Summer 2009 Financial Aid
Thinking about attending summer school in 2009? To receive summer financial aid, you must have a 2008-09 FAFSA on file. Students need to also submit any additional documents requested by the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid. Summer aid will not be processed for files that are incomplete as of July 1.
Since funds are limited, summer awards consist primarily of loans. The Federal Direct Stafford Loan Program requires at least half-time enrollment (6 hours undergraduate, 5 hours graduate). If you are requesting a Stafford Loan, you must submit a summer loan request form. Visit our Summer Aid web page or contact our office for more information.
Award Letters
Award letters for
returning students and
transfer students will be mailed in
mid-June. Also, award letters for graduate students are being done on a daily basis and all awards should be mailed by early July.
Award letters to
incoming freshmen were mailed
April 3. Included with the award letter were loan request forms for the Federal Direct Stafford Loan and the Federal Direct Parent (PLUS) Loan. The loan application(s) should be returned to our office as soon as possible if the student and/or parent are interested in borrowing from these programs. For more detailed information about the award letter, read our publication
Guide to Understanding Your Award Letter.
If you received an award letter marked “estimated," that means the our office has not been able to process an actual award for you. Additional information was requested from you that has not been received or if it was received it was not processed at the time the award letter was printed. If you have returned the requested information, an actual award letter will be sent to you in the near future. If you have not returned the information, please do so as soon as possible. No actual award can be made for you until we have received the requested information.
Perkins Loans
These are low-interest, long-term educational loans awarded annually depending on financial need as determined by the information you provided on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). If you are eligible for a Perkins Loan, it will be listed on your award letter. Visit our Federal Perkins Loan page for more information.
VerificationFederal verification regulations require institutions to check the accuracy of information supplied by students applying for federal financial aid. As a result, students and families may be asked to supply additional information in order to verify original data supplied in applying for financial aid. This may include submission of U.S. income tax forms or other documents.
Verification procedures must be completed, or you will not be eligible to receive any federal funds, including Federal Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, Federal Perkins Loans, Federal Work-Study, Federal Direct Stafford Loans, ACG, and SMART grants.
The State Student Assistance Commission of Indiana (SSACI) also requires that all students selected for federal verification meet those requirements before receiving funds from the Frank O’Bannon Grant, Indiana 21st Century Scholars Award, Indiana part-time grant, Indiana National Guard Supplement or CVO. Verification requirements also apply to the Fees Assistance Grant and the Ball State Grant.
Letters will be mailed to students selected for the verification process. Please respond to this request as soon as possible. Failure to respond to requests for verification or other additional information requests will jeopardize current and future receipt of financial aid awards.
Was My FAFSA Rejected?Each year a number of students have their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) rejected by the federal processor. This means that when the application was filed, it was not processed due to an error by the applicant (i.e. lack of signature, missing information, etc.). In these cases, you will receive a notice from our office as well as the State Student Assistance Commission of Indiana (SSACI) notifying them of this problem. The FAFSA must be corrected as soon as possible to ensure that you receive consideration for all the aid to which you are entitled. SSACI has a deadline of May 15, 2009, for all corrections or additional information to be received.
Did You Miss the March 10th FAFSA Deadline?If you missed the March 10 deadline for filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), all is not lost. Undergraduate students can still complete the FAFSA and receive consideration for the Federal Pell Grant Program, the Federal Direct Stafford Loan Program, and the Federal Direct Parent (PLUS) Loan. Graduate students who complete the FAFSA are eligible for loans only. You can
complete the FAFSA online.
What is the Federal Direct Loan Program?The Federal Direct Loan Program is one of the Federal Student Aid programs of the U.S. Department of Education which provides students with a simple, convenient, and flexible way to borrow money from the Stafford and Parent (PLUS) loan programs to pay for education after high school. Be sure to visit our
Loans page to find further information about the Federal Direct Loans.
ScholarshipsScholarships are a source of financial aid that are of interest to all students and their families. However, students should use caution when seeking these sources of assistance. Do not pay an organization to “find” scholarships for you. Many free scholarship search services are available via the Internet. A number of them can be accessed from our
Free Scholarship Searches Web page.
Ball State offers some scholarships to incoming freshmen. Students can find out deadlines and application criteria on our
Ball State Scholarships Web page. In addition, contact your high school guidance office to see what scholarships may be available in your local community.
Continuing students should contact the department(s) in which they are enrolled to inquire about scholarship possibilities. You can access a number of these through our
Departmental Scholarships Web page.
Direct Deposit
Students can now elect to have their financial aid refunds direct deposited into their personal bank account. What a great time saver! To enroll or simply find more about direct deposit at Ball State, visit the
bursar’s Web site.
Cardinal QuickPay
All students will receive their billings from the university at their Ball State e-mail address. No paper bills will be mailed. If you sign up for payment through
Cardinal QuickPay, you can pay your bill online by electronic withdrawal from a checking or savings account (e-check).
Cardinal QuickPay is available 24/7 at
www.bsu.edu/quickpay. All charges owed to Ball State as well as any financial aid credits will appear in this account. Feel free to visit the
bursar’s web site to learn more about charge and payment options at Ball State. Flexible options such as the bursar’s
Installment Payment Plan are available. This plan provides an opportunity to pay fees (general fees, nonresident fees, graduate fees and special course fees) and room and board for the semester in as many as four payments. This option will be made available to all students during fall and spring semesters only.
It is also extremely important that all students use their Ball State e-mail address as their primary e-mail account once they are enrolled. All communication from the university (financial aid, electronic bills, etc.) will be sent to that address.