FINANCIAL AID
FINANCIAL AID framingham.edu/financialaid FINANCIAL AID PROGRAMS AT FSU Students and parents of dependent students have the primary responsibility to pay for college. Financial aid is meant to supplement that responsibility. The information provided on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) determines a Student Aid Index (SAI). You have financial need when your SAI is less than your estimated cost of attendance (COA). Most types of financial aid are offered on the basis of financial need. Framingham State participates in a variety of federal, state, institutional, and private financial aid programs that can assist you with financing your college education. These programs consist of grants and scholarships, work, and loan programs. When reading the following section, please refer to the aid listed on your offer letter. GRANT AND SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS Federal Pell Grant - is a need-based fund offered to full and part-time undergraduate students who are seeking their first bachelor’s degree. Eligibility is set by the federal government each year. Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG) - is a limited need-based fund offered to undergraduate students who demonstrate high financial need. MASSGrant - is a need-based fund offered to full-time, high-need Massachusetts undergraduate residents based on SAI levels set by the Massachusetts Office of Student Financial Assistance each year. Students must file their FAFSA by May 1 to qualify. This offer is estimated until the state sets funding levels over the summer. MASSGrant Plus and MASSGrant Plus Expansion - State grants awarded to students who qualify for a Federal Pell Grant or meet the Massachusetts DHE’s definition of “middle income”. This grant is intended to fill unmet need for tuition, fees, and in some cases books for Massachusetts residents. Because of the grant’s strict awarding rules, we may need to reduce or cancel your MASSGrant PLUS/ Expansion if you receive additional grant or scholarship aid. This offer is estimated until the state sets funding levels later in the year. John and Abigail Adams Scholarship - is a merit-based fund that provides a 100% tuition waiver for full-time undergraduate Day Division students. This scholarship is for tuition only and does not cover fees. Generally, students are informed of their eligibility for this scholarship program directly from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education during the fall semester of their senior year in high school. Students must submit a copy of their eligibility letter from the state to the FSU Financial Aid Office. Need-Based Tuition Waiver and Massachusetts Cash Grant - are need-based funds offered to full-time undergraduate Day Division students and funded by the state for Massachusetts residents. The University determines who is eligible and the offer value. A student’s tuition can only be waived once, so if you receive another tuition waiver from the state (such as the Adams Scholarship) the NeedBased Tuition Waiver will be canceled. Campus Housing Grants and Fee Grants - are need-based funds offered to undergraduate Day Division students. Students generally must be full-time to receive these funds, and preference is given to on-campus residents. FSU Merit Scholarships - Students admitted to the Honors Program at FSU will receive a $3,000 merit-based scholarship if they enter the program. High-achieving students that are not admitted to the Honors Program may be awarded a $1,000 Presidential Scholarship. Both scholarships may be renewed for up to eight semesters, as long as students meet the appropriate GPA requirement, and for Honors Scholarships, remain enrolled in the Honors Program. Students will be notified by the Admissions Office if they qualify for either scholarship. Merit Scholarships are only applicable to Day Division courses. Foundation Scholarships - are made available through the generous support of donors to the University. These scholarships are part of the overall pool of financial aid resources available, and many are based on financial need. If you have been offered need-based aid by the University, a Foundation Scholarship may be offered later to replace some of the funding you have received. You may be asked to write a letter to the scholarship donor if you receive such an offer. Without the support of the Foundation, we would be unable to offer need-based financial aid to students at current levels. The Independent Association of Framingham State Alumni (IAFSA) - offers scholarship opportunities. Students are eligible to apply for scholarships directly through IAFSA.
WORK-STUDY Federal Work-Study (FWS) - is a need-based fund offered to full-time students. Work-study is not credited to the student account like other types of aid. If you are eligible for work-study, you will have the opportunity to secure a job on campus and you will be paid biweekly for hours worked. Students with this offer will receive a late summer email regarding job opportunities and the employment process at FSU. If you were not offered FWS but are interested in working, contact the Financial Aid Office to find out if you qualify. STUDENT LOAN PROGRAMS Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans - These are low-interest loans offered to students enrolled at least half-time (generally 2 courses/ semester). Students enter repayment on this loan 6 months after they graduate, withdraw, or drop below half-time enrollment. Repayment can be deferred for students enrolled in graduate school, and flexible repayment plans are offered through the federal government. The fixed interest rates for the loans are set by the federal government each summer for the upcoming academic year. The fixed interest rate for the 2023-2024 academic year was 5.5%. There is also an origination fee taken by the federal loan processor at the time of each disbursement. In 2023-2024 this fee was 1.057%. You will need to complete Entrance Counseling and a Master Promissory Note the first time you borrow from this program. Students can borrow up to $5,500 through this loan program as a freshman, $6,500 as a sophomore, and $7,500 as a junior and senior. Students that demonstrate financial need will be offered some of the loan as a subsidized version; for that portion of the loan, the federal government pays the interest on the loan while the student is enrolled at least half-time. Massachusetts No Interest Loan (NIL) - is a need-based loan offered to fulltime students from Massachusetts. Eligibility and the offer value are determined by the University. This loan will remain interest free for the life of the loan if the borrower maintains regular repayment. Repayment begins 6 months after you graduate or drop below half-time enrollment. You must complete Entrance Counseling and a Promissory Note each year to receive this loan. CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR ACCEPTANCE! Studies have shown that individuals with higher levels of education earn more and are more likely to be employed than those with a high school diploma alone. On average, a person with a college degree can earn over a million dollars more than a high school graduate over the course of a lifetime. The increased job security and earnings potential enjoyed by college graduates may also result in life benefits such as greater access to health insurance and retirement plans. There are real benefits of higher education for individuals and society, and we applaud your desire to seek postsecondary education. Understanding that you are making a significant investment to pursue a bachelor’s degree, we are prepared to assist you through the process of paying for college, starting with the information provided in this financial aid guidebook. Sincerely, Caitlin Laurie, DIRECTOR, FINANCIAL AID OFFICE WE KNOW THAT EARNING YOUR COLLEGE DEGREE IS A HUGE INVESTMENT. FSU’S FINANCIAL AID COUNSELORS ARE READY TO ASSIST YOU WITH ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE ALONG THE WAY.
