Financial Services Overview

Investing In Your Future

Choosing a University is an important decision and a significant investment into your future. It is important to consider an institution that offers the educational experience you require to accomplish your goals combined with clear information regarding affordability, methods of repayment and future debt. The US Census Bureau has shown that a college education will pay for itself with future earnings. However, today's economic conditions compel students and their families to explore options that don't leave you saddled with incredible debt requiring a lifetime of payments.

Each year the University awards approximately 1.9 million dollars in tuition grants and scholarships to its student body and over 96% of our students receive some form of financial aid or assistance.

Important Dates

October 1st

FAFSA opens for Fall semester — complete this as soon as possible

March 1st

Complete the Scholarship Application to be eligible for CU donor scholarships

July 25th

Financial Aid Documents and Payment Plans due for Fall semester

Net Price Calculator

We believe in offering an exceptional education at an affordable price point and we understand that price plays a major factor in your college decision. Our Net Price Calculator provides you with an estimate of what your tuition would be after receiving Federal and institutional financial assistance.

Net Price Calculator

Financial Services Checklist

Step 1: Create your FSA ID

First, you and your parent(s) need to create an FSA ID. Go to studentaid.gov and follow the instructions there.

Step 2: Complete the FAFSA Application

Before you begin your FAFSA application, gather the documents needed:

Social Security number
Parents’ Social Security number
Driver’s license (if you have one)
Alien registration number (if you are not a U.S. citizen)
Use 2018 Federal tax information or tax returns including IRS W-2 information, for you (and your spouse, if married) and for your parents if you are a dependent student.
Record of untaxed income such as child support, interest income, and veterans noneducational benefits
Information on cash, savings and checking account balances, investments and real estate

Keep these records in a safe place as you may need them again.

Complete the FAFSA application in a browser other than Chrome

2019-2020 FAFSA (Fall 2019, Spring & Summer 2020) Use 2017 Federal Taxes & W2s

2020-2021 FAFSA (Fall ‘2020, Spring & Summer 2021) Use 2018 Federal Taxes & W2s

For the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, enter your address just as it is on your tax forms without any punctuation.

CU's FAFSA School Code: 002956

Sign and submit your applications. Make sure you receive confirmation that the application was completed successfully.

Once you have submitted your application, the US Department of Education will process your application within 3-5 days. You will then receive a copy of your Student Aid Report (SAR). Review that information for accuracy. Make any necessary changes or corrections at studentaid.gov

Carolina University will be sent a copy of this information and will use that to create your award package. Usually within 48 hours, you should receive an email from this office with further instructions.

Step 3: Setup your CU email account

Locate the email from CU’s IT department that you received after notification of your acceptance to CU.
Follow those instructions on how to establish your email address.
If you have any difficulties contact techhelp@carolinau.edu
Find your student ID number. This is the highlighted number at the top of the same letter containing your email instructions.

Step 4: Complete CU Scholarship Application

Navigate to the Scholarship Portal
The menu will be in the top left corner. Select Scholarship Application.
Enter your information and answer the questions listed in the application.
Make sure you see a confirmation that you have completed your application successfully.

Note: You will need to have an estimate of the number of credits you plan to take. This is just an estimate and can be updated as necessary.

Step 5: Master Promissory Note

If it becomes necessary to secure a loan to cover the remaining balance, you need to go to studentloans.gov to complete a Master Promissory Note (MPN). This note determines what type of assistance can be made available to you. It can be in the form of either a Direct Subsidized Loan or Direct Unsubsidized Loan. It is possible to secure one or both types.

Direct Subsidized Loans are federal student loans where interest does not start accruing until shortly after graduation when the repayment process begins, or you drop below half-time enrolled.
Direct Unsubsidized Loans start accruing interest 30 days after the loan is fully applied to your student account.

Direct Parent Plus

Parents can apply for a federal loan to cover the student’s cost of college. Though the money goes toward your education, the loan is in their name — which means, it is their responsibility to repay.

Step 6: Loan Entrance Counseling

If you have not previously received a Direct Loan or Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL), the Federal Government requires you to complete Loan Entrance Counseling (LEC) to ensure that you understand the responsibilities and obligations you are assuming.

As an undergraduate student, the entrance counseling will fulfill the counseling requirements for Direct Subsidized and Direct Unsubsidized Loans.

The entire counseling process must be completed in one session. Most people are able to complete the counseling in 20-30 minutes.

You can complete the LEC by going to studentloans.gov

Step 7: Award Notification

Once your Scholarship Application has been processed, you will receive an email from CU’s Financial Aid Office letting you know your resources have been packaged, and you need to accept or decline.

You will need to log into the Scholarship Portal. From the menu option, select Accept Your Resources. From there you can either accept or decline all or part of your resources. Make sure you scroll down to the submit button. Your aid will not be posted to your student account unless you submit your acceptance.

If you still have a balance after all of your assistance is processed, you made need to secure either a direct subsidized or unsubsidized loan.

Step 8: Disbursement & Refunds

Generally, grants, scholarships, and/or loans will cover a full academic year and your school will pay out your money in at least two payments called disbursements (Fall/Spring).

If you do not receive the type or amount of financial aid you expected, contact the Financial Aid Office. The staff there can explain how your aid was determined.

