You need to file a FAFSA every year you are in school to receive financial aid funds. File your FAFSA as soon as you consider attending college, even if you ultimately decide not to attend. Remember the financial aid year starts July 1 and ends June 30.
Who is considered an independent student and who is considered a dependent student?
There are many variables that help determine if you are dependent or independent, and sometimes those variables evolve each year. Visit StudentAid.gov to learn more.
I wish to take out a Federal Direct Loan. What should I do?
When will I hear about my financial aid and when will the funds be available?
Once your FAFSA and enrollment paperwork are complete, The Office of Financial Aid begins processing. This generally takes two-four weeks, depending on the time of year and the volume of applications.
We will email you if we have additional questions, so please check your email frequently.
When processing is complete, you will receive an email stating that your financial aid offer is available. See the offer by logging into your e-Services account.
All financial aid is first applied to your student account. Excess funding will be refunded to you via your BankMobile card. Refunds begin arriving during week three of the semester.
Financial Aid funds are provided assuming you will complete the semester. If a you withdraw, federal regulations require Inver Hills to administer a Return of Title IV Funds Calculation, which adjusts your award based on last day of attendance.
Unearned aid must be returned and you will be billed for this amount.
What types of students are eligible for financial aid?
You must be enrolled in an eligible program and make satisfactory academic progress to receive financial aid. If you are classified as Audit, Limited Enrollment, PSEO or non-PSEO, you are not eligible for financial aid.
What is Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)?
To meet SAP, you must have a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or above and complete 67 percent of classes enrolled. Learn more by referring to the Academic Progress policy.
The maximum time of enrollment you may receive financial aid while completing a program of study is 150 percent of the total credits needed to graduate from that program.
For example, if a program requires 60 credits to graduate, you cannot receive financial aid for more than 90 attempted credits (60 X 1.5 = 90).
Am I eligible for a book voucher?
A book voucher allows you to obtain textbooks and apply those charges to your student account with Inver Hills. If you receive federal financial aid, you agree that the aid will first apply to the bookstore charges, and then apply to required tuition and fees. Any charges that remain outstanding after financial aid has been applied are still your responsibility.
If you withdraw, drop credits, or makes changes that reduce the amount of financial aid you are eligible for, you remain responsible for any unpaid balance.
There are resources to help you get the books you need beyond using a book voucher.
Students may set up a payment plan
Rental options may be available for some titles. Check with the bookstore
PSEO students receive their books at no cost to them
Can I receive aid for summer session?
You can receive financial aid for summer sessions. Depending on eligibility, you may be eligible for grants, loans and work-study. If you are interested in summer financial aid, you should check with The Office of Financial Aid for details.
How can I get a general idea of what types of aid I would be eligible for?
Minnesota has developed an estimator for financial aid eligibility: Financial Aid Estimator (Minnesota Office of Higher Education).
How is my financial need calculated?
The U.S. Department of Education uses family income, asset value, and household sized information from the FAFSA to determine the student’s eligibility for financial aid. The Office of Financial Aid uses this information to determine the Financial Aid Offer for the student.
Is financial aid available for international students?
Generally, you are an eligible noncitizen if you are (1) a permanent U.S. resident with a Permanent Resident Card (I-551); (2) a conditional permanent resident with a Conditional Green Card (I-551C); (3) the holder of an Arrival-Departure Record (I-94) from the Department of Homeland Security showing any one of the following designations: “Refugee,” “Asylum Granted,” “Parolee” (I-94 confirms that you were paroled for a minimum of one year and status has not expired), T-Visa holder (T-1, T-2, T-3, etc.) or “Cuban-Haitian Entrant;” or (4) the holder of a valid certification or eligibility letter from the Department of Health and Human Services showing a designation of “Victim of human trafficking.” If you are in the U.S. and have been granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), an F1 or F2 student visa, a J1 or J2 exchange visitor visa, or a G series visa (pertaining to international organizations), select “No, I am not a citizen or eligible noncitizen.” You will not be eligible for federal student aid. If you have a Social Security Number but are not a citizen or an eligible noncitizen, including if you have been granted DACA, you should still complete the FAFSA form because you may be eligible for state or college aid.
My parents are divorced or separated. Which information do I use?
Please use the information below as a guide for parental information:
If your parents are divorced or separated, you should provide the information about the parent you lived with more during the past 12 months.
If you did not live with one parent more than the other, use the parent that provided more financial support during the last 12 months, or during the most recent year that you actually received support from a parent.
If this parent is remarried as of today, provide information about the parent AND the person your parent married (step-parent).
What are the general eligibility requirements for federal financial aid?
To be considered for federal aid, you must be in an eligible program and enrolled at least half time, six or more credits, to receive loans. Some grants may be available for less-than half-time students. You must also be a U.S. Citizen or an eligible non-citizen. Additionally, students having defaulted loans or have unpaid Pell grant overpayments are not eligible for federal and state financial aid funds.
What is the difference between subsidized and unsubsidized Federal Direct Loans?
I am enrolled at Inver Hills, but need to take a class at another Minnesota State college or university. What do I do?
You cannot receive financial aid from two schools at the same time. Inver Hills does have consortium agreements with many colleges and universities in the area. Please check with our Financial Aid Office for agreements and required documentation. You are responsible for tuition and fees at visiting schools. Inver Hills will not send payment for consortium courses to the visiting school. Learn more by reading the Metro Alliance Financial Aid Consortium Agreement.
What is loan consolidation?
A consolidation loan can help you simplify loan repayments by allowing you to combine several types of federal student loans with various repayment schedules into one loan with a fixed interest rate. In most cases, you must be out of school to consolidate your loans. You can consolidate your loans only one time. Consolidating your loans may have disadvantages. Do your research.
