St Vladimir’s Seminary awards and distributes its financial resources with a view toward Christian charity and stewardship. Most seminary students receive some form of financial assistance, and students should be mindful that such aid is a privilege to be enjoyed thanks to many benefactors who have graciously given funds to the seminary.

The seminary’s aid program consists of need-based grants, need-based scholarships, merit-based scholarships, and federal loans. Click here for a complete list of scholarships.

All students are considered financially independent. Therefore, parental information is not required to determine need. The seminary does, however, require financial information from spouses of married students and full disclosure of grant and scholarship assistance from outside sources, such as, but not limited to, parish, diocesan, and archdiocesan education funds.

Eligibility for Financial Aid

To be eligible for financial aid from St Vladimir’s Seminary, a student must live on campus, be enrolled at the seminary on a full-time basis as a degree candidate, and be making satisfactory progress toward completion of the degree. To be considered full-time, students must be enrolled for at least twelve credits per semester. To be eligible for federal loans, students must be enrolled for at least six credits per semester.

Students enrolled on a full-time basis, as defined above, are eligible to receive aid from the seminary only for the number of semesters necessary for normal completion of a degree program. Therefore, an MDiv candidate is eligible to receive financial aid for no more than six semesters; an MA candidate for no more than four semesters; and a ThM candidate for no more than two semesters.

Satisfactory progress toward completion of a degree program is measured not only by a student’s successful completion of courses but also by satisfactory participation in the seminary’s extra-curricular activities of chapel worship and community service. What constitutes satisfactory progress in these areas is defined below for each award category.

Application Deadlines

Prospective students who seek need-based financial aid from or administered by the seminary (including federal loans) must complete the seminary's Financial Aid Application. In addition, domestic students are required to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Application materials and an estimated expense budget are available online in late December. The deadline for financial aid applications is April 1.  Applications for financial aid received after this date will be considered only if funds remain available.

Returning students must reapply for financial aid each academic year. The required forms are the FAFSA (for domestic students) and the seminary's Financial Aid Application. The financial aid deadline is April 1. Award notifications begin May 15.

All applications received after April 1, or incomplete applications received prior to the deadline but completed after April 1, will be considered for financial aid only if funds remain available.

Types of Financial Aid

The seminary administers four types of financial aid: need-based tuition grants, need-based scholarships, merit-based scholarships and federal loans. All types of financial aid, save merit-based scholarships, require both an annual financial aid application and the FAFSA. Students who demonstrate need on the basis of a complete application are automatically considered for a need-based tuition grant or a need-based scholarship.

Although financial aid applications are submitted on an annual basis, awards are distributed one semester at a time to eligible students, as defined above. The amount given per semester will normally be one half the total award for the year.

Need-based tuition grants. Need-based tuition grants (of up to 50% of tuition) are available to all students who meet the financial aid eligibility requirements defined above.  Need is determined on the basis of the FAFSA (for domestic students) and the seminary's Financial Aid Application. Students who receive scholarship assistance from an outside source, as defined above, may still be eligible for a need-based tuition grant of a lesser amount, if the outside assistance is less than the cost of tuition. The amount of aid from the seminary will be up to 50% of the tuition balance remaining after applying the outside assistance.

To retain a need-based tuition grant, an eligible student must maintain at least a 2.0 semester GPA and a 2.3 cumulative GPA, participate regularly in seminary chapel services, and perform community service assignments satisfactorily.

Need-based scholarships. Need-based scholarships are available to qualified students who meet both the financial aid eligibility requirements defined above and the specific requirements of individual need-based scholarships.  Need is determined on the basis of the FAFSA and the seminary’s Financial Aid Application. Students who receive scholarship assistance from an outside source, as defined above, may still be eligible for a need-based scholarship of a lesser amount, if the outside assistance is less than the scholarship award. The amount of aid from the seminary will be 100% of the award balance remaining after applying the outside assistance.

St. Vladimir’s currently administers three need-based scholarship:

• Serbian Scholarship (entering and returning students) – 3 Awards (up to 100% of tuition, books, and room/board of a single student). Awarded to Serbian, or Serbian-American, men and women who demonstrate need, strong academic performance, and promise of significant service to the Church. Priority is given to men who are enrolled in the M.Div. program and preparing for ordination.
• St. Anthony the Great Scholarship (entering and returning students) – 3 Awards (up to 100% of tuition in grant and work-study). Awarded to Orthodox men and women of the monastic rank Rassaphore who demonstrate need, strong academic performance, and promise of significant service to the Church. Priority is given to men who are enrolled in the M.Div. program and preparing for ordination.
• Malankara Orthodox Scholarship (entering and returning students) – 6 awards (up to 75% of tuition in grant and work-study). Awarded to men and women of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church who demonstrate need, strong academic performance, and promise of significant service to the Church. Priority is given to men who are enrolled in the M.Div. program and preparing for ordination.

To retain a need-based scholarship, an eligible student must maintain at least a 2.3 cumulative GPA, participate regularly in seminary chapel services, and perform community service assignments commendably.

Merit-based scholarships. Merit-based scholarships are available to qualified students who meet both the financial aid eligibility requirements defined above and the specific requirements of individual merit-based scholarships. 

St Vladimir's currently administers one merit-based scholarship.

• The Dean's Scholarship – up to 5 Awards (100% of tuition). Awarded to outstanding candidates for the Th.M. degree with promise of success in future academic work and/or of significant service to the Church. Successful candidates typically have a GPA of at least 3.7 in their first theological degree. Successful candidates will be assigned a one year research/teaching assistantship with a member of the faculty. Selection of candidates is based on nomination by the Admissions Committee and a personal interview with the Dean of St Vladimir's Seminary.

