The Change of Award form is used to notify the Financial Aid Office if you wish to accept, cancel, or adjust any portion of your financial aid, or if you are changing your housing or enrollment plans. For example, you may choose to borrow more or less in loan funds or change your enrollment status from full-time to part-time. Please keep in mind that adjustments to your enrollment may affect other aid included in your award offer.  

Financial aid is tied to enrollment status. Dropping a class or taking a non-degree applicable course may reduce your status from full time to part time and lead to the cancellation or proration of certain funds. Course Program of Study (CPOS) ensures that the courses you take apply toward your degree and helps you stay on track academically. To learn more about CPOS, please visit Course Program of Study (CPOS).

Switching between on campus living and commuting or vice versa can affect your Cost of Attendance and ultimately your financial aid. To learn more about COA, please visit the Cost of Attendance page. 

If you receive new scholarships, tuition waivers, or any other type of financial resources, we may need to update your aid. Because there’s a limit to how much total aid you can receive, these added funds can cause your existing award to be adjusted.

Your financial aid was adjusted because the Parent PLUS Loan was denied, making you eligible for additional Direct Unsubsidized Loan funding. Acceptance of any offered loan is optional.

Changes to a student's grade level, dependency status, or program type during the academic year may result in adjustments to Direct Loan amounts to align with annual loan limits. 

• Example 1 (Grade Level): If a student earns additional credits during the academic year and advances from first-year student to sophomore standing based on total credits earned, their grade level changes and their Direct Loan eligibility may be adjusted to reflect the new annual loan limits. 

• Example 2 (Undergraduate to Graduate): If a student completes an undergraduate program and begins a graduate program within the same academic year, their program type changes from undergraduate to graduate. As a result, their Direct Loan eligibility may be recalculated using graduate level annual loan limits, and previously awarded loan amounts may be adjusted. Additionally, eligibility for certain grants may change if a student changes from being an undergraduate to a graduate mid-way through the academic year, as some grants are only available for undergraduate students. 

• Example 3 (Dependency Status): When a student's dependency status changes during the academic year—such as becoming independent due to age, marital status, or other qualifying circumstances—the school recalculates the student's Direct Loan eligibility based on the annual loan limits for the new dependency status. 

Your Student Aid Index (SAI) helps determine your eligibility for need based financial aid. SAI is calculated using information reported on your FAFSA, such as your (and, if applicable, your parents' or spouse's) income, assets, household size, and the number of persons in the family size for the award year. If your FAFSA is updated or corrected, your SAI may change, which can result in an adjustment to your financial aid. 

Incomplete tasks can delay or change your financial aid. Review and complete all required items in your Banner Student Financial Aid portal.  Common tasks include:  

• Completing Federal entrance counseling,   

• Answering the Title IV authorization questions 

• Signing your Master Promissory Note (MPN),   

• Submitting additional documentation when requested, such as proof of citizenship or other verification materials. 

If you withdraw from all of your courses, federal rules require us to complete a Title IV Withdrawal calculation to determine how much aid you are allowed to keep for the term. This calculation often results in a reduction of aid. Because this process is separate from the tuition and fee refund schedule, you may end up owing a balance as a result of the Title IV calculation.

There is a maximum amount of gift aid a student may receive at SCSU. Gift aid includes federal, state, and institutional grants and scholarships, including SCSU Foundation awards and all tuition and fee waivers. 

This maximum (or “cap”) varies based on a student’s housing plan and Pell Grant eligibility. If a student’s total gift aid exceeds the cap, institutional awards may be reduced to keep the total within the allowed amount. 

Private and external scholarships and grants are not included in the cap and will not be reduced. 

1. Do not meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements 

2. Enrolled in fewer than half time credits (not applicable for Pell Grant recipients) 

3. Enrolled as a non-matriculated student 

4. Withdrew from the university 

5. Graduated mid-year 

A student can apply for financial Aid by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online at studentaid.gov which is available on October 1^st for the following academic year.

The Title IV school code is 001406.

Yes, it is in your best interest to submit your FAFSA even if you have not been accepted into the University. However, the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships will not process your application until you have been officially accepted as a matriculated student either by the Undergraduate Admissions Office or the Office of Graduate Studies.

Students who electronically sign and submit a valid FAFSA to the federal processor by the priority date will have their financial aid file reviewed before bills are due.

The priority date for filing the FAFSA is March 15^th for new students and February 15^th for returning students (which aligns with Connecticut’s priority date). The Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships must receive the complete and valid processed FAFSA results by the priority date in order for the financial aid application to be considered on time.

Your financial aid application will still be processed, but you may not have financial aid in place by the bill due date.  You are urged to file your FAFSA online as soon as possible and to utilize the electronic signature component available to you upon completion of the application for the quickest processing time.

