Frequently Asked Questions
General Questions
Q. Am I being charged for transportation costs, housing, and personal expenses?
The“Cost of Attendance” section on your “Award Offer” tab is an outline of estimated educational costs to help our office determine your financial need. These costs may not reflect your actual expenses. You may view your tuition, fees, USU housing, and meal plan charges through your financial account summary or TouchNet — if they have already been assessed by the Registrar’s Office.
Q. Why did my grant adjust?
Grants pay according to the number of credits you are enrolled in. For example, a full-time student (12+ credits) generally receives twice as much as a half-time student. Grant adjustments will finalize on the last day to add/drop classes.
Q. Can I change my marital status after I have already applied for federal aid?
If you apply before you marry, you may be able to change your status during the school year. In most cases, married students are eligible for more aid than dependent students because they earn less than their parents. However, your eligibility for aid is still based on your and your spouse's income. Please note, if you are changing your name, you must also change your name with the Social Security Administration. Contact our office about updating your marital status on FAFSA.
Q. Can I get aid for summer semester?
Students can sometimes receive additional or remaining grant and loan eligibility for summer. If you are eligible for Federal Pell Grants, we will set up your summer aid during spring semester. To apply for summer loans contact our office during spring or summer semester to see if you have any remaining eligibility.
Q. How do I get a tax return transcript or letter of non-filing from the IRS?
Students have several options for getting their tax information to USU for FAFSA verification.
Q. I am transferring to USU and have received federal aid at another college. Can I have my federal aid transferred to USU?
Federal aid cannot be directly transferred from another university to USU. You should cancel your aid at the other school for the semester(s) you are not attending by contacting their federal aid office. USU needs to be added to your FAFSA for the same academic year. Log into your FAFSA on studentaid.gov, locate the “Add or Change Schools” section to add USU. Our FAFSA school code is 003677. You do not need to delete the other school. After submitting your FAFSA update, USU Student Financial Support will receive your FAFSA and begin processing. USU will contact you if you need to submit additional information to process your aid. Please note, you cannot receive a Federal Pell Grant from two different schools for the same semester or overlapping dates of attendance.
Federal Aid & Tuition Payment
Q. How will my aid pay my charges?
After your tuition is assessed, federal aid starts showing on your account as a credit. Some credits are labeled memos and some credits are labeled authorizations. A memo generally means that some additional tasks must be completed before the credit is authorized. This credit remains on your account until a week before school starts. If the credit is enough to cover your charges, you should have a zero balance or a negative balance on your account. If the credit is not enough to cover your charges, you should pay the difference before tuition is due. If you don’t have a memo or authorization before school starts, something might be wrong with your federal aid and you should reach out to our office for assistance.
A week before your classes begin, authorized federal aid should automatically pay your charges. If your federal aid is not paying, then some tasks were not completed and still need to be finalized. Any leftover federal aid will be refunded to you by mail or direct deposit around the first day you are scheduled to start classes. You can always review your account activity through your financial account summary or TouchNet.
Q. When will I get my leftover federal aid money?
During the semester, any leftover money is generally sent to you 3-5 business days after you accept your aid and complete any additional steps such as loan counseling, signing the MPN, etc. If you accepted your aid a few weeks before the beginning of the term and completed any additional steps, remaining funds are sent around the first day of the semester.
Q. How will I get my leftover federal aid money?
Federal Aid funds are first applied to your USU charges--as long as you are otherwise eligible and have completed all additional steps such as online loan counseling, signing a Master Promissory Note, etc. Any leftover funds are mailed to the mailing address you have on your USU profile. Or, you can add a bank account and have your leftover funds deposited directly into your checking account.
Federal Aid Terms & Conditions
Q. Why is federal aid not paying for all of my classes?
If you have already passed a particular course on your transcript such as Math 1050, federal aid will only pay for it one time. When you register, our course registration system will disregard any such repeated classes when disbursing aid. However, this federal aid restriction does not prevent you from enrolling in a class as many times as you need.
