Office of Financial Aid

You must first complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Forms are available from high school guidance counselors, and worksheets are available from the Voorhees University Office of Financial Aid. The complete package is available online at https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa .

You will need your and/or your parents’ tax returns and other income information for the most recent tax year to complete the FAFSA.

You must re-apply each year. Remember, the Office of Financial Aid must have your report in order to make a financial aid award for you. Listing Voorhees Universit and its Title IV code (003455) as one of your college choices ensures that the report is forwarded to us. If you did not list Voorhees, you’ll need to submit the report to our financial aid office.

Do not wait for an acceptance letter to the college before submitting your FAFSA. Apply for financial aid as soon as possible after October 1.

A financial aid package may include scholarships, grants, loans, and employment. They may be offered separately or in combination. In the financial aid office, our goal is to provide the best package for each student, one that minimizes loans and maximizes aid that doesn’t have to be repaid.

Grants are awards that you do not have to repay. Scholarships are generally awarded on the basis of academic achievement or exceptional ability in specific areas. Like grants, you do not have to repay scholarships. 

Loans are borrowed funds from a bank or the government that MUST be repaid with interest. 

Work-Study gives you an opportunity to work and earn money to help pay your educational expenses. 

To qualify for federal financial aid you must:

be a United States citizen or eligible non-citizen; 
have a valid Social Security number;
have financial need (except for unsubsidized Stafford loans);
be registered with Selective Service (if a man);
be working toward a degree or certificate;
be enrolled or accepted for enrollment as a regular student working for a degree in an eligible program;
be making satisfactory academic progress;
have a high school diploma or GED; and
not owe a refund on a federal grant or be in default on a federal educational loan. 

To receive the maximum financial aid package according to your eligibility and availability of funds, you must apply before these priority deadlines below.

• For the fall semester:  April 15 
• For the spring semester:  Oct. 15 
• For the summer sessions:  March 15 

If you are a transfer student, and you did not list Voorhees University initially as one of your university choices, you will need to add Voorhees to your list of schools. In order to do so, you may call the Federal Student Aid Program at (319) 337-5665 and request that Voorhees University be added. You may also submit the original SAR to the Office of Financial Aid or transmit an electronic request using your username and password.

Voorhees University uses the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) for acquiring information regarding grants and loans received at another institution. If you’ve received a loan at another school, you must also complete an in-school deferment as soon as you complete registration at Voorhees University. Contact the Office of Default Management for assistance in submitting the in-school deferment to your lender.

Freshmen (up to 29 credit hours) may borrow up to $3,500 if they’re enrolled in a program of study that is a full academic year. Sophomores (30-59 hours) may borrow up to $4,500 if the remainder of their program is a full academic year. Juniors (60-89 hours ) and seniors (90 plus hours) may borrow up to $5,500 if the remainder of their program is one academic year. Higher loan limits in the form of an unsubsidized loan are available for dependent students whose parents are unable to obtain Federal PLUS Loans and for independent students. 

Your  package will be combinations of different types of assistance. Your financial aid award may include scholarships, grants, loans and employment and will be made according to the “ladder philosophy.”

The Office of Student Financial Aid will mail financial aid award notifications on a rolling basis beginning in April each year. However, the SAR/ISIR information and all requested documents must be on file.

Approximately 3 to 4 business days after you’ve filed your completed FAFSA, you’ll receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) at your home. The SAR will report the information from your application. If there are no questions or problems with your application, your SAR will report your Expected Family Contribution (EFC), the number used in determining your eligibility for federal student aid. The result will be sent to Voorhees University electronically. Voorhees University cannot make an award until the information from the SAR and any other requested documents (tax returns, etc.) have been submitted to the Office of Student Financial Aid. If your SAR does not have an Expected Family Contribution number, you should get in touch with the Office of Student Financial Aid or call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-319-337-5665.

After we have received your SAR/ISIR and other requested documents, the Office of Financial Aid will send an award notification to you by mail. The notification will indicate how much aid will be available to you from the various programs. If you decline any part of our award offered, or wish to reduce an award, you should indicate by circling the award being declined or reduced and return the notification to the Office of Financial Aid within 14 days. If you decline all or part of the award, you and/or your parents will be responsible for providing for the balance of your account.

Voorhees University offers summer school session. Loans and federal work-study, if funding allows, are the major types of financial assistance available for summer school. However, students who did not exhaust all Pell Grant eligibility during the fall and spring semesters may use remainder for summer school. Institutional scholarships generally are not available for the summer school sessions.

In order to continue receiving financial aid, you must maintain satisfactory academic progress as described in the Voorhees University Standards of Academic Progress. Your academic records will be monitored each semester and reviewed at the end of each academic year. If it is determined that you are not making satisfactory academic progress, you will be notified by the Financial Aid Academic SAP Review Committee. If your financial aid is suspended for lack of progress, you’ll have the right to appeal and may do so by writing to the Financial Aid SAP Review Committee.

The Financial Aid SAP Review Committee will review your appeal. If you’re able to prove extenuating circumstances that resulted in your inability to progress, your financial aid eligibility will be reinstated on a probationary status for one semester. If you lose your financial aid because you’ve failed to maintain satisfactory progress, you may continue to take courses but at your own expense.

The detailed description of the SAP policy may be obtained from the Office of Financial Aid, and is also printed in the college catalog

Funds are paid twice a year, in the fall semester and again in the spring semester, usually in equal installments. Federal Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG), the South Carolina Tuition Grant, LIFE Scholarships, and Federal Stafford Loans are direct credits to your Voorhees College account.

