FAFSA

The basic requirements are to:

1. Be a US citizen or permanent resident of the United States
2. Have a high school diploma from an accredited high school or GED
3. Be a degree seeking student at Bellevue University
4. Males over the age of 18 must register with the selective service.
5. Not be in default of a federal student loan or owe a repayment on a federal grant.

Students who meet these basic requirements should qualify for some type of financial aid regardless of income. The type cannot be determined until you complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

The only way to determine your eligibility for financial aid is to submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The likelihood of receiving some form of financial assistance is probably better than most students and their families anticipate.

The SAI, derived from information on the FAFSA, represents the amount that the federal government expects a student’s family should be able to pay towards the student’s education. The SAI is a tool which, when subtracted from the cost of attendance, determines a student’s need and therefore the type of aid for which a student is eligible. If a student is dependent (by FAFSA’s standards), the SAI is based on both student and parent information. If a student is independent (again, by FAFSA’s standards), only the student’s—and, if applicable, their spouse’s—information is included in the SAI calculation.

Yes. In order to receive consideration for all programs you must file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) each year. Since 2016 you are allowed to file the FAFSA beginning October 1st using tax information from the previous year, a full 3 months earlier than previously allowed. In October 2024 you will file for financial aid for fall 2025, using tax information from the year 2023.

Step Three of the FAFSA is used to identify students as either dependent or independent. To be considered an independent student, you must answer ‘Yes’ to at least one of the six questions listed in this step. Also, the Financial Aid Office can override a student’s dependent status but to do so requires some very unusual family situations. These situations require documented evidence from third-party witnesses (police reports, clergy, counselors, etc.).

The parent you live with should complete the FAFSA. If the parent you live with has remarried, the income of that parent and their new spouse (step-parent) must be used.

No. Financial aid does not transfer from school to school. Students planning to transfer to another school should contact the Financial Aid Office at both schools to find out what is required.

Should we request additional information from you or if FAFSA income or identity verification is required, please be aware that you must submit the necessary documents within 7 days. For your initial FAFSA application, the priority deadline is 14 days prior to the start of classes, or prior to being cleared for registration. If you’re enrolled in traditional term classes and choose not to complete your initial FAFSA, you have until June 30th after you begin classes to submit it. For students in non-traditional cohort classes who opt not to complete the initial FAFSA, you have a 90-day window after starting classes to submit it. Please note that failing to meet these deadlines may result in us being unable to process your financial aid application for either the current or previous academic year.

All Bellevue University students who are selected for verification will be sent a Verification Communication to their BU email requesting the federally required verification documents needed to complete the verification of their FAFSA. If the student has not been assigned a BU email, Verification Communication will be sent to the email listed on their BU application.

It is possible that we will need tax information from you in order to confirm the income and assets that were reported based on the FAFSA.

The tax year that is required will be displayed in the details section of the document request that can be accessed through the financial aid portal under the heading “Documents.”

If you did not submit all of the requested documentation or failed to complete or sign the submitted documents or if the Specialist verifying your FAFSA needs additional information or documentation, you will be contacted by FA and be requested to submit the information still needed to complete the verification process. You will usually be contacted via your student email (or the email listed on your Bellevue University application if a Bellevue University student email hasn’t been assigned), but may also be contacted by phone, if necessary, or mailed a request if no phone or email is available. Please submit the requested information back to our office as soon as possible!

If a discrepancy is found during the verification process, all necessary corrections are made to the FAFSA then sent to CPS for reprocessing. Once the corrections have been processed by CPS, you will receive another FAFSA Submission Summary which will reflect any changes made to your FAFSA as well as any changes to your Student Aid Index (SAI). You will then be awarded financial aid based on the updated SAI.

Once all of the requested verification documents are submitted, the verification process can take up to 10 days due to the quality of the verification documents submitted to Financial Aid, the number of discrepancies and/or other student eligibility issues present on the application, and the volume of applications being received by FA.

You can appeal a decision made on your FAFSA by going into your financial aid portal and selecting the quick links option from the menu. Students have the option of submitting a variety of appeals, including the following: a request to be considered independent; a loss of income; a request for increase in cost of attendance; extenuating circumstances; unexpected medical or dental costs; and so on. Any appeal requires that you provide supporting documentation along with it.

Should we request additional information from you or if FAFSA income or identity verification is required, please be aware that you must submit the necessary documents within 7 days. For your initial FAFSA application, the priority deadline is 14 days prior to the start of classes, or prior to being cleared for registration. If you’re enrolled in traditional term classes and choose not to complete your initial FAFSA, you have until June 30th after you begin classes to submit it. For students in non-traditional cohort classes who opt not to complete the initial FAFSA, you have a 90-day window after starting classes to submit it. Please note that failing to meet these deadlines may result in us being unable to process your financial aid application for either the current or previous academic year.