Other Financial Aid Information

Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy

Each student who receives Federal financial aid at Coastal Carolina University is required to maintain satisfactory academic progress toward completion of his/her program of study.
For more information:
- Undergraduate students: Click here.
- Graduate students: Click here.

Academic Common Market

The Academic Common Market (ACM) is a tuition savings program for college students from selected states in the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) who want to pursue degrees that are not offered by their home state institutions.
For more information click here.

Federal College Work-Study

The Federal Work-Study (FWS) Program provides funds for part-time jobs which allow students to earn money needed to pay for educational expenses.
For more information click here.

College Savings Plans and 529 Plans

College Savings Plans and 529 Plans are not considered financial aid and are not handled in Financial Aid and Scholarships.
For more information click here.

Free Tuition

Free Tuition for Certain Veterans’ Children- Children (twenty-six years of age or younger) of certain wartime veterans may apply with the South Carolina Division of Veterans Affairs (SCDVA) for a tuition waiver to any state-supported college, university, or post-high school technical education institution. Please note that all approvals from the SCDVA still require Coastal Carolina University to confirm residency eligibility requirements. Both the student and the veteran must meet residency requirements as determined by the Office of Admissions & Merit Awards. Certain students who are eligible for tuition waiver benefits through Military & Veteran Services, but who have not proved their SC residency status, may be approved to be in an out-of-state veteran residency status for tuition and fee purposes. In order to qualify for the Free Tuition for Certain Veterans’ Children program, students in this out-of-state veteran residency status must also submit supporting documentation to Financial Aid & Scholarships to confirm that the veteran was a resident of SC at the time of entry into service and during service or, has been a resident of SC for at least one year and still resides in SC or, if the veteran is deceased, resided in SC for one year before his death. More information on this benefit and the application can be found here.
Free Tuition for Children of Certain Firemen, Law-Enforcement Officers, and the Like- Children of certain firemen, law-enforcement officers, corrections officer, and government employees totally disabled or killed in the line of duty may contact Financial Aid & Scholarships to file proof of evidence of death or total disability to apply for free tuition. Financial Aid & Scholarships will review evidence for eligibility as defined in SC Code 59 Sections 111 Article 3. Please note that Coastal Carolina University has sole discretion in granting or not granting free tuition.
Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship Act
Under this scholarship, a Pell-eligible student whose parent or guardian died in the line of duty while performing as a public safety officer is eligible to receive a maximum Pell Grant for the award year for which the determination of eligibility is made. To qualify for this scholarship, a student must be Pell-eligible and have a Pell-eligible EFC, and be less than 24 years of age or enrolled at an institution of higher education at the time of his or her parent’s or guardian’s death. In subsequent award years, the student continues to be eligible for the scholarship, as long as the student has a Pell-eligible EFC and continues to be an eligible student. Should you feel you have the qualifications for this scholarship, please contact Financial Aid and Scholarships at finaid@coastal.edu to ask about documentation needed to receive the scholarship.
Free Tuition for Residents Sixty Years of Age- Legal Residents of South Carolina, as determined by the Office of Admissions & Merit Awards, who are sixty years of age or older, may qualify for free tuition.
South Carolina National Guard College Assistance Program- Undergraduate members of the National Guard may apply for the SC National Guard College Assistance Program each year upon completion of basic training and Advanced Individual Training (AIT). Applications can be obtained from the National Guard website and submitted to the SC Commission on Higher Education. The application window is typically June-August. The annual grant amount is determined each year based on the amount of available program funds by the SC Commission on Higher Education. The total of all grants received may not exceed $18,000. Members may not receive funds for more than one hundred thirty attempted semester hours or related quarter hours. Students must also maintain satisfactory academic progress standards to be eligible for this benefit. Members receiving a full ROTC scholarship are not eligible for college assistance program funds. Once applications are made, Financial Aid & Scholarships will determine eligibility & award appropriately. Please feel free to contact Financial Aid & Scholarships for more information.

