FAQs

Christendom offers academic scholarships to students who have a GPA of 3.0 or higher and who have scored a 1920 or higher on the SAT or a 29 or higher on the ACT. These scholarships are automatic and there are three different levels of scholarships, depending on the score. They are four year scholarships, renewable each semester if a 3.25 GPA is maintained. Additionally, we offer two full-tuition scholarships (called Padre Pio Scholarships) each year. More info may be found here.

Christendom offers student loans, grants, and work-study as part of its need-based financial aid program. Each February, the College sets its tuition costs and publishes its own Financial Aid Form (which can be found on our website). At that time, students who have applied for the upcoming fall semester may fill in the financial aid form to determine how much a student can get in loans, grants, or scholarship.

Tuition and Fees 2013-14
Tuition	$22,050
Room and Board	$8,280
Required Fees	$670
TOTAL for academic year	$31,000

You are right in saying that Christendom does not accept any sort of Federal funding but this does NOT mean that we do not offer any financial aid to our students. What this means is that the money that we offer to our students in the form of loans, grants, or academic scholarship, comes from us, due to the generosity of our many donors, rather than from the government and the tax payers. While we accept no direct federal aid, nor participate in indirect programs of federal aid such as the Student Guaranteed Loan, we maintain a robust financial assistance program that matches and mirrors support received through federal aid programs. 

We have a strong commitment to providing a comprehensive Financial Aid Program for our students.  We offer financial assistance through our need-based aid and merit-based academic scholarships. Need-based aid consists of loans and grants while merit-based scholarships are granted automatically upon acceptance, and are based on your SAT or ACT score.  All students are also able to apply for on-campus student employment, regardless of their financial situation. We currently have approximately 150 on-campus jobs for our students.

Financing a college education can be a huge challenge and fiscal undertaking. Our Financial Aid Office is ready to work with you as you consider your college education financing options.  Please, do not hesitate to contact us. Ms. Alisa Polk is the Financial Aid Officer in charge of the office and she has been working in that office since I was a freshman at Christendom back in 1986! I always tell everyone, if she doesn't know the answer to your financial aid question, there is no answerJ You will always talk to a person when you call our Financial Aid office and will not have to jump through a lot of hoops as you might with government/Federal funding. Our process is simple and your answer comes in easy to understand language. 

Christendom's financial aid is given to help defray all or some part of the cost of tuition.  Outside loan programs are available as well to help Christendom students defray the cost of room and board, fees, books, and living expenses not covered by our Financial Aid Program.

Students wishing to request need-based financial aid from the College need to fill out the College's unique Financial Aid Application form (found HERE) and not the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form.  However, if you are completing a FAFSA for other colleges, much of the FAFSA information is easily transferable to Christendom's Financial Aid Application form.  Remember, Ms. Polk in the Financial Aid Office can assist you with any questions you might have about our Financial Aid Application (apolk@christendom.edu).

 

This is one of the most commonly asked questions.  I certainly understand why it is so frequently asked and I think it is an important one to talk about. Christendom’s tuition, fees, and room/board costs have been set for the 2011-12 year as follows: Tuition = $19,884, Room and Board = $7656, and Fees = $580, Total = $28,120. Now before you begin to freak out, let’s compare some numbers.

The University of Notre Dame costs @$50,790, Villanova @$51,300, Fordham @$50,545, The University of Dallas @$38,651, and Thomas Aquinas College @$30,400. Christendom’s total cost of $28,120 is one of the lowest of any private, Catholic institutions of higher learning in the US today.

Additionally, Christendom (although we do not accept Federal loans, grants, subsidies, or aid of any kind) does offer its own well-funded financial aid fund from which students are given loans, grants, and academic scholarships. We have our own Financial Aid Form which mirrors the FAFSA form, and from the information provided, we give out loans and grants to students to help cover costs of tuition. The average financial aid package is around $13,500 a year.

Our academic scholarships are based on SAT or ACT scores, and if someone gets a 1920 (SAT) or 29 (ACT), they automatically receive 4-year scholarships of at least $22,960. People can re-take these tests as many times as they wish, and whatever the final score is the day the student arrives as a freshman, we go with for the scholarship amount.

Students are given the opportunity to work on campus, as well. If a student gets an on-campus job, they can expect to make close to $1000 a semester. They work in the library, kitchen, administrative offices, maintenance, chapel, and elsewhere.

Also, something we offer which I believe is unique is our sibling discount. If two siblings attend at the same time, the second sibling receives 25% off tuition. If there are three siblings attending at the same time, the 3rd one receives 50% off tuition.

And lastly, if someone who has received loans from Christendom chooses to join a religious order which takes a vow of poverty, Christendom erases the total amount of the loan.

So, hopefully you can see that although the initial “sticker price” of a Christendom education may seem a bit steep, we have many ways to lessen the costs. The Class of 2009 had an average indebtedness of only $24,000 after four years. Again, although this may seem like a lot of money, compared to national figures, it is right around the average for a private institution. According to The College Board's "Trends in Student Aid 2010" report, the average student debt for 2009 graduates of four-year, private colleges was $26,100. And the Christendom students would have been given that loan of $24,000 interest and payment free for the entire four years they attended, as well as given one full grace year of not having to pay anything on the loan and the loan would not accrue interest during that grace year.

If you have further questions about affording a Christendom education, I refer you to our financial aid page or recommend that you contact Ms. Alisa Polk in our Financial Aid Office (apolk@christendom.edu).