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Financial Aid

Fuller Theological Seminary is committed to equipping men and women for ministry and provides over 5 million dollars in need-based and merit-based student scholarships and fellowships each year. We also participate in Federal Work-Study and the Federal Student Loan programs. Your choice of degree program and your enrollment plans will determine your eligibility for financial aid.

Apply for Financial Aid

Please select the appropriate Financial Aid Year from the tabs below.

2023-2024 Financial Aid Year

The 2023–2024 financial aid year comprises Fall 2023 quarter through Summer 2024 quarter (September 25, 2023–August 30, 2024)

Applying for Direct Unsubsidized Loans

U.S. Citizen or Permanent Residents must complete the 2023-2024 FAFSA. Fuller's Federal School Code for the FAFSA is G01200. There is no deadline for completing the FAFSA, but keep in mind that our team will not be able to offer your loans until you complete the FAFSA. Once your FAFSA data is confirmed without errors, and no supplemental documentation pending, and you are admitted into a program eligible for Federal Financial Aid you will be able to view your award in your student portal 24-48 business hours. If you have questions about how to apply for 2023-2024 aid, contact finaid-processing@fuller.edu.

Applying for a Direct Grad PLUS loan

Grad PLUS will not appear in your student portal until the following steps are complete:

  1. Log on to Federal Student Aid's Student Loan site
  2. Click on "Sign In." To sign in, you will need Your FSA ID (used to sign the FAFSA).
  3. Select "Apply for Aid" tab, then “Apply for the Grad PLUS loan” from the drop down menu. Complete the Grad plus online application and credit check. Log in and click the 2023-2024 Award year from the dropdown menu.
  4. Then Click the authorize button, and scroll down to select our school to be notified. You will enter our state "CA" and our school "Fuller Theological Seminary."
  5. Scroll down and input the "Loan amount requested." You may also opt and check the "I would like to borrow the maximum Direct Plus." For the loan period for Fall through Summer, it will begin on September 25, 2023 and end on August 30, 2024.
  6. You will finish up with some personal information, then submit your application for approval.
  7. After completing the credit check, if approved, please complete the Master Promissory Note (MPN) for a PLUS Loan and add Fuller’s school code G01200
  8. Once you have been approved and completed your Grad plus MPN.
  9. After this, your loan will be set to disburse within 7-14 days.

Applying for Federal Work Study

Federal Work Study will not appear in your student portal until you submit a request. To request Federal Work Study eligibility, you must submit a request using the following form: Federal Work Study Request Form - Google Forms. For some students, accepting a work-study position will replace a portion of their student loan eligibility. If you have questions about this, please email fws@fuller.edu

Universal Scholarship Application

Both new and returning students are eligible to complete this application to identify scholarship opportunities they are eligible for. Go to scholarships.fuller.edu to apply!

Note: you must be accepted into a program and login with your FullerID in order to complete the Universal Scholarship Application.

FAQs

Loans

Fuller encourages you to seek out other funding sources before borrowing, but if you do need student loans to help fund your education you should be smart about what you borrow. Remember that acquiring excessive student loan debt can prevent you from pursuing ministry options that would otherwise be available to you. We believe that the more you know about your loans the better you will be at managing them. Below is some information that can help you get to know more about how loans work at Fuller.

Work Study

Federal Work Study (FWS) is a form of Federal Financial Aid awarded to students on a first-come-first-serve basis.  This type of Federal Financial Aid is awarded through an allocation received annually by the U.S. Department of Education.  The objective of Federal Work Study is to allow students to grow in their field of study through work opportunities, ideally in a community centric role.

Federal Work Study is awarded to students by request who demonstrate financial need and meet other eligibility criteria. To request Federal Work Study eligibility, you must submit a request using the following form: Federal Work Study Request Form - Google Forms. For some students, accepting a work-study position will replace a portion of their student loan eligibility. Please allow five business days to receive a response.

Federal Work Study students have the option to work on campus or off campus. Once Federal Work Study eligibility has been approved, students may search and apply for available jobs at Fuller posted on the Quad.  If an off campus job is available and approved to be used with FWS funds, the student must identify a supervisor for this position. To inquire about an off campus position you are interested in, please contact the SFS office.

In order to maintain FWS eligibility, enrollment at least half time in a quarter is required. The exception to this rule is the Summer quarter. The student is still subject to need, and hours can be restricted if the student is over-awarded or if federal funds are limited. For FWS employees not planning to enroll at least half time, but plan to continue working through the Summer, SFS must have the following form completed on file: Federal Work Study Letter of Intent (Summer quarter only) - Google Forms

For more information, please contact fws@fuller.edu.

View Fuller Work Study Handbook

Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress

To be eligible for federal financial aid, you must maintain academic achievement in accordance with the Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy, known as SAP. Fuller’s SAP policy is designed to meet federal regulations and in some cases may be more strict than Fuller's Academic Satisfactory Progress policy. SAP is calculated at the end of each quarter after grades have been posted.


