling in 6 to 8 credit hours per semester, you may receive up to 50% of the maximum award.
A minimum award may be made for students enrolled in less than six credits per term.

Payment

Pell Grant is paid by the semester, one-half of the annual award for fall term and one-half for spring term. If a student attends less than full-time both semesters or only attends one term, they may have Pell eligibility for the following summer term.
Pell Grant is credited to the student’s account no sooner than the first day of the semester or as soon as the award is ready.

Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)

Federal grant program for undergraduate students with exceptional need and can be awarded from $500 to $1,000 per year. To be considered for this grant, students must fill out the FAFSA.

TEACH Grant

The TEACH grant program provides additional funding to students who are interested in careers in Teaching. This is a grant which requires certain conditions to be met to avoid repayment. If recipients do not complete their service obligation, all amounts of the TEACH Grants will be converted to a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan and repaid to the U.S. Department of Education. For more information please visit https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/grants/teach

Teaching Service Obligation – As a TEACH Grant Recipient, you must agree to:

Teach as a highly-qualified teacher for at least four academic years within eight calendar years after completing the program for which you received the grant.
Teach in a “high-need” field (mathematics, science, special education, foreign language, bilingual education, reading specialist, or other “high-need” fields as designated by the state and listed in the Department of Education’s Annual Teacher Shortage Area Nationwide listing.
Teach in a private or public elementary or secondary school that serves low-income students and listed in the Department of Education’s Annual Directory of Designated Low-Income Schools for Teacher Cancellation Benefits.

TEACH Grant Amount

Provides up to $4,000 per scheduled award year ($16,000 total for an undergraduates; $8,000 for graduates). If you are enrolled less than full-time (12 credits for undergraduates; 10 credits for graduates) you will receive a pro-rated amount.
Please note that due to the federal sequester law only $3,772 will actually show for the year on a student’s account.
Please note that the amount of the TEACH grant is considered a resource toward determining your eligibility for other aid.

Eligibility Requirements

You must complete the FAFSA, but financial need is not required.
You must be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen.
You must have a cumulative GPA of a least 3.25 at time of disbursement. New transfer students must have at least a 3.25 cumulative transfer GPA.
You must receive initial, subsequent and exit counseling. The counseling requirement will be online and will cover your rights and responsibilities as a recipient.
You must sign an Agreement to Serve (ATS) every year before the grant can be disbursed. The ATS specifies the conditions under which the grant will be awarded and the teaching service requirements listed above. In signing, you are acknowledging that if you do not meet the teaching service requirements you will repay the grant as a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan with interest accrued from the date the grant funds were disbursed.

Steps to Apply

Be admitted to the HPU School of Education in the Teacher Education Program
School of Education will notify Financial Planning Office that you plan to participate
Complete TEACH Grant Initial Counseling online at https://studentaid.gov/app/launchTeach.action
Financial Planning office will mail you a revised financial aid offer showing the addition of the TEACH Grant
After the semester starts, Student Financial Planning Office will notify student to complete the TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve (ATS) online at https://studentaid.gov/app/launchTeach.action

State Grants – NC Need-Based Scholarship

Created by the 2011 North Carolina General Assembly, this is a need-based program for NC residents attending private institutions of higher education located in North Carolina

Eligibility
Applicant must meet the following eligibility requirements:

Be a North Carolina resident as determined by the State of North Carolina through the Residency Determination System (RDS) website at ncresidency.cfnc.org/residencyInfo/home within 45 days of the start of the first semester that funding is awarded
Be enrolled as an undergraduate student in at least 9 credit hours at a qualifying private North Carolina campus
Demonstrate a certain level of financial need based on calculated Expected Family Contribution (EFC) from the FAFSA
- for the 2022-2023 academic year students are required to have an EFC of $16,000 or less and an annual family income below $155,000 to be eligible
Meet requirements for the Federal Pell Grant (except the EFC range restrictions)

Value
Award amounts vary depending on the EFC and ranged from $3,000 to $8,240 during the 2022-2023 academic year for students enrolled in full time hours.