All Th.M. applicants will be considered for the Dean's Scholarship. Candidates nominated by the Admissions committee will be contacted by the Director of Admissions to arrange an interview with the Dean.

Federal loan programs. The seminary participates in the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program. This program allows students to borrow funds to help meet their educational costs at the postsecondary level and is available to US citizens and permanent-resident aliens. Applicants must be in good academic standing and enrolled at least half time, and they may not be in default on any previous loans.

To begin the loan process, a student must complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The seminary's Title IV school code for the FAFSA is G02833. Failure to use this code will cause a delay in the processing of your award. A signed copy of the student’s previous year’s income tax return and W-2 form(s) may be required for students selected for verification during the FAFSA process. FAFSA applications are made online at www.fafsa.ed.gov.

The Direct Loan Program offers the following types of loans:  

• Subsidized: for students with demonstrated financial need, as determined by federal regulations. No interest is charged while a student is in school at least half-time, during the grace period, and during deferment periods.
• Unsubsidized: not based on financial need; interest is charged during all periods, even during the time a student is in school and during grace and deferment periods.
• PLUS: unsubsidized loans for graduate/professional students. PLUS loans help pay for education expenses up to the cost of attendance minus all other financial assistance. Interest is charged during all periods.

Probation and Loss of Award

Any student who does not meet the minimum conditions for retaining a seminary grant or scholarship, as defined above, will be placed on probation for the following semester. If the student demonstrates appropriate improvement during the following semester, then probation is lifted and the student continues to be eligible for seminary financial assistance.

If, however, the student fails to show sufficient improvement, then the student becomes ineligible for further financial assistance from the seminary, although he or she may, depending on the circumstances, be permitted to continue as a degree candidate. If a student who has previously been on probation should fail a second time to meet the minimum conditions, then the student becomes ineligible to receive further financial assistance from the seminary.

If a student’s GPA falls below 2.0 in any semester, then he or she automatically forfeits financial assistance from the seminary; no probationary period will be allowed.

Refunds

Each semester’s financial aid is applied toward the student’s seminary account at the time of registration. Seminary awards are given with the understanding that the student will be in attendance for the full semester. If a student withdraws from the seminary during the semester under circumstances permitting a refund of fees, then eligible fees will be refunded on the basis of an official withdrawal date and in accordance with the seminary’s refund schedule. Seminary grant or scholarship awards will not be included in the calculation of the refund.

Withdrawal date. A student's official withdrawal date is determined as follows:

• A student is considered officially withdrawn if the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs is notified by the student in writing or by phone of intent to withdraw. If a student sends written notification of intent to withdraw, the withdrawal date is the date the letter is received via postal, electronic, or fax mail.
• If a student ceases attendance without providing official notification, the withdrawal date will be the midpoint of the term. In the case when an official notification was not provided by the student because of circumstances beyond the student's control, i.e., illness, accident, grievous personal loss or other circumstances, the date related to the onset of that circumstance will be used as the withdrawal date. This date will be determined by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.

Refund schedule. Eligible fees paid by or on behalf of the student will be refunded to the payer on the basis of the official withdrawal date (see above) and in accordance with the following schedule:

• Withdrawal prior to the beginning of the semester – 100% refund of tuition, room and board
• Withdrawal during the drop-add period of the semester – 75% refund of tuition and a prorated refund of room and board, based on time remaining in the semester
• Withdrawal after the drop-add period and through week four of the semester – 50% refund of tuition and a pro-rated refund of room and board, based on time remaining in the semester
• Withdrawal after week four of the semester – no refund of tuition, but a pro-rated refund of room and board, based on time remaining in the semester

 Note: Application and registration fees, and non-refundable deposits will not be refunded.

Return of Title IV funds. In accordance with the Return of Title IV Funds regulation (R2T4), when a federal financial aid recipient withdraws from all classes prior to completing 60% of a term (i.e., nine weeks), it is the seminary’s responsibility to determine the withdrawal date and amount of loan assistance that the student earned. If a student received less assistance than what was earned, he or she may be able to receive those funds. On the other hand, if the student received more assistance than earned, the unearned funds must be returned by the school and/or aid recipient to the appropriate aid program. The Student Affairs Administrator recalculates eligibility for Title IV funds using the following Federal Return of Title IV funds formula:

• Percentage of term completed equals the number of days completed up to the withdrawal date divided by the total days in the term. (Any break of five days or more is not counted as part of the days in the term.) This percentage is also the percentage of earned aid.

Funds are returned to the appropriate federal program based on the percentage of unearned aid using the following formula:

• Aid to be returned equals (100% minus the percentage of earned aid) multiplied by the total amount of aid that could have been disbursed during the term.

If a student earned less aid than was disbursed, the institution would be required to return a portion of the funds and the student would be required to return a portion of the funds. Keep in mind that when Title IV funds are returned, the student borrower may owe a debit balance to the institution.

The seminary must return the amount of Title IV funds for which it is responsible no later than 45 days after the date of the student’s withdrawal. Refunds are allocated in the following order:

• Unsubsidized Direct Stafford Loans (other than PLUS loans)
• Subsidized Direct Stafford Loans
• Federal Graduate (PLUS) Loans

Financial Exigency

St Vladimir’s Seminary awards or renews all grants and scholarships once a year during the spring application process.  After the financial aid deadline has passed the seminary is only able to consider new financial aid awards if funds remain available, and on a wait-listed basis.  After the award or renewal of a grant or scholarship the seminary is unable to consider modified requests for financial assistance.

If a student should experience significant,  unforeseen financial difficulty after the award and renewal period and the exhaustion of financial aid funds, he or she is encouraged to speak to the Associate Chancellor for Finance prior to registration in order to arrange a formal payment plan.