FAQ

Check out these instructional videos explaining how to complete some of the most common financial aid and bursar procedures.

Welcome and How to View Videos

2021–22 New Student Orientation: Financial Aid

Using ScholarshipUniverse

How to Check Your Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

Once a student submits a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and all outstanding requirements are completed, a student will undergo the awarding process in which federal and state aid offers will be generated.  
Students are notified of financial aid offers and changes to their financial aid awards via PFW email.  Awards can be viewed in goPFW.  More detailed instructions can be found in the FAQ Question: How do I accept or decline federal loans and/or work-study financial aid awards?

First time Undergraduate students will receive a Financial Aid Offer Letter by mail in addition to an email notification.  

Financial Aid Offers are based on FAFSA information, academic record, and assumed full time enrollment.  Full time is defined as 12 or more credit hours for Undergraduate students and 8 or more hours for Graduate students.  Students can view their most up to date financial aid offers via goPFW.

Because the majority of funds awarded are need-based, a student must have financial need as determined by federal regulations. How your financial need is calculated is explained below.

When a student submits a FAFSA, they are reporting financial information that the federal and state governments review and then use a federal formula to determine how much a family can contribute financially to a student’s education. This is known as the estimated family contribution (EFC). It is important to note that the EFC is not what the family is expected to pay, but a calculation that reflects a family’s current financial assets, future income, and future borrowing potential.

A dependent student will have an EFC calculated from FAFSA information that has both the student and their parent’s financial information.*

An independent student will have an EFC calculated from FAFSA information that is solely the student’s.*

The Office of Financial Aid determines a student’s estimated expenses to attend. This is known as the cost of attendance (COA).

Per federal guidelines, we use the following formula to determine your eligibility for need-based federal, state, and institutional financial aid:

Cost of Attendance (COA) − Expected Family Contribution (EFC) = Financial Aid

*For financial aid purposes, being dependent or independent does not pertain to how you file your taxes, whether you live with your parents or whether you support yourself. Common reasons to be classified as an independent student are being 24 years old or older, being married, or having children who will receive more than half of their support from the student. Other details may substantiate you as independent as well. For further questions and more detailed information, please contact the Office of Financial Aid.

Cost of Attendance (COA) is an estimated value of what a student could spend living and attending school.  This is separate from your bill.  The COA includes estimates for tuition and mandatory fees, housing expenses, food allowances, books and supplies, transportation expenses and miscellaneous expenses. 

The Office of Financial Aid uses the COA to help determine aid eligibility.  Remember, these are estimates.  Your expenses may vary from these amounts. 
 
Yearly Estimated COA

Individual Cost of Attendance (COA) & Student Aid Index (SAI) can be found by logging into your goPFW account and finding the Financial Aid card, click “Award Offer”, this will bring you to the page with COA & SAI. 


 

Online
Access your Bursar Student Account anytime by following these easy steps:

Find the “Bursar” card on your go.PFW account. Selected “Click here to see your bill”. Follow the steps below to pay online.

• Click the Make Payment tab.
• Pay by electronically debiting your bank account.  
• Pay using a credit card (American Express, Discover, Mastercard, or Visa).
  • Students who use a credit or debit card to pay tuition, fees, fines, and other student account expenses will be charged a 2.95 percent processing fee (minimum of $3) by TouchNet PayPath
• To spread your tuition over multiple payments, click Payment Plans.
• Authorized users can access their accounts here.

You can find other ways to pay here.

In Person
You can pay in person by going to the Office of the Bursar’s windows, but please note that lines can be especially long during payment due dates and the first few weeks of the semester.

You can also pay in person by using the night drop box (next to the first bursar window).

• Put your payment and the bill stub in a sealed envelope before depositing.
• Your payment will be processed the next business day.
• The Office of the Bursar is located in Kettler Hall, Room G57.
• We are unable to accept credit card payments in person; we will accept only cash, checks, money orders, or cashier’s checks in person.

By Mail
Purdue University Fort Wayne
Office of the Bursar
2101 East Coliseum Boulevard
Fort Wayne, IN 46805

Verification is an audit of the information you provided on the student’s FAFSA. When selected for verification you must complete the applicable form and supply any additional documentation required to complete the process such as (but not limited to) taxes, W2s, and/or a statement of identity.

