Steps to Apply for Financial Aid
1. Obtain your Federal PIN....
All new students and parents of dependent students should request a Personal Identification Number (PIN) online at www.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 (FAFSA) to be considered for the following financial aid programs:
- Grants:
- Pell
- SEOG
- LEAP, SLEAP
- SMART
- TEACH
- Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG)
- 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)
*Items needed to complete the FAFSA
Can I be considered independent?
3. FAFSA Follow-up:
If you provide your email address on the FAFSA, you'll receive an email link to your processed FAFSA information on the web in approximately 2-4 weeks. Otherwise, your Student Aid report will arrive in the mail in 6-8 weeks. Review carefully. Corrections may be made using your PIN at www.fafsa.ed.gov
4. Respond Promptly
Read all communications received from the Financial Aid Office and provide any requested documentation. These communication will be via email with all student for whom the University has a valid email address. E-mails can be updated through the student's MyISU.
Respond promptly to any additional request for information from the ISU Office of Financial Aid.
5. Review Your Award Letter
Review your Award Letter when sent to you by email or by postal mail if no email address is available. It will indicate the types and amounts of aid you are eligible to receive. Review your awards. There is no need to manually "accept" your award as it is assumed "accepted". You will only need to decline/lower awards (loans) you do not want as indicated in your award letter.
If you are a first time Direct Loan borrower at ISU, you will need to complete:
- Entrance Counseling at www.dl.ed.gov and a
- Master Promissory Note (MPN) at http://dlenote.ed.gov.
- First time Graduate PLUS Loan borrowers at ISU will also need to complete the Graduate PLUS MPN.
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.)
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....
Finalize fee payment by signing your TranPay and returning it to the Financial Services Office prior to each semester.
- If you sign a TranPay by the Financial Services priority deadline - change checks are mail 10 day prior to the first day of class for fall and spring semesters (5 days prior for summer semester).
- Or you may attend In-Person Registration and Fee payment to sign a TranPay and receive your change check. Contact Financial Services for these dates (282-2511).
All Financial aid awards, except Work Study, are applied to your university account.
You will get your money if ALL of the following are true...
- You completed a FAFSA for the same year you are applying for funds and determined eligible
- You have no outstanding document requests* or "Holds" on your account
- Before aid is disbursed students with Satisfactory Academic Progress Holds must have their prior semester academic records reviewed.
- If you are accepting loans for first time at ISU, you must complete Online Loan Entrance Counseling session and loan Master Promissory Note for the Direct Loans .
- You have completed a Perkins Promissory Note and questionnaire if you were awarded and are accepting a Perkins Loan. You must also be in 6 credits to receive Perkins.
- You have been officially admitted to the university.
- You are registered for enough credits for the type of aid you will be receiving
and are determined eligible for.
- At least half-time enrollment for Direct Student Loans
- 6 or more credits for undergraduate and applied technology students
- 5 or more graduate credits for graduate students
- 12 or more credits to receive the full amount of Pell Grants
you qualify for
- Pell Grants are reduced when you are enrolled in fewer than 12 credits
- At least 12 credit for disbursement of ACG and SMART Grants and still in eligible degree.
- At least half-time enrollment for Direct Student Loans
*It takes some time to process the FAFSA information received from the government. Please watch your e-mail for additional documentation needed for the Financial Aid Office to award you. If you do not have an email the request will be sent to you through postal mail.
What you will need to complete the 2009/2010 FAFSA....
For the 2009-2010 school year you will need financial information from 2008. You will need to refer to:
- ISU School Code 001620 (All ISU locations use this number)
- Your Social Security card
- Driver's license
- If dependent, Social Security numbers and dates of birth for parent(s) providing income information on your FAFSA.
- W-2 Forms and records of money earned in prior year
- You (and your spouse's, if you are married) 2008 Federal Income Tax Return with schedules.
- IRS Form 1040, 1040A, 1040EZ or 1040 TeleFile
- Foreign Tax Return, or
- Tax Return for Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Marshall Islands, the Federal States of Micronesia, or Palau
- Your Parents' 2008 Federal Income Tax Return (if you are a dependent student)
- Your 2008 untaxed income records
- Child support received
- Worker's compensation
- Your current bank statements
- Your current business and investment mortgage information, business and farm records, stock, bond and other investment records
- Your alien registration or permanent resident card (if you are not a U.S. Citizen)
Dependency Questions
These questions appear in Step 2 of the online application for
FAFSA on the Web or in Step Three of the PDF or paper FAFSA.
Purpose: These questions are used to determine, according to law, whether you are a dependent or an independent student for purposes of calculating an EFC. If you answer "No" to all of these questions, you are a dependent student, even if you do not live with your parents. On a case-by-case basis, a financial aid administrator (FAA) may make an otherwise dependent student independent if he or she can document in the student's file that the student's individual circumstances warrant the decision. The reason must relate to that individual student and not to an entire class of students. The FAA's decision is final and cannot be appealed to the U.S. Department of Education.
2009-2010 - Review Dependency Questions 48-60 of the FAFSA
Need help? FAFSA Application assistance is available
in the
Financial Aid Office Computer Lab.