Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I apply for financial aid?
- Should I pay someone to help me to complete the
FAFSA?
- Why am I considered Dependent? I don't live
with my parents and they don't claim me as a tax exemption. Why do I have to
include their information on the FAFSA?
- My parents are divorced. Whose income do I put on
the FAFSA?
- What is the income limit to qualify for financial
aid?
- How long does it take after I submit the FAFSA?
- How do I use BroncoWeb to view my financial
aid information?
- How do I find out if I have been awarded
financial aid?
- How many credits are
required for financial aid?
- I have a work-study award.
What is "work-study?" How do I find a
job?
- My income is a lot less than when I
submitted the FAFSA. Is there anything I can do to update the information?
- Why are you asking for tax
information? I already entered it on the FAFSA.
- What do I need to do to allow my
spouse/parents access to information on my financial aid?
- How do I get my money?
- I had a student loan that I was repaying
but have now decided to return to college. Where do I take my loan deferment
form?
- How often do I need to apply for
financial aid?
- How many credits must I
enroll in to be eligible for financial aid?
- Why is my Pell Grant
reduced even when I am billed the full amount of student fees?
-
I have a Financial Aid Hold on my
record for Satisfactory Academic Progress and I don't understand what I should
do now. Where can I get some answers?
You must first be admitted to Boise State University. Work directly with the
Admissions
Office to apply to Boise State.
Next, complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).
FAFSA on the Web is the preferred
application. All the submitted data will be analyzed by the federal process and
then electronically transmitted to Boise State. This one application is utilized
to determine your eligibility for grants, most scholarships, work-study jobs,
and loans.
NO! Save your money for school! You (and your family if you are dependent)
know your family situation best. Gather your federal tax returns and W2s for the
previous year, obtain the balances of savings and checking accounts, and
determine the value of investments and business. You are now ready to complete
the FAFSA. The application will direct you to the specific line numbers on your
tax return or W2s for income questions. It is acceptable to estimate your income
on the FAFSA if you have not yet filed your taxes. If you estimate your income,
you need to return to your FAFSA to make corrections once your taxes are
complete.
Independent/Dependent status is determined by the answers to questions in
Step 3 on the FAFSA. If you cannot answer "yes" to any of the questions, your
parents' data is required. Financial aid comes from federal funds, with the
premise being that it is the responsibility of the family to contribute to
educational costs to the extent possible.
You must use marital status at the time of filing the FAFSA even if you plan
to marry during the academic year. Marital status cannot be corrected later.
If extreme circumstances have created an irreparable rift between you and
your parents that can be documented by professionals, you may submit a
Petition for Dependency Override.
Use the income of the parent with whom you lived more during the last 12
months. (If you did not live with one parent more than the other, use income of
the parent who provided more financial support during the last 12 months or
during the most recent year that you actually received support from a parent.)
If this parent is remarried, include the income of the stepparent.
There is no specific income limit. A complicated formula is used to look at
income, number of people in the household and in college, age of the eldest
parent, investments, cash, savings, checking -- even the state of legal
residence! You provide this information on the FAFSA application and the result is the EFC (Expected Family Contribution) which is used to
determine the family's ability to pay for educational costs.
Boise State will receive the
online FAFSA approximately 10 days from the date you sign and submit it. Then, the Financial
Aid Office will check your academic progress and enrollment status, number of
credits in which you are enrolled, grade level and verification if required. It
is difficult to give a timeline since it depends on the time of year and volume
of applicants. When everything is in order, you will be awarded financial aid.
The time frame for awarding depends on whether or not you need to submit
documents to our office and how quickly you respond to such requests.
Once you have successfully logged into BroncoWeb, you will be able to view
any "Holds" on your records (including financial aid holds), "To Do Items" and
your financial aid award. The "Holds" and "To Do Items" appear on the first
screen that is visible. This is also where you can change your mailing address
and telephone numbers. To view your financial aid award, click on the Financial
Aid button . Then click "View My Financial Aid" or "Accept/Decline
Aid."
Next, click on "2007" to see aid for the 2006-2007 academic year. This
is where you will see the amount of aid that has been "Offered," "Accepted" and
"Disbursed."
This video provides instructions on how to
Accept/Adjust/Decline your aid. (5 minutes)
You will be sent an award notice to your
Boise State BroncoMail account. The amount of your
financial aid award is also visible on BroncoWeb. You can speed up your
financial aid disbursement by closely watching for your award on BroncoWeb. When
you see you have been awarded, use the "Accept and Decline Aid" link to accept
the aid you wish to receive. No written notices are sent to your mailing
address. If you wish, you may view a
5-minute online video on how to accept or
adjust your aid.