The required form will vary depending on which type of verification you were assigned as well as your dependency status. If you are a dependent student, you may be required to submit parent or guardian information as well. Your financial aid will not disburse until you have completed the verification process.

You can find more verification information and the appropriate form(s) HERE.
 

The “Census Dates” for financial aid are different than the census dates for other departments. Students are encouraged to reach out to the department that best fits their inquiry.

For financial aid, the first “Census Date” is called the “Fourth Week Freeze” and occurs at midnight on the Sunday ending the fourth week of class during the fall and spring semesters. This is the time and day when the credits in which a student is enrolled are “locked” for financial aid purposes.

The second financial aid “Census Date” is called the “End of Semester” and occurs the Friday prior to finals week. This date is used to determine some Indiana state award amounts if a student was not originally eligible as of the “Fourth Week Freeze”.

Why should you care about the “Census Dates”?
Credits are divided into different categories: Standard and Repeat CPoS. Standard Credits are all the credits in which the student is enrolled and are used for billing. Repeat CPoS credits are required toward graduation from the student’s registered Course Program of Study (CPoS) and have been attempted no more than two times.
 
Financial aid awards will be applied using either Standard or Repeat CPoS credits as of the “Fourth Week Freeze” and/or “End of Semester” depending on the individual award’s regulations. Students should work with their academic advisor to ensure they are registered for the appropriate number of CPoS credits on these dates to receive the full amount of eligible financial aid.

The following examples show how financial aid awards are affected by the “Fourth Week Freeze” and “End of Semester” dates.

Federal Pell Grant
The Federal Pell Grant (Pell) is initially placed on the student’s account with the maximum eligibility based on full-time enrollment (12 or more credits) and the student’s FAFSA SAI (Student Aid Index). The final Pell amount is determined by the number of credits locked at the “Fourth Week Freeze”. Pell awards will be adjusted by the “Enrollment Intensity” for any credits less than 12. Enrollment Intensity is the rounded percentage of full-time enrollment determined by using the locked credits.

Once this date has passed, Pell cannot be adjusted even if the number of credits changes.

Example:
Pell is initially divided equally between the fall and spring semesters rounding fall up and spring down to the nearest whole dollar when necessary.

Student SAI: -1500.  Max Pell Eligibility: $7395 for the year.  Full-Time enrollment: 12 credits.
If this student is enrolled in seven credits in fall, the final Pell eligibility for the semester would be $2145.
Enrollment Intensity (7 / 12) * 100 = 58%.  ($7395 / 2) * .58 = $2145.

Indiana State Financial Aid
The Indiana Commission for Higher Education (CHE) offers many financial aid awards each having individual eligibility requirements. State awards are based either on full-time, at least half-time, or less-than-half-time enrollment.  All state awards initially use the “Fourth Week Freeze” to determine the student’s aid eligibility.

Students not enrolled in the required credits for the individual awards at the “Fourth Week Freeze” will have their affected award(s) removed.  A student enrolled in full-time Standard credits but less-than-full-time CPoS credits will receive eligible state awards for the enrolled CPoS credits only. A student who adds credits after the “Fourth Week Freeze” can be reevaluated for additional state awards if they are full-time at the “End of Semester”.
 

Below are the step-by-step written instructions on how to accept or decline your financial aid awards:

1. Log in to you goPFW account with your student username and password.
2. Click on the Billing and Financial Aid tab.
3. Scroll down to the box in the bottom, middle section entitled Financial Aid Awards.
4. Click on the link entitled View and Accept my Financial Aid Award.
5. Select the current aid year in the dropdown menu and click Submit
6. Click on the Accept Award Offer tab (even if you are declining your award you click here).
7. Go to the Award Decision section to view your awards.
8. In order to accept or decline an award, go to the column labeled Accept Award.
9. If the award requires you to accept or decline it, there will be a drop-down menu in the Accept Award column.
10. To accept the award, you have to choose Accept in the drop-down menu.
11. To decline the award, you would have to choose Decline in the drop-down menu.
12. If you want to accept a partial amount of the award, you can do so by selecting Accept in the drop-down menu, and then enter the dollar amount you wish to accept in the column labeled Accept Partial Amount.

