Aid disbursement & appealing aid

Disbursement of financial aid

All aid is disbursed directly to students’ accounts 10 days after classes begin. Students receiving financial aid must be registered full-time unless approved for part-time status by the Registrar.

Students offered any Federal Direct Loan must comply with all federal requirements including properly completing promissory notes and entrance counseling before the loans can be disbursed.

Aid will not be disbursed to students whose aid application is selected for verification by the Federal Department of Education until all required or requested information has been submitted to the Earlham College Office of Financial Aid.

Any offers or funds not administered by the College will not be credited to students’ accounts until Earlham’s Office of Accounting receives the check or another form of payment.

Funds listed as “anticipated” or “estimated” on an aid offer will not be credited to the student’s account until the requested information is provided by the student or Earlham College can confirm students’ eligibility for the funds.

Appealing financial aid

There are a number of reasons you may need to appeal for financial aid. This could be because your family has experienced a change in circumstances that is not reflected on the FAFSA, you want us to consider your financial aid offers from other institutions, you aren’t making Satisfactory Academic Progress or you might be requesting a ninth semester of financial aid.

1. Change in circumstances
   Because a family completes the FAFSA with tax data from two years prior to the current year (e.g. 2019 data for the 2021-22 academic year), the information on the FAFSA might not be reflective of the family’s current financial situation.  A family might also have a recent change in circumstances such as unreimbursed medical expenses, a job loss or a decrease in income.  We have an appeals process that begins with speaking with the Office of Financial Aid. We will typically respond within a couple of weeks of receiving your request.
   
2. Competing awards
   If you have received your financial aid offer from Earlham and find that you would be paying less out of pocket at another, similar institution, please provide us with a copy of your other aid offers that you would like us to consider. Please be sure to upload them to our Financial Aid Secure File Transfer to keep your information secure.
   
3. Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
   A student not meeting SAP may petition to receive Federal Title IV Student Aid and Earlham-funded aid on a probationary basis by completing the SAP form and submitting it to the Office of Financial Aid at least two weeks before the semester for which the student is requesting an appeal. The appeal must explain the circumstances leading to the lack of satisfactory academic progress and how those circumstances have been resolved so that the student will be able to succeed going forward.
   
4. Appeal decision
   Each appeal will be reviewed by a committee. If the appeal is granted, the student will be placed on Financial Aid Probation and will receive clear conditions on the requirements needed to be met at the end of that semester to be eligible for future semesters of financial aid. If the student does not meet the conditions set by the Appeals Committee after the semester is completed, the student will no longer be eligible for financial aid.
   
   If the appeal is denied, the student will no longer be eligible for financial aid.
   
   See additional information on SAP.
   
5. Ninth semester
   Earlham-funded aid is limited to eight semesters of attendance, including time spent at another college or university. A student can complete their degree requirements in eight semesters by earning 30-32 credits annually or averaging 15 credits each semester. For students needing to take a ninth semester to complete the requirements for one major due to medical reasons or a major life event, there is an appeal process that begins by completing the Ninth semester appeal form. Please note that a ninth semester at Earlham aid will not be granted for a student to complete a second major, minor concentration or other education.