Applying for Financial Aid

To apply for financial aid, complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). These forms may be obtained from high school guidance offices, the Financial Aid Office at BHSU or online at www.fafsa.ed.gov.   Black Hills State University's federal school code is 003459.

Applications mailed later than March 1 may not be considered for some programs because of limited funding.

Types of Financial Aid

Financial aid awards may include scholarships, grants, loans and work-study. See expanded topics under Financial Aid (to the left) on loans, grants, student employment and scholarships for a further description of each of the types of financial aid available. You may also go to Student Aid.

Correspondence Courses

There are certain requirements for financial aid if you are taking correspondence courses, please review the data by linking here, correspondence courses.

Graduate Aid

Students in graduate studies must be attending at least 1/2-time to qualify for aid, which is mostly loans, and must be accepted into the graduate degree program at Black Hills State University.  The federal TEACH grant does allow less-than-1/2-time students to receive this grant.  Half-time is considered 4.5 credit hours or more each term/semester.  For further information on eligibility of Stafford Loans, please refer to section in the Award Handbook.

Fee Payment - 2010SP
Financial Aid Paid/Financial Aid Remaining
Financial aid is based on full-time status; some aid is prorated if you are less than full-time.  All paperwork needs to be completed in time for processing of loans and class registration needs to be in place.  Complete financial aid will be applied to your bill by January 3, 2010.  After this date you should review Web Advisor's Statement History for "Financial Aid Payments" (aid applied to your bill).  If you have "Financial Aid Remaining" there are some issues you need to resolve, please contact Student Financial Services for assistance.  We will be able to give you a deferment of payment if we have confirmation there is other aid that will be applied to your bill. 

Refund of Excess Financial Aid - No lines, checks will be direct deposited or mailed
A refund is created after your "Financial Aid Payments" are greater than your bill. The refund check will be direct deposited (preferred method) or mailed to you at the local address (please confirm during the registration confirmation process).   Estimated processing date for direct deposit or mailing of checks is January 8th.  All students need to complete the registration confirmation process.

Mid-year transfers
Mid-year transfer students may need to provide official college transcripts prior to the processing of Stafford or alternative loans. 

Financial Aid not yet available
If you have applied for financial aid and have not yet received your award letter, please allow four to six weeks of processing time.  Please be prepared to pay your bill through the monthly payment plan or SDePay.

Other aid
Certain types of financial aid may not appear on your bill (e.g.  some out-of-state loans, PLUS loans and alternative loans that are not transmitted via electronic funds transfer, WIA funds, state Voc-Rehab, Higher Ed grants).  Funds from these sources will be available at the cashier's window on or after August 24th.  A Reminder: Stafford Loans and PLUS loans may have up to 4.0% origination and default prevention fee assessed by the lender/guarantor and deducted from loan proceeds prior to application on your account.  Outside scholarships must be applied to your account for federal reporting purposes and are divided equally between semesters unless otherwise designated in writing by the donor.

Student Financial Services - Financial Aid
1200 University Street Unit 9670
Spearfish, SD 57799-9670
bhsufinancial@bhsu.edu
phone: (605) 642-6145 or 1-800-255-BHSU
fax: (605) 642-6913

Determining Financial Need

The information reported in the FAFSA is used in a formula to calculate Expected Family Contribution (EFC). EFC is the amount the student and family are expected to provide toward educational expenses.

To determine financial need, the EFC is subtracted from the cost of education (tuition, fees, room, board, personal and transportation expenses).

Once financial need is determined, BHSU will award the student financial aid up to that amount.

Dependency Status

Students are classified as dependent or independent. The main difference between dependent and independent students is parental support - those who have that access are dependent and those who don't have that access are independent. Dependent students must report their own income and assets as well as their parents; independent students must report only their income and assets.

You are considered independent if you are one of the following:

Summer Financial Aid

Application deadline is April 30, 2009. Students who need financial assistance for summer classes must:

• Complete the 2009-10 FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) online at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov
• Complete the one-page summer aid application
  (available on-line or in Student Financial Services on March 1).
• Register for all courses by census date.

All applications are due by April 30, 2009. Federal Stafford Loan eligibility received for Summer of 2009 will affect your 2009-10 academic year loan eligibility.

For more information contact Student Financial Services at 1-605-642-6145 or 1-800-ALL-BHSU (access the financial aid prompt).

Mid-Year Transfer

When transferring mid-year to BHSU from another school there are a few steps to complete in order to receive financial aid.

Forms

• Authorization to Pay Expenses
  The Authorization form needs to be completed for Federal Title IV aid to cover other expenses other than tuition, fees, room and board. Print out, complete, and return to Student Financial Services Office at BHSU.
   
• FERPA
  Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act gives permission for students to have others discuss their educational or financial information with BH officials. Please print out, complete and return the FERPA form to the Student Financial Services Office.
   

• OUTSIDE SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION FORM
  If you are receiving an outside scholarship/grant/award, you must report those to BHSU Student Financial Services. Please complete this form for each additional scholarship/award and mail to address below. If you wish us to email a form to you, please email Cheri Leahy.

• Perkins Loan
  Students receiving a federal Perkins Loan will need to sign the Master Promissory Note (MPN) the first year the student receives the award, the MPN will be sent with the award letter. Also, included with the award letter will be the Perkins Rights and Responsibilities form and the Perkins Terms and Conditions. The student will need to complete the Perkins Rights and Responsibilities each year.
   
• PLUS Certification
  Each year the parent borrowing the federal Parent PLUS loan must complete the 2009-10 Parent PLUS Confirmation Form for a new loan period. The initial Parent PLUS Master Promissory Note (MPN) PLUS MPN must be completed by the parent signing the PLUS certification; the MPN does not need to be completed each year if the same parent is borrowing the Parent PLUS. Please print out, complete and return to Student Financial Services Office at BHSU.
   
• Satisfactory Academic Progress
  Upon the student being suspended from federal and institutional aid (see policy in Award Handbook) s/he can APPEAL.
   
• Verification
  Those students whose file has been flagged as needing verification need to complete a 2009-10 Verification form. Please print out, complete, and send other documents required on form by mail to the Enrollment Service Center, SDU 317, 414 East Clark, Vermillion, SD 57069-2390 or fax to (605) 677-6828.

Student Financial Services - Financial Aid
1200 University Street Unit 9670
Spearfish, SD 57799-9670
bhsufinancial@bhsu.edu
phone: (605) 642-6145 or 1-800-255-BHSU
fax: (605) 642-6913