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Students who want to be considered for federal student loans, grants or work-study must complete the . The FAFSA results are used to determine a student's eligibility for federal student aid.

The priority date for submitting the FAFSA is March 1. There is no deadline for submitting the FAFSA. The SDSU school code is 003471. Whenever possible please use FAFSA's IRS Data Retrieval Tool to provide tax information.

To view, accept or reject and submit your federal financial aid award you can log onto your .

What if the information on my FAFSA does not accurately demonstrate my family's true financial status?

Students with special circumstances should meet with a financial aid counselor to discuss their family's situation to determine if adjustments can be made.

One out of every three students who fills out the FAFSA is selected for verification. If you are selected, you will receive a verification letter asking you to complete the verification form and provide additional tax documentation. Returning these forms quickly will speed up the awarding process.

The parent of a dependent student may borrow a Federal PLUS Loan to cover any costs not met by the aid awarded to the student. Students can also apply for alternative and private education loans, but a cosigner will usually be required.

The federal government pays the interest on Subsidized Direct Loans while the student is in school and during qualified deferments. Interest on Unsubsidized Direct Loans is not paid by the federal government at any time. For the 2024-25 school year, the Direct Subsidized and Direct Unsubsidized Loans have a 6.53% fixed interest rate. Loans with a first disbursement date on or after Oct. 1, 2024 have a 1.057% origination fee.

The and must be completed by new Federal Direct Loan borrowers prior to the disbursement of Federal Direct Loans. The MPN is a legal document that obligates students to repay their Federal Direct Loans. The MPN will ask you general contact information and you will agree to the terms of the loan and electronically sign the document. Entrance Loan Counseling is an information session that explains your responsibilities and rights as a student borrower. It is designed to help students be familiar with what it means to take a loan and what they can expect when they are paying on the loan in the future. You will complete these items at . They will take about 30 minutes to complete.

If students withdraw (officially cease attendance in all classes) from the university, they are subject to a return of Title IV (federal aid) calculation. Students who withdraw before completing 60% of the semester will be required to return a portion or all of their financial aid. Attendance will be verified for all classes a student is enrolled in. Lack of attendance may affect the amount of aid that is returned.

If a student drops classes before the add/drop-with-refund date and the student drops below full-time enrollment, their federal financial aid could be affected. If a student drops classes after the add/drop-with-refund date the disbursed aid remains unchanged. Any time a student drops below half-time enrollment, the student could enter the grace period or repayment period on their loans. Students should always review the satisfactory academic progress standards when dropping classes as federal aid could be affected for future semesters.

SDSU's Cohort Default Rates are well below the national average. For the last six years, SDSU's rates have ranged from 0 to 4.2%.

• If you want the Financial Aid Office to share your financial aid information with a parent or another individual, you can complete our . The form authorizes the Financial Aid Office and the Cashier’s Office to release your financial aid information and billing information to the people you list on the form.
• Due to federal privacy laws, the Financial Aid Office cannot share your financial aid or billing information with anyone (including your parent) unless you have completed this authorization.

Once you complete your FAFSA, it will take up to two weeks for the results to be received at SDSU and another week for you to receive your awards. If you filed your FAFSA more than three weeks ago, you should:

• Log into your FAFSA and verify that you included SDSU as one of the schools you wanted to receive your FAFSA results. If SDSU is not listed, you can add our school code (003471-00) and resubmit your FAFSA.
• Check your Financial Aid Self Service portal to make sure you have not been awarded since you last checked. This video provides instructions for accessing awards on Financial Aid Self Service.
• View the Outstanding Requirements tab on Financial Aid Self Service to see if you have any outstanding items listed. Follow the links and instructions on the Requirements tab to complete any outstanding requirements.
• If you were selected for Verification and submitted your Verification documents, check with the Enrollment Services Center or the Financial Aid Office to see if there are additional documents that you need to provide.

You should accept your awards on or before July 31. You will still have the opportunity to accept awards after July 31, however, the funds may not be ready to pay before the bill is due.

You will need to complete a and at . Log in with your FSA ID (the same login as you used for the FAFSA).

• Your bill for the fall term will be posted in mid-July and can be viewed on SDePay. Visit Billing and Payments for information on how to access your SDePay account.
• Your orientation packet includes a cost estimator worksheet that you can use to help estimate expenses before the official costs are posted to your account.

Financial aid that is ready to pay will post to your SDSU account about a week before the start of the fall term. When your bill is posted in mid-July, your billing statement will list any financial aid that is ready to pay as authorized.

• The SDSU Cashier’s Office offers payment plans that allow you to pay the remaining balance over the course of the semester. Learn more about payment plans.
• Students have the opportunity to apply for alternative loans made through banks, credit unions and state agencies. To qualify, students need a credit-worthy cosigner. Interest rates and terms vary depending on the lender and the credit of the cosigner. Please visit Alternative and Private Loans for additional information.
• Parents can apply for a Federal Direct PLUS Loan to help finance educational expenses. If a parent’s application for the PLUS Loan is denied due to credit, the student may qualify for additional Direct Loans. Parents of dependent undergraduate students can complete the Parent Direct PLUS Loan Application by logging into .

Please mail your scholarship checks to the address listed below. Be sure to include your full name and student ID. If the check is made out to both the student and SDSU, please sign the back of the check before mailing.

SDSU Financial Aid and Scholarships
Enrollment Services Center
Box 511A
Brookings, SD 57007

If your scholarship check will not arrive until after the due date, you may request a three-week deferment (extension) of the due date of your spring bill based on pending financial aid or external funding that will not be received until after the January 18, 2024 due date.

To request this extension, please complete the . A deferment will prevent you from being assessed late fees on the portion of the bill the scholarship will pay.

Be sure to include the following information in your deferment request:

• Student’s full name
• Student’s SDSU ID#
• Name of the scholarship
• Amount of the scholarship
• Date the scholarship is expected to arrive

Incoming students should visit Academic Undergraduate Scholarship for information on how to apply for SDSU scholarships.

Students are encouraged to contact local businesses and organizations, as well as employers of family members, for additional scholarship opportunities. The provides reliable information on how to navigate your scholarship search.

If the income you listed on the FAFSA is significantly higher than your current income, please contact the Financial Aid Office to discuss options.

• Step 1: Fill out the FAFSA
  • Before you fill out the FAFSA, you will need to . The student and one parent of dependent students will need to create an FSA ID.
  • The FAFSA can be filled out at .
  • You will need to complete a new FAFSA each year.
• Step 2: Accept your financial aid offer
  • It takes SDSU roughly two weeks to receive your FAFSA after it is submitted.
  • Students should monitor their Jacks email account after submitting their FAFSA, as this is where we would send requests for any more information that we may need to create an award offer. When your award offer is ready for you to view, you will also receive an email to your Jacks email account.

  • Learn more about the different types of aid that you may see on your financial aid offer:

• Step 3: Complete your MPN and Entrance Loan Counseling
  • If you have accepted federal direct loans, you will need to complete a Master Promissory Note and Entrance Loan Counseling before your loans will pay to your student billing account.
  • The Master Promissory Note (MPN) is the students agreement to the terms of the loan and a promise to repay the loan.
  • Entrance Loan Counseling is a simulated activity that gets students familiar with the terms of the loan and lets them know what to expect during repayment.
  • Both of these can be completed at studentaid.gov. The student needs to log in with their FSA ID to complete these two items. Use the buttons below to complete both the MPN and Entrance Loan Counseling: