• Is summer aid available at Southeast Missouri State University?
• What types of special circumstances does Southeast take into consideration?
• How is dependency status determined for financial aid?
• What does it mean to be chosen for verification?
• When will I be billed?
• Is there a payment plan at Southeast Missouri State University?
• How is financial aid credited to my Southeast account?

Is summer aid available at Southeast Missouri State University?

Southeast's academic year runs fall, spring, then summer.  Therefore, your eligibility for summer financial aid depends on how much of your financial aid eligibility was already received.  You may be eligible for subsidized and/or unsubsidized Stafford loans if you did not already borrow the maximum amount for your grade level and you are attending at least half time in a degree seeking program.  If you were eligible for the Pell grant during fall and spring and did not receive your maximum annual award, you may be eligible for Pell grant funds. Other aid eligibility is based on availability.  To determine your eligibility for summer financial aid, you must complete a one-page institutional application available from Student Financial Services after Spring Break and have the correct Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on file (the 2008-2009 FAFSA will be used for Summer 2009).

There is no Installment Payment Plan (IPP) for the summer semester.  Financial aid must be fully processed to be credited to your Southeast account.  It is your responsibility to pay the balance in full by the billing due date.

Note:  If you received a Satisfactory Academic Progress Warning Notice after the fall semester, payment of summer classes is your responsibility.  You are not eligible for summer financial aid until spring grades are posted and you are proven to be meeting satisfactory academic progress standards.  If you do not meet satisfactory academic progress standards after spring grades are posted, you will remain ineligible for financial aid.

What types of special circumstances does Southeast take into consideration?

Families sometimes have unusual circumstances that affect their ability to pay for college. In some situations Student Financial Services can make adjustments to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) so eligibility for financial aid can be recalculated.

The following are special circumstances our office can take into consideration:

• Out-of-pocket medical expenses which exceeded $2000 in the base calendar year used for the FAFSA or which will exceed $2000 in the subsequent calendar year
• Divorce or separation which occurred after the completion of the FAFSA
• A loss of income experienced by an independent student and/or their spouse or by a dependent student’s parent(s).

A Request for Review of Special Circumstances form is available from Student Financial Services.  If you want to have your circumstances reviewed, you will need to complete this form and submit it to Student Financial Services with all necessary documentation.  Once these forms are received by Student Financial Services, it will take approximately 2-3 weeks to process the review.  Depending on your circumstances and current eligibility, the review may or may not warrant a change in your overall financial aid package.  Either way, you will be notified of the results in writing. If an adjustment to the financial aid award was warranted, a new Aid Award Notification Letter will also be sent.

How is dependency status determined for financial aid?

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) asks seven questions to determine your dependency status for financial aid:

1. Were you born before January 1, 1985?
2. Will you be working on a master’s or doctorate program during the school year 2008-2009?
3. As of today, are you married?
4. Do you have children who receive more than half of their support from you?
5. Do you have dependents (other than your children or spouse) who live with you and who receive more than half of their support from you, now and through June 30,2009?
6. Are you an orphan or ward of the court or were you a ward of the court until age 18?
7. Are you a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces?

If you answer yes to any one of these questions, you are considered independent for financial aid purposes.  You only need to report your (and your spouse’s) income.  If you cannot answer yes to any of these questions, you are dependent for financial aid purposes and must report your and your parents’ income.  This is true regardless of where you live, how much money you earn, or who claimed you on the prior year’s tax return.  The Department of Education’s philosophy behind these regulations is that it is your family who should have the primary responsibility for paying for your postsecondary education, not the taxpayers.

Sometimes, students have unusual circumstances that would make them independent even though they do not meet the federal requirements. If you feel that you have a family situation that warrants an exception to the regulations (i.e. a dysfunctional family situation that can be documented or the death of the custodial parent), you should contact a Coordinator in Student Financial Services.  A dependency status override must be reviewed on a case by case basis at the school.  The U.S. Department of Education does not review any appeals, and an appeal approved at one college will not necessarily be approved at another college.

What does it mean to be chosen for verification?

