This is a picture of two students on the Cal U campus.This is a picture of two students on the Cal U campus.

Apply for Global Online Financial Aid

To Apply for Financial Aid for the 2012-13 Award Year

The FAFSA is your application for federal student aid. Aid includes the Pell grant (for undergraduate students only) and Stafford loans for all eligible students. Most students are eligible for the Stafford loan provided that they are U.S. citizens, are not in default on a previous school loan and have not borrowed over the aggregate limit.

Your FAFSA is filed with the Department of Education at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Please include our school code: 003316.  Please understand that although we may receive your FAFSA, we cannot process financial aid for you until you have been fully accepted into a program at Cal U.

You must be registered for classes in order to be eligible for financial aid. Undergraduate students must be registered for a minimum of six credits and graduate students a minimum of five credits to be eligible for any financial aid, including private alternative loans.  You can register online through your VIP account or by calling our client service specialists in the Global Online office at 1-866-595-6348.

 

ONCE YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE 12-13 FAFSA AND REGISTERED FOR CLASSES YOU WILL RECEIVE AN EMAIL TO YOUR STUDENT EMAIL ACCOUNT LETTING YOU KNOW WHEN YOUR AID HAS BEEN PROCESSED FOR THE YEAR.  CAL U NO LONGER SENDS PAPER AWARD LETTERS SO YOU MUST BE CHECKING YOUR STUDENT EMAIL FOR THIS NOTIFICATION.

  • Step 3: Log in to the Vulcan Information Portal VIP

Your Vulcan Information Portal is where you will find access to your financial aid and student account information at all times. To access this account, go to Cal U's Homepage and click on the VIP icon in the main menu on the left. Your user name is the first 3 letters and 4 numbers from your university assigned email account.  The Password is the same password that you will use to log into your email. If you have difficulty with this please contact our Help Desk at 724-938-5911.

The financial aid award package will be listed under the FINANCIAL AID TAB once you log into VIP.  You can click on AWARD SUMMARY and this will show you how much you have been awarded for the year.  They aid is already accepted for you so there is nothing to do to accept the awards through the school. 

 

IMPORTANT NOTE:  If you wish to adjust or cancel an award you must fill out the STAFFORD LOAN ADJUSTMENT FORM and send it to the Global Online office. 

If you log into your account and don’t see an award package please be sure to check the UNSATISFIED REQUIREMENTS TAB to see if there are additional documents that are needed before we can process aid. 

  • Step 4: Submit All Other Documents

You may be required to submit additional documents to finalize your FAFSA and financial aid requirements.  The following is a list of possible documents that may pertain to you:

Verification Documents including student/parents' most recent tax returns and independent/dependent verification worksheet.

Citizenship clearing documents

Loan Default Clearing documents

  • Step 5: STAFFORD MASTER PROMISSORY NOTE & ENTRANCE INTERVIEW/COUNSELING

NOTE: if you completed these in a previous semester then you are not required to do them again.

Once aid has been processed you will see the notification for these to be complete under the UNSATISFIED REQUIREMENTS tab on your VIP account. If it is your first semester using Stafford Loans at Cal U then you will need to complete your Stafford Master Promissory Note and Stafford Online Entrance Counseling.  To do both please go to www.studentloans.gov.  Sign in by entering the personal information required including the 4 digit Federal Student Aid PIN number that you used to sign your FAFSA.  To complete the Stafford subsidized/unsubsidized Master Promissory Note and you will need the names, addresses and telephone numbers of two references with different U.S. addresses who have known you for at least three years.  The first reference is typically a parent or guardian.

 

You will need to do the Stafford Online Entrance Counseling separately and will not need any additional information for this.

 

If this is not your first semester using Stafford loans at Cal U then you will not need to do these again.  They will still appear under the UNSATISFIED REQUIREMENTS tab on your VIP account until the lender has sent back notification that they are complete.  This usually happens about a week after your loans have been processed on your account. 

 

Once you have completed all of these steps, you will have completed the financial aid process. Your loans will be disbursed directly to Cal U on the designated disbursement date. To check on your financial aid or review any changes, log on to your VIP account.

 

PLEASE NOTE:  Refund checks will be mailed within 14 business days of the date your loan posts to your VIP account.  We advise against waiting for your refund check to purchase your books as you will not have it in time for classes to begin classes. 

 

Please refer to the Global Online FAQ for additional information regarding disbursement dates and refund checks.