Steps to Receive Financial Aid
1. Obtain your Federal PIN...
All new students and parents of dependent students should
request a Personal Identification Number (PIN) online
at pin.ed.gov. Your PIN remains the same from year to year,
so keep it in a safe place and never give it to anyone. Individual PINs make it possible for the online
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
to be signed electronically making the application process faster and simpler. If you do not remember your
Federal PIN -
Request a Duplicate PIN for immediate display.
2. *Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid at FAFSA.gov.
To be considered for the following financial aid programs a student must
complete the FAFSA.
- Grants:
- PELL
- SEOG
- TEACH
- Loans
- Federal Direct Loans - Subsidized and Unsubsidized
- Federal Perkins Loan
- Parent Loan for Undergraduate
- Graduate PLUS Loans
- Federal Work Study
- On and Off campus jobs
- Special Nonresident Tuition Waiver (SNRW)
*List of items needed to complete the FAFSA
Can I be considered independent?
3. FAFSA Follow-up
If you provide your e-mail address on the FAFSA, you will receive an e-mail linked to your processed FAFSA information on the web in approximately 2-4 weeks. Otherwise, your Student Aid Report (SAR) will arrive in the mail in 6-8 weeks. Carefully review this application information and make correction as indicated below.
...Be Admitted to Idaho State University
You must be completely admitted to Idaho State University, before we can begin processing your application. Work with the Admissions Office at (208) 282-2475 for assistance. Shortly after being admitted by the Admission Office, you will have access to BengalWeb.
...Corrections to the FAFSA:
- If our Financial Aid Office has not yet received your FAFSA (or SAR) electronically you may make correction using your federal PIN at FAFSA.gov.
- Once the FAFSA has been received by ISU (and you are admitted to the University), you must work with our office to make corrections.
- One exception is when the student incorrectly answered the Dependency question of the FAFSA stating they were under legal guardianship when they are not really in legal guardianship. The student should go to FAFSA.gov to "Make a Correction" and add the parent information. Once this has been completed the student should contact our office to notify us that they have corrected their FAFSA.
- Another exception is when the IRS Data Retrieval Tool was not used to enter the financial information into the FAFSA. The student should go to FAFSA.gov to "Make a Correction", navigate to the income section and follow instruction to determine eligibility for IRS Data Retrieval tool. Choose to have IRS Data copied into your FAFSA and submit.
4. Respond Promptly
Read all communications received from the Financial Aid Office and provide any Requested Documentation promptly. You will be alerted to these requests via e-mail (for all students for whom the University has a valid e-mail address). Once a student is admitted to ISU they are given an ISU e-mail account which we use to communicate with you. Student are instructed to go to BengalWeb on the "Finances" tab (under Financial Aid Requirements for the appropriate year). Respond promptly to any additional request for information from the ISU Office of Financial Aid. Your award cannot be determined until all required documents have been submitted. Check your status often on BengalWeb.
5. Review Your Award
Once the award is made, the student will need to access BengalWeb "Finances" tab each year to actively accept their financial aid award. Notification of award will be sent by e-mail. (Once you have been admitted to Idaho State University you are given a Google e-mail account.) The award on BengalWeb will indicate the types and amounts of aid the student is eligible to receive. Review the award carefully.
To accept and authorize your financial aid, go to the My Financial Aid channel on the Finance tab of BengalWeb. Click on "Accept Financial Aid Awards" link and follow the instructions there to complete the steps.
Note: Most loans are offered as an academic year loan with the amounts "accepted" split evenly between fall and spring. Determine the amount of loan accepted in BengalWeb with this in mind.
Additional Instructions for processing Financial Aid on BengalWeb
If you are a first time Direct Loan Borrower at ISU, you will need to complete:
- Entrance Counseling at StudentLoans.gov and
- Master Promissory Note (MPN) at StudentLoans.gov
The MPN is a promissory note that can be used to make one or more loans for one or more academic
years (up to 10 years).
This is different from the PLUS Loans. Graduate PLUS MPN and the
PLUS Loan Application must be submitted yearly with a
credit check processed each year.
If you are receiving a Perkins Loan additional information will be sent to you by the Financial Services Office or call 282-2292
6. Pay Fees/Refund Checks...
Once a student is awarded, they must access BengalWeb to actively select disbursement options.
All federal aid eligibility criteria must be met for your financial aid to be credited to your student account. The earliest your aid can be credited toward your student fees is ten days prior to your first day of class (five days prior to summer classes). Refunds will be disbursed either by direct deposit to a bank of your choice or by check mailed to your mailing address as reported on BengalWeb. These funds are disbursed by the Financial Services Office at 282-3000. For additional instructions see Fee Payment and User's Guide to BengalWeb for Fee Payment.
Note: Repayment of Student Aid Funds
Question about Fee Charges should be directed to the Office of Finance and Administration. Call 282-2900 or stop in at the Cashier's Office in Administration Building #10 - Main Floor.