Financial Aid and Scholarships

• Apply for admission to Bellin College. You can apply for financial aid without being admitted to a college, but the college will not prepare a financial aid offer until your admission file is completed.  If you have not yet begun the admission application process, you will want to do so.  Apply to Bellin College.
• Get your Federal Student Aid (FSA) User ID and Password. The FSA ID is your electronic signature.  If you do not already have a FSA ID, you may create one at any time.  If you are a dependent student, at least one parent will need to have his/her own FSA ID as well. 

• studentaid.gov
• The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is available beginning October 1 of the year prior to the academic year for which you are applying for financial aid. Early application will help you to maximize your eligibility; we prefer students to file by December 1 (December 1 is our priority filing deadline). 
• Both you and your parents may use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) to import the required income data into the FAFSA. This will ensure accuracy of the reported data.  Income data may be added manually if the DRT is not available. 
• Complete all sections of the FAFSA.
  • Do not leave blanks unless the instructions tell you to do so.
  • Include Bellin College’s school code: 006639
  • Remember to ‘sign’ and submit the FAFSA using your FSA ID; at least one parent will need to ‘sign’, too.

• You will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) from the US Dept of Education. This is the result of the FAFSA and it will tell you what your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is for the upcoming academic year.  This is not your financial aid offer from Bellin College—that will come a bit later.  The EFC is a reasonable estimate of your family’s ability to fund your education; it is not how much you or your parents will be asked to pay; the EFC will be used by the financial aid office to determine your eligibility for federal, state, and institutional need-based aid programs. 
  • Review the SAR carefully. If you notice any errors, you may make corrections by accessing your completed FAFSA at studentaid.gov.
• In some cases, the financial aid office may need to request additional information or documentation from you in order to verify the data reported on the FAFSA and complete your financial aid file before making an aid offer. If so, you will be notified via e-mail of the required information. 
• If your family experiences any unusual circumstances which cannot be properly reported on the FAFSA that you, or your parents, feel impact the family’s ability to finance your education, you (or your parent) should contact the financial aid office to discuss if those circumstances may qualify for special consideration.
• Many families find it helpful to meet with the financial aid office to review anticipated costs and potential financial aid options. This is an option that we offer to all incoming and continuing students.  If you would like to schedule a consult, please contact the financial aid office to set up an appointment; parents are welcome. 

• The Bellin College financial aid office will begin sending financial aid award notifications shortly after acceptance and receiving your FAFSA. Students will be notified via e-mail to review their financial aid awards in the student portal and accept/decline each aid source.
• Most aid sources will be split over all the anticipated enrollment terms for the academic year.
• Students receiving private scholarships through their high school or other source, should notify the financial aid office of the anticipated scholarship (provide a copy of the award notice from the awarding agency); if the scholarship is paid to the student, the check may be given directly to Bellin College to be applied as payment to the student’s tuition and fees charges.
• Students receiving federal student loans must complete both the Entrance Counseling and the Loan Agreement (MPN) on the studentaid.gov website (login using your FSA ID).
• If aid received exceeds semester charges, a refund will be issued to the student (or parent if a PLUS Loan unless the parent provides permission to release the refund to the student) via a check from Bellin College. Refund checks are processed once per week. When the check is ready to be picked up, the student will receive an e-mail notice from the Bellin College bursar. 

• A parent who wishes to apply for a Federal PLUS Loan, will need to complete the Parent PLUS application and the PLUS Loan Agreement (MPN) at studentaid.gov (parent will login using his/her FSA ID). This is a credit-based loan.
• If a student wishes to apply for a private education loan to help finance the academic year expenses, application must be made directly to the lender of choice. This is a credit-based loan.

AN INTRODUCTION TO FINANCIAL AID

2024-2025 Fafsa WALK-THROUGH