Can you tell me about academic scholarships?
How does work study and financial aid work?
How much does it cost to attend Christendom?
| Tuition and Fees 2019-20 | |
| Tuition | $26,300 |
| Room and Board | $10,640 |
| Required Fees | $940 |
| TOTAL for academic year | $37,880 |
Since Christendom does not accept Federal Funds, does it offer any scholarships, grants, or loans?
You are right in saying that Christendom does not accept any sort of Federal funding but this does NOT mean that we do not offer any financial aid to our students. What this means is that the money that we offer to our students in the form of need-based financial assistance, or academic scholarship, comes from us, due to the generosity of our many donors, rather than from the government and the tax payers. While we accept no direct federal aid, nor participate in indirect programs of federal aid such as the Student Guaranteed Loan, we maintain a robust financial assistance program that mirrors support received through federal aid programs.
We have a strong commitment to providing a comprehensive Financial Aid Program for our students. We offer financial assistance through our need-based aid and merit-based academic scholarships. Need-based aid consists of loans and Christendom scholarships while merit-based scholarships are granted automatically upon acceptance, and are based on your SAT, ACT or CLT score. All students are also able to apply for on-campus student employment, regardless of their financial situation. We currently have approximately 160 on-campus jobs for our students.
Financing a college education can be a huge challenge and fiscal undertaking. Our Financial Aid Office is ready to work with you as you consider your college education financing options. Please, do not hesitate to contact us. Ms. Alisa Polk is the Financial Aid Officer. You will always talk to a person when you call our Financial Aid office and will not have to jump through a lot of hoops as you might with government/Federal funding. Our process is simple and your answer comes in easy to understand language.
Christendom’s financial aid is given to help defray all or some part of the cost of tuition. Outside private loans are available as well to help Christendom students defray the cost of tuition, room and board, fees, books, and living expenses not covered by our Financial Aid Program.
Students wishing to request need-based financial aid from the College need to fill out the College’s unique Financial Aid Application form (found HERE) and not the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. However, if you are completing a FAFSA for other colleges, much of the FAFSA information is easily transferable to Christendom’s Financial Aid Application form. Remember, Ms. Polk in the Financial Aid Office can assist you with any questions you might have about our Financial Aid Application (apolk@christendom.edu), or, read more on our Financial Aid webpage by clicking here.
I was wondering about the financial aid statement on your website which says that some student loans can be deferred for lay apostolic work and missionary work. Can the same amount of debt be paid off for missionary workers as for those entering the priesthood or religious life? What kinds of missionary or apostolic work and how many years of it can qualify someone for debt forgiveness, and how much debt can missionaries expect to be paid off?
If a student gets loans from Christendom, and then they decide to pursue a vocation and enter a house of formation or seminary (for an order that takes a vow of poverty), then they do not need to pay back their loans, and no interest accrues during that time. If they end up saying final vows or getting ordained, the debt is completely forgiven and erased. If they end up coming out and choosing to not join a religious order that takes a vow of poverty, then they have to start paying back the loan.
We are able to do this because we do not take Federal funds and when our students get loans, they get them from us (the money comes from our generous donors rather than the federal government and taxpayers), and that is why we are able to forgive the debt in this manner.
If someone ends up deciding to do some type of apostolic/missionary work after graduation, they can take up to three years of not paying anything back toward their loans, and during this time, no interest accrues either. This applies to people who go to graduate school full-time as well. People can (and should) pay money back during these three years, and any money they pay back will have applied directly to principal. So, after three years of paying the loan down, whatever amount is left will be the amount that interest is computed on.
Only those entering religious life or priesthood who take a vow of poverty can be forgiven of their debt. Someone can work for a Catholic apostolate, such as Christendom or a Catholic school or parish or pro-life group, or they can actually do missionary work overseas or in the US. Basically, the group has to be recognized as a Catholic apostolate by the Catholic Church.
I was talking to my friend the other day and Christendom came up. I said, ‘Oh, are you also interested in going to Christendom?’ She said, ‘I was, until I found out that you can’t get loans if you attend Christendom.’ Is this true? I hope not because you guys are my top choice and I definitely NEED to get some sort of financial aid help or I will not be able to attend.
Christendom does not accept any aid from the federal government, and our students are unable to get federal loans to pay for a Christendom education. In fact, Christendom is the only accredited Catholic college in the US not to participate in Title IV Federal funds. So, sometimes people hear this and think we do not offer any loans.
BUT……we do offer financial aid which comes in the form of loans (which you have to repay someday), Christendom scholarships (free money), and merit-based scholarships (free money). And this money comes from Christendom – due to the generosity of our many faithful donors, rather than from the government and the tax payers. While we accept no direct federal aid, nor participate in indirect programs of federal aid such as the Student Guaranteed Loan, we maintain a robust financial assistance program that mirrors support received through federal aid programs.
We have a strong commitment to providing a comprehensive Financial Aid Program for our students. We offer financial assistance through our need-based aid and merit-based academic scholarships. Need-based aid consists of loans and Christendom scholarships while merit-based scholarships are granted automatically upon acceptance, and are based on your SAT, ACT or CLT score. All students are also able to apply for on-campus student employment, regardless of their financial situation. We currently have approximately 160 on-campus jobs for our students. Each student who has a job works 9 hours a week, making around $8-$10 an hour, and should end up making about $1000+ a semester.
Christendom’s financial aid is given to help defray all or some part of the cost of tuition. Outside private loans are available as well to help Christendom students defray the cost of tuition, room and board, fees, books, and living expenses not covered by our Financial Aid Program.
Students wishing to request need-based financial aid from the College need to fill out the College’s unique Financial Aid Application form (found HERE) and not the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. However, if you are completing a FAFSA for other colleges, much of the FAFSA information is easily transferable to Christendom’s Financial Aid Application form.