Have a high school diploma or GED. If you enrolled before July 1, 2012, and passed an approved placement test, you may also qualify. If you completed high school outside the U.S., your transcripts must be evaluated by an approved credential evaluation service.
Be admitted and matriculated in a degree or eligible clock-hour program at Atlantic Cape.
Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen.
Not be in default on a student loan or owe a refund on a federal grant. You can check your status at NSLDS.
Be meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards.

Note: Financial Aid only covers courses in your degree program. You can only be paid once for retaking a previously passed class, and repeated courses may affect your SAP.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

To be eligible for all sources of financial aid, a student must demonstrate Satisfactory Academic Progress towards a degree as defined by Atlantic Cape Financial Aid Office. The Financial Aid Office will review your academic progress ONCE per year. There are two components determining your academic progress:

Quantitative: Credits Attempted Vs Credits Earned and Maximum Time frame.
Qualitative: Grade Point Average

The quantitative calculation will count all the credits you “attempted” at Atlantic Cape and compare them the number of credits you “earned.” Federal regulations restrict the amount of time that financial aid will pay for courses to no longer than 150% of the length of the educational program. The qualitative calculation will look at your current GPA. Repeated courses, withdrawals, incomplete grades and amnesty (grades waived by institution) are counted in the calculation of credits attempted. All courses dropped during the drop/add period are excluded from attempted credits. Transfer credits will be applied to attempted and completed credits. Atlantic Cape only accepts passing grades and does not calculate them in the GPA requirement. In this policy, a developmental student is defined as a student who tests into basic skill coursework to achieve college level competencies in core academic skills for literacy and numeric. Up to 24 Developmental or English as a Second Language (ESL) credits can be deducted from your attempted credits for quantitative standards but will be counted in the qualitative GPA. Note that a student can only be paid up to a total of 30 developmental credits, not including English as a Second Language (ESL) classes.

Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress

To keep your financial aid, you must meet academic standards measured once a year:

Quantitative: Credits attempted vs. credits earned, and you must complete your program within 150% of the required credits.
Qualitative: Your GPA must meet the minimum based on your credits attempted.

Credits Attempted, Completion Rate, and Minimum GPA Required
Credits Attempted	Completion Rate	Minimum GPA Required
3-24	50%	.59
25-48	60%	1.4
49-72	70%	1.7
73-96	75%	2.0

Example: You have attempted 25 credits at Atlantic Cape without any Developmental or ESL coursework. If you look at the chart, you are required to complete 60% of the number of credits attempted with a minimum of a 1.4 GPA.

Example: You have attempted 25 credits at Atlantic Cape with 6 credits of Developmental or ESL coursework. Since you are required to take 6 credits of Developmental or ESL coursework, you can deduct 6 credits from your “attempted” and “earned” credits, bringing you down to 19 attempted credits. In this example you would have to complete 50% of the attempted credits with a minimum of a .59 GPA. Note: Developmental and ESL coursework cannot be deducted from the required GPA.

Maximum Time Frame Example: Federal regulations restrict the amount of time that financial aid will pay for courses to no longer than 150% of the length of the educational program. Therefore, if the student is enrolled in a 64 credit hour program, the student will not be eligible for financial aid after 96 credit hours attempted. Using the prior example, if you are required to take 6 credits of Developmental or ESL coursework, the 6 credits will have been deducted from your attempted credits. Note: the attempted hours include W grades.

Some developmental and ESL credits may be excluded from attempted credits but still count toward GPA.

If you do not meet the minimum requirements as stated in the tables at the end of the award year you will receive notification, in writing, that you are not maintaining Satisfactory Academic Progress. You will receive a letter to your Atlantic Cape Buccaneer e-mail account indicating that you did not meet the standard and appeal instructions.

Appeals

If you don’t meet SAP requirements due to circumstances like illness or family emergencies, you can submit an appeal to the Financial Aid Appeals Committee. Supporting documentation is required. If approved, you'll be placed on probation with an academic plan and monitored each semester.

If denied, you’ll lose eligibility for all aid until you meet SAP again.

Learn More About the Appeals Process

Probation

If your appeal is approved by the Financial Aid & Counseling Appeals Committee, you’ll be placed on probation. Student Support Services will provide you with an academic plan and specific requirements (for example, no grade lower than a "C") to help you stay on track toward your degree. Your progress will be reviewed each semester to make sure you’re meeting those standards. You're responsible for contacting your counselor before registering for the next semester.

Credits Attempted, Completion Rate, and Minimum GPA Required
Credits Attempted	Completion Rate	Minimum GPA Required
3-24	50%	.59
25-48	60%	1.4
49-72	70%	1.7
73-96	75%	2.0

How Your Awards are Determined

Your aid is based on your FAFSA, the number of credits you're enrolled in, and funding availability. Changes to enrollment or updated info may affect your award. Log into Self-Service through Atlantic Cape Connect to monitor your account regularly.

What Can Cause a Change to Your Award

Your award amount may be adjusted as the number of credits for which you are enrolled changes. Adjustments are processed nightly so changes will show on your Atlantic Cape Connect portal, Self-Service account the next day. Your award may also change if new information is received that affects your eligibility.

The amount of the grant is subject to change based on the annual level of appropriations from the Federal and or State government.

Important: If you drop, withdraw or do not attend any of your classes, your aid will be adjusted accordingly. Please check with the Financial Aid Office before making any adjustments to your schedule.

For additional information, review Refund Procedures at LOOK FOR OUR REFUND PROCEDURES

If you do not wish to accept any portion of this aid, or have any questions, or would like a paper copy of your award letter, please contact the Financial Aid Office at (609) 343-5082. The Financial Aid Office reserves the right to modify or cancel your award at any time.

Important Regulations

The Pell Grant has a lifetime limit of 600%. You can track it on National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS).
- Federal regulations now limit students to the equivalent of 12 full-time semesters or 600% Lifetime Eligibility of Pell Grant. Students who are currently receiving a Pell Grant and reached or exceeded their Lifetime Eligibility Used (LEU) of 600% will no longer be eligible to receive additional Pell Grant funding. The Central Processing System (CPS), the system that processes your FAFSA, will notify you via email only if you have used at least 450% of your LEU. Be sure to check the email account you provided on your FAFSA. Please be aware that your Pell Grant at Atlantic Cape may be reduced or canceled based on future notification of your LEU by CPS.
Federal aid only covers up to 30 developmental/remedial credits. Additional credits must be self-paid.
- Financial aid awards will be automatically adjusted at census date (the tenth business day into the semester), which is after the drop/add period. It is the student's responsibility to determine what courses meet the definition of developmental/remedial and plan accordingly when registering. Withdrawal, Never Attended Grades, or Total F grades can cause a change and affect your eligibility. Student who totally withdraw (Official) from classes or receive all grades of F (Unofficial withdraw) may be subjected to a reduction in their Federal award package.
Withdrawing, receiving all Fs, or never attending can result in reduced or canceled aid.
- Students who never attended their classes will be reduced by the credits of each class a grade of NA is received. Any Withdraw grades may affect you State eligibility. TAG and EOF awards may be adjusted down due to a grade of W prior to a disbursement.