Financial Aid FAQ

The most crucial step is to file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®).

New, incoming first-year students in our undergraduate program can estimate their financial aid by filling out our Net Price Calculator to understand how much it will cost to attend PacRim.

You will need the following in order to complete your FAFSA®:

• Your Federal Student Aid ID (FAS ID)—this will be used each year so make it something memorable.

• Apply for a Federal Student Aid Username and Password.

• Your Social Security number and your parents’ numbers (if you are a dependent student).

• Your most current tax information. We recommend all eligible students use the IRS data retrieval tool. Dependent students must provide their parents’ tax information. If you have not filed taxes for the current year, you can estimate your tax information and make corrections later.

• Current bank statements (checking & savings).

• Any information pertaining to the value of any owned businesses and investments.

• Any information pertaining to the value of non-taxable income that is not reported on the tax return, e.g. Social Security benefits, etc.

Item descriptiAfter you submit the FAFSA, two reports are generated. The SAR (Student Aid Report) is the report that the students receive. The ISIR (Institutional Student Information Record) is the report that the educational institutions receive.

The SAR: The Student Aid Report, or SAR, will commonly be returned back to you within four weeks of the date of submission (either through the mail or online). The SAR is a multi-paged document that will provide confirmation of the specific information you filed and the results of the review process. The report will give you an EFC (Estimated Family Contribution) amount. The report may also indicate specific problems that you may need to correct.

Make corrections if needed. Check to see that a copy of the report was electronically forwarded to PacRim.

The ISIR: The version of the report sent to educational institutions is called the Institutional Student Information Record, or ISIR, and should reach our office within two weeks of submission. Once your ISIR reaches our office, we will begin reviewing your application as soon as possible.on

We should receive your ISIR about two weeks after you submit your FAFSA. However, if your FAFSA results are selected for verification, you are required to submit additional documentation to verify the accuracy of the information you initially provided on your FAFSA. This means submitting a federal tax return transcript for the previous year, which can be requested free of charge from the IRS.

In the case of an independent student, a copy of only the student’s (and spouse’s, if applicable) federal tax transcript is needed. For a dependent student, a copy of both the student’s and parent(s)’ federal income tax returns must be submitted. If either a student or parent will not file a federal tax return, then a statement certifying that a tax return will not be filed and declaring other sources of income must be completed and returned in lieu of the tax return. Verification documents may also include forms completed to verify household size, number of household members currently in college, child support received and other forms of non-taxable income.

Financial Aid Forms

See Financial Aid Forms.

To renew a federal student loan:

Be sure to accept your loan: Students who have applied for financial aid after their first academic year and have been issued an award letter must contact their financial aid counselor to notify them of the value they would like to accept (all or partial). Students do not need to resubmit any additional forms such as Master Promissory Notes or Entrance Interviews.

To renew a Parent PLUS or Graduate-PLUS Loan:

PLUS Loans must be renewed every year. Parents/students must apply for the PLUS loan and be approved to receive funds. Approval for prior years does not guarantee PLUS loan funding will be approved each year. Loan recipients can complete the PLUS loan application at StudentLoans.gov.

To renew an Alternative Loan:

Students who are receiving an Alternative loan must reapply for their loan every year. Just like the PLUS loan, alternative loans are credit approved loans, so they are not guaranteed each year. Students receiving an alternative loan must complete an application with their preferred vendor.

Generally speaking, a dependent student is one who still must depend on parent(s) for support. Those students who are declared to be dependent according to federal regulations are those who have answered “no” to all of the criteria questions listed in the FAFSA. These are:

• If the student will be age 24 (specific date is required);

• If the student is or will be, a graduate student;

• If the student is married;

• If the student has dependent(s) for which he/she provides more than half support;

• If the student is an orphan or ward of the court or was one until age 18;

• If the student is a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces

A student not meeting any one of these conditions is considered dependent and must have his/her parent(s) complete the FAFSA as well, providing relevant income, asset, and household information. The student’s EFC, as a result, will reflect both the student’s ability to contribute as well as the parent(s)’ ability to contribute towards the student’s educational costs.

An independent student is one who does not depend on parent(s) for support. A student that can legitimately answer yes to any one of these conditions is considered independent and can file the FAFSA without parental information having to be supplied. The student’s EFC, as a result, will only reflect the student’s ability to contribute.

Please see the Financial Aid office if you need assistance because your circumstances have changed, such as your family’s income was reduced due to loss of a job, or other unforeseen issues have arisen, or your status changes in any way.

In some of these circumstances, your financial aid counselor may exercise Professional Judgment based on your unique situation. Professional Judgment is the phrase associated with the federally approved discretion.

The federal sites offer a lot of guidance and information to start your repayment journey. You can find out who your loan servicer is, your borrowed loan amounts plus interest, and access repayment tools on the FAFSA website. Your loan servicer will also contact you via the contact information you imputed in your FAFSA account.

The FAFSA® is the only method for determining your eligibility for federal aid. You can file the FAFSA® starting Oct 1 and throughout the admissions cycle. We recommend that students file the FAFSA® as early as possible.

You must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Once you’ve been offered a loan, you will need to accept it in our student portal, complete a loan agreement (also known as Master Promissory Note), and complete Entrance Counseling. Those two steps can be completed on the studentloans.gov website by logging in with your FSA ID and password. You will only need to do the Master Promissory Note and Entrance Counseling once.Item description