Forms & Policies

Forms

We recommend each student complete the FAFSA, regardless of need. You may complete the FAFSA online at FAFSA.gov. Should you need assistance completing the FAFSA visit 7 Easy Steps to the FAFSA.

If you have been instructed to complete an additional financial aid form, you may download a copy from this page. All links below are PDF forms that you may complete and return to our office.

Students who filed the FAFSA with their parents’ information should complete the dependent version of the form, if that is an option.

Policies & Conditions

Albion College awards academic, special talent and departmental scholarships, and/or need-based grants to qualified students based on high school GPA, standardized test scores, the academic rigor of the student’s transcript, and other criteria specific to the respective award.

Albion Scholarships and Awards Toggle Accordion

It is our policy that students may receive only one major merit-based scholarship and smaller departmental scholarships will be limited. Departmental scholarships are defined as those between $500 and $3,000. The Financial Aid Office will work to provide the best scholarship offer for the student.

Additionally, no student may be awarded Albion College funds that, when coupled with external awards, exceed the total cost of attendance. Occasionally, Albion must reduce institutional grants and possibly other sources of aid in order to accommodate external funds. However, your net cost of attendance will not change.

In most cases, you will be notified of any merit-based or talent-based scholarships before you receive your official financial aid award notification.

Albion Grants Toggle Accordion

Albion grants are provided to students based upon their financial need as determined by the FAFSA. In some cases, the Albion grant funds may be replaced with endowed scholarships for which the student is identified as an eligible recipient.

Albion Institutional Commitment Toggle Accordion

The Albion Institutional Commitment is the minimum amount of grant assistance you will receive from the College. It is based on financial need and may change based upon that need. The amount is based on Albion College awarding policies. According to Albion awarding policies, this commitment may be adjusted should you choose to attend part-time or live off-campus. Your Institutional Commitment may be replaced with endowed scholarships for which the student is identified as an eligible recipient. Your grant may also be adjusted based upon additional resources that you receive or if your financial need changes. If your Institutional Commitment is replaced with an endowed scholarship a thank you note will be required.

Merit-Based and Need-Based Awards Supported by Endowed and Private Funds Toggle Accordion

If you are eligible for a merit-based scholarship, you will be notified soon after being admitted. If you apply for need-based aid, your financial award letter may reflect a specific amount of grant aid. Albion is fortunate to have many alumni, corporations, and nonprofit agencies that wish to underwrite a portion of a student’s need-based grant, merit-based scholarship, or special talent award. The process of matching hundreds of students with philanthropic sources can take many weeks or months. For need-based students, Albion grants are considered to be “placeholders” and therefore give us time to match the student with potential donors. You may receive more than one “final” award notification. A subsequent award might reflect that some of your grant aid or merit-based aid has been “underwritten” by a private or endowed source. In a few cases the endowed or privately funded award will replace the grant or Albion merit-based scholarship entirely. The amount of the grant will not change, and the source of private funding will be reflected in the final award notification.

External Scholarships and Grant Programs Toggle Accordion

Sometimes an external scholarship or grant is awarded to a student after the final Albion College award package has been mailed. You may receive external scholarships from community organizations, your high school, nonprofit agencies, and state or federal grant and scholarship programs. It is your responsibility to inform Albion College of these awards in a timely manner. In some cases, a state or federal requirement mandates that we cannot “stack” external grants or awards on top of Albion College aid sources, and in these cases we normally try to reduce self-help sources of aid and then Albion College grants and scholarships to stay within external guidelines.

NCAA Regulations Toggle Accordion

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has strict regulations pertaining to financial aid award policies for Division III athletic programs. In rare cases, a student athlete’s package may need to be adjusted to keep the College in compliance with NCAA regulations and ensure the student remains eligible to participate in varsity sports. If you have questions about eligibility and NCAA regulations, please contact your Admission Office representative. Do not contact the Athletics Department at the College. Our coaches may not discuss specific financial aid issues with any prospective student.

Special Financial Circumstances Toggle Accordion

Individual students and families can experience extraordinary and challenging financial circumstances that arise after an official financial aid package is mailed. Families who have experienced financial distress because of unforeseen personal circumstances, job layoffs, and other extraordinary issues beyond the family’s control are encouraged to request a special circumstance review. Reach out to the financial aid office by emailing [email protected] or calling 517-629-0440 for additional details.