Once all the steps to completing your financial assistance have been satisfied, the financial resources will be applied to your tuition, fees, and other school charges. You may also request a voucher from the Student Accounts Office to purchase your books or other materials you need.

Any remaining funds available can be handled in any one of two ways:

Applied to your account as a credit and saved for expenses in the next term
Disbursed to you in a check for use as you determine.

Step 9: Satisfactory Academic Progress

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requires that all students be evaluated according to three components. Any student whose performance does not meet these standards in any one of these categories is considered non-compliant in maintaining SAP. Failure to meet SAP one semester can result in probation both academically and financially. Failure to meet SAP for a second semester, may result in academic and/or financial suspension.

Every student must:

Maintain an acceptable Passing Percentage (Pass at least 67% of credits attempted)
Maintain a minimum GPA (see catalog)
Stay within the Completion Percentage Parameters of the current academic program.

TTU Perkins Loans

As part of the merger between Tennessee Temple University and Carolina University, the Temple Perkins Portfolio was liquidated.

Perkins Loans

Student Employment

Carolina University offers on-campus employment opportunities primarily to residential students with financial needs, but all students will be considered.

Contact Student Employment Office

Paras Loan Services

Paras Education Services (PES) is a financial consultant, helping all International Students to obtain study abroad loans @ 2% to 7% p.a. approx Interest (depending on Wall Street PLR) & repayment of 15/20 years, without any collateral, physical security or mortgage.

Paras Loan Services

Special and Unusual Circumstances

We recognize that the FAFSA may not always accurately reflect your financial situation and/or dependency status. Although considerations for specific situations are limited, we may be able to give additional consideration for certain situations as described below. If you would like to request a review of your reported FAFSA information for either of these situations, please submit the appropriate form to the Office of Financial Aid as soon as possible. You can expect a review of your situation and a final decision within two weeks of receiving all documentation related to your request.

Unusual Circumstances (Dependency Override)

Students are required to answer a series of dependency questions on the FAFSA. These questions determine whether parent demographic/income information should also be included on the FAFSA. If you are not able to answer yes to any of the dependency questions, you will be considered a dependent student and must enter information about your parent(s).

If you are not able to provide parent information for any reason, please go ahead and submit the FAFSA without parent information. This form should then be completed and submitted to be considered for a dependency override due to an unusual home/living situation. Unusual Circumstance Request Form

Special Circumstances

Special Circumstances refer to financial situations that justify an aid administrator adjusting data elements in the Cost of Attendance or in the EFC calculation. These are situations in which the income information you reported on the FAFSA does not accurately reflect your current financial situation. For example, if you are earning less income currently due to job loss, job change, etc. than you were during the tax year used for the FAFSA, then you may submit the form below for a review of your situation. Special Circumstances Request Form

Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Disclosure

Carolina University (CU) is a recipient of funding from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) as part of the CARES Act (HEERF I), CRRSA Act (HEERF II), and the most recent ARP Act (HEERF III). The US Department of Education (the Department) requires certain disclosures related to our participation in these programs as listed below. More information about the required disclosures can be found on the Department’s website.

CU signed and returned to the Department the Certification and Agreement and the assurance that the institution has used, or intends to use, the applicable amount of funds designated under Section(a)(1) of the CARES, CRRSA, and ARP Acts to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus.
CU received the following amounts from the Department for Emergency Financial Aid Grants to these students:
1. CARES: $203,931
2. CRRSAA: $203,931
3. ARP: $732,923 (not fully disbursed as of 03/31/2022)
As of March 31, 2022, a total of $203,931 has been distributed to qualifying students under Section(a)(1) of the CARES Act, $203,931 has been distributed to qualifying students under Section (a)(1) of the CRRSA Act, and $689,525 has been distributed to qualifying students under Section(a)(1) of the ARP Act.
The estimated total number of CU students eligible to participate in these programs is 1150.
As of March 31, 2022, the total number of students who have received an Emergency Financial Aid Grant to students under these Acts is 737.
1. CARES: 247
2. CRRSAA: 244
3. ARP: 493
Recipients of the CARES grant were determined by identifying undergraduate students who were eligible for Title IV aid (determined by a completed FAFSA) and also enrolled on the main campus during the Spring 2020 semester. Students in a graduate, doctoral, or online campus program were excluded based on our interpretation of the Department's guidelines at that time regarding online students. Base award amounts were determined using the following: $900 for residential students, $500 for full-time commuters, $250 for part-time commuters. Additional “hardship” amounts were added in some situations based on independent statuses, family hardships, job losses, illnesses, and similar factors. A small portion was reserved for additional hardship grants as information was made available. The CRRSAA and ARP grants were selected using a combination of factors including expressed need, demonstrated need, FAFSA data, Pell eligibility, and Covid-related hardships. Students were asked to complete an online form that allowed them to share any economic factors, losses, and hardships that should be considered. Students were strongly encouraged to complete the form, but the form was not required in order to qualify. Pell recipients and those with exceptional need were given first priority in these allocations. Based on the most recent guidelines, all CU students enrolled since March 2020 were eligible for these grants.
The initial instructions to students concerning the Emergency Financial Aid Grants can be viewed in these archived emails:

Quarterly Reports for HEERF Expenditures:

Contact Financial Aid

By phone: 336-714-7900

By email: financialaid@carolinau.edu