Financial Aid
A Gutenberg education is well worth the tuition the college charges. However, we want our classrooms populated with diligent, eager students; and we recognize that many such students do not have the resources to pay the full amount. We therefore strongly encourage every student who is interested in a Gutenberg education to apply for admission to the college. Gutenberg will do its best to make its education affordable for hard-working students who understand the kind of education the college provides and are highly motivated to take advantage of it.
Financial Aid at Gutenberg College is different from what one finds at most colleges and universities:
- All financial aid funding is provided by Gutenberg College from its own resources. Gutenberg has elected not to participate in the Federal Financial Aid program, and therefore its students are not eligible for federal student loans and grants.
- Gutenberg is committed to not burdening its graduates with heavy student-debt.
- Gutenberg views financial aid as a partnership between the college and the student’s family to cover the costs of the student’s education.
- Gutenberg ties some of its tuition cost—and therefore its financial aid—to student diligence.
Student/Family Responsibility
Gutenberg College assumes that each student and his family have the primary responsibility to pay for the student’s college education and that this education is a high priority meriting sacrifice on the part of the student and the family.
Part of the student’s responsibility is to investigate financial aid from non-Gutenberg sources. Students are encouraged to apply for academic, merit, service, or need-based scholarships from other institutions. Potential providers include, but are not limited to, the following: private corporations, charitable foundations, clubs and associations, and community service organizations; religious organizations; military units; state agencies; and governmental agencies. Students can explore the following on-line sources for advice and information regarding scholarship application and availability: FastWeb and FinAid.
Assessing the ability of a family to contribute toward a student’s education is difficult, since everyone’s economic circumstances are unique and complex. Furthermore, the family itself is the best informed regarding those circumstances. Therefore, instead of collecting a lot of financial information, we ask the applicant to do the following:
- Supply some basic financial information about yourself and your family.
- Tell us how much your family can contribute.
- Describe all other factors your family thinks are relevant to determining its ability to contribute.
- Explain why this amount is a good faith effort on your part to do as much as you can to cover the cost of your education.
Financial aid from Gutenberg is available to assist, but not to replace, the family’s resources and/or financial aid from other sources.
Financial Aid from Gutenberg College
All financial aid from Gutenberg College is made available from the college’s own resources in the form of loans and grants.
Gutenberg Loan
Because Gutenberg is committed to not burdening its graduates with heavy student-debt, the college offers low interest loans that do not accrue interest until the student leaves school. Borrowers are not required to begin repaying their loans until six months after they graduate or leave the school. At that time, the loan will begin to accrue interest per year at the prevailing prime rate or five percent (5%), whichever is lower. Gutenberg encourages borrowers to repay their loans as soon as possible; but under our standard repayment plan, borrowers will pay a fixed monthly amount ($100 minimum) for a loan term of up to ten years. Depending on the amount of the loan, the loan term may be shorter than ten years.
In any month that the borrower is enrolled as a full-time student in any accredited or state-approved vocational or college-level degree-granting program, Gutenberg loan payments will be suspended and interest will not accrue. Loan payments and interest will resume the month after the borrower is no longer enrolled.
Gutenberg Grant
Gutenberg determines the amount of funds it grants a student based on the student’s needs not funded by any other resources. Grants to returning students take the previous year’s diligence grade into consideration. (See “Diligence Incentive” below.)
Diligence Incentive
Gutenberg College believes that students who work hard should be rewarded and those students who are not as diligent should be encouraged to work harder. To those ends, Gutenberg uses diligence grades when calculating a student’s tuition and financial aid for the sophomore, junior, and senior years.
Diligence grades (1 to 5), given by tutors for each course, are posted on the student’s quarterly report card, but they do not appear on the student’s transcript. At the end of the school year, the students’ diligence grades are averaged to give each student a diligence grade for the year. Gutenberg then applies the diligence-grade average to the following year’s financial aid/tuition as follows:
- 1 (bad effort); student financial aid will be reduced by $2000.
- 2 (mediocre effort); student financial aid will be reduced by $1000.
- 3 (average effort—what we expect); student tuition/financial aid will remain the same.
- 4 (good effort); student tuition will be decreased by $1000.
- 5 (excellent effort); student tuition will be decreased by $2000.
Students who receive an average diligence grade of 3 will see no change in their tuition or financial aid. For every .1 above a 3 average that the student earns, Gutenberg will decrease the student’s tuition by $100 per year. For every .1 below a 3 average that the student earns, Gutenberg will reduce any financial aid the student is receiving by $100 per year.
When assigning diligence grades, tutors will take into account a student’s class attendance, completion and quality of assignments, alertness and participation in class, affect on fellow students (for example, if the student inspires other students to work harder), and overall effort.
Work-Study/Employment
Mastery of the material covered at Gutenberg College is a full-time activity. We recommend that students work no more than ten hours per week while classes are in session. On-campus employment opportunities are very limited; however, students have been successful in finding employment off-campus.
How to Apply for Financial Aid
To apply for Financial Aid, both new and returning students must complete the Financial Aid Application, available from the Gutenberg office or as a downloadable PDF. When complete, return the form to the Gutenberg office. If mailing the form, please send it to the following address:
Gutenberg College
Attn: Financial Aid Director
1883 University Street
Eugene, OR 97403