Application Procedure
Applicants must complete the FAFSA, listing at least one qualifying private North Carolina institution. Consideration for the grant is automatic once the FAFSA is filed.

The grant will appear on your financial aid offer letter and to receive the grant you must complete the questionnaire on the Residency Determination System (RDS) website for the State of North Carolina at ncresidency.cfnc.org/residencyInfo/home within 45 days of the start of the first semester that funding is awarded.

The RDS will ask students (and parent(s) or spouse as applicable) to provide their social security number as an identifier to be able to verify information with federal and state agencies to determine residency status. You will also be asked to provide residence information, federal and state tax return information, vehicle registration and driver’s license information. Once you start the RDS interview you will have 25 days to complete the interview, otherwise it will be canceled and you will have to start again. Once the interview is complete the system will immediately let you know whether or not you have NC residency status. You will also receive a Residency Certification Number (RCN) that is a unique 10 digit identifier that serves as proof that you have completed residency determination. Once you have a determination made through the RDS website, it will last as long as you remain continuously enrolled at High Point University and continue to demonstrate need to receive the NC Need-Based Scholarship.

Institutional Need-Based Grants

High Point University awards need based grants based on financial need as determined by the FAFSA, student’s academic profile, and amount of other institutional, federal, state or outside scholarships and grants awarded to the student. Many of these monies are funded by endowed scholarships made possible by our many gracious donors.

Merit-Based Scholarships

Every student who applies and is accepted for admission at High Point University will be considered for merit-based scholarships. These scholarships are generally renewable provided that the student maintains a designated minimum grade point average. To be considered for these scholarships, applicants must submit their application for admission, high school transcript and SAT or ACT scores to the Admissions Office by December 1st for priority consideration and January 1st for general consideration.

Please visit the Presidential Scholarship Program on the Admissions webpage for more information.

Policies Associated with Merit Aid

Eagle Award / Gold Award Scholarships

Students that received either the Boy Scout Eagle Award or the Girl Scout Gold Award are eligible to receive a $1,000 scholarship per school year. A copy of the scout award needs to be submitted to your Financial Planning Counselor. Once the documentation is received the scholarship will be added to your financial aid offer for current and future terms (up to 8 semesters).

ROTC Housing Scholarships

ROTC Cadets that receive a full tuition and fees scholarship through the ROTC program may be eligible for this scholarship that will provide additional funding up to the cost of Tier 1 housing and board minus all other institutional, federal, state, private and military grant/scholarship aid the student receives for the Fall and/or Spring term(s). To be eligible for this scholarship a student must have a completed FAFSA on file with our office and complete and return the ROTC Housing Scholarship Application. Please email our office at finplan@highpoint.edu to request the scholarship application.

Departmental Scholarships

There are many other opportunities for scholarships through academic offices and student organizations once you have joined our student body.

United Methodist Church Scholarships

High Point University is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. A number of scholarship and loan programs are available to students who are members of a United Methodist Church. Funding is not guaranteed, so early applications are strongly encouraged.

The United Methodist Higher Education Foundation provides $1,000 matching scholarships to United Methodist students through their United Methodist Dollars for Scholars program (UMDFS). Scholarships are available to students who have received at least a $1,000 scholarship from their local United Methodist church to aid in their attendance to a United Methodist college, university or seminary. Eligible applicants can apply for additional matching funds through the Triple Your Dollars or Quadruple Your Dollars components of the UMDFS. For more information and to access the scholarship application, please visit the United Methodist Higher Education Foundation website. You may also be eligible to receive a scholarship from the General Board of Higher Education & Ministry through the United Methodist Church. The application deadline is March 1st each year and includes an array of potential opportunities.

Students are also invited to complete the UMHEF General Named Endowed scholarship application. With this one application, students apply for 130+ different UMHEF scholarships provided by endowed funds. UMHEF staff will match students with the highest value award for which they qualify each year. Learn more about these and other available awards on the United Methodist Higher Education Foundation website.

Golden LEAF Scholars Program

This program is dedicated to helping students from rural communities in North Carolina attend college. For complete information please visit the Golden LEAF Scholars Program website.

