top

Packaging

The Financial Aid Office attempts to assemble a package of awards to meet each student’s need based on the availability of funds. The financial aid offer is referred to as the financial aid package because it typically consists of scholarships and grants, loans, and work-study funding. Although the College is committed to helping as many students as possible, funds for assistance are limited. Applicants should be aware that not every student will receive financial assistance equal to his or her demonstrated financial need.

The Financial Aid Office administers available funds uniformly and equitably in accordance with the existing regulations and policies. If a student feels that his or her request was not given proper or adequate consideration, he or she may appeal the decision. In such cases the student should contact the Financial Aid Office for more information.

New applicants should also be aware that not every student who demonstrates financial need will be given institutional scholarship assistance. Given the large number of applicants for scholarship assistance and the limited scholarship aid that is available, priorities are established. The College may decide that the applicant’s academic credentials, in spite of financial need, do not warrant scholarship aid for the entry year at Bard. A favorable decision for future years would depend on the applicant’s academic record at Bard and the availability of funds. Families need to consider their ability to cover educational expenses for the full four years that the student will be attending Bard College. If the family finds that they have income and assets to cover only a portion of that time, they should apply for aid for the student's first year of attendance. Consideration for aid for families not receiving it initially will be on a case-by-case basis and will depend on available funding in subsequent years. A committee that meets in June and December of each year will review these later applications.

An offer of financial aid, unless otherwise stated, is made on the assumption that the applicant will be a full-time student and will incur full-time tuition and room and board charges at Bard. If these assumptions are wrong, the applicant should expect a revision of the financial aid offer.

All Bard College financial aid is awarded for study at the College’s campus in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. It cannot be applied to the payment of tuition and fees for programs at other institutions in the United States or for study abroad.

Financial aid packaging of candidates for admission begins in March. Notification of financial aid awards begins in the last week of March and continues through the middle of April. Packaging and notification for returning students is completed by May 1.

top

For International Students

Prospective students' files are maintained in the Admissions Office along with their admission documents. The Admissions Office reviews the Declaration of Finances for each student. Upon notifying the student about admission, assuming that the decision is favorable, the Financial Aid Office will prepare a response to the student about financial aid. At times the need of the student is far greater than the College's resources can meet. In such a case, the Admissions Office will correspond with the student stating that no offer of aid is being made due to that fact. The student in this case is given an opportunity to submit a new Declaration of Finances, indicating available resources to be higher.

Offers of financial aid typically consist of three forms of assistance: grants, loans, and campus employment. Such awards, occurring singularly or in combination, are referred to as a student's financial aid "package." Packaging for new candidates begins in late March. Students are notified of their package in a financial aid award letter, assuming that an admission decision has been made and Bard has received all of the necessary financial aid application materials. Packaging of returning students is done by May 1.

top

Rights and Responsibilities of Financial Aid Recipients

Rights
1. The Financial Aid Office will treat information regarding your application for financial aid professionally and with confidentiality.
2. If you have any questions, the Financial Aid Office will explain how your eligibility for aid and your financial aid package were determined.
3. If your family circumstances change to the extent that you believe your eligibility for and amount of financial aid would be affected, you may present documentation of those circumstances to the Financial Aid Office. Funds permitting, the amount of aid may be increased following a review by the Review Committee.
4. You may request in writing a re-evaluation of your financial aid offer. The Review Committee reviews such requests in June and August for the fall semester and in December and January for the spring semester.
5. If you do not maintain good academic standing, but are able to document mitigating circumstances (such as a change in your academic program or an illness in your family), you may appeal the suspension or termination of aid by contacting the Dean of the College.

Responsibilities
1. You or a member of your family must submit to the Financial Aid Office a written report of changes in your financial situation as soon as they occur. This applies to changes in resources (such as receipt of an external scholarship) that would be taken into account in determining your financial need.
2. You must submit all required applications and documentation in a timely manner. You must reapply for aid every academic year.
3. You must maintain good academic standing, defined as a satisfactory (C+ or 2.3) grade average and satisfactory annual progress toward a degree (atleast 28 credits per year).
4. You are expected to enroll as a full-time student (defined as taking a minimum of 12 credits each semester) and to graduate within the standard period of time; awards are typically limited to four years.
5. You must participate in a loan entrance interview before the first loan disbursement can be credited to your tuition account.
6. You must notify the Financial Aid Office if you withdraw from the College or intend to take a leave of absence, so that you can be informed about revision of aid.
7. You must have an exit interview at the Financial Aid Office if you have received a Federal Perkins Loan or a Federal Stafford Loan and do not plan to return to the school the following semester.

