Frequently Asked Questions

The Federal School Code for USF is 001832. 

Answer the FAFSA parent questions about the parent that you lived with most during the past twelve months.  If this parent is remarried as of the FAFSA filing date, answer the FAFSA parent questions about that parent and the person whom your parent married (your stepparent). 

1. I expect an overpayment of financial aid that I will use for education-related living expenses.  When can I expect to receive this check?

Your federal, state and institutional financial aid funds (with the exception of your Federal Work Study award) will be disbursed at the start of each semester to the USF Business Office after your financial aid file is complete.  Generally, the Business Office begins mailing student account overpayment checks the second or third week of each semester.  The Business Office prints overpayment checks once per week thereafter.  Please contact the Business Office with any questions regarding your expected overpayment check. 

2. I would like to purchase my books and supplies, but my overpayment check has not yet arrived.  What should I do?

Please contact the USF Business Office to see if you qualify for a book voucher.  A book voucher may be available to you if the Business Office calculates an anticipated student account credit. 

3. When will I receive my bill?  When is it due?

Billing for the fall semester will be mailed to you in mid-July and is due one week before the start of the semester.  Billing for the spring semester will be mailed to you in mid-December and is due in January, one week before the start of the semester. 

4. All of my financial aid has been disbursed, yet I still show a balance on my bill.  What are my options?

·   You can pay your balance with cash, check or credit card.

·   You can contact Tuition Management Systems (TMS) to set up an interest-free payment plan.

·   You can ask your parent to apply for a Federal Parent PLUS loan if you are a dependent student.

·   You can apply for an alternative student loan. 

5. Will my Federal Work Study be credited to my student account?

No.  Your Federal Work Study award allows you to work on-campus to earn money for your college expenses.  The amount listed for this award is simply the amount you are eligible to earn—the amount will not be applied to your student account.  You will receive a bi-weekly paycheck which can be used for your expenses.  The exact amount received will be based on the actual hours worked and your rate of pay.

Scholarships

1. What types of scholarships and grants are available from the University of Saint Francis?

USF offers many scholarship and grant opportunities.  Academic Scholarships are awarded to first-time full-time undergraduate students to USF.  Please click here to see a listing of our Academic Scholarship Programs, which will be automatically offered to you by the Office of Admissions if you are a qualifying incoming student.  Additional sources of aid are available from USF as well.  Please click here to see a listing of these additional Sources of Aid (including corresponding application requirements) that may be available to you from USF. 

2. When will I be notified if I am receiving a USF scholarship?

Generally, you will be notified of your award through the Financial Aid Award Notification.  Financial Aid Award Notifications are mailed to new students beginning in mid-March and to returning students in mid-June. 

3. Where can I go to look for information on outside scholarships?

   • There is a Scholarship Board in Trinity Hall outside of the Office of Enrollment Services where outside scholarship applications are posted on a rolling basis
   • There are several Free online searches.  Some recommended sites are available on our Financial Aid Links page.
   • Every where you go there are Scholarship Opportunities to be watching or listening for (Kohl's Wal-Mart, Burger King, church, parent's employer, student's employer, etc)
   • For incoming students, your High School Guidance Office is a good place to check and see what applications they have been receiving.

Loans

1. What is a Federal Stafford loan?  How do I know if I apply for one?

   • Federal Stafford loans are for undergraduate, graduate and professional students.  You must be enrolled as at least a half-time student (6 credit hours) to be eligible for a Stafford loan.

   • You do not need to have financial need to qualify for a Stafford loan; however, if you demonstrate financial need, the U.S. Department of Education will pay the interest that accrues on your loan during certain periods. 

   • Stafford loan eligibility is limited by cost of attendance and by both yearly and cumulative maximums.

   • To apply for the Federal Stafford loan, you must have a  FAFSA on file, complete a Federal Master Promissory Note (MPN) and complete entrance counseling.