The number of credits you need to enroll in depends on the
types of aid offered to you and what you have accepted and whether you are a graduate student or
undergraduate/applied technology student.
|
|
Undergrad/Applied Tech |
Graduate Student |
|
Pell Grant
|
1 – 12 or more |
Not applicable |
|
ACG & SMART grants |
12 credits |
Not Applicable |
|
Idaho Promise
|
12 credits |
Not Applicable |
|
Perkins Loan |
12 credits |
9
credits |
|
Ford Direct Loans
|
6 credits minimum |
5
or more graduate credits |
|
Work-study
|
6 credits minimum |
5
or more credits |
|
PLUS Loans
|
6 credits minimum |
5
or more graduate credits |
|
Scholarships
|
Varies by donor |
Varies by donor |
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First you will need to register to view the "BroncoJobs"
web site. Many work-study student employee jobs are listed with
BroncoJobs.
In addition, many departments will post notices indicating that they are hiring
work-study students. Having a work-study award does not guarantee that you will
be offered a job. You will need to actively look and inquire about jobs. The
good news, though, is that many departments are seeking applicants.
More specific
information can be found in the Financial Aid Handbook.
If you have changes in your financial circumstances (i.e. job loss,
loss of child support, death
in the family, divorce, or disability) contact the Financial Aid & Scholarships Office to
see if you are eligible to complete a Special Conditions Form and have your
financial aid need reevaluated. The
Special
Conditions Form is available on line.
Approximately 30% of financial aid applicants at each school are selected
for "verification." At Boise State, predetermined variables are set up
based on the FAFSA questions where there are the highest errors. When data
on a FAFSA shows a high probability of errors, the verification process is
triggered. Staff members will manually compare your FAFSA
data with information on your federal tax return and W2s to ensure the
information is accurate. MANY times, this
kind of review will improve a student's eligibility for desirable aid.
Complete a
Privacy Release
form also known as a "Release of Information" form. You can locate the form
on line under printable forms on the Financial Aid & Scholarships Office. The
form will need to be returned to one of the offices listed on the form:
Admissions, Registrar's Office, Account Maintenance Office, or Financial Aid
Office. This completed form is required before anyone else can get information
regarding your financial aid.
Fees listed on your Boise State student account will be first be paid from
your financial aid. After any unpaid charges are cleared, balance funds will be
available to you. Refund checks are mailed to your mailing address of record on
BroncoWeb unless you make arrangements for refunds to be directly deposited to a
bank account. Direct deposit is HIGHLY recommend because you will likely receive
the money 2-3 days sooner. Make arrangements for Direct Deposit through the
Student Finances section of BroncoWeb. Questions about refunds should be
directed to the Account Maintenance Office, Room 211 in the Administration Building, by email to:
SFInfo@boisestate.edu or you may call 426-2134.
To prove to a lender that you are enrolled more than half
time, from BroncoWeb you will use the "National Clearinghouse" link under the
Registrar's section. From there you can print off
an official certification of enrollment that you attach to your lender's loan
deferment and mail them to your lender. For more instructions and visual
screen prints,
see this "Timely Tip."
How often do I need to apply for
financial aid?
You only complete one FAFSA application for each academic
year. For the upcoming academic year, starting with Fall semester, the best time
to apply is the January and February prior.
There are several factors that determine the number of
credits needed for financial aid eligibility. Those factors include: the type of
aid (such as scholarships, Pell Grants, work-study, Perkins Loans, and student loans) and
enrollment as a graduate student or undergraduate/applied tech student.
- A student needs to be enrolled at least half-time in
order to be eligible for federal Direct Loans and work-study funds. (half-time = 6
credits for undergraduate/applied tech students; and 5 graduate credits for graduate
students)
- Perkins loans require 12
or more credits for undergraduates and applied tech students and 9 or more credits for graduate
students.
- Each scholarship has its own credit load requirement and
a scholarship award letter is the best source for understanding the conditions
for a particular scholarship. The minimum credit load for Boise State
University scholarships is 8 credits per term.
- Pell Grant amounts on award notices represent enrollment
in 12 or more credits. That amount will be reduced each semester if you enroll
in less than 12 credits as of the 10th class day. Staff in the Financial Aid
Office can provide specific amounts upon request.
- ACG and SMART Grants require you to enroll in 12 or more
credits.
In the State of Idaho, students at state universities pay
"Full Fees" when they enroll in 8 or more credits. This is a long-standing
policy of the State Board of Education. The full amount of a federal Pell Grant
is based on "Full Time" enrollment which is 12 or more credits. There is
not a correlation between the costs of tuition/fees and the amount of Pell Grant
received. It is possible to pay the full amount of fees even though a student
receives 50 - 75% of the original Pell Grant amount. This will occur when a Pell
Grant recipient enrolls in 8 - 11 credits for a given term.
I have a Financial Aid
Hold on my record for Satisfactory Academic Progress and I don't understand what
I should do now. Where can I get some answers?
Because there are so many unique situations involving
Satisfactory Academic Progress, you will find another list of Frequently Asked
Questions just on this topic. Check out this web site and link:
http://financialaid.boisestate.edu/SAP_FAQs.htm.
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