Withdrawal and Return of Funds

The Return of Title IV Funds policy applies only if the student completely terminates enrollment (i.e. cancels his/her registration, withdraws or is dismissed) or stops attending classes before completing more than 60 percent of the enrollment period. The Return of Title IV Funds policy applies to federal student financial aid programs. Financial Aid and Scholarships will calculate the amount of federal funds to be returned for students who withdraw.
Repayment Policy: The amount of Title IV aid that a student must repay is determined by the Federal Formula for Return of Title IV Funds as specified in Section 484B of the Higher Education Act.This law also specifies the order of return of the Title IV Funds to the program from which they were awarded.
A repayment may be required when aid has been credited to a student's account from financial aid funds in excess of the amount of aid the student earned during the term. The responsibility for returning unearned aid is allocated between Coastal Carolina University and the student according to the portion of disbursed aid that could have been used to cover university charges and the portion that could have been disbursed directly to the student once school charges were covered. Coastal Carolina University will distribute the unearned aid back to the Title IV programs as specified by law. The student will be billed for the amount the student owes to the Title IV programs and any amount due to Coastal Carolina University resulting from the return of Title IV funds used to cover charges.

Tuition and Fees

Click here for Tuition and Fees.

Studentaid.gov

South Carolina College Income Tax Credit

South Carolina Act 40 of 2017 increased the amount of the income tax credit for tuition at both two- and four-year institutions. Students attending public or independent institutions in South Carolina are allowed a refundable individual tax credit up to $1,500 during that taxable year.

To claim up to $1,500 in tuition tax credits, a Form SC 1040 must be filed. When preparing the South Carolina income tax return, Form I-319 Tuition Tax Credit must be completed. This form is included with all state individual income tax booklets. To determine if you are eligible, and for more information about the tax credit, please visit the South Carolina Department of Revenue Tuition Tax Credit website.

This enhanced tax credit is now in effect for currently enrolled students who meet the statutory eligibility.

Financial Aid Appeals

Professional Judgments for Special And Unusual Circumstances

Due to the new FAFSA process and the delays in schools receiving FAFSA applications, Financial Aid & Scholarships will not start reviewing appeal requests for the 2024-2025 academic year until we receive FAFSA application in mid-late April. Any requests submitted prior to that will need to be resubmitted for consideration.

The FAFSA requests demographic and income information that sometimes does not give students the opportunity to explain a circumstance that may impact his or her ability to pay for college. Some examples include students who are unable to provide parental information due to unusual circumstances and/or when the FAFSA is not an accurate depiction of the household financial status based on special circumstances. Students may submit a Professional Judgment Appeal to request that CCU’s Financial Aid Administrators take some special or unusual circumstances into account to do a reassessment of the FAFSA. The Department of Education does allow CCU the ability to consider adjustments to a student’s FAFSA when special or unusual circumstances exist, but in limited scenarios. These changes may make a difference in a student’s Dependency Status or Student Aid Index (SAI). If you feel you have a special or unusual circumstance, please explore the information below for further assistance or specifics that might apply to your circumstance. You may also contact a financial aid counselor to discuss if a Professional Judgment Appeal might benefit you.

What qualifies as a Special/Unusual Circumstance?

When determining financial aid eligibility, the following may qualify as special circumstances:

Loss or reduction of employment, wages, or unemployment compensation
Exceptional medical and/or dental expenses
Expenses for a computer purchase (one-time allowance)
Exceptional housing costs above and beyond the school’s Cost of Attendance
Divorce or separation that occurred after the FAFSA was filed
Death of a parent or spouse that occurred after the FAFSA was filed
An abusive family environment
Abandonment and/or estrangement by parents
Parents cannot be located
Cannot provide parental information for the FAFSA

What does not qualify as a Special Circumstance?

The following circumstances would not be considered special circumstances:

Parents refuse to financially support the student
Parents are unwilling to provide verification information
Parents do not claim the student as a dependent for income tax purposes
High debt
High routine household expenses
Voluntary Income Loss
One-time income from 401K withdrawals, gambling winnings, etc.
Higher scholarship offers at other Universities

If you have experienced one of the circumstances above, Financial Aid and Scholarships may be able to reassess your Financial Aid Application. See the applicable section below for instructions on submitting a request.

Loss/Change in Income Appeals

FAFSA uses income information from two year’s prior. Many families can have income changes in two years. If your current income is significantly less than what is reported on the FAFSA, you may consider submitting a request for an appeal review.

