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Types of Student Financial Aid

The most common forms of student aid are:

Scholarships (do not need to be repaid)

• Monetary awards available from the university or through external sources.
• Determined by academic achievement and/or financial need
• Applied directly to your college costs

Grants (do not need to be repaid)

• Tuition assistance awards available from the federal or state government or the university
• Determined by financial need

Loans - Students are eligible to apply for a number of loan programs to help finance their education. These include:

• Federal Perkins Loans: These very limited loans are awarded through the university at an interest rate of 5 percent. Repayment begins nine months after graduation or when the student drops below half-time status. Applications are available in the Office of Financial Aid.
• William Ford Direct Staffard Student Loans: Students must meet general guidelines for eligibility for federal aid, and must be enrolled at least half time. For loans disbursed after July 1, 2006, the interest rate is 6.8%. Interest is charged at all times on unsubsidized Stafford loans, but payments can be deferred until six months following the time the student graduates, withdraws, or drops below half time status.
• Federal Parent Loans for Undergraduate Student (PLUS): The PLUS program provides an opportunity for parents of dependent undergraduate students to borrow from their banks or lending institutions. The interest rate for a PLUS loan is 8.5% and repayment generally begins within 60 days of disbursement of the full loan.

College Work-Study

• Part-time employment on campus
• Determined by financial need

Scholarships

IU Northwest awards scholarships that are funded by private donors, business and industry, and friends and alumni of Indiana University. Recipients are selected based on a variety of criteria, including academic performance and financial need. A complete list of IU Northwest scholarships is available online.

FastWEB is the largest and most complete scholarship search on the Internet. It provides access to a searchable database of more than 600,000 private sector scholarships, fellowships, grants, and student loans.

Grants

Need-based Federal and State Grants

• Federal Pell Grants provide financial assistance to full- and part-time undergraduate students who attend post secondary educational institutions. Students may apply for the Federal Pell Grant by submitting the FAFSA.
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants assist students with high need who also qualify for Pell Grants.
• Indiana Higher Education Awards for Indiana residents are determined by the State Student Assistance Commission of Indiana (SSACI) and are based upon financial need. Students must submit the FAFSA by March 1.

State Student Assistance Commission of Indiana

Frank O’Bannon Higher Education Award

For students who may be eligible for the full time Frank O’Bannon Higher Education Award (formerly SSACI Higher Education Award), financial aid notification letters will contain an estimate of an award based on full time enrollment of 12 credit hours for both the fall and spring semesters. This award will show as anticipated financial aid on their Bursar account. Students must be full time at the end of the tuition refund period (normally the end of the fourth week of each semester) in order to receive a Frank O’Bannon Higher Education Award. Therefore, if students are enrolled less than 12 credit hours for either semester, their award will be cancelled, and will be excluded from their financial aid package. In that case, the student is responsible for full payment of their Bursar account. These awards are not available during the summer.

Part Time SSACI Higher Education Awards

SSACI has established a program that helps degree-seeking part-time students who have demonstrated a commitment to pursuing a higher education at Indiana public or independent colleges.

This program is designed to encourage part-time undergraduates to start and complete their Associate or Baccalaureate degrees by subsidizing part-time tuition costs. It is a term-based award unlike those of Frank O'Bannon Grant (formerly the Indiana Higher Education Grant) Programs. It is specifically designed to help those undergraduates who are taking at least 3 but less than 12 credit hours per term at an eligible institution. The students must meet State residency requirements, have filed a FAFSA and otherwise qualify for State aid. The part-time grant is a need-based award. The minimum award is $50 per term. Program eligibility is determined at the institutional level subject to approval by SSACI. First priority for the award is given to students meeting certain income guidelines.

Although the award can be granted for all terms in an academic year, it is calculated and awarded on a term by term basis for fall and spring semesters. Institutions are allocated a fixed amount of money to award each year. Eligibility is calculated after the end of tuition refund period, four weeks after the semester begins. Because this award is not calculated until the end of the tuition refund period, the part time HEA will not be reflected in your award notification or show as anticipated aid on your Bursar account.

Students who qualify for a full time Frank O’Bannon Higher Education Award, but who are enrolled for less than full time by the end of the tuition refund period (normally the end of the fourth week of the semester) may not meet the eligibility criteria for part time SSACI Higher education awards. Additionally, funds are limited in the part time SSACI award program, and even though a student may be eligible, funds may have been exhausted.

Child of Veteran and Public Safety Officer Supplemental Grant Program

The CVO Program-provides tuition and fee assistance at public colleges for eligible children of disabled Indiana veterans and eligible children and spouses of certain Indiana Public Safety Officers killed in the line of duty. As a supplement to other state financial aid, the grant pays 100% of tuition and program related mandatory fees; it does not cover other fees such as room and board.

Students who might be covered under the veterans' portion of the program are:

• Certain graduates of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Children's Home
• Children of Purple Heart recipient or wounded veteran
• Children of deceased or disabled veteran
• Children of POW/MIA from Vietnam War

This benefit reduces the amount of tuition that state supported institutions charge eligible students. The reduction of tuition can be used for a maximum of 124 credit hours. Apply for the Child of Veteran Grant or the Indiana Public Safety Officers Grant by downloading and completing the application. To be eligible, an applicant must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress, and each year for which the student wishes to receive benefits, file a FAFSA. The FAFSA filing must result in an “official” report, and all discrepancies must be resolved before the CVO award can be approved.