Every school year a student requiring financial assistance will have to fill out a FAFSA (FREE Application for Federal Student Aid).To get the form, whether digital or paper, you must visit http://www.fafsa.ed.gov . This is the website that will allow you free access to the forms. (TIP – you should never pay for the FAFSA... after all, it has Free in the title!) This form needs to be filled out before the academic year. The sooner the FAFSA is filled out the better. UND's priority funding date is April 15th, so it is best to get your forms processed before then.

The information you will need for the FAFSA are your social security number, driver's license, and tax forms for your household income, your parent or guardian's tax information if you are considered a dependent student (if you don't know read this), your bank statements, statements pertaining to any business or investments, or your alien registration or permanent resident card (if you are not a U.S. citizen).

For More Information go to http://www.mycollegemoneyplan.org/   --module 4 titled The FAFSA --

Once the FAFSA is complete it will take a few weeks for it to be processed. Each school has a policy when they disperse awards; it may be good to check your schools here is UND's dates. When you get the FAFSA results back you will find out if you are eligible for any grants or other "free" money. These awards are the ones that you do not need to pay back. Once you know what you will not have to pay back, it's time to figure out what you will need to borrow to complete your college journey.

• To get an idea of the cost, click here. This link will guide you to UND's cost and aid estimator.  You could also check UND Financial Aid's website for available grants and scholarships. 
• It is also important to check with your department to see if there are any scholarships specific to your major.

Having an idea what college will cost, and armed with your FAFSA results, it's time to estimate what you will need. Having had the "money talk" with your parents will have helped you for this point. (Here is an excellent checklist to plan for college) Consider if you are going to work while attending college, what kind of income you can expect in the summer, and what you have in savings. Consider all these factors for your 4-year education and plan ahead.

With the cost of college estimated you will need to plan how you want to manage this cost. There are many choices how you can pay for school, here are a few:

• Grants
  • These are awards based on criteria. The main benefit of this type of award is that they do not need to be paid back. Check out this link to see some of the grants awarded at UND.
• Scholarships and Waivers
  • This is another award that does not have to be paid back. There are tons of scholarship dollars that go unused here at UND. It is always good to check with the department of your major for information; there might be scholarships that are designed for your specific major. For more information on scholarships at UND click here.
• Federal Work Study (FWS)
  • Work Study was created for students who demonstrate financial need, information determined by your FAFSA. There are around 800-1,000 students at UND that are hired through FWS each year. Students enrolled in FWS will not be able to work during class time, one major restriction of the FWS program. Here is more information on student employment.
  • For more information check out UND's Financial Aid website to look at additional details for the options listed above, as well as others. I would recommend that you look under the Graduate or Under-Graduate tabs to check the options that better suite your college plan.

It should be your goal to take out as little student debt as you can manage. Taking out too much will add unnecessary stress in your college career. That is why some students will need to seek employment as well. When looking around the community for employment it is important to remember that your education should take priority. Working too many hours may lead to a real drop in academic performance. The last thing you want is to re-take a class, especially if it is an easily avoidable expense. The common rule among experts is to work up to 20-hours a week in school, but it is up to you to figure out how much you will want to work while attending classes.

Once you know how much you will need to borrow for college, it is time to look into your loan options. There are options out there. The important thing to remember is to look for the best one for
you. UND's Financial Aid website is a great tool to research the different types of loans. Student Loans need to be repaid. Even if an individual files for bankruptcy, the loan must be repaid.

There are many options for repaying student loans; check out CashCourse.  

Now that you have gone through the process, your available options will be available for you to choose. You will log onto Campus Connection located on UND's website. From there you will be able to accept your awards and decrease the amount of the awarded loan. REMEMBER the less you take now means the less you have to pay back later.

• To view a tutorial on accepting student loans on Campus Connection click here.

How much do I really need?

When accepting these awards you may see that you were awarded more money than you thought. Before clicking "accept" you need to review your financial plan. Good advice in this situation is "Live like a college student in college so you don't have to live like a college student after college". Taking too much out now may have you paying off these loans for YEARS longer than necessary.

What do I do if I am awarded too much?

There are 2 situations that can happen. The first is that you have accepted more than you need. This can be corrected by contacting your Financial Aid office before the aid is disbursed; UND's office number is (701) 777-3121. The professional will be able to adjust your amount. If the aid is already disbursed you will need to contact your lender. If you do this soon enough you will be able to avoid any interest and the money sent back will lower your loan amount by that much.

When you are awarded a federal loan for the first time you will need to participate in some form of entrance loan counseling. If you do not complete the counseling you will not receive your funds. For more information, and to learn how to complete your counseling click here.  This link will lead you to your counseling. In some circumstances you will have to take multiple Entrance Loan Counseling sessions, for example if you receive a Perkins and a Direct loan you will need to take a loan counseling session for both.

You will need to sign a master promissory note (MPN) the first time you get a federal student loan. It is a binding legal document that you must sign when you get these loans. The MPN lists the terms and conditions under which you agree to repay the loan and explain your rights and responsibilities as a borrower. The benefit of MPNs is that one will usually cover all of the student loans you get in a college career, as long as it spans 10 years or less. It is important to note that a MPN will cover loans with the same terms MOST of the time. MPN's are not valid at every institution. You will still need to fill out a FAFSA for every school year.

By signing a Master Promissory Note (MPN), you, the borrower, agree to repay the loans that are guaranteed using the note. UND participates in the serial process, which means you should only have to complete one MPN for each loan type borrowed (Direct Loan, Perkins Loan, Nursing Loan, etc.). The MPN will remain valid for 10 years unless you file for bankruptcy. If you sign the MPN and then decide not to borrow for 12 months, you will be required to complete a new MPN.

For more information on what you will need to complete your MPN click here.  This will bring you to UND's Financial Aid office for more information.

All student loan borrowers must complete exit loan counseling when they drop below half-time enrollment, withdraw from school, or before the end of their last term of enrollment at UND. The counseling will teach you about your repayment options and help you choose the option that is best for you. It will take approximately 30-40 minutes to complete. For information on how to complete your exit loan counseling click here. UND's Financial Aid page will lead you through what you need to do to be on your way to successfully paying back your loan.

You can retrieve a summary of all your FAFSA issued federal student loans at the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) site. You will need your FAFSA personal identification number (PIN), but if you've forgotten your PIN you can click here to request a duplicate pin. Your private student loans will not be included in this list. If you are not sure who your lender is, you can get your credit report from www.annualcreditreport.com which will list all of your creditors including any private lenders. Remember you are only allowed one free credit report every 12 months.

All student loan borrowers must complete exit loan counseling when they drop below half-time enrollment, withdraw from school, or before the end of their last term of enrollment at UND. The counseling will teach you about your repayment options and help you choose the option that is best for you. It will take approximately 30-40 minutes to complete. For information on how to complete your exit loan counseling click here. UND's Financial Aid page will lead you through what you need to do to be on your way to successfully paying back your loan.

It is important to educate yourself on your options. With the number of different student loans out there it is important to understand the repayment agreement you are agreeing to take part in. It is important that you make your payments. If you miss payments you could damage your credit score. Try out this easy to use calculator to compare standard 10 year loan repayment with extended and graduated repayment options.

After running one of the calculators available on UND's Financial Aid site, to estimate how your student loan will affect your life, simply fill out your budget worksheet.  This will help you determine what your payments will look like when you start to pay them back.