To help you determine if submitting an appeal may increase your financial aid offer, please consider the following:

Coastal Carolina University only awards institutional funds through merit awards and need-based awards. Typically, institutional awards are not eligible for an increase based on this type of review.
Most students who submit a review are seeking to see if they qualify for additional federal aid. If you are already receiving the maximum Pell Grant amount, an appeal will not benefit you as your current FAFSA reflects maximum Pell Grant eligibility. This number is not a dollar amount of aid eligibility or what your family is expected to provide.
Institutional policy typically requires a 4-month waiting period from the time of the loss of income to complete any reviews.
In comparing your current income to the FAFSA, consider gross year-to-date pay, severance pay, state unemployment, federal supplemental unemployment, and projected future employment.

We recommend you chat with a financial aid counselor to determine if an appeal will benefit you. You can also use the Federal Student Aid Estimator to complete a preliminary calculation using your current year's income projection for calculation purposes. If you determine you may qualify for an adjustment, please submit our Parent Change in Income or Student Change in Income form*, required supporting documentation as explained on the form, and a typed, brief summary of the special circumstance(s) surrounding the appeal.

*Available soon

Please do not submit tax information (tax returns, W2's, tax return transcripts) unless specifically requested by our office! Students who submit tax documents and/or an appeal for loss of income are consenting to being institutionally selected for verification (if not selected when filling out the FAFSA) and are required to complete the process to receive aid, regardless of the appeal outcome.

Dependency Override/Unusual Circumstances Appeal

Most students entering a postsecondary school straight from high school are considered financially dependent on their parents unless they meet one of the following criteria to be considered independent:

24 years of age or older by January 1^st of the school year for which the student is applying for aid.
Married or separated but not divorced.
Working towards a master’s or doctorate degree.
Have children or dependents who live with them and receive more than half their support.
Currently serving on active duty in the U.S. armed forces for purposes other than training.
A veteran of the U.S. armed forces.

Students who do not meet one of the criteria above are typically considered dependent for financial aid purposes. This means their parents must provide their financial information on the FAFSA. If you have unusual circumstances which prevent you from providing your parents information on the FAFSA and do not meet one of the criteria above, please submit a 2024-25 Dependency Override form, a letter explaining the level of contact (or lack thereof) with each of your biological or adoptive parents. You must also include a signed letter of support from someone who is aware of your situation and supporting documentation. Submit all documents to finaid@coastal.edu, or secure upload to www.coastal.edu/aidupload. If you would like to discuss your circumstances with a financial aid counselor, contact us at (843) 349-2313 or finaid@coastal.edu.

Other Unusual Circumstances

The following criteria also qualify students to be considered independent:

An orphan, in foster care, or a ward of the court at any time since age 13.
An emancipated minor or in legal guardianship as determined by a court.
An unaccompanied youth who is homeless or self-supporting and at risk of being homeless.

Students who believe they meet one of the criteria above should submit a 2024-25 Dependency Status Clarification Form or the 2024-25 Unaccompanied Homeless Youth form with supporting documentation. You may also call (843) 349-2313 to speak with a counselor and discuss next steps.

How Do I Submit an Appeal?

Students who believe they meet one of the criteria above are encouraged to talk to a financial aid counselor to determine the next steps.
Students/Parents will submit the appropriate appeal form, typed narrative explaining the reason or the appeal, and all supporting documentation.
An electronic request for your appeal paperwork and any additional requests will be added to the “Required Financial Aid Documents” link in MyCCU.

What Happens After I Submit an Appeal?

Once submitted, a staff member will review your request for an appeal within 14 business days to determine if a Professional Judgment Appeal is appropriate. Upon review, additional forms and information may be required. Verification must also be completed for all loss/change in income appeals before the appeal can be reviewed. Please note that all correspondence regarding additional required information will go to the student’s CCU email. Required documents can also be accessed from MyCCU. Appeal decisions can take upwards of 6-8 weeks, especially during peak times. Appeals decisions are typically not final until after the start of school in the fall, as summer processing is devoted to finalizing initial aid packages for all students. Appeal decisions are sent out via mail. If the appeal is approved, aid will be adjusted 7-10 business days after the decision.

Important Notes:

Not all appeals result in additional aid. In some cases, changes do not make students eligible for more grants or additional loan amounts. In rare cases, students may lose grant eligibility.
Not all appeals are approved. If you appeal, your appeal could be denied. This is a final determination and cannot be contested at a higher level. The Department of Education cannot overturn the committee’s decision.
While waiting for an appeal decision, students should continue with their current payment plans with the Office of Student Accounts until decisions are final.
Students/Parents submitting this request after September 30^th may also be asked to file their current year taxes before finalizing a professional judgment review decision.