Steps to Receive Financial Aid

Obtain your FSA ID

All new students and parents of dependent students should request an FSA ID online.
Your FSA ID remains the same from year to year, so keep it in a safe place and never give it to anyone.
Individual FSA IDs make it possible for the online Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to be signed electronically making the application process faster and simpler.

After completing the FAFSA: What Happens Next?

Once admitted, you can check your financial aid status on MyISU at any time.

1. Be admitted to Idaho State University

You must apply for admission at ISU and be completely admitted before we can begin processing your application. Contact the Admissions Office at (208) 282-2475 for assistance.

Shortly after being admitted, you will have access to MyISU.

2. Make any necessary corrections to your FAFSA

If you provide your email address on the FAFSA, you will receive an e-mail linked to your processed FAFSA information on the web in approximately 2 to 4 weeks. Otherwise, your Student Aid Report (SAR) will arrive in the mail in 6 to 8 weeks.

Carefully review this application information and make corrections if needed as indicated below:

If our Financial Aid Office has not yet received your FAFSA (or SAR) electronically you may make corrections to your FAFSA online using your FSA ID.

If your FAFSA has already been received by ISU (and you are admitted), you must work with our office to make corrections.

One exception is when the student incorrectly answered the Dependency question of the FAFSA, stating they were under legal guardianship when they are not really in legal guardianship.
- In this situation, the student should go to the FAFSA website to "Make a Correction" and add the parent information. Once this has been completed the student should contact our office to notify us that they have corrected their FAFSA.
- The Legal Guardianship verification form for the appropriate year must be submitted to our Financial Aid Office with a statement that your are not under Legal Guardianship. You can find the Legal Guardianship form on our “Forms” page.
Another exception is when the IRS Data Retrieval Tool was not used to enter the financial information into the FAFSA.
- The student should go to the FAFSA website to "Make a Correction", navigate to the income section and follow instruction to determine eligibility for IRS Data Retrieval tool. Choose to have IRS Data copied into your FAFSA. Be sure to complete the process by signing the FAFSA again before submitting.
- Students and parents may also go to the IRS website and print the Tax Return Transcript and submit the form to our office.

3. Read and respond to communications promptly

Read all communications received from the Financial Aid Office and promptly provide any additional Financial Aid Requirements (Documentation) requested on your MyISU account.

You will be alerted to these requests via email (for all students for whom ISU has a valid email address). Once a student is admitted to ISU, they are given an ISU email account which we use to communicate with you.

Students are instructed to go to MyISU on the "My Financial Aid" card (under Financial Aid Requirements for the appropriate year). Respond promptly to any additional request for information from the ISU Office of Financial Aid .

Your award cannot be determined until all required documents have been submitted. Check your status often on MyISU.

If the FAFSA, all required documents and all appeals have been received in the Financial Aid Office by late July, you will have your financial aid processed before the Fall semester fee payment deadline.

4. Review your financial aid award

Once the award is made, the student will need to access their MyISU "My Financial Aid" card each year to actively accept their financial aid awards.

Notification of the award will be sent by email. The award on MyISU will indicate the types and amounts of aid the student is eligible to receive.

Review the award carefully and view information about adjustments to Financial Aid Awards based on enrollment status."

To accept and authorize your financial aid, go to the My Financial Aid card on MyISU. Click on "Accept Financial Aid Awards" link and follow the instructions there to complete the steps.

Most loans are offered as an academic year loan with the amounts "accepted" split evenly between fall and spring. Determine the amount of loans accepted in Bengal Web with this in mind.

Fall Graduates: Be aware that federal regulations require student loans for undergraduates who will graduate at the end of fall semester be "pro-rated" for the fall term based on the number of credits enrolled.

5. Entrance Counseling and Master Promissory Note

If you are a first time Direct Loan Borrower at ISU, you will need to complete Entrance Counseling and a Master Promissory Note (MPN). If you are not a first-time Direct Loan Borrower at ISU, move on to step 6.

The MPN is a promissory note that can be used to make one or more loans for one or more academic years (up to 10 years).

This is different from the PLUS Loans. The Graduate PLUS MPN and the PLUS Loan Application must be submitted yearly with a credit check processed each year.

6. Pay Tuition and Fees or Receive Refunds

Once a student is awarded financial aid, they must access MyISU to actively select disbursement options.

All federal aid eligibility criteria must be met for your financial aid to be credited to your student account. All financial aid awards, except Work-Study, are applied to your university account.

The earliest your aid can be credited toward your student fees is 10 days prior to your first day of class (5 days prior to summer classes).

Any residual funds will be disbursed either by direct deposit to a bank of your choice or by check mailed to your mailing address (as reported on Bengal Web). These funds are disbursed by the Student Financial Services Office at 282-3000.

For additional instructions see the User's Guide to MyISU for Fee Payment.

Questions about fee charges should be directed to Student Financial Services at (208) 282-2900 or stop in at the Student Financial Services Office, located on the third floor of the Administration Building (building 10).

If you do not meet your financial aid obligations and requirements, you may have to repay all or part of your Student Aid Funds.