top

Renewal of Financial Aid

• A student who enters Bard with a financial aid award can expect that the same level of aid will be renewed in subsequent years, provided the student reapplies for aid each year, continues to demonstrate a similar level of financial need, and maintains good academic standing.
• Standards for satisfactory academic standing vary with funding sources, but are generally similar, i.e., the student must achieve a C+ or 2.3 grade average and annually earn at least 28 credits toward a degree. (Merit scholarships have a different standard for satisfactory academic standing.)
• Bard scholarships, whether based on merit or need, are awarded with the expectation that the scholarship is granted for four continuous years of study at Bard College or until the student completes the degree requirements of his or her program, whichever comes first.
• If a scholarship recipient takes an official leave of absence for a semester or year and prior to the leave has maintained appropriate academic standing, the scholarship will be reinstated upon the student’s return to Bard, but within the limits established above and within the stipulations of the specific scholarship program.
• If a scholarship recipient transfers or withdraws from Bard, the scholarship award will not be reinstated if the student decides to re-matriculate at Bard. (The student may again apply for financial aid through the regular process, but with no guarantee that the award will be renewed or given in the previous amount.)
• Students who apply for financial aid but do not demonstrate financial need in one year may reapply for financial aid in subsequent years. First priority for financial aid is given to students who have received assistance in the past and continue to demonstrate financial need. Students who fail to demonstrate need at their first application but succeed in doing so in a subsequent application, as well as students who do not apply for financial aid upon entrance, will be considered for available funds. These applications will be submitted to the Review Committee for a decision to be made in the middle of June.

top

Revisions of Financial Aid

1. Students should be aware that a financial aid offer is typically made on the basis of the student’s full-time attendance and incurring room and board charges. If a student is enrolled less than full-time (11 credits or fewer), financial aid will be adjusted in accordance with the total billing charges. If a student decides to move off campus, the scholarship from the College will be adjusted in accordance with the total billing charges.
2. Financial aid awards will be revised if additional assistance is received from sources unknown to Bard at the time the initial awards are made or if outside awards vary considerably from estimates in the award letter. The student is required to notify the Financial Aid Office of any additional assistance that is received.
3. If the data on the FAFSA and the PROFILE do not concur with supporting documents (1040s, W-2s, Verification Worksheet), awards may be revised based on the revised EFC. With the exception of the Pell Grant, if the data on the FAFSA and PROFILE are fairly accurate, there is little or no change in awards.
4. Students whose family financial situation changes due to death, disability, or unemployment of a major wage earner should contact the Financial Aid Office to discuss what assistance may be available to them at a time of financial crisis. The Financial Aid Office requires that any request for a review be in writing, giving details for consideration in the review. This request is considered by the Review Committee, which meets four times a year, in June, August, December, and January.
5. If a student withdraws before the end of the semester, Bard awards will be prorated in accordance with the tuition charges. Federal funds will be revised according to the formula established by the federal government.

top

Disbursement of Financial Aid

Generally, financial aid awards are offered for the entire academic year and are credited to a student’s tuition account in two equal installments (in the fall and in the spring). If awards are for one semester only, the full amount of the semester’s award will be credited in one installment, except for the Federal Stafford Loan and the Federal PLUS Loan, which require a dual disbursement regardless of the length of the academic period of the loan. The other exceptions are earnings from the Federal Work-Study Program, which are paid on a every two weeks payroll, and the Trustee Leader Stipend, which will be paid several times a semester upon approval by the TLS coordinator.

All requirements for receipt of financial aid must be satisfied before any of the financial aid will be reflected as a credit in the student’s statement. These requirements will be noted in the student’s award letter. The standard requirements are listed below.
The student must:

1. return a signed copy of the award letter;
2. complete a loan entrance interview (first-time Federal Stafford and Perkins Loan borrowers only)
3. submit a copy of parents’ signed federal tax return and W-2 forms; (if parents do not file tax returns, then documentation of income from the appropriate government agency.)
4. submit a copy of student’s signed federal tax return and W-2 form or statement of non–tax filing status;
5. return Master Promissory note for Federal Stafford Loan approval
6. submit to New York State and have approved the TAP application; (New York State residents)
7. submit Verification Worksheet (if selected).

Assuming that the award letters are mailed by May 1 and all requirements are met on a timely basis, financial aid awards will be reflected on the first billing statement for fall charges. The exception to this is the Federal Stafford Loan, which will not be reflected until the Guarantee agency approves the loan. Another possible exception is the New York State TAP award. The State will not finalize a TAP award until the state budget is passed. The budget is due to be passed by April 1, but passage is invariably late.

Because all need-based grant recipients are verified, the awards become final only when the data on the FAFSA and the PROFILE concur with the supporting documents, namely, 1040s, W-2s, and verification worksheets.

Verification is a time-consuming process that occurs throughout the summer. If the FAFSA and PROFILE data are mostly accurate, the student should expect the final awards to be comparable to the original offer. Since the federal Pell Grant allows only a $400 tolerance in the financial data, the student must refile for a Pell Grant if the original financial data submitted on the FAFSA differ by more than $400 from the supporting financial documents. The Pell Grant will not become final until the College receives a revised analysis from the federal processor. If the student does not make the corrections, the Financial Aid Office will submit the corrections electronically.

If there are major discrepancies between the data on the FAFSA and those on the PROFILE and the supporting documents, financial aid awards other than the Pell Grant may be revised. The Financial Aid Office will send written notice to the student of any adjustments to financial aid awards.

top