Federal financial aid funds are awarded with the expectation that students will complete the entire period of enrollment. With each day of attendance, students “earn” a percentage of the funds disbursed to their account. If a student withdraws or is expelled from Voorhees University, the school or the student may be required to return some of the federal funds. The student may be eligible for a refund of a portion of tuition, fees, room and board paid to Voorhees University for the semester. If the student received federal financial aid, then a portion of the refund will be returned to the federal grant, or loan source from which the aid was received. 

When a student who has received federal financial aid funds (Title IV Funds) leaves a school before the end of the semester or enrollment period, federal law requires Voorhees University to calculate the percentage and amount of “unearned” financial aid funds that must be returned to the federal government. Once a student has completed more than 60 percent of enrollment, students are considered to have earned all funds received. The federal formula requires a return of Title IV aid if the student received federal financial aid in the form of Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, Federal Stafford Loans or Federal Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students and withdrawal on or before completing 60 percent of the semester. The percentage of Title IV aid to be returned is equal to the number of calendar days remaining in the semester divided by the number of calendar days in the semester. Scheduled breaks are not included.

If there are remaining funds after the return of Title IV aid, they will be used to repay state funds, institutional funds, other private funding sources, and the student, as long as there is no unpaid balance at the time of withdrawal. If there is an unpaid balance, then all aid sources will be repaid before any funds are returned to the student.

The calculation for the Return of Title IV Funds may have the effect of requiring a student to repay the federal government, in cash, funds (grants) that have been disbursed to the student. Students are encouraged to meet with their financial aid counselor and his or her advisor before making the decision to withdraw.

Students who leave the college and do not complete the official withdrawal process may be eligible for a refund of charges and return of Title IV financial aid if the last date of attendance can be verified by other means such as class attendance records or other documents that will indicate the student’s last day of class attendance.

The following procedure will determine the amount of funds to be returned: 

• The institution determines the withdrawal date. 
• The institution determines the amount the student earned. 
• Multiply the percentage of the payment period or enrollment period times the aid that was disbursed and/or could have been disbursed. 
• Subtract the earned amount from the aid disbursed as of the date of the institution’s determination that the student withdrew. 
• Return unearned funds to Title IV programs or pay student post-withdrawal disbursement (s). 
• Worksheets used to determine the amount of the Return of Title IV aid are available upon request.

We have made the financial investment and commitment to remain on the cutting edge of technology within the Office of Financial Aid. As a result, we have reduced and/or eliminated the need to send you paper documents via U.S. mail. Our goal is to place our students and parents in the driver’s seat of the financial aid application process. With a personal computer, you are just a few clicks away from being able to completely manage the financial aid process. Just as with online banking, all financial aid documents can be accessed, completed, and printed from a personal computer. 

Voorhees Universtiy Tiger Portal

You have the luxury of faxing or mailing all requested documents to our office.

Your offer of Financial Aid must be accessed via electronic mail. Should you decide to reject or reduce any part of the offer, email our office at finaid@voorhees.edu to indicate which award(s) you are rejecting. Please speak with your financial aid advisor prior to make your decision. Your offer of Financial Aid is only an offer of financial assistance. If your award includes a Subsidized and/or Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, you will need to complete our online process. That process includes completing an online application and Promissory Note, for first time borrowers.  Returning borrowers who have completed a Direct Loan Master Promissory note with the college before, will not have to do another Direct Loan Master Promissory note.  Additionally an online Entrance Interview (if a first-time student borrower at Voorhees University) must be completed. If your award includes a PLUS Loan (parent loan); your parent will need to apply for the loan using our online process. Please note that the PLUS Loan is based upon the borrower’s credit history. The amount shown on the offer of Financial Aid indicates only the amount of eligibility. It is not a guarantee of funds. The parent borrower will undergo a credit check and final approval rests with the lender.

The primary responsibility for paying for your education rests with you and your family. We are committed to assisting you in so much as you and your family’s financial ability permits and the University’s resources allow. Please understand that all financial aid will be applied to direct costs first to reduce/eliminate a student’s indebtedness to the University. Refunds will be generated to students only after a student’s indebtedness to the University has been satisfied.

To determine how much you owe the University, subtract your direct cost from certain financial aid offered (all financial aid offered cannot be included). A PLUS Loan cannot be included unless the parent borrower has applied for the loan and it has been approved by the lender. University Work-Study cannot be included because the funds must be earned after job placement. The University has no control over the student’s potential earnings. Outside scholarships will be treated as a resource until the funds are received by the University. If you are a recipient of an outside scholarship, we encourage you to have the donor remit the funds to the University as soon as possible. You are liable to the Universtiy should any outside funds not be received by the University

If you use your Tiger Portal via the Voorhees University Web site, you can minimize the need to visit the office. Because of the volume of processing that takes place within the Office of Financial Aid, we strongly encourage students and parents to use Tiger Portal and complete the application process by our advertised deadlines – March 1 for the fall term and October 1 for the spring term. Our goal is to have aid applications completed and funds applied to the student’s account by the beginning of the term for all students meeting our application deadlines and enrolling into their college programs and courses. Summer and the beginning of the term are peak processing times for our office staff. Filing your financial aid application by the priority deadline will prevent any unnecessary delays.

The Office of Student Financial Aid
Voorhees University
P.O. Box 678
Wright Hall
103 Academic Circle
Denmark, SC 29042

Phone:  803-780-1150
Fax:  877-228-0365