A Defining Moment
Financial Aid
Welcome to the Cottey College financial aid page. Please contact us regarding any questions on Cottey financial aid. We're here to help make your Cottey education a reality by helping you and your family understand and navigate the financial aid process. We know you have questions about financing a college education. The good news is that Cottey has been able to remain affordable due to our strong financial foundation, endowment, and the continued financial support of the P.E.O. Sisterhood, a philanthropic educational organization dedicated solely to furthering education for women. A Cottey degree is a smart investment!
You may call the financial aid office Monday-Friday, 8-12 and 1-5
p.m. Central time at 417-667-8181, ext. 2190. The person most
likely to answer the phone first is Angie Newton, financial aid
secretary, and she can answer most of your general information
questions about applying for financial aid. Sherry Pennington is
the director of financial aid, and she can help with everything
else. You can also contact the office by e-mail at financialaid@cottey.edu.
We offer a comprehensive program of financial assistance options,
including scholarships, grants, student employment, and loans.
- More than $6.2 million in financial aid was awarded to our students in 2011-12.
- Typically, 98% of Cottey students receive some kind of financial aid.
- The average financial aid package for the 2011-12 academic year was $18,000.
Getting Started
Please look at the FAQs for answers to the most common questions. To be eligible for official awards, you must be accepted for admission and submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Timeline For Senior Year In High School
- August - September: Apply for admission to Cottey
- October - December: Apply for private scholarships
- January - February: Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), complete the Fine Arts Scholarship application, if interested, and complete your State P.E.O. scholarship application
- March - May: Receive and respond to your financial aid award letter
- June - July: Receive information about signing the Master Promissory Note and completing loan entrance counseling for student loans and receive information about job assignments for students who were awarded a campus job
FAQ
I probably don't qualify for aid. Should I apply
anyway?
Yes! All students should apply for financial aid even if they think
they probably won't be eligible. Not all types of financial aid are
based on need.
When should I complete the FAFSA?
Complete the FAFSA as soon as possible after January 1 at
www.fafsa.ed.gov.
[Cottey's priority deadline for completing the FAFSA is March
1.]
What happens after I file the FAFSA?
You'll get either a paper Student Aid Report (SAR) or an e-mail
with a link to your SAR on the Web. If you listed Cottey's federal
school code (002458), the financial aid office will receive an
Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) which will be used
to determine your eligibility for aid. Once we have determined your
eligibility for aid we will send a financial aid award letter to
you.
What types of financial aid are available?
There are grants, scholarships, student employment, and
student/parent loans. A financial aid package may consist of a
combination of all of these sources.
Is financial aid available for study abroad programs?
Enrollment in a program of study abroad approved for credit by Cottey may be considered enrollment at Cottey for purposes of applying for federal student financial aid.
How do I apply for a P.E.O. scholarship?
When you are accepted for admission we will notify your state
P.E.O. scholarship chair. She will contact you and advise you of
the procedure to follow to be considered for a scholarship. Be sure
to apply for admission before December of your senior year in high
school. State P.E.O. scholarships have application deadlines
ranging from January 15 - April 1.
If my family has special financial circumstances, what
should I do?
You may appeal for reevaluation of your financial aid eligibility
because of changes in your family's financial situation. Examples
of special circumstances might include loss of employment,
disability, loss of untaxed income, death of a parent, or unusually
high medical expenses. Call the financial aid office and request a
Special Condition form or print one from the Information and
Financial Forms page.
Links
Scholarships:
- Search over 600,000 scholarships worth $1 billion at FastWeb.com
- Search for scholarships at www.scholarships.com
- Search a database of 2.4 million scholarships at www.scholarshipexperts.com/
- Search for scholarships at The College Board http://apps.collegeboard.com/cbsearch_ss/welcome.jsp
- Search for scholarships for Hispanic students at www.hsf.net
- Search for scholarships by geography, heritage, extracurricular activities, etc. at http://www.collegetoolkit.com/Scholarship/Main.aspx
- The largest and oldest private sector scholarship search at http://www.fastaid.com/
- Free search of over 32 billion in scholarships at http://www.schoolsoup.com/
Loans:
- Do Direct Loan entrance counseling (when borrowing first loan at Cottey) at https://studentloans.gov.
- Do Direct Loan exit counseling (when graduating or leaving Cottey) at http://www.nslds.ed.gov/nslds_SA/
- Sign the Direct Loan Master Promissory Note at https://studentloans.gov.
- Check your student loan records on the National Student Loan Data System at https://www.nslds.ed.gov.
- Look for information about student loan repayment plans and calculators at http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/OtherFormsOfRepay.jsp.
Federal Aid:
- Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at fafsa.ed.gov
- Look for information about federal financial aid at studentaid.ed.gov
- Apply for a PIN at http://www.pin.ed.gov/PINWebApp/pinindex.jsp
- Check out Funding Education Beyond High School - The Guide to Federal Student Aid at http://studentaid.ed.gov/sites/default/files/2012-13-funding-your-education.pdf
- Mistakes to Avoid When Applying for Student Aid
General Financial Aid Information:
- Check out The Smart Student Guide to Financial Aid at http://www.finaid.org/
- Information on college savings plans at http://www.collegesavings.org/index.aspx
- Educational and financial aid information at http://www.petersons.com/
- Information about IRS tax benefits for education at http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=213044,00.html
- Check out Cash Course for budgeting and financial planning at www.cashcourse.org/cotteycollege
