Financial Aid for Undergraduate Students

Contact: Financial Aid Office, New Mexico Tech, 801 Leroy Place, Socorro, N.M. 87801; 575.835.5333; email: financial_aid@nmt.edu

New Mexico Tech makes every effort to make our undergraduate education affordable for everyone: new students, returning students, and transfer students. Assistance comes in the form of institutional scholarships, state scholarships, financial aid, and student employment.

1. Institutional scholarships are based solely on your grades (high school GPA, standardized test scores, and college GPA if you are a transfer student). Institutional scholarships include

   • First-Time Students (Presidential, Gold, Silver, Copper)

   • Transfer Students (Phi Theta Kappa, Regents, Transfer Excel, Tech Transfer)

   • Tuition Reduction Programs for Non-Residents (Competitive, Colorado Reciprocity, Western Undergraduate Exchange, Tuition Reduction Program)

You do not need to demonstrate financial need for an institutional scholarship—only your own academic merit.

2. State scholarships are awarded to New Mexico residents and include the Legislative Lottery Scholarship and the New Mexico Opportunity Scholarship.

3. In addition to scholarships, we offer financial aid, which includes

   • Federal grants (e.g., Pell Grant and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant)

   • Federal loans (e.g. Direct Stafford Loan, PLUS Loan)

   • Federal work study

   • New Mexico grants (State Student Incentive Grant, College Affordability Grant)

   • New Mexico work-study

Details on this year’s institutional scholarships and financial aid programs, including dollar amounts, are available at http://www.nmt.edu/finaid/index.php or in a brochure available from the Office of Admission.

Institutional Scholarships

When you are admitted to New Mexico Tech, your application is automatically reviewed for an institutional scholarship. (Tech gives only one institutional scholarship per person. If, by accident or oversight, you are offered two institutional scholarships, you may keep only one.)

The deadline for consideration of scholarships for the fall semester for first-time students is March 1.

For consideration for a scholarship for the spring semester, the deadline is November 1. The deadline for scholarships for transfer students is April 1 for the following fall semester and November 1 for the spring semester. If you did not qualify for an institutional scholarship when you entered Tech and you complete two semesters at Tech, earning a minimum of 24 credit hours with at least a 3.0 GPA, you may be eligible for an Endowed Scholarship. Inquire at the Financial Aid Office.

Generally for scholarship consideration, a student must:

• Be a U.S. citizen or an eligible non-citizen; or be an international student in legal F1 or J1 student status. (International students are eligible only for transfer scholarships and certain tuition reduction programs.)

• Be pursuing a first bachelor's degree;

• Be enrolled in a regular degree program at New Mexico Tech; and

• Carry at least 12 credit hours per semester. Students receiving the Legislative Lottery Scholarship must carry at least 15 credit hours per semester.

• Have a High School Diploma or a recognized equivalent.

Institutional Scholarship Renewal

Each year, your institutional scholarship is automatically renewed. You must maintain the GPA specified by your specific scholarship to keep the scholarship and have earned a minimum of 24 credit hours in the regular academic year. The requirements for your institutional scholarship are listed below under the Scholarship Conditions and Requirements. Please note that you may not qualify for a scholarship higher than the one you were awarded when you entered New Mexico Tech.

Scholarship Conditions and Requirements:

Students must earn 24 credit hours in the academic year (fall & spring), in addition to the GPA Requirements listed below, to meet retention criteria. Credit hours completed during the summer semester may count as completed credit hours for purposes of Institutional scholarship reinstatement. It is your responsibility to request reinstatement at the end of the summer semester.

RETENTION OF AWARD :

1. Scholarship recipients must maintain a minimum of twelve (12) credit hours of course work for each Fall and Spring semester. *Lottery Students and International Competitive recipients must maintain fifteen (15) credit hours per semester. Grades of U, F, W, and audits do not count as completed credits for scholarship retention purposes.

2. Scholarship eligibility is reviewed yearly at the end of the spring semester. (If a student attends summer school, eligibility will be reviewed again at the end of the summer semester to ensure GPA requirements are maintained.)