SAP STATUSES & DEFINITIONS

SAP Description SAP Status SAP Definition
Pass PASS Students meet SAP Standards.
Appeal Approved APPEAL 1-4, Appeal Status is Approved for 1 Quarter with a Maximum to 4 for an approved Appeal.
Warning for Pace WCOMP Failed to Meet a 67% quarter Pace Rate.
Warning for GPA WGPA Failed to meet quarterly 2.5 GPA.
Warning for Pace Rate & GPA WBOTH Failed to Meet a 67% quarter Pace Rate & Failed to meet quarterly 2.5 GPA.
Suspension for Pace Rate SCOMP Prior status was Warning and Continued to Fail Quarterly Pace of 67%. Loss of Federal Aid.
Suspension for GPA SGPA Prior status was Warning and Continued to Fail 2.5 GPA. Loss of Federal Aid.
Suspension for GPA & Pace Rate SBOTH Prior status was Warning and Continued to Fail Quarterly Pace of 67% & 2.5 GPA. Loss of Federal Aid.
Close to Maximum Time Frame CMTF Attempted credits are equal to or greater than 125% of the length of the program but less than 150% of the length of the program. Loss of Federal Aid.
Over Maximum Time Frame FMTF Attempted credits are equal to or greater  than150% of the length of the program. Loss of Federal Aid.

QUARTERLY GPA

In order to maintain eligibility for federal financial aid the student must maintain a quarterly GPA of 2.50.

PACE (Formally called COMPLETION RATE)

All students must maintain a quarterly Pace rate of 67%. Please note that all attempts count and will impact your pace requirements.

PACE FORMULA

The Pace Rate formula is the total of all earned units divided by the total of all attempted units within the quarter.

(Total of all earned units) / (Total of all attempted units) = (Percentage of successfully completed units)

  • Grades that indicate successful Pace Rate: A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, P, SA, and CR. These grades count as attempted units and earned units.
  • Grades that do not represent successful completion: F, H1, H2, H3, NS, NC, Extensions (IE, IX), and Withdrawals (W). These grades count as attempted but not earned units.
  • Transfer units do not count toward quarterly PACE.

MAXIMUM TIMEFRAME (MTF)

All students receiving federal financial aid must complete their program within 150% of the length of the program. Length of your declared program is listed in the catalog. Example: If your program requires 72 credits you can only attempt 108 credits during your enrollment in that program. If a student changes programs, the maximum time frame will be reset from the date of initial enrollment in the new degree program.

SAP WARNING AND SAP SUSPENSION

You will first be placed on SAP Warning if you fail either the quarterly GPA requirement or Pace measurements. You will remain eligible for all federal financial aid if placed on Financial Aid Warning. If, by the following quarter's evaluation, you are still failing SAP, you will be moved from Financial Aid Warning to Financial Aid Suspension.

SAP Suspension is defined as not meeting the requirements of SAP after measuring attempted credits from your last quarter in which you were enrolled and were on SAP Warning. If you receive a SAP Suspension you are unable to receive federal financial aid.

SAP APPEALS

You may submit an SAP Appeal if you are on SAP Warning or SAP Suspension.  SAP Appeals cannot be applied for prior quarters, but only apply to any quarter going forward.

  • You are only eligible for 4 appeals during your time at Fuller.

If you would like to submit an SAP appeal, you must submit ALL of the following written documentation to Student Financial Services within 30 days of the date on your warning/suspension letter.

  1. A detailed letter explaining the mitigating circumstance that affected your ability to meet SAP requirements and what your plan is moving forward. 
  2. An academic plan that has been created and approved with your academic advisor.

The Student Financial Services Appeals Committee will review the appeal and notify you of a decision within 5 business days of submission via email. Decisions of the Appeals Committee are final.

Please follow this link to submit your SAP Appeal to the financial aid office.

Additional Resources

Some of the most popular and useful websites for online financial aid information are listed below. Most of these links will take you away from the Fuller Seminary website, and the seminary is not responsible for the content of these external sites.

GENERAL FINANCIAL AID INFORMATION

  • FinAid.org - An extremely helpful website with general information

FEDERAL WEBSITES

SCHOLARSHIP SEARCHES

  • Fastweb - scholarship search service
  • Edupass - international student information
  • Note: There may be many other legitimate scholarship search websites out there, but be sure that you do not use any site that wants you to pay for its services.

LOAN SERVICERS

Aspire Resources Inc.
Phone: 855/475-3335
Web site: www.AspireResourcesInc.com

CornerStone
Phone: 800/663-1662
Web site: www.MyCornerStoneLoan.org

Direct Loan Servicing Center (ACS)
Phone: 800/848-0979
Web site: www.myedaccount.com

Department of Education Student Loan Servicing Center (ACS)
Phone: 800/835-4611

ESA/Edfinancial
Phone: 855/337-6884
Web site: www.edfinancial.com/DL

FedLoan Servicing (PHEAA)
Phone: 800/699-2908
Web site: www.myfedloan.org/

Granite State - GSMR
Phone: 888/556-0022
Web site: www.gsmr.org

Great Lakes Educational Loan Services, Inc.
Phone: 800/236-4300
Web site: www.mygreatlakes.org/

MOHELA
Phone: 888/866-4352
Web site: www.mohela.com

Nelnet
Phone: 888/486-4722
Web site: www.nelnet.com

OSLA Servicing
Phone: 866/264-9762
Web site: www.osla.org

Sallie Mae
Phone: 800/722-1300
Web site: go.salliemae.com/content/edServicing/federalLoans/

VSAC Federal Loans
Phone: 888/932-5626Web site: www.VSACFederalLoans.org

FINANCIAL AID SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS POLICY

The official policy can be seen here.

Continue the Conversation

Do you have questions or would you like more information about Student Financial Services? We’re here to help!

Contact

sfs@fuller.edu
626.584.5421

135 N Oakland Ave, Attn: SFS
Pasadena, CA 91182

Office Hours

Monday–Thursday
8 am – 5 pm (Pacific Time)

Friday
10 am – 5 pm (Pacific Time)