Student Financial Services

Eligibility for Aid

MCPHS considers all eligible students with a completed Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for all possible funding sources including federal, state and college programs.

A student will be considered for financial aid if he or she is:

  • A citizen or eligible non-citizen of the United States
  • Registered with the Selective Service or is exempt from registration
  • Not in default on any federal student loan or owing a refund on any federal grant

Other important factors in the financial aid process may include a student's:

Degree Standing

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) asks students to identify whether they are in an undergraduate or masters/doctoral (graduate) program (Questions 23, 24 and 49).

MCPHS determines degree standing based on the criteria below (independent of whether students earned prior bachelors or graduate degrees).

  • The final two years of the PharmD and Physician Assistant programs are considered graduate. All other years are considered undergraduate.
  • All master's programs, as well as the Drug Regulatory Affairs and Health Policy and the Non-Traditional PharmD programs, are considered graduate.
  • All other programs are considered undergraduate.

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Dependency Status

MCPHS uses the U.S. Department of Education's definition of dependency status for all federal, state, institutional, and private financial aid programs.

For the 2008-2009 school year (July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009), the U.S. Department of Education considers the following students to be independent for purposes of awarding federal financial aid:

  • Students who were born before January 1, 1985
  • Students who are orphans, wards of the court, or were wards of the court until age 18
  • Students who are veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces
  • Students who have children, if they provide more than half of the support for the child
  • Students who have dependents (other than a child or spouse) living with them, if they provide more than half of the support for the dependent
  • Students who are married
  • Students who will be graduate/professional students in 2008-2009. (See Degree Standing to determine if you are considered a graduate/professional student for financial aid purposes.)

Parental data must be provided on the FAFSA for students unable to answer yes to one of the criteria listed above.

Student Financial Services is able to provide a "dependency override" in situations where the student does not meet one of the listed criteria but should be considered independent due to unusual circumstances. However, none of the conditions listed below qualify as unusual circumstances or merit dependency override:

  • Parents refuse to contribute to student's education
  • Parents unwilling to provide information on the application or for verification
  • Parents do not claim the student as a dependent for tax purposes
  • Student demonstrates total self-sufficiency

Students who need assistantce in determining their dependency status or who are considering a dependency override appeal should contact Student Financial Services to discuss the situation with their Counselor.

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Enrollment Status

Financial aid awards are based on full-time attendance at the College.

Full-time attendance is defined as a minimum of twelve (12) credits per semester for undergraduate students and nine (9) credits per semester for graduate students. (See Degree Standing to determine if you are considered a masters/doctoral or graduate/professional student for financial aid purposes).

The Office of Student Financial Services reviews enrollment for all students receiving financial aid at the end of the official add/drop period each semester, and also makes the necessary adjustments to financial aid awards. (Note: Students enrolled in their required clinical rotations/clerkships will be considered as enrolled full-time regardless of credit load.)

The following programs require full-time enrollment. Less than full-time enrollment will result in complete loss of the award.

  • Academic Competitiveness Grant
  • Gilbert Grant
  • Health Professions Loan
  • MASS Grant
  • Massachusetts No Interest Loan
  • Massachusetts Performance Bonus
  • Most State Grants

The following programs are pro-rated based on enrollment status. For these programs, undergraduate students will have their awards reduced by 25% if they are enrolled in 9-11 credits, they will be reduced by 50% if they are enrolled in 6-8 credits, and are not eligible for these programs if they are enrolled in 1-5 credits. Graduate students are not eligible for these programs if they are enrolled in less than 5 credits.

  • Federal Pell Grant (Undergraduate students enrolled in 1-5 credits receive a pro-rated portion of the Pell grant)
  • Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant for Undergraduate Students (FSEOG)
  • MCPHS Scholarship

The following programs require at least half-time enrollment. Less than half-time enrollment will result in complete loss of the award.

Half-time enrollment is defined as six (6) credits for undergraduate students and five (5) credits for graduate students.

  • Federal Perkins Loan
  • Federal Parent PLUS and Graduate PLUS Loans
  • Federal Stafford Loans (Subsidized and Unsubsidized)
  • Federal Work-Study
  • Most Alternative Loans

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Academic Standing

The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, requires the College to establish minimum standards of “satisfactory academic progress” for students receiving financial aid. The College applies these standards to all federal, state, and institutional funds.

The Office of Student Financial Services will only disburse financial aid to those students who are in good academic standing and are making satisfactory progress toward completion of their degree.

A student is not making satisfactory academic progress if any of the following conditions exist:

  • The student’s cumulative grade point average (GPA) is below the level required for a student’s academic program as published in the MCPHS College Catalog. Grade point averages are reviewed by the Academic Standing Committee at the end of each semester.
  • The student completes (finishes with a passing grade) less than 66% of all attempted coursework, as calculated at the end of spring semester each year. Grades of “W” (withdrawn) and “I” (incomplete) are not considered passing grades.

Students placed on academic probation by the Academic Standing Committee may continue to receive financial aid during the initial probationary period of two consecutive academic terms, defined as two semesters or two clinical clerkships, depending on the student’s year or campus enrollment.

After completing the initial academic probation of two consecutive academic terms, the student is not eligible to receive financial aid until he/she has been returned to good academic standing by the Academic Standing Committee.

Students who are ineligible for financial aid because they are not making satisfactory academic progress may appeal. Appeals are considered when a student has been able to complete coursework in a fashion that corrects the reason that caused them to lose financial aid eligibility in the first place, or when extraordinary circumstances (for example, student illness, the illness or death of a family member) have prevented the student from achieving satisfactory academic progress.

Students considering a satisfactory academic progress appeal should contact the Office of Student Financial Services to discuss the situation. Students should provide a detailed written statement which explains the reason(s) behind the loss of satisfactory academic progress. The written statement should include a plan of action to return to good academic standing.

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Prior Bachelor’s Degree

Students who have a prior baccalaureate degree are not eligible for certain grant programs, including:

  • Federal Pell Grant
  • Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant
  • Most state scholarship/grant programs

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Massachusetts Residency

Massachusetts residency is defined as those students who have resided in Massachusetts for purposes other than attending college for at least one year prior to the beginning of the academic year.

Parents of dependent students must also have resided in Massachusetts for at least one year prior to the beginning of the academic year. Programs funded by the Commonwealth are limited to undergraduate students. Students who have already completed a prior bachelor’s degree are not eligible for financial aid programs funded by the Commonwealth.

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