3. Inability to meet minimum requirements by the end of the spring semester will result in scholarship loss for the following academic year.

4. Students who lose scholarship eligibility may submit a written appeal (by the posted deadline) of extenuating circumstances with appropriate documentation.

5. If a scholarship is cancelled for academic ineligibility and the student later regains eligibility, it is the student's responsibility to request reinstatement of the scholarship. Renewal of a scholarship is made only if the originally specified consecutive time period has not expired. Reinstatement requests are only accepted after the spring and summer semesters.

Competitive Scholarships, CORE, WUE, and Tuition Reduction Program participants will lose their respective awards if the established retention criteria are not met; no scholarship replacement will be offered. The student’s tuition rate will then revert to non-resident status.

Note: Students awarded the Competitive Scholarship or who are participating in the CORE, WUE, or Tuition Reduction Program are not eligible to establish New Mexico residency while on the program or use any time in New Mexico while on the program toward meeting the requirement for New Mexico residency.

Time Limits

Institutional scholarships are offered for a maximum of four years for first-time students and a maximum of three years for transfer students. The length of your scholarship is listed on your scholarship offer. Work closely with your advisor and check with the Registrar’s Office to make sure you are on track to finish your program in the time specified. If you need additional funding to finish your bachelor’s degree, you should consider applying for financial aid.

If your scholarship is cancelled due to academic ineligibility, and you then re-establish eligibility, you may apply for reinstatement of the scholarship. This request should be made as soon as possible after the spring or summer semester, whichever is applicable. The originally specified time period of the scholarship is not extended.

State Scholarships

Legislative Lottery Scholarship

The Legislative Lottery Scholarship pays a portion of tuition at NM Tech for students who meet the following requirements: Must be a New Mexico resident; must have graduated from a New Mexico public high school, an accredited New Mexico private high school, or have obtained a New Mexico GED; must be enrolled in and earn 15 or more credit hours at an eligible New Mexico public college or university in the first regular semester immediately following their high school graduation; must obtain a 2.5 GPA during their first college semester. Eligible students do not begin receiving the award until their second semester of full-time enrollment, provided that all eligibility requirements have been met. A student may be eligible for up to seven consecutive semesters of support or until the student graduates with a bachelor's degree from an eligible institution, whichever is sooner.

Renewal

The Legislative Lottery Scholarship is renewable for up to seven (7) semesters with the following conditions/requirements:

1. Successfully complete the first semester (eligibility semester) with 15 credit hours and a GPA of 2.5 or higher. Grades of U, F, W, I and audits do not count as completed credits for scholarship retention purposes.

2. Completion of 15 credit hours with a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher each semester thereafter. Scholarship eligibility is reviewed at the end of each semester.

3. Students who do not meet these requirements can appeal and provide documentation of exceptional mitigating circumstances beyond the student’s control.

4. Approved appeals for first semester requirements will result in deferring the qualifying semester to the semester immediately following the semester in which the student did not meet the eligibility requirements.

5. All appeals will be held to state regulations.

6. All students attending summer school will be evaluated to ensure GPA has been maintained.

Extenuating Circumstances

Students who have exceptional mitigating circumstances as determined by the Director of Financial Aid may have their scholarship reinstated with conditions under the following circumstances:

1. student shall submit an appeal certifying the nature of their exceptional mitigating circumstances to the Financial Aid Office.

2. Director of Financial Aid shall exercise professional judgment to determine whether the exceptional mitigating circumstance was beyond the student’s control and precluded the student from meeting the requirements of the scholarship.

Financial Aid

To apply for financial aid you must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

You may apply online at www.fafsa.gov. New Mexico Tech’s Title IV code for the FAFSA is 002654.

For maximum consideration, please submit your FAFSA for processing before March 1, if you plan to enter the following fall.