In most cases the information provided on the FAFSA is sufficient for the student to receive a financial aid award.  However, the federal government randomly selects financial aid applicants for a review process called verification. If selected, you may be required to submit copies of the documentation you used to complete the FAFSA.

Provisionally independent students who report a special or unusual circumstance are also required to submit supporting documentation.

We have partnered with a company called Inceptia who will walk students through this verification and special or unusual circumstance process. Additional information might also be requested in some cases by a Financial Aid Administrator in order to clear conflicting information reported on the FAFSA. Students are notified by SCSU e-mail if additional information is required. 

If you cannot answer 'Yes' to any question under Step Three (questions 46 - 58) listed here: Dependency Section, then you must provide your parents' information on your FAFSA.  If you feel extenuating circumstances exist that prevent you from including your parents' information, then please visit the Special or Unusual Circumstances page for additional information. 

The Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships generally begin sending award notification during mid-to-late December for new incoming students and by mid-March for continuing students. This timeline is subject to change. 

Please allow up to five business days for processing. We ask that you do not re-submit documents unless requested because it can slow down the processing time.

First, confirm that your loan requirements were completed successfully by logging into https://studentaid.gov. It can take between 24-48 hours for completion to appear in your Banner Student account. If both the Master Promissory Note or PLUS application are marked as completed, it has been longer than 48 hours, and you do not see the requirement listed on your Banner Student account, please call our office.

Federal financial aid is not available for the Winter and Spring intersessions.  For those sessions, you have the option to pay out-of-pocket or use a private loan.

To determine your eligibility for Summer aid, you must complete a FAFSA for the current award year and be registered for summer courses.  Students who wish to be awarded before registration can file a SCSU Summer Financial Aid Application to indicate how many credits they plan on taking.  Students must be enrolled in at least half-time status in order to receive aid for Summer (6 credits for Undergraduates and 4.5 for Graduates. The Summer Aid application will be available in March and must be submitted no later than May 1.

The following sixth year professional diplomas and certificate programs are not eligible for federal financial aid. Therefore, students enrolled in one of the following programs cannot receive financial aid and must make payment arrangements with the Student Accounts Office or secure a private loan.

• Addictions Counseling – Graduate Certificate

• Assistive Technology – Graduate Certificate

• Bilingual Extension Program – Graduate Certificate

• Business Analytics – Graduate Certificate

• Computing Foundations – Graduate Certificate

• Data Science – Graduate Certificate

• Disaster Mental Health – Graduate Certificate

• Healthcare Administration – Graduate Certificate

• Human Resources Management – Graduate Certificate

• Master of Business Administration degree jointly conferred by SCSU and Liverpool John Moores University

• Master of Science degree jointly conferred by SCSU and Liverpool John Moores University

• Nurse Educator – Post-Master's Certificate

• Reading and Language Arts Consultant – Post-Master's Certificate

• Women's Studies – Certificate program

Financial Aid can be used to cover only the courses that count towards a student’s course program of study (CPOS). Some courses may be repeated under certain circumstances; please review the Repeat Coursework page for information on using financial aid for repeated courses. 

Yes. Your financial aid package is based on a number of factors including, but not limited to, the information you provide on the FAFSA, current enrollment status, grade level, additional resources and scholarships, etc. Therefore, any changes or discrepancies may result in adjustments to your aid. Please see the FAQ section above labeled "Why Might My Financial Aid Change?" or visit the Revised Awards page for additional information. 

Yes. You must pay your bill on time. If your financial aid is not credited to your university account by the payment due date, you are required to pay the bill. The fall semester bill is due on July 15th and the spring semester bill is due on December 15th.

If you do not have your bill paid on time, the Student Accounts office will drop you from your classes and place a hold on your account. 

A transfer monitoring hold is something that Financial Aid offices use to ensure the most up to date financial aid history is reviewed with the U.S. Department of Education.  This helps guarantee accurate financial aid awards for students.  No action is needed on behalf of the student but please note, the hold will prevent a student's aid from disbursing for 7 days.

You cannot borrow the full amount of loans for the entire year in the Fall semester if you are attending in the Spring semester. However, you can borrow all of your loans in the Spring semester if you do not attend or borrow loans in the fall. 

What about in the following scenarios?

• If I am attending the Fall semester and graduating in December?

  • Yes

• If I am attending both the Fall and Spring semesters but would prefer the full loan to be disbursed to me fully in one term?

  • No

• If I am attending in the Fall semester but will not be attending in the Spring semester?

  • No

• If I am starting in the Spring semester and/or did not receive a Fall loan disbursement at Southern or another institution?

  • Yes

Please note, in all cases the loan must fit within a student's cost of attendance.