Key Assumptions Underlying Need-Based Student Aid
- Parents have the primary obligation to finance the education of their dependent children.
- The dependent student has a responsibility to help finance a college education since the student is the direct beneficiary of the education. Student contributions are derived from expected summer savings, earnings during the academic year, and other assets. ONU recommends that students save $2,000 during the summer months for the following academic year. This will reduce the amount needed by the family. If a student cannot reach this goal, they should plan to increase the amount needed by the family to cover the additional balance, through the use of PLUS Loans, Alternative Loans, or payment plans.
- The independent student is responsible for financing his or her own education.
- The responsibility for educational funding shifts to society only after the family's (both parent's and student's) resources have been determined to be insufficient to meet the costs of education. A measurement of a family's financial strength must take into account that family's income and assets, as well as its expenses and liabilities. Other factors, such as extraordinary expenses or the size of the family, may affect a family's ability to pay, and therefore must be considered.
- To be consistent and equitable, the need analysis system must be an objective measurement of the family's present financial strength. It does not evaluate what the family used to be or what it may be in the future. It does not make value judgments about the spending patterns of families. It can only assess, as consistently as possible, the objective data of "what is."
The Office of Financial Aid is located in Miller Business Center. Financial aid counselors are readily prepared to advise students and parents concerning application for financial aid. Correspondence regarding financial aid should be addressed to the Director of Financial Aid, Olivet Nazarene University, One University Avenue, Bourbonnais, IL 60914-2345.
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