Approximately 30 percent of all applications are selected for review in a process called verification. If your file is selected for verification, additional documents will be needed. The financial aid office will notify you if additional paperwork is needed and inform you what that paperwork is. Verification must be completed before a financial aid package will be calculated for the student.

The FAFSA results from the federal processor contain your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) number.

This number is used to determine your eligibility for the various financial aid programs.

We will offer you a package to try to meet your needs at New Mexico Tech. Our offer to you may include grants, loans, work-study, and/or an institutional scholarship. To accept our offer, please log into your New Mexico Tech BanWeb account.

To qualify for financial aid at Tech, you must:

1. Be a U.S. citizen or an eligible non-citizen

2. Show satisfactory academic progress

3. Be enrolled in a regular degree program at Tech

4. Not be in default on a federal student loan or owe a repayment on a federal grant

5. Have a High School Diploma or a recognized equivalent
   

Continuing Your Financial Aid at Tech

Each year, you must fill out the FAFSA. This form should be filed as soon as possible after October 1.

For maximum consideration you should fill out the FAFSA before our priority deadline of March 1.

Satisfactory Academic Progress for Financial Aid

Financial Aid Offices are required to have a policy regarding Satisfactory Academic Progress. The purpose of this policy is to measure a student’s academic progress in both a qualitative and quantitative way. This is done by measuring both cumulative grade point average and credit hours earned. To continue receiving Federal and/or State Financial Aid, students must meet the minimum requirements set in New Mexico Tech’s Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy. Be aware that these standards are not the same as New Mexico Tech’s standards for academic probation and suspension.

At New Mexico Tech, satisfactory academic progress is reviewed at the end of each payment period (semester). The Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy applies to both undergraduate and graduate level students who participate in the following programs: Federal Pell Grant, Supplemental Grant, New Mexico State Student Incentive Grant, College Affordability Grant, Federal Work Study, New Mexico Work Study, New Mexico

Non-need Work Study, Perkins Loan, Federal Direct Stafford Loan, Federal Direct Grad PLUS Loan, and Direct PLUS loan.

Qualitative Standard– Students must meet the following GPA requirements

Quantitative Standard

Students must earn (successfully complete) at least 67% of the total credit hours they attempt. This is calculated

Cumulative hours successfully completed Cumulative hours attempted

Total hours attempted includes grades of A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, F, S, U, W, WO, IN, SA, UA, PR, NG and all transfer credits.

Total hours earned includes grades of A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, S, PR, and all transfer credits.

Repeat courses - count as attempted hours, but the hours can only be earned once. For example, if a student takes a 3 credit hour course one semester and earns a D, the hours are counted as attempted and earned. If the student later repeats the course, the 3 hours are added to the attempted, but hours earned will not increase because of the repeat; however, because a grade of F does not count as earned hours, a student repeating a grade of F at a later time and earning a D will have the hours count as attempted and earned when the course is repeated.

NR, NG grades - It is the student’s responsibility to notify the Financial Aid Office when a grade of NR, NG is changed to a grade by the instructor so Satisfactory Academic Progress can be re-evaluated.

Maximum Time Frame

• Students seeking their first bachelor’s degree may be eligible for Title IV aid up to a maximum of 195 attempted credit hours.

• Students pursuing a second bachelor’s degree have a maximum timeframe of 150% of the number of hours needed to complete the degree. This is determined through a credit evaluation done by the Registrar’s Office.

• For instance, if the student has 140 credit hours and needs 60 hours to earn a second degree, the student will have financial aid eligibility for a maximum of 90 attempted credit hours.

• Students pursuing a master’s degree may be eligible up to a maximum of 45 attempted credit hours. This includes all hours attempted as a graduate Master student regardless of the course level.

• Students pursuing a doctor of philosophy degree may be eligible up to a maximum of 75 attempted credit hours. This includes all hours attempted as a graduate PhD student regardless of the course level.

• When you fall below the SAP policy requirements, you will automatically be placed on financial aid warning for your next semester of enrollment. During this semester you will be eligible to receive aid.

• If you are still below the policy standards after the financial aid warning semester, you are no longer eligible for Title IV aid.

• Once a student is on financial aid suspension, he/she is not eligible for any Federal or State Financial Aid until the standards of the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy have been met or an appeal is approved.

Appeals for Exception to Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy

Students have the opportunity to appeal the determination that they are not making satisfactory academic progress. To appeal, the student will need to complete an Appeal Form. On that form, the student will need to explain why he/she failed to meet our Satisfactory Academic Progress standards and what has changed that will allow him/her to meet the standards by the end of the next semester.

If an appeal is approved the student’s SAP status will change to either Probation or Probation with a plan.

A student can remain eligible for aid once they have had an appeal approved with conditions (probation with a plan) as long as the student continues to meet the individual “plan” that was set forth for them in the appeal response. Satisfactory Academic Progress is measured at the end of each semester. Summer is considered a separate semester. If a student’s earned hours or cumulative GPA falls below the minimum standard indicated in the policy, they will be notified in writing. The student will also be notified if they have met the maximum time frame.

Financial Aid Policies

Return of Title IV Funds Policy

This policy applies to all students that participate in the following Title IV financial aid programs.

• Federal Pell Grant

• Supplemental Grant

• Federal Direct Stafford Loan

• Federal Direct GradPLUS Loan

• PLUS Loan

Federal regulations require that if a recipient of Title IV financial aid funds (those programs listed above) withdraws from New Mexico Tech after beginning attendance for the semester, the amount of Title IV assistance earned by the student must be determined. This is done through a calculation developed by the United States Department of Education. If the amount disbursed to the student is greater than the amount the student earned, unearned funds must be returned. If the amount disbursed to the student is less than the amount the student earned, and for which the student is otherwise eligible, they are eligible to receive a post-withdrawal disbursement of the earned aid that was not received.

The amount of assistance the student has earned is based upon the percentage of the semester in which the student was enrolled.

Enrolled days / total number of days in the semester = % of aid earned. Once the student has completed more than 60% of the semester, they are considered to have earned all of the funds awarded and is not subject to the calculation.

There are two types of withdrawals for Title IV financial aid purposes:

• Official Withdrawals—If the student officially notifies New Mexico Tech of their intentions to withdraw, this date is considered to be your last date of attendance and will be the official withdrawal date for calculating the amount of Title IV financial aid funds earned. This applies to both withdrawal (W) and withdrawal without prejudice (WO).

• Unofficial Withdrawals—If a student receives grades of all F, U, or UA for a semester, the student is considered to have unofficially withdrawn from New Mexico Tech. The midpoint of the semester is used as the student’s unofficial withdrawal date unless documentation is submitted to show a different last date of attendance at an academically related activity.

Entrance Loan Counseling Policy

According to federal law, if you intend to borrow money on the Perkins Loan or Federal Direct Loan programs, you must complete entrance loan counseling. Go to www.studentloans.gov and sign in to complete Entrance Loan Counseling. Complete the entrance loan counseling for the type(s) of student loans you intend to borrow or have been offered.

Exit Loan Counseling Policy

If you receive an education loan and you graduate, withdraw, drop below six credit hours, or do not re-enroll; you must complete exit loan counseling. Go to www.studentlloans.gov and click Student Loan Counseling interview on the left side. Complete the exit loan counseling for the type(s) of student loans you borrowed.

Student Employment Policy

All student employment is limited to a maximum of 20 hours per week during the fall and spring semesters. Maximum hours per week during the summer semester depend on the number of credit hours the student is taking. Any student employed under the work-study program must demonstrate satisfactory academic progress for financial aid. Students employed on a part-time basis must be enrolled as regular, full-time students. Students attending less than full-time are subject to IRS regulations regarding FICA/Medicare deductions.

A Student Employee Handbook is available online at http://www.nmt.edu/finaid/index.php and at the Financial Aid Office.

(A cooperative education program is available, in which students alternate periods of off-campus, full-time employment with on-campus, full-time study. See the Director of the Center for Student Leadership and Engagement for more information.)