The amount you list to accept is the combined total amount you want to receive for both the fall and spring semesters. This amount will be split evenly per the fall and spring semesters. For example, if you accept $5,000, you will receive $2,500 in the fall, and then $2,500 in the spring term.

14. Once you have made your decision you must go down to the bottom right and click on Submit Decision.
15. The next page will show you the amounts you have selected.
16. To adjust amounts after you have submitted, you will need to complete an Aid Adjustment Form with the Office of Financial Aid.

By accepting your financial aid awards, you agree to the terms and conditions as outlined within this guide.

ADDITIONAL STEPS REQUIRED FOR LOAN BORROWERS
Go to studentaid.gov to complete the following additional steps:

Master Promissory Note (MPN)
A promissory note is a promise to repay borrowed money.  In order to borrow funds to cover the cost of higher education, the borrower (either you or your parent) must sign a promissory note that outlines the repayment process. Your loan will not disburse (i.e. pay to your student bill) until a completed MPN is on file.  If you signed the MPN at a previous school, you will need to sign a new MPN.

Entrance Loan Counseling
Entrance counseling is required for most federal loans and serves as a means to educate you on the rights and responsibilities associated with receiving funds that must be repaid.  Your loan will not note disbursed (i.e. paid to your student bill) until a completed entrance counseling is on file.  If you completed entrance counseling at a previous school, you will need to complete this again.

It takes approximately two weeks to process loans to your account after you have completed all of these steps. We advise that you make decisions on your loans and follow the procedures as outlined in this section a minimum of four weeks prior to the start of classes.  It is your responsibility to ensure that you accept and complete the requirements to process your financial aid awards far enough in advance to meet your student billing deadlines. Otherwise you may incur late fees.

By a student allowing federal, state, PFW and outside financial aid awards to pay to their student account, they are agreeing to the terms and conditions as outlined herein:

