Listed below are some of the most common questions that have been asked of us. As always, if you have questions this page does not address, please contact our office by calling 1-800-CHADRON or 308-432-6060 or emailing start@csc.edu.
The following are some of the most common questions asked of our office:
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the form used to determine eligibility for federal and state student grants, work study and loans. The information on the FAFSA is used to determine the Estimated Family Contribution (EFC). The EFC is used by the school to determine the student's financial aid award.
January 15- Freshmen academic merit scholarship applications are due.
March 1- Transfer academic merit scholarship applications are due.
June 1- Financial Aid applications (FAFSA) are due as a priority date.
At Chadron State College we do have a priority deadline of June 1st for receiving the FAFSA as much of the financial aid we award is done so on a first-come first-served basis. This is especially true of some limited federal, state and institutional grants.
You can call the Chadron State College START (Financial Aid) Office at 1-800-CHADRON or 308-432-6060, email start@csc.edu or stop by our office if you have questions about financial aid. Our office is open 7:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. We are located on the first floor of Crites Hall.
CSC Financial Aid forms are available in the Forms section of our website.
Schools are required by federal law to review financial aid applications. This process is called verification. If you are selected for verification we will notify you if you need to submit additional information.
If you are a transfer student we will need academic transcripts from all previous colleges attended. This is so we can determine your grade level loan limit and to determine all credit hours attempted.
Congress, in the law that governs the federal student aid programs, defines when parental information is required. Being claimed on a parent's tax return is not relevant to determining dependency. It is also not relevant if the family’s decision is that paying for college is the responsibility of the student. A student becomes independent when they meet one of the conditions described in the FAFSA process. Congress’ intention is to establish that the primary responsibility for a student's education is the student’s and student’s family for their undergraduate degree.
If you can answer No to all of the following questions, you are considered a dependent student on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA):
If you are considered a dependent student, your parents must answer the parental questions on the FAFSA.
If you can answer Yes to any of the questions above, you are considered an independent student and information about your parents is not required on the FAFSA .
* Not living with your parents or not being claimed by them on their tax return does not determine your dependency status.
Yes! Parents may be interested in borrowing through a program called Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS). This is a program that allows parents to borrow up to the cost of education less any other financial aid the student has been offered.
Federal PLUS Loan - This federally funded Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) is available for parents of dependent undergraduate students. Parents may borrow up to the total cost of attendance less any other financial aid. Proceeds are to be used for educational expenses.
Repayment begins within 60 days after the second disbursement is made. However, interest begins to accrue on the date the first disbursement is made. Minimum monthly payments are $50. The borrower may be allowed up to 10 years to repay the loan. The interest rate is fixed at 7.90% for Federal Direct Loans and 8.5% for private lenders.
The parent applying for a Parent Loan for Undergraduate Student (PLUS) can be denied for credit reasons. If that happens the student is eligible to borrow additional funds in the Direct Student Loan program. Contact the START (Financial Aid) Office at 1-800-CHADRON, (308)432-6060, or email start@csc.edu if your PLUS loan has been denied. We will work with the student to get the additional Direct Student loans for them.
There is no income threshold for student aid eligibility. All of the questions on the FAFSA are used to determine the Expected Family Contribution which results in the financial aid award put together by the school. A family may have too much income to be awarded a Pell Grant, but this does not mean that they will not be eligible for other types of financial aid. At a minimum, application for Federal Student Aid, via the FAFSA, will result in eligibility in the Federal Direct Student Loan Program.
If your student is registered for classes at CSC this is an automatic, computerized process. All Federal, State and CSC grants and scholarships, listed on your award notification, will automatically credit to the students charges prior to the start of the semester provided all documents are received with respect to the award. Outside scholarships will credit if CSC has received the money from the donor(s).
CSC uses a secure web-based student information system called MyCSC. In order to see confidential information, like their financial aid award, students are given a username and password after completing their admission requirements. In addition to financial aid, students use their MyCSC account to look up their student account, register for classes and see their grades. Keep in mind this is different than the U.S. Department of Education P.I.N. assigned to your student in conjunction with completing the FAFSA. It is essential that students understand how important it is to keep track of their PIN numbers and MyCSC login account information and also how important it is to keep them confidential.
Yes and No. We at CSC cannot/will not automatically make you a username/password for your student’s MyCSC account. HOWEVER your student does have the ability to set up parents/guests with limited access to their MyCSC account. Instructions for how they would do this are found at this link http://www.csc.edu/documents/technology/Creating%20an%20Account%20for%20Parent.docx. Parent/guest access will allow the authorized person to view the student’s MyCSC account, view items on the To Do List, view schedules/grades, view/pay bills. Parent/guest with access to the student account will not have access to actually do requirements on To Do List or change schedules. We require that any To Do list items on the MyCSC page be completed by the student and not the parent/guest.
The Department of Education has a variety of information found at this website http://studentaid.ed.gov/resources/parents.