Financial Aid Offer Notice Frequently Asked Questions

First, log into your Campus Connection account and review your financial aid offer. Any aid in "offered" status must be accepted or declined. Instructions on how to accept, decline or change your aid.

After you have accepted your aid, you should determine your direct costs to attend NDSU and whether you have enough aid to cover those costs by completing the Budget Calculator Worksheet. This helpful tool has direct links to detailed tuition and fees, housing costs, as well as other costs associated with attendance.

If federal financial aid does not cover all of your costs to attend NDSU, you may want to consider borrowing a private student loan. Private student loans are non-federal, interest-bearing loans through private lenders. Approval is not guaranteed and the student usually requires a co-signer with good credit. There are a variety of private student loans available and it's up to the student and co- signer to choose the one that is right for them.

FASTChoice an online comparison tool customized for NDSU and designed to assist you in choosing the private student loan that best meets your needs. Please keep in mind that not all lenders are listed on FASTChoice. More information on private student loans and to access the FASTChoice.

You may also want to visit the NDSU Online Job Boards for information regarding employment opportunities in the Fargo-Moorhead area. For more information on employment click here.

Note: If you advance a grade level at the end of a semester, notify the Financial Aid and Scholarship office, as you may be eligible for an increase in your Federal Direct Loan.

Review the Special Circumstance information to determine whether any of the categories pertain to your situation. If so, complete and submit the online DocuSign form along with any supporting documentation required. No action will be taken on requests that do not have the appropriate supporting documents. 

Yes. It is your responsibility to notify the Financial Aid and Scholarships office of any scholarships and/or resources not listed on your Offer Notice. Prompt notification is important since we may need to adjust the aid you were previously awarded. If an over award does result, you will be responsible for repaying the amount that exceeds your need. You may report additional financial aid resources by doing the following:

1. Log in to Campus Connection
   • If you do not know your User ID or Password, call the NDUS Help Desk at 1-866-457-6387, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
2. From the Student Homepage, click the Student Self Service tile.
3. Click Report Other Financial Aid under Financial Aid
4. Select the Aid Year
5. Include the following information:
   • Award - Other
   • Type (Fellowship, Grant, Loan, or Scholarship)
   • Description: Who will the money be coming from for example: Dollars for Scholars, Smith Family Foundation, etc.
   • Amount
6. If reporting more than one award click Add Another Award and provide the necessary information
7. Click Save

Yes. The University reserves the right to make adjustments to your financial aid at any time, based on additional information which may become available. This includes (but is not limited to):

• scholarships
• research fellowships
• residence hall room and board waivers
• vocational rehabilitation
• tuition waivers
• ROTC (Army/Air Force) scholarship
• WIA or Job Opportunities and Basic Skills training program (JOBS)
• changes resulting from verification
• change in enrollment status (to less than full time)

The Family Education Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA) does not permit Financial Aid and Scholarships to release restricted information to a student's parent/guardian (or spouse, if married) unless the student completes an FERPA Consent to Release Form specifying the name(s) of persons to whom the staff may release the information. This form is requires the use of your NDSU Username and Password.

No. The amount of your Federal Pell Grant is determined by Pell Grant Enrollment Intensity which is the percentage of full-time enrollment at which at student is registered for as of a certain date each semester (financial aid census date).

For a list of Financial Aid Census dates for each semester visit the Dates and Deadlines page. Wait list classes are NOT counted as registered credits. Federal regulation does not permit exceptions.

Verification is the process of checking the accuracy of the information you reported on your FAFSA. Approximately 30 percent of all applicants are selected for verification, either by the Federal Processor or by NDSU. If selected, you will be notified and provided with a list of the necessary forms that must be submitted. More information on the verification process.

Note: Your financial aid will NOT apply to your student account until you complete the Verification process.

Yes. Delays will occur if:

• the verification process has not been completed.
• no Loan Agreement/Master Promissory Note (MPN), Loan Entrance Counseling or Annual Student Loan Acknowledgment is completed for first-time borrowers of Federal Direct Loans. More information on how to complete your Loan Agreement/Master Promissory Note (MPN), Loan Entrance Counseling, and/or Annual Student Loan Acknowledgment.

No. You must be a North Dakota resident to receive a North Dakota State Grant and be a graduate of a North Dakota High School or have a valid North Dakota Home School Certificate. More information on the North Dakota State Grant.

All student accounts are due by the date published on the Dates and Deadlines webpage.

Yes. NDSU does offer the Automated Clearing House (ACH) option. If you would like to have your excess financial aid directly deposited into your checking or savings account, you will need to complete a Direct Deposit Authorization form and return it to One Stop.

Federal Direct PLUS Loan funds will credit directly to the student's account and any excess funds can be sent to either the parent or the student, per the parents request during the application process. More information regarding Federal Student Loans.

Yes. All students, whether or not they receive financial aid, are required to earn a minimum 2.0 term and 2.0 cumulative GPA and complete two-thirds (67%**) of their attempted credits. More information on Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress.

**Successful completion is rounded up to the nearest tenth. For example, 66.666% DOES meet the 67% requirement.

NOTE: The dates listed in the Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress policy are different from the Office of Registration and Record's last date to drop classes.

Students who are enrolled for summer classes and have a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on file at NDSU for the current academic year will be evaluated for eligibility and financial aid offers will be emailed mid-April. No separate financial aid application is required.

A variety of funding options are available for students for the summer session.

Federal Pell Grant: Summer grant eligibility is based on your enrollment for summer semester, like it is during the fall and spring semesters.

Federal Direct Loans: The combined totals of your academic year (fall & spring semesters) plus your summer loan amounts cannot exceed:

For example, if you are a junior or senior and you borrowed the maximum annual loan of $7,500 during the academic year, you will not be eligible to borrow more Direct Loans for summer school. But, if your academic year loan was for $5,000 you would be eligible to borrow $2,500 for summer school ($5,000 + $2,500 = $7,500). However, if you are an independent student (per financial aid requirements), you may be eligible for an additional Unsubsidized Direct Loan (see Federal Student Loans.)

Private Student Loans: If federal aid, along with scholarships, tuition waivers and personal savings is not enough to cover your educational expenses, you may wish to consider borrowing an private student loan. More information should help you decide whether a private student loan is right for you.

Scholarships are available from a variety of sources, therefore, students need to be resourceful and initiate the process early each year. Typically, scholarship recipients are selected in the spring of the year (February through May) for the upcoming school year. This means that students need to begin applying in early December for scholarships awarded for the upcoming school year. More information regarding scholarships.

Financial Aid and Scholarships sends an email to the NDSU email account for all students who are on warning or disqualification. This is done just after grades are posted each term. In addition, students can check their status on Campus Connection by clicking the Tasks tile and viewing the To Do List. If you are on financial aid warning or disqualification, it will be noted there.

Ultimately, the responsibility of knowing what the satisfactory academic progress requirements are rests with each NDSU student. If you are not sure if you are on warning/disqualification, you should check Campus Connection or contact Financial Aid and Scholarships. We also encourage you to read the SAP Policy each semester.