1. All PFW financial aid policies and fund rules are published on our website. The student is agreeing to these published policies as well as the terms and conditions outlined below by allowing financial aid awards to pay to their student account.
2. The goPFW email account is the official method of communication from PFW to students. The Office of Financial Aid communicates to students via email to their goPFW student email account. It is the student’s responsibility to check their email daily.
3.  Financial aid awards are awarded for a period of one academic year only. An academic year is defined as the fall and spring semesters. Any financial aid a student is awarded with will be divided equally between the fall and spring semesters. Students are responsible for knowing what the renewal requirements are for their financial aid awards and/or if they need to apply annually. Renewal of financial aid awards is not guaranteed.
4. Students are required to notify the Office of Financial Aid of any scholarships, loans, book allowances or any other form of assistance extended to them from sources outside of PFW. Adjustments of financial aid may create a balance due if the external funds are applied after other financial aid awards have been paid to the student’s account.
5. The Office of Financial Aid reserves the right, on behalf of PFW, to review and cancel any award at any time because of changes to a student’s financial status, academic status or regulations of the financial aid the student received. All changes reflected on goPFW will result in an email to the student account and serve as notification of a change made.
6. Financial aid is awarded to a student contingent upon maintaining standards as set forth by the institution’s Federal Title IV Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policies.
7.  Payment of financial aid to the student’s billing (bursar) account is called disbursement. Disbursement of a student’s financial aid award(s) (excluding Federal Work Study) will be in the form of a direct deposit. Federal work-study earnings are paid directly to the student on a bi-weekly basis via direct deposit or check.
8. Financial aid will be awarded and posted to student accounts based on presumed full-time enrollment (undergraduate = minimum of 12 hours; graduate = minimum of 8 hours). Should the student register for less than full-time enrollment, changes to their  financial aid may be required per federal, state or institutional regulations that govern the financial aid the student was awarded with.
9. The student is responsible for ensuring that their financial aid, payment plan, cash or outside resources (e.g. credit card payment) are completed in a timely manner as to ensure that their direct costs billed to them by PFW are paid in full by the posted billing due dates. Failure to do this will result in late fees. Students can access their current bill at any time via their goPFW student account.
10. A student receiving federal financial aid earns their aid based on the number of days that they attend class. A student receiving federal aid who fully withdraws from PFW before they have attended for at least 61% of the term will have their federal aid eligibility recalculated based on the number of days the student attended. PFW is required per federal guidelines to return the unearned federal financial aid to the appropriate federal financial aid authority. Therefore, the student will in turn be billed for the amount of unearned federal financial aid that was removed from their student account and returned to the government.
11. A student receiving state financial aid earns said aid-based enrollment at the end of the 28 class day of the semester. Therefore, state aid will be affected should that student drop below 12 hours before that date. State aid will not pay for all fees charged and specifically will not pay distance education fees. The state provides an electronic financial aid award notice to every student and this financial aid award notice is the final authority to determine the amount of state financial aid a student will receive.
12. Federal Pell Grant financial aid awards are finalized based on hours of enrollment as a first bachelor, degree-seeking student at the end of the fifth class day. Therefore, the amount of the Pell Grant financial aid awards for a student will be affected should that student fully or partially drop from classes before the end of the fifth day of class. There is a lifetime maximum eligibility limit for receiving the Federal Pell Grant: a student is eligible for 12 full time semesters of Pell Grant. This financial aid award may change after a federal review of financial aid received in the past is completed.
13. A student must be enrolled at least half time in order to receive Federal Direct Loans financial aid awards and to remain in loan deferment time period. If a student is eligible to graduate mid-year, the Federal Direct Loans financial aid awards, as well as the student’s cost of attendance (COA), will be reviewed to determine final financial aid eligibility based upon that semester’s hours of enrollment. Appropriate adjustments to the student’s financial aid awards will be made if necessary as required per federal, state and institutional guidelines.
14. A student may be awarded employment financial aid under the Federal Work-Study program (FWS). The amount of FWS aid shown on the award letter is the maximum a student can expect to earn during the academic year as a result of work performed. The student will be paid for only those hours actually worked.
15. Students planning to attend two different colleges or universities in the same semester should inform the PFW Office of Financial Aid and be sure to know the rules pertaining to this choice. In general, it is a violation of federal law to receive federal financial aid at two different schools during the same period of enrollment.
16. Students are obligated to keep their PFW record current with any changes to their name, address or phone number.
17. Students who are incarcerated in a state or federal correctional institution are required by federal law to inform the Office of Financial Aid of their incarceration.
18. Students must be admitted and enrolled as degree seeking students at PFW.  Students admitted and enrolled as Temporary Inter-Campus Transfers or Graduate Students at Large are not eligible for federal, state, or institutional funds.

The FAFSA needs to be filed annually.

Cost of Attendance (COA) minus your Student Aid Index (SAI) equals your financial need. You can have financial aid up to your maximum COA. Student scholarships, grants, and loans cannot exceed your maximum COA. 

Direct costs include tuition and fees (lab, proctor, and course differential fees).

Indirect costs are those you may incur that will not be on your PFW bill. Examples include off-campus housing, travel, miscellaneous, and food allowances.

Log in to your goPFW account and find the “Financial Aid” card and click “Award offer”, this will bring you to your financial aid package 

The Office of Financial Aid processes all scholarships and grants you are eligible for first. These are listed as Accepted on your goPFW because these are funds you do not have to pay back—gifted aid.

You can view your state aid and credit bank hours at ScholarTrack by creating a username and password. You can also view your aid in your goPFW account through the Billing and Financial Aid tab. Once there, click on View and Accept my Aid.

We encourage you to use our scholarship search tool in ScholarshipUniverse. You can securely set up a personal profile, apply for any matched scholarships, and even set up to be alerted when new scholarships are available. If you decide to search the internet for scholarships, be cautious because there are many scams out there.

Federal Work-Study is a source of federally funded, need-based financial aid. Both on-campus and off-campus jobs are available. 

All work-study jobs pay the federal minimum wage, though some jobs offer a higher rate. Your wage will depend on when you apply and your financial need.

There are limits on how much you can work per week and how much money you can earn per semester.  

Your funds will be paid biweekly (every two weeks) and delivered to you directly via direct deposit. 

