Palmer College of Chiropractic West

Academics

Scholarships and Grants
 

International Grant
This grant program is available to Palmer West students who are not citizens or permanent residents of the United States. The program does not apply to international students who hold dual citizenship (e.g., Canadian/U.S. citizenship). Students who meet the eligibility criteria will receive the grant ($1,000) for each quarter he or she is en-rolled at PCCW and maintains a minimum cumulative 3.00 GPA. Contact your Admissions Representative or the Financial Aid Office for further details and specific application procedures.

Harvey Lillard Scholarship
The Harvey Lillard Scholarship is presented quarterly to African-American students in the name of Harvey Lillard, who in 1895 was the first patient to receive a chiropractic adjustment from D.D. Palmer. The Harvey Lillard Scholarship is $500 per quarter for each quarter the student is enrolled at PCCW and maintains a minimum cumulative 3.00 GPA. Contact your Admissions representative or the Financial Aid Office for further details and specific application procedures.

Married Students or Siblings Grant
This grant is open to those students who are brother(s)/sister(s) enrolled simultaneously or to students who are married prior to entrance at Palmer West. The program does not apply to students who marry while enrolled at PCCW. The award is $500 per spouse or per sibling per quarter. To continue receiving the award, both students must maintain a 3.00 GPA while enrolled at PCCW. Full-time enrollment is not mandatory to receive the award; it will be pro-rated according to enrollment status (i.e., quarter-time enrollment = 25% of the Scholarship; half-time enrollment = 50%, etc.). If for any reason either recipient withdraws from school or takes a “leave of absence” for more than one quarter, they must resubmit an application to determine eligibility prior to the quarter in which they plan to re-enroll. Contact your Admissions Representative or the Financial Aid Office for further details and specific application procedures.

Academic Achievement Grant
This grant is given to encourage students of high ability to commence their chiropractic studies at Palmer West. Students who have attained a bachelor’s degree prior to enrollment at PCCW are eligible for $450 per quarter for the first four quarters of full-time enrollment. Students who have attained a bachelor’s degree and a cumulative incoming GPA of 3.20 from undergraduate studies are eligible for $900 per quarter for the first four quarters of full-time enrollment. The award will be pro-rated for part-time enrollment, but will only be awarded for the first four quarters of attendance.

International students may elect to apply for the Academic Achievement Grant prior to entry, but if they choose to apply for the Academic Achievement Grant they forfeit eligibility for the International Grant during their entire course of enrollment.

Students must maintain a minimum cumulative 3.00 GPA. Contact your Admissions representative or the Financial Aid Office for further details and specific application procedures.

Dr. Priscilla Benham Memorial Scholarship
This $1,000 scholarship is available to one student each quarter who is entering Palmer West with an outstanding academic record from the Patten College Accelerated Science Program. A list of eligible nominees is submitted to Palmer West by Patten College.

Leadership Scholarship
This $500 scholarship is available annually to students enrolled full-time who have successfully completed five (5) quarters at Palmer West. Two (2) letters of recommendation are required. Based on financial need and a 500-word essay. Minimum GPA of 3.50.

Excellence Scholarship
This $500 scholarship is available annually to students enrolled full time and interns in a PCCW clinic. Two (2) letters of recommendation are required. Based on clinical excellence, financial need and a 500-word essay. Minimum GPA of 3.00.

Dr. Peggy Sherman Annual Endowment Scholarship
This $500 scholarship is for students who have completed the first three (3) quarters of chiropractic college with a minimum GPA of 3.00 and who have financial need. Based on participation in chiropractic and community activities, as well as quality of essay.

PCCW Book Grant This $100 grant is for students in 4th quarter with a minimum GPA of 3.00. This grant is awarded to the top three (3) outstanding students in specific science courses.

The College reserves the right to suspend or cancel College scholarships/grants provided proper announcement is given one quarter in advance of such cancellation.

Additional Loan Assistance

Bank One Signature Loan

• Interest rates as low as Prime+0% with zero fees
• Available to Palmer West students with or without a co-borrower
• International students can apply with eligible co-borrowers
• Maximum award is cost of attendance minus other aid received

Nelnet Academic Private Loans
Contact the Financial Aid Office for information regarding loans available to health care students, or apply online at www.nelnet.net.

Satisfactory Progress Policy

A student is considered to be making satisfactory academic progress if s/he completes 19 new units per quarter. For the purpose of Federal Stafford and Federal Unsubsidized Stafford, an academic year is defined as the nine-month loan period. At least 57 units must be completed in nine months to retain financial aid eligibility. For the purposes of the campus-based programs (Federal Perkins Loan and Federal WSP), an academic year is defined as the 12-month award period (Summer quarters through Spring quarters). Seventy-six (76) units must be completed for the award year. Additionally, a student must maintain a 2.00 minimum cumulative GPA.

To retain eligibility for the receipt of financial aid, students must meet the preceding requirements. Failure to do so will result in loss of financial aid eligibility until the number of units a student is deficient in an award year and/or the GPA deficiency is made up.

If a student fails to meet the requirements due to circumstances beyond his/her control, the student may petition the Student Financial Affairs Committee for a waiver of these requirements. Appeals must be documented and must be of a nature that assures the Committee that the student was unable to complete the requirements due to mitigating circumstances. Examples would include severe health problems, family death, etc.