When I graduate, how much will my monthly student loan payments be?
The monthly repayment amounts will differ based on the amount you borrowed and your repayment terms. Learn more by visiting Money Management.
Are there financial aid limits?
There are limits to the amount of financial assistance a student can receive. Any student who receives student financial aid from any source, regardless of payment method, is held to the Office of Financial Aid-determined Cost of Attendance (COA) budget for the given Award Year.
The COA budget is determined by an estimate of tuition and fees amount, plus allowances for housing, food, books and supplies, and other education related expenses for a 9-month period including the fall and spring semesters. Factors such as your living situation, dependency status, full or part-time enrollment, what you spend to cover your non-tuition, education related expenses may differ from the average amounts used by the Office of Financial Aid.
COA Budget Inclusions
Your financial aid budget is defined by various costs you will assume when going to college, the first being tuition and fees.
The next cost included in your financial aid budget is room and board. Since all students live off campus, an allocation is included for room and board costs.
Books are another expense students incur while going to school. Inver Hills determines an average cost for books when defining the COA budget. Your individual costs may differ depending on availability of used or new textbooks or your course requirements for any given semester.
Finally, there are items we include in your financial aid budget that you may not think of as college costs or expenses to consider. Transportation, as well as miscellaneous costs including everything from medical insurance to clothing and toiletries are included as miscellaneous expenses. As with book costs, what you spend on these items may differ from the average amounts budgeted.
Aid Limitations
The total financial aid package – to include all types of aid received – must remain within the COA budget as determined by the Office of Financial Aid. It is therefore important that you notify the Office of Financial Aid of any scholarship, grant, assistance, or loan funding that does not appear as part of your Financial Aid Award Offer from the college. By keeping the Office of Financial Aid informed of these types of awards, a student reduces the risk of having financial aid adjusted mid-year or after funds have been received by the student.
Students receiving multiple or large scholarship offers from Inver Hills should also be aware that, in rare cases, their scholarship awards may be limited. Work closely with awarding offices to understand your scholarship package and terms of individual awards.
Overawards & Financial Aid Reductions
The Office of Financial Aid packages students based on their eligibility as determined at the time of financial aid awarding. Unfortunately, eligibility can change even after the year or term has begun.
Financial assistance from any Inver Hills department or outside source previously unknown to the Office of Financial Aid may surface. When total aid exceeds the revised COA budget, an overaward exists.
Adjustments to the make up or total sum of the aid package are required if any federal aid is present when an overaward occurs. Similarly, scholarship adjustments may be necessary due to any scholarship limit policy. The Office of Financial Aid routinely reviews all financial aid awards throughout the school year to ensure they remain in compliance and meet eligibility requirements.
The college wants to limit post-award changes and avoid post-disbursement adjustments to aid packages. Adjustments, when necessary, most often reduce loan or work study portions of an aid package, and posting of new aid sources may replace loan or work-study portions of an aid package.
Though every effort is made to maintain compliance with federal, state, institutional, and external agency policies prior to award disbursement, some adjustments to funding may be required following the payment to a student account or a refund made to the student.
Does financial aid cover developmental courses?
You can receive financial aid for up to 30 development credits.
How are student loans awarded?
Student loans are awarded evenly between fall and spring semester, between spring and summer semester or during summer semester.
I'm graduating after fall semester. What is my loan eligibility?
Loan Proration Requirement (undergraduate students only):
If you will complete your degree program by attending only one semester of the academic year, we are required to prorate your student loan amount. Your loan must be prorated according to a required formula.
If your loan offer is subject to the proration requirement, then the ceiling on your loan eligibility is the product of the annual maximum limit multiplied by the number of credit you have remaining, and divided by the number of credits in an academic year (24).
For example, if the annual loan limit is $10,500 and you have eight credits remaining to graduate, the most you may receive from the Federal Direct Loan program for your final semester of study is ($10,500 x 8)/24 or $3,500. Proration calculations are done at the time we certify your loan, based on information you provide through the loan request process.
How do I know if I'm eligible for financial aid programs provided through the state of Minnesota?
To be eligible for Minnesota programs, you must meet one of the following conditions:
You are a dependent or independent student who has resided in Minnesota for 12 consecutive months without being enrolled in a postsecondary school for more than five credits in any term
You are a dependent student whose parent or legal guardian resides in Minnesota at the time the student applies
You are an independent or dependent student who graduated from a Minnesota high school, if you were a resident of Minnesota during your period of attendance at the Minnesota high school, and you are physically attending a Minnesota postsecondary institution
You are an independent or dependent student who, after residing in the state for a minimum of one year, earned a high school equivalency certificate (GED) in Minnesota
You are an independent student who was granted residency as a dependent student and has not since left the state of Minnesota
You are an independent or dependent student who is a member (or spouse/dependent of a member) of the U.S. Armed Forces stationed in Minnesota on active federal military service as defined in section 190.05, subdivision 5c
You are a spouse or dependent of a veteran, as defined in Minnesota Statutes 197.447, if the veteran meets the residency definition used for state financial aid programs
You are an independent or dependent student (or spouse of) who relocated to Minnesota from an area that is declared a presidential disaster area within 12 months of the disaster declaration, if the disaster interrupted your postsecondary education
You are an independent or dependent student defined as a refugee under U.S. Code, title 8, section 1101(a)(42) who, upon arrival in the U.S., moved to Minnesota and has continued to reside in Minnesota
You meet the eligibility requirements as identified by the Minnesota Dream Act, also known as the Prosperity Act
Financial Aid Resources
INVER HILLS SCHOOL CODE: 006935
Watch this video, less than five minutes long, for helpful tips on filling out the FAFSA.