No more waiting on the mail or standing in line—get the fastest, most secure refund by direct deposit. Receive eligible refunds directly to your bank account.  

Follow these steps to set up your account for direct deposit:  

• Log in to goPFW.  
• Navigate to the Bursar Card.  
• Click on "Click Here to See Your Bill"
• Click on Refunds.  
• Click on Set Up Account.  
• Enter your bank account information. (This will allow the Bursars Office to deposit funds, not remove funds; your information is confidential and cannot be accessed by Purdue Fort Wayne staff, and it will stay on file from term to term, so you need to sign up only once.) 
   

Special and Unusual Circumstance appeals are formal requests submitted to the Office of Financial Aid (OFA) by a student asking OFA to review the student’s FAFSA information to determine if their financial aid eligibility can be adjusted.

Special Circumstances (SC) include any changes in the student's, or parent of dependent students, information that could cause a change to the student’s FAFSA SAI (Student Aid Index). Items such as loss of income, marital status change, or an unexpected life event that was outside of the student’s control are a few examples of potentially qualifying SCs.

Unusual Circumstances (UC) are unique situations that may justify updating the student’s FAFSA dependency status from dependent to independent. Items such as ward of the court, parental abuse or abandonment, homelessness, and an unsafe home environment are a few examples of potentially qualifying UCs. If the UC was caused by answers on the FAFSA, the requirement will be placed on the student’s account automatically and financial aid will not pay until the UC is approved or the FAFSA is updated so the UC is removed.

Undergraduate students can submit a SC if they have an SAI over zero and can apply for a UC if one of the above conditions applies. Graduate students may qualify for an SC in rare situations and should contact OFA before submitting the appeal. Graduate students are already considered independent and do not need to submit a UC.

Apply if the student, parent, or legal guardian:
•    Lost a job or had a significant reduction in hours
•    Lost income 
•    Separated or divorced after filing the FAFSA
•    Had excessive medical expenses or significant one-time income
•    Experienced the death of a parent or spouse included on the FAFSA

Access the SC and UC forms HERE.
 

Changing your schedule during the 100 percent refund period is considered the add/drop period, during which you’ll get fully refunded for any courses dropped and won’t receive a withdrawal grade on your transcript. 

After the 100 percent period, dropping a course is considered a withdrawal. You’ll receive a partial refund, or pay full tuition, and will have a W grade on your transcript.

You’ll need to contact the Office of Financial Aid prior to withdrawing from a course. Most financial aid requires full-time enrollment. Staff will review how your aid would be impacted by withdrawing. You should also talk to your academic advisor to assure you are still within your degree plan.

After clicking Accept in goPFW, you’ll also need to complete the entrance loan counseling (ELC) and a master promissory note (MPN) at studentaid.gov.

1. At this site, click on Complete Aid Process.
2. Then choose Complete Entrance Counseling. 
3. After completing the ELC, go to the same site and click on Complete Aid Process,
4. Then chose Complete a Master Promissory Note. 

After the completion of both MPN and ELC, your federal loan funds will available for disbursement to your PFW account. You’ll only have to complete the MPN and ELC once while enrolled at Purdue Fort Wayne (it lasts 10 years). Future semesters, after initially accepting loans, you’ll only have to click Accept from your goPFW account.

All financial aid (federal, state, and institutional) recipients are required to make reasonable academic progress toward completion of degree requirements. Standards for satisfactory academic progress (SAP) at Purdue are evaluated at the end of each academic semester (fall, spring, and summer) and at the time of awarding any aid. These three areas are evaluated: 

Grade Point Average 
GPA of 2.0 for undergraduate students. 
GPA of 3.0 for graduate students. 
 
Completion rate 
Completion of at least 67 percent of hours attempted. 
Withdrawing (W) or Failing (F) is noncompletion. 
If a student does not meet 33 percent (at any time), they will automatically go to immediate SAP suspension (SAPISU).

Max time frame. 
The maximum time frame refers to financial aid supporting 150 percent of the amount of credits to earn their degree. For instance, most bachelor degrees require 120 credit hours. So, the max time frame for a 120 credit hour bachelor degree is 180 credit hours. This allows students funding for credit hours to add a concentration, a second major, or possibly repeat a course, etc.