While some federal funds, such as Pell Grant and Direct Loan, are generally available year round, there are other funds which are awarded on a first-come first-served basis. It is therefore recommended that you file your FAFSA as soon as your federal income tax forms (and your spouse's or parent's) are completed.

Ferris State University students who have been admitted and have a completed FAFSA on file with our office by March 1st, will be considered for the best possible aid package.  It is therefore recommended you file as soon as possible after January 1.  For example, if you are applying for financial aid for the Fall 2007-2008 semesters, you would complete a FAFSA as soon as your 2006 Federal 1040 tax forms were complete. The 2007-2008 FAFSA would cover the time period of Fall 2007 through Summer 2008.

The primary responsibility for paying for your educational expenses rests with you and your family. Financial aid programs are intended to assist students and families with their college costs.

The following calculation determines what types of financial aid students are eligible to receive:

In general, the higher your financial need, the greater your eligibility for gift aid, which is money that you do not have to pay back, or other need based aid. Even if you have no financial need, you are still able to receive non-need based aid, such as certain scholarships or Unsubsidized Direct Loans.

Thirty percent of all the Free Applications for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) that are submitted to the federal processor are randomly selected for a process called verification. Initial notification of verification will be on your Student Aid Report (SAR.) You will be instructed by Ferris State University on what you need to supply for documentation. Generally, this consists of a verification worksheet and submission of Federal 1040 tax forms.

Sometimes through the verification process, corrections must be submitted to the federal processor. The corrections must be completed by the priority awarding deadline (at Ferris State University, it is March 1st) for students to be considered for the best financial aid package. Any delay in submitting the verification documents could result in a reduced financial aid award.

Per federal regulations in filling out a FAFSA, you are dependent upon your parents until the age of 24. You must therefore use your parents' information on your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) unless you meet one of the seven requirements listed below. Even if your parents do not claim you on their income taxes or you do not live in their home, you are considered dependent for the purposes of financial aid. 

The seven requirements are as follows:

The financial aid you receive for summer semester is based on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) you filed for the previous academic year (i.e. 2008 summer semester financial aid is based on the 2007-2008 FAFSA.)

You are allotted a specific amount of financial aid per academic year. The amount of loan and grant monies you were awarded during the fall and spring semesters will affect eligibility for summer semester and a separate summer application needs to be completed.

This application is available February 1st for the following summer semester.

FILE EARLY!!! There are many benefits for filing early.  Extra grant money and Perkins Loans are available for early filers. Filing early may also qualify you for state-sponsored scholarships. Your application must be complete in our system by March 1st to be given priority consideration. We strongly recommend that you file your FAFSA on-line at www.fafsa.ed.gov. To obtain a PIN number for an electronic signature for both parent(s) and student go to www.pin.ed.gov. Filing on-line reduces processing time from approximately 6 weeks to less than 10 days.

An award notice is your notification of your financial aid package form Ferris State University. Students will be notified by when an award notice has been created or revised. Upon request, a paper award notice will be sent by mail.

Your award notice will provide you with the average cost of attendance at Ferris, including room and board, books, tuition and personal expenses. Your actual expenses may vary according to your personal needs and choices.

The term "financial aid" refers to loans, grants, work-study and scholarship funds. Your award notice will inform you of the type(s) and amount(s) of financial aid you are being offered at FSU for the semester(s) designated.

Financial aid awards may change for many different reasons. For instance, we may be notified of scholarship awards after your initial award; or you may change your enrollment status from full-time to half-time. Every time a change to your financial aid award is processed you will be notified of the change with a new award notice. Each award notice supercedes the previous award.

It is important that you complete and return every award notice by the date specified on it. Failure to do so could result in a loss of financial aid.

A student budget is the average cost of attendance which includes the following expenses: tuition/fees, room and board, books, travel, loan fees, and miscellaneous expenses. The budget can also include program-specific tool costs identified by the different colleges, and day care expenses for dependents of independent students. A student can never receive more financial aid than the student budget.

The Department of Education recognizes that students and families may experience a significant change in their financial situation after they have applied for financial aid. Examples of these changes are: loss of employment or benefits, death of a wage earner, or divorce of the student or parents. If you have experienced a significant change in your financial situation, you need to contact the financial aid office. You will be asked to complete a form called a Request for Special Consideration, where you explain your situation, and you will be asked to provide documentation confirming your situation. The financial aid office will review your file to see if you are eligible for any additional financial aid.

Every student should file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) each year they attend college. Not only will this make you eligible for the federal programs that are available, it can also make you eligible for state and institutional programs.

Yes, it is important to file your FAFSA as soon as possible in the new year since this is the information used to award financial aid. DO NOT DELAY completing the FAFSA. You can submit the FAFSA using estimations of your tax figures, then correcting the FAFSA if necessary once you have the actual figures.

What is Ferris' School Code ?

Ferris' school IV code is 002260. By putting this code on your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), Ferris State University will receive your information electronically from the federal processor.

The Student Aid Report (SAR) is a summary of the information that you provided on your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). If all the information is correct, you retain the SAR for your files. If corrections need to be made, you can either make the corrections electronically at the FAFSA website or bring the corrected and signed SAR to the financial aid office.

You will be notified on your Student Aid Report (SAR) whether or not you are eligible for a Federal Pell Grant. If you are not eligible for the Federal Pell Grant, you may still be able to receive other types of financial aid consisting of grants, loans, scholarships and student employment.

Entrance counseling is for all students who are borrowing funds for the first time through the William D. Ford Direct Loan program.  Entrance counseling is a tool used to counsel students on the types of funds they are borrowing, the amount of money they can borrow, interest rates, repayment terms and debt consolidation. You may complete your entrance counseling either at FLITE Library, or by going to our Loan Counseling page.

There are alternative loans available to students and/or parents, which can help bridge the gap between college costs and traditional financial aid resources (e.g. scholarships, grants, federal student loans). To learn more about these loan programs, click here

If you are below full-time status at the time your financial aid applies to your student account, your grants will be reduced. Depending on when you withdraw from a class, a number of changes could occur. For specific information contact the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid. It is very important that you are complying with the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy that Ferris State University's financial aid office has in effect.

No, once you file your financial aid for that current academic year you can not update your status because of marriage. When you apply for financial aid for subsequent years, you will complete your application as an independent student.

Yes, you will need to submit a statement of your new household size along with a copy of your child's birth certificate to the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid.

Financial aid awards are based upon full-time enrollment (12 or more credit hours). If you enroll less than full-time, certain grant funds (Pell, SEOG, MEOG, Ferris grant and Michigan Competitive Scholarship) will be generally reduced as follows:

Other financial aid funds such as TIP, Health Professions Loans, selected tuition waivers, and scholarships may also be reduced if you are enrolled less than full-time. You will be sent a new award notice with the details of any adjustments made to your financial aid.

In most cases, if you are enrolled less than half-time, you will not be eligible for financial aid. Undergraduate half-time credit load is six credits and graduate half-time credit load is five credits.

A promissory note is a binding, legal contract between you and the party who is lending you money. By signing the promissory note you are agreeing to the terms and conditions of the loan and promising to repay the loan. Make sure you read the loan agreement and understand the terms and conditions prior to signing the promissory note.