Eligibility
High school seniors or community college transfer students planning to attend any of the participating colleges or universities who reside in a qualifying county and demonstrate financial need. Recipients are selected based upon multiple factors including grade point average, financial need, length of residence in the county and the ability to communicate a commitment to returning to a rural county that is economically distressed.

Award Amount

High school seniors are eligible for a four-year scholarship totaling $12,000 ($3,000 a year over four years)
Community college transfer students are eligible for $3,000 a year for up to 3 years
Years of scholarship support are subject to the number of credits transferred and the degree sought, among other eligibility factors
Approximately 215 scholarships will be awarded each year

How to apply
Visit CFNC.org/goldenleaf to fill out the application form or call 866-866-CFNC for assistance. Your FAFSA, application, and transcripts are all processes through CFNC.org and must be submitted by March 1st each year.

Golden LEAF Scholars Leadership Program
Students awarded Golden LEAF Scholarships are also eligible to participate in the Golden LEAF Scholars Leadership Program (subject to funding availability). The optional program provides:

Leadership training at the Center for Creative Leadership, one of the nation’s leading leadership development organizations.
Paid internship opportunities in rural N.C. communities.
Stipends up to $8,830 (for all four years of participation) in addition to Golden LEAF Scholarship funding.

Additional Scholarship Opportunities

There are a number of helpful scholarship search links for outside scholarships. However, you should not limit your scholarship search to these sites. Local clubs, foundations, and religious institutions (i.e. churches, synagogues, etc.) are excellent sources of scholarships, and you should pursue every opportunity for funding. Most of these organizations require either the student or parent to be a member of the organization before scholarships can be awarded, but not all of them have this requirement. Please make sure you pursue the opportunities available to you. However, please be sure these organizations do not charge you a fee for applying, as this is the hallmark of a scholarship scam! You must build a profile to search for scholarships on most scholarship search websites.

Recommended Scholarship Search Sites

If you receive a scholarship from any source outside the University, you are required to notify the Office of Student Financial Planning so that these funds can be incorporated into your financial aid package.

The scholarship check should be made payable to High Point University and should have the Recipient’s Name and HPU Student ID in the “For” section of the check. Outside donors should mail scholarship checks to this address:

Office of Student Accounts
High Point University
Drawer #47
One University Parkway
High Point, NC 27268

Federal Loans

A loan is financial assistance that enables students and parents to borrow money from the federal government or private lenders. These loans must be repaid. Borrowers are responsible for signing a Master Promissory Note for each loan program, which is a binding, legal document through which the borrower agrees to repay the loan. To be considered for any of these loans, students must fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online at https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa.

Federal Direct Loans

A federal student loan, made through the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program, for which eligible students and parents borrow directly from the U.S. Department of Education at participating schools. Direct Subsidized Loans, Direct Unsubsidized Loans, Direct PLUS Loans and Direct Consolidation Loans are types of Direct Loans. This chart gives the annual limits of the Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans by student type:

	Freshman	Sophomore	Junior	Senior	Lifetime Limit
Dependent Students:
Subsidized Loans	$3,500	$4,500	$5,500	$5,500	$23,000
Unsubsidized Loans	$2,000	$2,000	$2,000	$2,000	$34,500
Total Amount	$5,500	$6,500	$7,500	$7,500	$57,500
Independent Students:
Subsidized Loans	$3,500	$4,500	$5,500	$5,500	$23,000
Unsubsidized Loans	$6,000	$6,000	$7,000	$7,000	$34,500
Total Amount	$9,500	$10,500	$12,500	$12,500	$57,000

Additional Information

Subsidized Direct loans are loans based on financial need for which the federal government pays the interest that accrues while the borrower is in an in-school, grace, or deferment status. Unsubsidized Direct loans are loans for which the borrower is fully responsible for paying the interest regardless of the loan status. Interest on unsubsidized loans accrues from the date of disbursement and continues throughout the life of the loan. Repayment for these two loans begins after graduation or when the student drops below half-time. The student has up to 10 years to repay these loans.