Verification is a process where the information provided on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is compared with signed copies of student (and parent/spouse) tax forms, W-2’s, and/or other financial documents. 30-35% of all financial aid applications are chosen for verification. The selection of an application for verification does not mean the information provided is incorrect. Some applications are selected for review on a random sample basis, and some applications are selected based upon a set of common edits that check data for consistency and logic. If there are discrepancies between the FAFSA and the financial documents, Student Financial Services will send the necessary corrections electronically to the Central Processor. 

If your application is chosen for verification, you will receive a written request for the necessary information.  You will not be eligible for any federal or state aid until all of the necessary documentation is received and the review is complete.  Upon completion of the verification process, Student Financial Services will determine your financial aid eligibility and will send an Aid Award Notification Letter.

When will I be billed?

You will be billed on a monthly basis. The first statement for the fall semester is mailed in early July and is due in early August. The first statement for the spring semester is mailed in early December and is due in early January. These statements include basic charges and credits for the upcoming semesters and any unpaid charges from prior semesters.

If you make schedule or housing changes on or after the initial due date, you must have all related fees and charges (including room and board) paid by the first Friday of the semester.  Note: You will not receive a billing statement for this registration activity. You will be informed during the registration process.

All other statements are mailed at the end of the month and are due around the 20th of the following month.  Account charges and balance due may be verified at My Southeast or by calling Student Financial Services at (573) 651-2253.

Failure to pay account balances by the appropriate due date may result in cancellation of class schedule and room assignments (if applicable). Refer to the Refund/Withdrawal Policy for more information.

Is there a payment plan at Southeast?

There is an Installment Payment Plan (IPP-See Terms and Conditions) designed to distribute all current semester charges over two, three or four payments during the semester. Past-due charges cannot be placed on the IPP; they must be paid before or at the time the IPP application is submitted. A separate IPP application is required for each semester and must be accompanied by a non-refundable service charge. The IPP is not currently available for the summer semester.

Per Semester:

These options soon will be available online through the My Southeast portal for the student’s to choose, including the ability to review a “Pre-calculation screen” prior to selecting and enrolling in that option.  Enrollment in the IPP is required for each semester.  Currently, students may sign up for one of the payment options by indicating their choice on their Statement of Account and class schedule form and returning the form, with payment, by the payment due date. The first payment of each plan must include the first installment, plus associated costs to enroll in the specific plan, plus any prior semester charges (if applicable) to be enrolled in the IPP.

The IPP can be used as an alternative to full payment. If you have financial aid that is insufficient to cover all charges, you can place the difference on an IPP. For the purpose of calculating the amount to be paid through the IPP, only “certified” financial aid awarded by an official Southeast Missouri State University Aid Award Notification Letter will be deducted from the eligible charges. Some types of financial aid, such as federal work study or institutional employment, are not deductible.

Students will be sent monthly billing statements for the installments due, plus any additional charges that may have recalculated their amount due. Payments must be received and receipted by the Cashier’s Office by the end of the business day on the due dates. Failure to make the payments on time will result in assessment of late fees and possible class cancellation.  Please visit our Web site at http://www.semo.edu/cs/financing/options.htm  for additional information regarding the different payment options we currently offer, or contact Student Financial Services at (573) 651-2253 with any questions. 

How is financial aid credited to my Southeast account?

Financial aid is credited to your account as follows:

1. Scholarships and grants appear on the statement of account as a credit if all application requirements have been met.
2. Federal Perkins Loans appear on the statement as a credit after you have signed the promissory note.
3. Federal Stafford Loans (subsidized and unsubsidized) appear on the statement as a credit after the loan has been "guaranteed" by the lending institution.  The amount of the credit will be adjusted from the amount requested by loan processing fees.
4. Federal PLUS Loans appear on the statement as a credit after the loan has been "guaranteed" by the lending institution. The amount of the credit will be adjusted from the amount requested by loan processing fees.
5. Scholarship assistance from external organizations appears as a credit after the University has received notification of award from the organization.
6. Federal Work Study, as well as regular employment, earnings are paid directly to you by paycheck and are not credited to your account. Anticipated earnings cannot be deducted from the balance due.

Once the financial aid is credited to your university account, any remaining balance is due by the date noted on the statement. If you have met all financial aid requirements for a particular loan, scholarship, or grant and the amount does not appear as a credit on the next statement from Student Financial Services, it is your responsibility to contact Student Financial Services.

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