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The Beardsley Meeting House on the campus of Husson University

Financial Aid FAQs

Frequently asked questions (Faqs)

1. How often do I need to fill out the FAFSA?

You must complete an updated FAFSA every year in order to be eligible for federal, state, and institutional grant and loan programs. Visit our FAFSA information page for a guide on how to apply, important filing deadlines and helpful tips on maximizing your aid eligibility.

 2. Do I need to provide parental information on the FAFSA if my parents are not supporting me? 

Federal regulations generally require parental income for dependent students, regardles of their parent's willingness or ability to contribute. If you have unique or special circumstances, we are here to help. Please contact us at 207.941.7156 to discuss your situation and explore your options for aid.

3. How do outside scholarships and tuition assistance affect my Husson University financial aid?
Outside scholarships or tuition benefits will reduce the self-help component (loans and work component) of your financial aid package, but will not reduce the family contribution. If all the self-help support in your award is canceled, in some cases, the Husson grant aid may need to be reduced or canceled as well. 

4. What is the Student Aid Index, and how is it used by Husson University?

The Student Aid Index (SAI) is a number from your FAFSA that colleges use to determine your need-based aid by subtracting it from the school's Cost of Attendance (COA) to find your financial need (COA - SAI = Need). A lower SAI indicates greater financial need, increasing your eligibility for aid like Pell Grants, while schools use this number to build your aid package (grants, loans, work-study). 

5. My parents are divorced and I live with them equally throughout the year. Who do I include on the FAFSA?  

For the purposes of filling out the FAFSA, you need to figure out which is your custodial parent. This is the parent that has provided you the most financial support in the last 12 months (and may not necessarily be the one that you live with). If you are unsure which parent to report, the FAFSA will offer a parent wizard to make that determination.

6. Why is the loan amount on my bill less than the amount on my financial aid offer letter?
Per federal regulations, there may be origination fees that are deducted from the amount that a student and/or parent receives in Direct and PLUS loan funds. The total amount disbursed will be less than actual amount borrowed. Fees for alternative loans vary - contact your lender for more information.

7. Why don't I have a Pell grant? (Why did I have a Pell Grant last year, but not this year?)

Pell grants are awarded by the federal government to families showing exceptional financial need. This information is calculated from your FAFSA, and you are only eligible if you have not yet received a bachelor's or other advanced degree.

8. What is the difference between Direct Subsidized Loans and Direct Unsubsidized Loans?

The primary difference between subsidized and unsubsidized loans is how interest is handled. For Direct Subsidized Loans, the U.S. Department of Education pays the interest while you are in school at least half-time and during authorized periods of grace or deferment. For Direct Unsubsidized Loans, you are responsible for all interest that accrues from the moment the loan is disbursed; you can choose pay this interest while in school or allow it to defer and capitalize until you enter repayment. Check out the Federal Student Aid website for more information about the different types of federal student loans.

9. How many credits is full-time for undergraduate students?

For undergraduate students, full-time enrollment is defined as 12 or more credits per semester, three-quarter time is 9 to 11 credits, and half-time status is 6-8 credits. For graduate students, full-time status is typically reached at 6 or more credits, while half-time enrollment is 3 to 5 credits. Because enrollment requirements can vary by specific graduate program or online term, you are encouraged to contact the Husson Financial Aid Office at 207.951.7156 to confirm your specific aid eligibility.

10. Why do I have to submit tax transcripts if I already filed my FAFSA?

You may be asked for tax documents because the Deparmtnet of Education or Husson University has selected you for Verification, a process used to confirm that the data reported on your FAFSA is accurate. Selection is often random and does not mean you have don anything wrong, but Husson is required to review your income informaiton to ensure it matches your application before finalizing your aid package. If you provide your tax information through the Direct Data Exchange (DDX) process and have not changed any retrieved data, you may not need to verify that information; however, if the DDX process was not used or did not provide the data, you must submit a signed tax return or a tax return transcript from the IRS. You can find your tax transcript through the IRS "Get Transcript" service, and all requested documents should be submitted to the Husson FInancial Aid Office via their secure fax at 207.992.4930 or their student portal.

11. What is the difference between an offer acceptance form and an offer change form?

The offer acceptance form shows your initial acceptance of the award. This must always be turned in first. Once you have accepted your offer, any changes must be made with an offer change form. Multiple changes may require multiple offer change forms.  This helps ensure that your aid requests and changes are accurate. All signatures on these forms must be hand-written. You may log into our Financial Aid Portal (Net Partner) to accept or decline aid instead.

12. What is a grade level change?

A grade level change occurs once you successfully complete the required number of credit hours fot he next academic tier (sophomore, junior, or senior). When you have completed enough credits to move to the next grade level, you may be eligible to receive additional financial aid. You must accept or decline this amount using an offer change form.

13. Why am I receiving an email about missing documents? 

All required documents must be submitted to the financial aid office before your aid can disburse. Some of these documents, such as your Direct Loan Counseling and Master Promissory Note, may take 3-5 days to be processed from the Department of Education.

If the documents that you need are not listed on the forms page, they will be attached on a previous email. Please note that Husson cannot provide your tax information for you, but we are happy to help you find these documents.

14. What is the Husson University FAFSA school code?

The federal school code for Husson University is 002043. Entering this code on your FAFSA application allows the Husson Financial Aid Office to receive your information and determine your eligibility for grants, loans and work-study programs.