Student must be enrolled at least half time (6 credit hours for undergraduate students)
Current fixed interest rate is 4.99% as of 7/1/22
Current origination fee of 1.057% as of 10/1/22 (this fee is deducted up front and thus lowers the actual net amount of each disbursement that appears on your tuition bill)
Rates may change depending on legislation so please visit the Federal Student Aid Interest website for the most current information

Students can accept or decline their federal direct loans online through the Student Financial Services section of the Student Financial Services Portal. (Instructions for accepting or declinging student loans can be found in SFS Self Service Guide.) In order to receive funding from the Federal Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loan program, you must complete Entrance Counseling and sign a Master Promissory Note (MPN) . These requirements must be completed before funds will be released from the federal loan center. These steps are further explained in detail within the portal. We also encourage student to also complete the Annual Student Loan Acknowledgement, even though it is not necessary to take out your loans. Students wishing to modify and accept only part of the federal direct loans offered will need to complete the Federal Direct Student Loan Form.

Direct Parent PLUS Loans

A loan made by the U.S. Department of Education to parents of dependent undergraduate students for which the borrower is fully responsible for paying the interest regardless of the loan status. PLUS stands for Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students. They are low-interest loans for credit-worthy parents of undergraduate students. For more information please visit https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/loans/plus/

Eligibility

For Parent and Student:
* US Citizens or eligible Non-US Citizens
* Not in default on prior educational loans

For Parent:
* Borrows on behalf of the dependent student and is responsible for loan repayment
* Meets federally defined creditworthiness standards

For Student:
* Enrolled in at least half time (6 credit hours for undergraduate students)
* Meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements

Additional Information

This loan is not need based.
You may not borrow more than the cost of the student’s education minus any other financial aid received (such as grants, scholarships, or loans – including Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized loans). High Point University will determine the actual amount you may borrow.
Current fixed interest rate is 7.54% as of 7/1/22.
Current origination fee of 4.228% as of 10/1/22 (this fee is deducted up front and thus lowers the actual net amount of each disbursement that appears on your tuition bill)
Rates may change depending on legislation so please visit the Federal Student Aid Interest website
Visit our Apply for PLUS Loan page under All Students in the left hand menu for step-by-step instructions
PLEASE NOTE that you must re-apply for a PLUS loan for each academic year. Also the PLUS loan application includes a credit check that is only good for 180 days. So please wait to apply for a PLUS loan until 180 days before the academic term starts. Since the applicant’s credit is run for each PLUS application, we would advise applying once for the full academic year. The loan funds will be disbursed by semester as they are awarded.

For more information on these loans please visit https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/loans. Please Note: An origination fee will be charged on each loan that will be deducted from the loan before disbursement. Also students who are non-degree seeking or who are seeking teacher certification after graduation are only eligible for alternative loans in most cases.

Alternative Loans

If your financial assistance package does not cover your expenses, you have the option of applying for an alternative or private (nonfederal) student loan. Some private lenders offer credit-based loan programs to creditworthy students and/or students with creditworthy cosigners. Interest rates, loan fees and other specifics of such loans should be carefully evaluated and compared with Federal PLUS Loans for Parents or the tuition payment plan.

If students decide to use private alternative loans, they must apply for these loans in enough time for them to use the funds to pay the High Point University charges by the due date. Private alternative loan lenders will require a creditworthy cosigner. This can be a parent, another adult relative, or other person who meets the lender’s requirements for the loan. A cosigner will be responsible for the loan if the student does not pay it back. Students who apply for a private alternative loan must complete a Private Education Loan Applicant Self Certification Form and submit it to the lender prior to loan approval.

The Office of Student Financial Planning will assist families in understanding and pursuing this lending avenue but cannot be responsible for the actual application. Below are several common private lending options utilized by High Point University students and families. Utilize the link provided to find out specific information and complete an on-line application if interested.

In order to consider a private alternative loan as payment toward the Student Accounts bill, the student must have received final approval from the lender. Processing time varies from lender to lender, but the average approval time is two to four weeks if everything is submitted in a timely manner. Be sure to allow enough time for processing.

Please refer to our Code of Conduct regarding Educational Loans.

Click below to easily compare and apply for Alternative Loans: