Announcements
→ Email Communication
The Financial Aid Office primarily communicates via students ETOWN email so students should regularly check their ETOWN email for important information and updates.
→ Next Steps for 2019 New Students
Congratulations on your decision to attend Elizabethtown College! The Financial Aid Office looks forward to working with you throughout your college career. We will be available to answer your questions at Summer Orientation in June. Before that time, however, we want to make you aware of some important steps that you may need to take to ensure that your fall semester bill will be paid in full. Please read through all of the information below to determine what actions you need to take at this time. If you have not already done so, please log onto the Student Aid Portal to ACCEPT/DECLINE your financial aid awards.
Federal Direct Loan for Students
If you applied for financial aid from the College, one of the resources listed on your award letter would have been the Federal Direct Student Loan program. As first-time borrowers from the Federal Direct Student Loan program, new student borrowers are required to complete (1) a Federal Direct Loan Master Promissory Note (MPN) and (2) Direct Loan Entrance Counseling.
If you accept the Federal Direct Stafford Loans:
(1) To complete the MPN: Go to www.studentloans.gov and log in using your FSA ID.
Click on Complete Master
Promissory Note, and then click on Subsidized/Unsubsidized to access the Direct Loan MPN. The first reference you list in step #7 MUST be a parent at your home address.
(2) To complete the Direct Loan Entrance Counseling: Go to www.studentloans.gov. Scroll down to Counseling and click on Complete Entrance Counseling. Select I am an undergraduate student. Choose Pennsylvania and Elizabethtown College to proceed with the counseling session.
Our office will be notified once you have completed this process.
If you declined the Federal Direct Stafford Loans, you are not required to complete the MPN and Entrance Counseling, but your parents have the option to borrow a Federal Direct PLUS Loan (see Federal Direct PLUS Loan for Parents).
Federal Direct PLUS Loan for Parents
Another education loan program which your family may be interested in utilizing is the Federal Direct PLUS Loan, an education loan which parents can borrow to cover some or all of the remainder of your cost of attendance that is not covered by financial aid.
To apply for a Federal Direct PLUS Loan, go to www.studentloans.gov :
-
Your PARENT must log in with their FSA ID.
-
Click on Request a Direct PLUS Loan in the center of the page.
-
Your parent will need to select Parent PLUS to begin the application process. He or she can specify a loan amount or indicate maximum eligibility. We advise you to apply for the amount needed for the full academic yearto avoid having to complete another PLUS Loan Request that will trigger a second credit check for the spring semester.
-
Your parent will receive the results of a borrower-initiated credit check immediately
-
If approved , the parent borrower will need to complete a Direct PLUS Loan Master Promissory Note.
-
If not approved , the parent borrower will need to choose how he or she wants to proceed: not pursue a Direct PLUS Loan, obtain an endorser or appeal the credit decision.
The school will be notified of the results of the PLUS Loan Request. Please be advised that the credit check decision will be good for 180 days.
Private Student Loans
Financing your cost using Private Student Loans through Private Lenders is another option available to students and families. For more information regarding private student loans, please visit our website at www.etown.edu/finaid. On the left menu click on Loans and refer to the page entitled Private Student Loans.
If you are planning to apply for a Federal PLUS Loan or Private Student Loan, please complete this process by July 15th .
Verification
If you were selected for a process called verification, we will notify you of documents to submit. Please submit any requested documents to our office as soon as possible.
If you have any questions or are in need of assistance, please feel free to contact our office. Our staff will be available during Summer Orientation as well.
→ 2019-2020 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA):
The 2019–2020 FAFSA is available on October 1, 2018. You can submit it online at https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa. To find more information about the application process, visit our Apply for Financial Aid page. Please contact us with any questions or concerns about the application process at (717) 361-1404 or finaid@etown.edu
Refer to the table below to help determine which year's income information to use on the FAFSA application:
| IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND COLLEGE FROM | YOU CAN SUBMIT THE FAFSA FROM | USING TAX INFORMATION FROM |
|---|---|---|
| July 1, 2018 - June 30, 2019 | January 1, 2017 - June 30,2018 | 2016 |
| July 1, 2019 - June 30, 2020 | October 1, 2018 - June 30, 2019 | 2017 |
| July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2021 | October 1, 2019 - June 30, 2020 | 2018 |
| July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2022 | October 1, 2020 - June 30, 2021 | 2019 |
→ The IRS Data Retrieval Tool:
The IRS Data Retrieval Tool allows students and parents to access the IRS tax return information needed to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and transfer the tax information directly into their FAFSA from the IRS Web site.
-
The IRS DRT remains the fastest, most accurate way to input your tax return information into the FAFSA form.
-
For your privacy, the tax information you transfer from the IRS into your FAFSA form will not be visible to you. Instead, you will see “Transferred from the IRS” in the appropriate fields on fafsa.gov, the IRS DRT web page, and on the Student Aid Report.
For more information on the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, click here.