Financial aid application materials are emailed to incoming students beginning in January, and are distributed to current students at the same time.
You will be applying for the entire next academic year, from September through May (or June through May for third- and fourth-year students.) You must complete all required forms and submit your FAFSA upon receipt of the email.
Anticipating Your Expenses Year by Year
As you anticipate your annual expenses, you will find that some expenses, such as tuition, books and fees, are fixed, giving you no control over how much you must spend. However, there are many expenses that you can control based on your budget and lifestyle decisions, such as room and board, transportation, supplies, and personal expenses.
SCO students will encounter other expenses related to the curriculum, which are hard to determine in advance. These include the cost of taking state boards as well as costs related to clinical externships, which may be located in another city or state and require relocation expenses.
The cost of housing is often the largest single living expense for graduate students, so it is important to consider all possible options when making decisions about where you will live. Consider the following questions:
- Should you share with a roommate? This can cut housing costs in half. Graduate students typically do not spend a lot of time in their apartments.
- Are utilities included in the rent of an apartment? Is there an additional cost for parking?
Completing the FAFSA
New! The FAFSA can be completed beginning October 1st.
You must complete this form via the web at https://www.studentaid.gov/ You must have an FSAID or mail in a signature page.
Please designate SCO as the school to receive your information. Our Title IV School Code is 003517.
You may be required to provide other supporting documents such as IRS tax transcripts and W-2 forms. We highly recommend using the IRS data retrieval tool on the FAFSA to provide your supporting documents. Alternatively, you can submit your 2020 tax return (Form 1040).
If you are interested in our HPSL campus-based loan, you will need to also provide parental information. For the 2022/2023 year, you will need to provide 2020 Federal Tax Forms.
It is important for current students to complete the FAFSA by March 1, and for entering students by June 1. If you have specific questions about filling out the FAFSA, you may call (800) 4FED-AID, or SCO's Financial Aid Office at (800) 238-0180, option #3.
Once you file the SCO application, we will provide you with periodic status reports to keep you informed of any additional documents required. All correspondence will be via SCO email. If anything seems to be amiss, please contact the SCO Financial Aid Office.
Additional information can be found at https://www.studentaid.gov/
Determining Financial Aid Eligibility
Using FAFSA data, you can calculate the "expected family contribution" which is displayed on the Student Aid Report you will receive.
Financial need is the result of the cost of attendance minus the expected family contribution. Below is an example of this calculation.
Total Cost of Attendance: $45,185
Expected Family Contribution (EFC): $1,893
Financial Need: $43,292
Note: As of July 2022, we have already awarded/determined eligibility for 2022-2023.