Cost and Financial Aid

Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid

• Incoming first year students should apply starting October of their senior year of high school. FAFSA will open in October each year!
• Transfer students should apply when applying for admission to the college.
• Use the York College Title IV institutional code – 003399.
• The FAFSA collects financial and other information used to determine the Student Aid Index (SAI) used by York College, and state and federal entities, to calculate your eligibility for financial aid.

What To Expect After You Apply

• Within several days of submitting your FAFSA, you will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) sent to the email address you provided on the FAFSA.
• Review the SAR for accuracy and make any corrections by following the instructions included.
• Your FAFSA information will be sent directly to all the colleges that you included with the Title IV institutional code.
• After filing, you can check the processing status of the FAFSA and make changes at studentaid.gov or by calling 1-800-4FED-AID.

Your York College Financial Aid Award

• Typically within 2-4 weeks of receiving the completed Student Aid Report, you will be sent your York College Financial Aid Award Letter.
• The letter includes your eligibility for York College Financial Aid, work study and state and federal aid programs, including the Federal Direct (student) Loan.
• Your award information can also be seen on the YCP Web under the Financial Aid Menu, along with the Federal Shopping Sheet. The Federal Shopping Sheet is a tool to assist you in comparing financial aid award information with that from other higher education institutions.

Special and/or Unusual Circumstance Appeals

Appeals for reconsideration of a York College Financial Aid award can be made based on special and/or unusual circumstances by providing additional information to the York College Financial Aid Office.

• Unusual circumstances are defined as a student for whom a financial aid administrator makes a documented determination of independence by reason of unusual circumstances and in which the student is unable to contact a parent or where contact with parents poses a risk to such student, which includes circumstances of:

  • Human trafficking, as described in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.); 

  • Legally granted refugee or asylum status; 

  • Parental abandonment or estrangement; or 

  • Student or parental incarceration.  

• Family financial situation has changed since submitting the FAFSA
• For consideration, please visit ycp.studentforms.com and click on the green “Manage Requests” button found on the dashboard.  If you have not yet claimed your StudentForms account, you will be required to do so for appeal purposes.

If you are interested in accepting your federal direct loans, you can accept your award online by completing the following steps:

1. Click on the YCPWeb icon in your YCP student portal (my.ycp.edu)
2. Click on "Financial Aid."
3. Choose the “Financial Aid Dashboard” and make sure that 2026-2027 is listed as the Aid Year in the upper right-hand corner.
4. Click on "Offer."
5. Scroll to the Loans section, and accept, decline, or modify the loan offer, and click “Submit.”
6. Complete the Master Promissory Note (MPN).  This is a legal document that commits you to paying back what you’ve borrowed from the U.S. Department of Education.
7. Complete Loan Entrance Counseling.  This is information provided by the federal government so they can ensure you know what you’re signing up for when borrowing loans.

If you complete these steps, all of your financial aid will be credited to your semester bill from the College (with the exception of a work-study award).  York College makes available several affordable payment options including a monthly payment plan to assist you in paying the balance of your tuition.  Contact the Business Office for more information.

Low cost loans through various private lenders are available to students who need funding beyond the limits of the Federal Student Loan program. Students can borrow up to the full cost of education minus the financial aid received for an affordable college. A credit worthy co-signer may be required. Students are not required to make payments while enrolled at least half-time. For more information see the following website:

ELM Select Lender Comparison - A Free Private Loan Lender Comparison

Satisfactory Progress Policy for Undergraduate Students to Qualify for Aid from Federal Title IV Funds

Effective Date: March 2, 2020 

Background  

The Higher Education Act of 1965 as amended by Congress in 1980 mandates institutions of higher education to establish standards of "satisfactory progress" for students receiving financial assistance from Title IV Federal Funds. At York College of PA, progress is determined annually at the completion of the academic year (Spring semester). All financial aid applicants are subject to the progress standards regardless if aid was received or not in the past.  

All York College of PA financial aid funds require a minimum grade point average of 2.0 unless the guidelines of the scholarship or fund stipulate a higher G.P.A.  

Undergraduate students enrolled for twelve (12) credits are considered to be full-time. Six (6) to eight (8) credits are considered half-time. Nine (9) to eleven (11) credits are considered to be three-quarter time.  

The following will govern the monitoring of undergraduate students for Satisfactory Academic Progress for Title IV Federal financial assistance. The student must meet both the Qualitative standard and the Quantitative standard defined below.  

