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

Fall and Spring Financial Aid

To Request Financial Aid for Fall (2011) and Spring (2012)

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 to make it available to the school.  You will need to apply for a Personal Identification Number at www.PIN.ed.gov in order to electronically sign your FAFSA at the time of filing.  Please understand that we do not receive your FAFSA instantly and if you do not sign it or it is rejected when you get your Student Aid Record (SAR) from the Department of Education that you will need to go back and fix the problem before the school will receive it. 

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.

  • 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 724-938-5911or UtechRequests@calu.edu .   They can reset your account if you are locked out or forget your password.

NOTE: You MUST check for your award package and outstanding requirements via your VIP account. Cal U no longer contacts you by mail with award letters or letters regarding missing information.  It is your responsibility to log on to your account and view your award package and outstanding requirements.

  • Step 4: Submit All Other Documents

You may be required to submit additional documents to finalize your FAFSA and financial aid requirements.  Any outstanding requirements will be posted on your VIP account under the unsatisfied requirements section.  The following is a list of possible documents that may pertain to you:

Verification Documents including student/parents' 2010 tax returns and independent/dependent verification worksheet.

Citizenship clearing documents

Loan Default Clearing documents

  • Step 5: Stafford Master Promissory Note and Entrance Counseling

You can complete your Electronic Master Promissory Note (eMPN) by logging onto http://www.studentloans.gov and follow the steps outlined. 

  1.  Go to studentloans.gov.  You will need your Federal PIN
  2. Under Manage My Direct Loans click “Sign In”
  3. Enter the required personal information
  4. Select “Complete Master Promissory Note”
  5. Then select “Subsidized/Unsubsidized”
  6. Follow the remaining steps to sign your MPN

You will also 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.

Lastly, you will need to complete the online Direct Loan Entrance Counseling session by visiting the Department of Education Loan Counseling site at www.StudentLoans.gov and selecting "Stafford Entrance and Exit Counseling" on the top of the page.  Please be sure that you are completing the STAFFORD Master Promissory Note and Entrance counseling. 

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 after the drop/add period is over each semester and according to the number of credits you are registered for per session. To check on your financial aid or review any changes, log on to your VIP account at any time.