SSU Financial Aid Office - Your Financial Aid Offer

Your Financial Aid Offer

When you have taken all the appropriate steps to apply for aid and have been admitted to SSU, you will receive an Award Offer from our office.

New Students: Students newly admitted to SSU will receive their Award Offers by mail. Once registered, new students may also view their award offer through Self Service.
Continuing Students: Continuing SSU students (including Extended Education) will receive an email notification that their award offer is ready for viewing through Self Service at the following path: Self Service > Student Center > View Financial Aid.

The Award Offer lists the types of financial aid you are eligible for based on the information you provided on your FAFSA, your academic program, your grade level and cost of attendance. The totals are listed for the Academic Year as well as per semester. Amounts listed are based on full-time enrollment (12 units or more) and could be pro-rated if you enroll in fewer than 12. For more information regarding particular types of aid, see Types of Financial Aid.

Carefully read and review the Student Aid Report (SAR) that was sent to you by the FAFSA processing center. If you used FAFSA on the Web, you may have received an email with a web link to your SAR. Follow all instructions given to you in the comments on your SAR. If any information, especially income, tax liability, household size, and number in college, is missing or incorrect, make the corrections immediately. Changes in the information on your SAR could result in a change to your Award Offer. If your Award Offer changes, we will send you a Modified Award Offer explaining the changes.

Carefully review your Award Offer and READ ALL of the information sent to you by the Financial Aid Office (FAO). You must use a Change Notification Form (CNF) to inform the FAO of changes in your housing or enrollment plans, to report additional outside resources such as scholarships and fee waivers, and to decline or request a reduction in any loans or work-study. The CNF is downloadable form our web site at the Change Notification page. For more information regarding changes to your Award Offer, see the Changes? section our web site.

Paying University Charges

While an Award Offer is in place, your fees are considered to be in a deferred status until the point in time when your aid disburses. For additional information on disbursements visit the Disbursements section of our web site.

Expected Family Contribution (EFC)

This is a term that is frequently referenced and is a useful term to understand. You receive an EFC based on the processing results of your FAFSA. Sometimes it is misinterpreted as being the actual amount of money that is owed to the university for your educational expenses. This is not true. It is actually a measure of your family’s financial strength and is used as an index number to determine your eligibility for state and federal aid. The lower the number, the more grant money you may be eligible to receive. Higher values of EFC indicate you and/or your parents (if Dependent) are better able to use current income and accumulated assets, or can afford to take out loans to pay your expenses.

Student Loans

If you would like to accept your Federal Direct Stafford loans, be sure to complete Entrance Counseling online. This is a one-time process for new first-time borrowers or transfer students borrowing for the first time at SSU. First time borrowers also need to sign a Master Promissory Note (e-MPN). This can be done electronically at the Direct Loan Master Promissory Note web site. These are generally one-time processes.

The Perkins loan requires a separate Master promissory note and/or other forms that will be mailed to you by the Financial Services Office. Perkins funding is awarded according to need and has limited funding.

Parent Loans (PLUS)

Federal Direct Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) are only available to the parent or step-parent of a Dependent student. Parents or step-parents who would like to accept the PLUS loan will need to download and complete the PLUS loan application for the appropriate financial aid year located at the PLUS Loan Application page and submit it to the FAO. We will process the application and notify the PLUS loan applicant if it was approved or denied.

If approved, we will send instructions on completing the Master Promissory Note electronically (e-MPN). Completing the e-MPN is generally a one-time process, beginning with promissory notes signed in 2003-04. However, if a PLUS loan was approved with an endorser, the Master Promissory Note is only valid for that particular loan. Although the e-MPN is a one-time process, the PLUS loan application needs to be submitted each academic year for which the applicant wishes to borrow.

If denied, the student may request additional unsubsidized Direct Stafford loan funding. To request these additional funds, the student must download and complete a Supplemental Loan Request form located at the Other Items page of our web site for the appropriate financial aid year and submit it to the FAO.

In each subsequent year, a student must re file the FAFSA to be offered a PLUS loan for that year. After the student receives an award offer, the parent may apply for the PLUS loan by filling out a PLUS loan application for that year.

Remember to Apply Every Year