Good Standing  

1. To be in good standing on a QUALITATIVE basis, a student must meet the minimum cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) as follows:
   • Upon completion of up to 23 credits - 1.60 GPA
   • Upon completion of 24 to 35 credits - 1. 70 GPA
   • Upon completion of 36 to 47 credits - 1.85 GPA
   • Upon completion of 48 or more credits - 2.00 GPA 

2. To be in good standing on a QUANTITATIVE basis, a student must complete their degree within a maximum time frame of 150% of the published length of the program. Therefore, a student must pass at least 67% of the cumulative number of attempted credits including transfer credits. The ratio of credits passed divided by registered credits must be at least 67%. "Attempted credits" are the number of credits for which a student is enrolled at the end of the Drop/ Add period. 

   Examples:

   • A student attempts 12 credits and passes all 12. The ratio is 100%.
   • A student attempts 15 credits and passes 6. The ratio is 40%.
   • A student attempts 18 credits and withdraws from all classes. The ratio is 0%.

   Withdrawals, lncompletes, and Repeats are included in the calculation and added to the number of registered credits, but are not added to the number of credits passed. Therefore, these courses will have a negative impact in meeting the Quantitative standard.  

   Non-credit and Audit courses are not counted as courses taken toward progress.  

   Transfer credits are added to both the number of attempted credits and the number of credits passed.  

3. To determine academic progress, a student's cumulative academic record will be reviewed at the end of each academic year. (This policy applies to both full-time and part-time students.) 

   A student who does not satisfy either QUANTITATIVE or QUALITATIVE standards will be placed on financial aid suspension. Suspension status means that the student is not eligible for Federal, State, or York College of PA financial aid until satisfactory progress is maintained. Notification of the suspension status will be sent to the student in writing.  

Appeal Procedures

Students have the right to appeal the suspension status in writing to the Financial Aid Office if there were special circumstances that prevented the student from meeting the standards ( death of a relative, injury or illness of the student, or other special circumstances). The written appeal must include (1) a narrative of the special circumstance that prevented the student from meeting the minimum requirements, (2) reasonable explanation of the expectation that the special circumstances will not re-occur, (3) what has changed that would allow the student to demonstrate satisfactory academic progress at the next evaluation. Also, students are expected to describe their academic plan that has been developed with their academic advisor that if followed, will ensure that the student is able to meet the minimum standards by the next evaluation.  

The written appeal will be reviewed by a committee. All committee decisions will be final. If the appeal is approved, the student will be placed on Financial Aid Probation and their Federal aid will be reinstated for the following year. The Probation status will be reviewed at the next progress evaluation.  

The Financial Aid Satisfactory Progress Policy is separate from the Academic Progress Policy. A student in good standing under the Academic Policy may still be placed on Financial Aid Suspension. A student on Academic Suspension is automatically placed on Financial Aid Suspension and is not eligible for any type of aid.  

This policy is subject to change due to modifications in institutional and/or governmental regulations. Updated policy statements are available in the Financial Aid Office. 

York College is committed to providing students and their families with the best information and processing alternatives available regarding student borrowing. In support of this and in an effort to rule out any perceived or actual conflict of interest between York College officers, employees or agents and education loan lenders, York College of Pennsylvania has adopted the following:

• York College of PA does not participate in any revenue-sharing arrangements with any lender.
• York College of PA does not permit any officer, employee or agent of the school who is employed in the financial aid office or is otherwise involved in the administration of education loans to accept any gifts of greater than a nominal value from any lender, guarantor or servicer.
• York College of PA does not permit any officer, employee or agent of the school who is employed in the financial aid office or is otherwise involved in the administration of education loans to accept any fee, payment or other financial benefit (including a stock purchase option) from a lender or affiliate of a lender as compensation for any type of consulting arrangement or contract to provide services to a lender or on behalf of a lender relating to education loans.
• York College of PA does not permit any officer, employee or agent of the school who is employed in the financial aid office or is otherwise involved in the administration of education loans to accept anything of value from a lender, guarantor, or group of lenders and/or guarantors in exchange for service on an advisory board, commission or other group established by such a lender, guarantor group of lenders and/or guarantors. York College of PA does allow for the reasonable reimbursement of expenses associated with participation in such boards, commissions or groups by lenders, guarantors, or groups of lenders and/or guarantors.
• York College of PA does not assign a lender to any first-time borrower through financial aid packaging or any other means.
• York College of PA recognizes that a borrower has the right to choose any lender from which to borrow to finance his/her education. York College of PA will not refuse to certify or otherwise deny or delay certification of a loan based on the borrower's selection of a lender and/or guarantor.
• York College of PA will not request or accept any offer of funds to be used for private education loans to students from any lender in exchange for providing the lender with a specified number or volume of Title IV loans, or a preferred lender arrangement for Title IV loans.
• York College of PA will not request or accept any assistance with call center or financial aid office staffing.