   • You will be notified of your Stafford loan eligibility on your financial aid award letter from the University of Saint Francis.  Beginning in late July, students that have not previously borrowed a Stafford loan while attending USF will be sent instructions on how to complete their MPN on-line.

   • This MPN is only required to be completed once and is good for 10 years while attending USF.  After the MPN is completed, students will automatically receive loans they are eligible for unless they notify the Office of Financial Aid in writing that they wish to decline all or a portion of the loan they are eligible for on their Award Notification.

2. What is a Federal Perkins loan?  How can I apply for one?

   • Perkins loans are for undergraduate, graduate and professional students.

   • Perkins loans will be offered to you by the University of Saint Francis Office of Financial Aid if you are a student who demonstrates great financial need.  Pell Grant recipients get top priority.

   • The amount offered to you will depend on your financial need, the amount of other aid you have received, the availability of funds at the University of Saint Francis, and by both yearly and cumulative maximums.

3. What is a Federal PLUS loan, and how can I apply for one?

Parent PLUS loans:

• Parent PLUS loans are loans parents can obtain for their dependent undergraduate children that are enrolled at least half-time.

• Eligibility is based on credit, not income or need.  Your parent may borrow up to the cost of attendance minus your other financial aid as long as you are enrolled at least half-time.

• Your parent will begin repayment of the Parent PLUS loan 60 days after the loan is fully disbursed. The interest rate is fixed at 8.50% throughout the life of the loan for loans disbursed after July 1, 2006.

• Your parent can apply for a Parent PLUS loan at http://www.simpletuition.com/sf/home.

Grad PLUS loans:

• Grad PLUS loans are loans for graduate students.  The graduate student borrower must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and must be enrolled at least half-time. 

• Eligibility is based on credit.  You may borrow up to the cost of attendance minus any other aid you have received. 

• You must complete a FAFSA and must have applied for your maximum annual loan eligibility through the Federal Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford Loan Program before applying for the Graduate PLUS loan.

• The loan has a fixed interest rate of 8.50%.  You may qualify for in-school deferment, though interest will accrue after full disbursement of the loan.  You will begin repayment of the loan upon graduation.

• You can apply for a Grad PLUS loan at http://www.simpletuition.com/sf/home

4. I received my billing statement, and my Stafford loan has not been credited to my student account.  What do I need to do?

There are several reasons why your Stafford loan may not have been disbursed from Financial Aid to the Business Office.  The two most common reasons are:

• You have not yet signed and returned your Master Promissory Note (MPN).  Please click here to sign your MPN using your four-digit U.S. Department of Education PIN (Personal Identification Number).

• You have not yet completed your Entrance Counseling.  Please click here to complete an on-line session, which will fulfill the Entrance Counseling requirement that is mandatory if you are a first time borrower.

5. My Financial Aid Award Notification included a Stafford loan that I do not wish to borrow.  What do I need to do to decline this award?

Please draw a line through the Stafford loan that you wish to decline, then sign and date your revision.  Return this revised Financial Aid Award Notification to the Office of Financial Aid, and this award will be removed from your financial aid package.

6. Why can’t I borrow a higher amount on my loan?

   • If your loan is a Stafford loan, there are specific yearly borrowing limits that have been outlined by the federal government.  Your yearly borrowing limit will depend on the number of credit hours you have completed.

   • Additionally, if your loan is a Stafford loan, there are cumulative borrowing limits that may also affect the amount you are eligible to borrow.  If you are a dependent undergraduate student, the cumulative Stafford loan maximum is $23,000.  Independent undergraduate students may borrow up to $46,000 and Graduate students may borrow up to $138,500.

   • If your loan is a Perkins loan, your yearly borrowing limit will depend on your financial need, the availability of funds at the University of Saint Francis, and by both yearly and cumulative maximums.

   • All certified educational loans (which includes Stafford, Perkins, PLUS, and certified alternative loans) are limited by the yearly cost of attendance at your university.

7. What is the difference between a Subsidized Stafford Loan, and an Unsubsidized Stafford Loan?

   • A Subsidized Stafford Loan is a need based Federal Loan, so the government pays the interest while the student is enrolled at least half time in school, and during the student's six month grace period.  Interest begins to accrue at a fixed interest rate of 6.8% once the student enters repayment.

   • An Unsubsidized Stafford Loan is a Federal Loan in which the interest begins accruing at a fixed interest rate of 6.8% once the loan is disbursed.  Students can opt to pay the interest quarterly, or the interest can be capitalized (added to the principle of the loan) after graduation.  The student still qualifies for a six month grace period following graduation or the point in which the student falls below half time.

Academic Progress

1. What happens to my student aid if I drop a class?

   • You will be billed for the number of hours that you were enrolled on the first day of the semester.

   • There will be no enrollment-based change to your financial aid after the first day of the semester unless you drop below half-time enrollment.

   • Please note that although you will be billed for and retain financial aid eligibility for the class that you dropped, if you drop the course after the second week of class, you will receive a “W” on your transcript.  This class is now considered a course that you have attempted and must be considered when we review your file for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

2. What happens to my student aid if I withdraw completely?

   • If you completely drop all courses during the first or second week of the semester, you will receive a refund, which is calculated based on USF’s refund policy.  The refunded portion of your fall financial aid will be returned to the provider of that aid, while the non-refunded percentage will be retained by the University of Saint Francis.

   • If you completely drop all courses after the drop/add period, which concludes with the end of the second week of the semester, you may still receive a refund based on USF’s refund policy.  However, all courses dropped are now considered withdrawals.  You will receive a “W” on your transcript for each course, and these courses are now considered courses that you have attempted when we review your file for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP).

3. What if I have special circumstances that prevent me from satisfactorily completing a semester?

If you lose your eligibility for financial aid due to lack of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP), you may appeal for reinstatement of your eligibility if circumstances beyond your control prevented you from meeting the established standards.  To appeal, you must submit a completed Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal form along with required supporting documentation.  Your appeal must be filed in writing within 30 days of the date of the notification of suspension.

Verification

1. What is verification?                                                                                               Verification is the process that requires all colleges and universities participating in federal student aid programs to “verify” selected students' data provided on the FAFSA to ensure information about family and finances are correct.

2. Who gets selected?                                                                                         Selection is usually completely random, unless there is a problem that keeps the FAFSA from being processed properly.  Overall, approximately 30% of all student records are selected for verification.

3. What do I need to do if I am selected?                                                           The verification process requires the University of Saint Francis to collect documentation that confirms information regarding your family and finances.  This includes, but is not limited to:  Signed copies of the previous year’s federal tax forms for you and your parents (if you are a dependent student) or your spouse (if married), the prior year’s W-2 forms and the verification worksheet, which are also available on the web at www.sf.edu/financialaid/forms.shtml.  If you are chosen for this process, you are notified in two (2) ways:  (1) On your Student Aid Report (SAR) after filing your FAFSA and (2) via a letter from the Office of Financial Aid.

4. Will verification affect my aid?                                                                         It depends on the information submitted; if the information on the required documentation matches the information submitted on your FAFSA, your eligibility will not change.  If the information submitted is different from the information submitted on your FAFSA, your need-based aid could either increase or decrease depending on the differences found.

5. When do I need to complete the verification process?                                       If you receive a letter requesting needed materials, you will want to submit these forms as soon as possible in order for the Office of Financial Aid to process your financial aid for the upcoming year.  Students are not eligible to receive any form of financial aid until this process is completed, which will cause late fees to accrue in the business office and the inability to register for classes for the following semester until the process has been completed and the bill paid in full.

6. Was I selected because I did something wrong?                                            No.  This process was established by the government to ensure the billions of dollars being invested in financial aid programs are being used properly.