Q. How do I make sure I don't lose my federal aid?
To keep your aid, you must meet the Institution GPA and credit requirements each semester. Please review our Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy to learn more about our academic standards and how long you can receive federal aid for specific programs.
Financial Aid Communications
Q. How can I tell whether to trust an email from Student Financial Support?
Emails from our office will come from these addresses:
- financialaid@usu.edu
- campuslogic@finaid.usu.edu
- notifications@calendly.com
- scholarships@usu.edu
- financialaid@usu.edu via verifymyfafsa.com
Our emails will include our contact information at the bottom and may also list your name and A-number at the top.
Q. When will I hear from USU about my federal aid?
Federal aid offers are created in March for the upcoming academic year. We then email the student about logging into their USU federal aid portal to review their offer. We also email instructions and documentation requests to students starting in November or December. After March, notifications are emailed on a weekly basis to admitted students who complete their FAFSA.
Like most financial and business institutions, we rely on email to communicate with our students. Students who have registered for USU courses need to check their University email account regularly for important updates and notifications.
Q. Why do I get emails telling me I have been offered aid? I was offered aid months ago.
Sometimes updates to your aid are made during the school year and we are required to inform you of these changes.
Financial Aid Issues
Q. What happens to my federal aid if I drop a class after the last day to add?
Withdrawing from classes may affect your eligibility for federal aid and you will receive a W "grade" on your transcript. Getting too many W’s on your transcript could result in a federal aid warning or suspension depending on your federal aid status.
If you are on federal aid warning or probation, withdrawing from a class may result in suspension of federal aid for the next semester. Please check with Student Financial Support if you are on warning or probation before withdrawing.
If you withdraw from or fail all of your classes this semester, you may be required to repay some or all of your federal aid.
Q. I need to stop attending this term, what do I do about my federal aid?
Dropping courses may be in your overall best interest. However, we recommend consulting with your Federal Aid Counselor beforehand to see how dropping will affect your aid. When you withdraw from all of your classes during the term you are encouraged to fill out a Notification of Leave online. Our office will determine how much federal aid you need to return. We will notify you by mail about repayment. Other resources to consider.
If you have a Federal Pell Grant, you may need to document that you participated academically in your classes. This may reduce how much money has to be returned. Please note that dropping below half-time enrollment may cause older loans to come due immediately. Withdrawing from classes will also affect your academic progress towards graduation. Your Federal Aid Counselor will be able to tell you how dropping courses will affect your Pace, loan repayment timeframe, and how to provide proof of participation (if needed).
Q. Will my Warning/Probation/Suspension status affect my award for next semester?
If you are on warning or probation, next semester's federal aid is on hold until final grades are posted for the current semester. If you receive a suspension notice, then you are not eligible for federal aid, including student loans. If there were circumstances outside of your control that contributed to your federal aid suspension, you may appeal to receive aid. Please note that not all appeals can be approved. To start the appeals process, please contact our office.
Beyond Financial Aid
Q. Should I pay for federal aid and scholarship guidance?
No! Beware of any service that offers financial advice or assistance after you pay a fee. We are happy to assist you with any questions for free! The USU General Scholarship Application will help you apply for institutional, private, community, corporate, college, departmental, major, and campus-specific scholarships.
Q. Do I have to report scholarships and grants on my taxes?
In general, you must report any amount of scholarship and grant that exceeds tuition, fees, and course-related expenses for enrolling at an educational institution. Course-related expenses can include books, supplies, and equipment that are required of all students for courses. Please review IRS Publication 970 - (Tax Benefits for Education) for more information about any taxable assistance.
Q. Why has my ID card stopped working at the computer labs, library, games, etc.?
Student ID cards only work if your balance at USU is paid in full. You may still owe tuition, fees, or have been assessed a late fee. Please check your account on MyUSU to see if you owe anything for the current semester or previous semesters. You will need to pay the balance as soon as possible in order to access services at USU.
Q. Who handles third-party billing/payments?
USU Bursar's Office: (435) 797-1537.
Q. Who handles Perkins Loans Servicing Issues?
Justin Gereau (justin.gereau@usu.edu, 435-797-1057) in the Bursar's Office.