Veterans’ Standards of Progress

A veteran or eligible person who remains on probation for grade point deficiency below a cumulative 2.00 grade point average beyond two quarters will have his/her veteran’s educational benefits discontinued. There will be no further certification of benefits until the student’s cumulative academic standing reflects improvement to a cumulative 2.00 GPA. A student may be allowed to continue to pursue his/her educational goal when s/he remains on academic probation beyond two quarters; however, the student cannot be certified for benefits until the cumulative GPA improves to 2.00. The conditions for reentrance after dismissal for unsatisfactory academic progress are also subject to the above standards of progress for veteran students.

Debt Management Seminars

The Financial Aid Office sponsors quarterly debt management seminars to help students keep their debt level to a minimum. Some of the topics covered are loan repayment options, working versus borrowing, budget planning, and conservative borrowing.

Federal Family Education Loan Default Rates

The most recently reported default rate for Palmer College of Chiropractic West (fiscal year 2003) was .6 percent. Default rates for the most recent four years are noted below:

Employment

Student Work Program
Various departments of Palmer West employ students in a variety of jobs. These departments attempt first to find qualified students who are eligible for the Federal Work Study Program. If none are available or funds have been exhausted, the department hires the student under the Student Work Program.

The program is funded by Palmer West. Eligibility is not based on need. Students are hired according to the same criteria used in employing members of the College staff (i.e., skills, employment history, etc). The Human Resources Office is responsible for managing this program, receiving applications and posting job notices. Students must provide proof of employment eligibility in
the United States.

Veterans’ Benefits
Veterans eligible to receive monthly benefits or widows and children of deceased veterans interested in applying for benefits should contact the Financial Aid Office for more information. Students wishing to apply for veteran’s educational benefits must contact the Financial Aid Office well in advance of the beginning of classes.

The Financial Aid Office will provide application forms and information regarding eligibility and certification procedures. Students with veteran’s educational benefits must contact the Financial Aid Office at the time they register each quarter to assure their payments are received in a timely fashion.

For further information, or to resolve specific problems, veterans should contact the Veterans Administration Regional Office at (800) 827-1000.

Veterans’ Refund Policy
Palmer College of Chiropractic West has and maintains a policy for the refund of the unused portion of veterans’ educational benefits of tuition, fees and other charges in the event the veteran or eligible person fails to enter the course or withdraws, or is discontinued there from at any time prior to the completion. The amount charged to the veteran or eligible person for tuition, fees and other charges does not exceed the approximate pro rata portion of the total charges for tuition, fees and other charges, that the length of the completed portion of the course should bear to its total length.

Student Tuition Recovery Fund

California law requires that, upon enrollment, a fee be assessed in relation to the cost of tuition under Education Code, Section 94343. These fees support the Student Tuition Recovery Fund (STRF), a specific fund established by the California legislature to reimburse qualified students who might otherwise experience a financial loss as a result of untimely school closure. Institutional participation is mandatory.

It is important that enrollees keep a copy of any enrollment agreement, contract or application to document enrollment; tuition receipts or cancelled checks to document total amount paid; and records which will show the percentage of the course which has been completed. Such records would substantiate a claim for reimbursement from STRF, which, to be considered, must be filed within 60 days following school closure. For further information or instructions regarding the Student Tuition Recovery Fund, contact: Bureau for Postsecondary & Vocational Education, 400 “R” St., Ste. 5000, Sacramento, CA 95814-6200; (916) 445-3427.

The State of California created the STRF to relieve or mitigate economic losses suffered by California residents who were students attending schools approved by, or registered to offer Short-Term Career Training with, the Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education (Bureau).

You may be eligible for STRF if you are a California resident, prepaid tuition, paid the STRF fee, and suffered an economic loss as a result of any of the following:

1. The school closed before the course of instruction was completed.
2. The school’s failure to pay refunds or charges on behalf of a student to a third party for license fees or any other purpose, or to provide equipment or materials for which a charge was collected within 180 days before the closure of the school.
3. The school’s failure to pay or reimburse loan proceeds under a federally guaranteed student loan program as required by law or to pay or reimburse proceeds received by the school prior to closure in excess of tuition and other costs.
4. The school’s breach or anticipatory breach of the agreement for the course of instruction.
5. There was a decline in the quality of the course of instruction within 30 days before the school closed, or if the decline began earlier than 30 days prior to closure, a time period of decline determined by the Bureau.
6. The school committed fraud during the recruitment or enrollment or program participation of the student.

You may also be eligible for STRF if you were a student that was unable to collect a court judgment rendered against the school for violation of the Private Postsecondary and Vocation Education Reform Act of 1989.

You must pay the state-imposed fee for the STRF if the following applies to you:

1. You are a student, who is a California resident and prepays all or part of your tuition either by cash, guaranteed student loans, or personal loans, and
2. Your total charges are not paid by any third-party payer, such as an employer, government program or other payer unless you have a separate agreement to repay the third party.

You are not eligible for protection from the STRF and you are not required to pay the STRF fee if either of the following applies:

1. You are not a California resident.
2. Your total charges are paid by a third party, such as an employer, government programs or other payer, and you have no separate agreement to repay the third party.

Palmer College of Chiropractic West pays the STRF fee on behalf of eligible students.

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