YOUR AID OFFER UNDERSTANDING YOUR OFFER LETTER Your financial aid offer is for the full academic year. The offer notice may also list any outside aid that you told us about. Your offer letter indicates the enrollment status (full-time or part-time) and housing status upon which your financial aid is based. ESTIMATED OFFERS Some students will receive an estimated offer letter. Estimated offers are given to students who must submit additional documentation before their financial aid can be finalized. The federal government selects some students for verification, a process that requires financial aid counselors to check the information reported on the FAFSA using documents provided by you. If your financial aid is estimated, information about the required documents is included with the offer letter and must be received before a verified financial aid offer can be issued. Students should make every attempt to submit all documentation as soon as possible. Estimated financial aid may change as a result of verification. Failure to submit required documents may also result in reduction or cancelation of financial aid. LOAN AMOUNTS Your offer letter may contain Federal Direct Loans and/or a Massachusetts No Interest Loan. You may choose to decline or reduce the student loans offered to you. To do this, you can email us at financialaid@framingham.edu. If we do not hear from you by the start of the fall semester, we will assume that you plan to borrow the full amount of student loans available to you, and we will process those loans accordingly. Students can complete their Master Promissory Notes and Entrance Counseling requirements for Direct Loans at studentaid.gov. Borrowers in the Massachusetts No Interest Loan program will be contacted by the Financial Aid Office to complete disbursement requirements early in the fall semester. OUTSIDE RESOURCES Students are encouraged to apply for outside scholarship and grant funding. Your high school counseling office is a great resource for local scholarships. You may also want to view scholarship websites such as collegeboard.org and fastweb.com. We discourage students from using any scholarship service that charges a fee. If you receive any type of outside/private scholarships or financial assistance, you must communicate the dollar amount of the offer to the Financial Aid Office. You may do so by submitting a copy of the notification letter to our office and the Student Accounts Office. Types of assistance that must be reported include but are not limited to: private scholarships, tuition waivers, AmeriCorps, Veterans Benefits, and Massachusetts Rehabilitation Assistance. Depending on the amount and type of funding, other financial aid offers may be adjusted. If your financial aid offer must be adjusted due to receipt of outside assistance, the policy followed at FSU is to reduce your financial aid in the following order: MASSGrant PLUS, Direct Loans, other self-help, (such as Massachusetts No Interest Loan, Federal WorkStudy), and Grants. State regulations may require us to reduce your MASSGrant PLUS if you receive outside grant/scholarship aid. framingham.edu/financialaid
89% OF FULL-TIME FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS RECEIVE FINANCIAL AID FSU'S FINANCIAL AID OFFICE IS HERE TO ASSIST WITH ANY FINANCIAL AID QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. “Attending FSU allowed me to get a high-quality education at an affordable price. I can confidently focus on my studies without financial burden knowing that I made the best decision for my future self.” - Rosemond POLITICAL SCIENCE MAJOR RENEWAL OF FINANCIAL AID Students are required to file the FAFSA by March 1 each year to meet the University’s priority filing deadline for financial aid. Because our funding is limited, students who file after the priority deadline may see a significant reduction in their financial aid offer that year. It is also important to return any missing documentation to the financial aid office within a timely manner. Students who respond to document requests late may be offered aid on a funds-available basis. Financial aid offers may change each year based on available funding and changes to family circumstances, such as changes to family size, income changes, and asset changes. Students who apply on-time and have similar circumstances from year-to-year have the greatest chance of receiving similar financial aid each year. SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS Students must meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) guidelines to be eligible for financial aid from one school year to the next. The U.S. Department of Education requires that students receiving federal financial aid meet the University academic progress standards ensuring sufficient progress toward their degrees. The full SAP Policy can be found on our website. Please contact us if you would like us to send you a copy of the policy. CHANGES IN ELIGIBILITY FOR AID Your financial aid offer may change if your circumstances change throughout the year. Please contact us if any of the following factors change so that we may counsel you on how these may affect your eligibility for financial aid. • A change in enrollment from full-time to part-time OR part-time to full-time • A change in enrollment from Day Division to Continuing Education OR Continuing Education to Day Division • A change from commuter to on-campus resident OR on-campus resident to commuter • A change in financial need as a result of the verification of FAFSA information and/or additional information submitted to the Financial Aid Office • F ailure to complete disbursement requirements for certain funds may cause that offer to be canceled • N otification from the State of Massachusetts regarding your eligibility for certain funding The Financial Aid Office checks enrollment and housing status after add/drop each semester, and will adjust offers when necessary. If you withdraw from or stop attending all courses during a semester, you may not qualify for all financial aid available to you. Your aid will be adjusted in accordance with federal and state refund policies. Please see our website for more information. If changes occur to your financial aid after you have enrolled, you will be notified via FSU student email. Most of our communication with enrolled students is sent via FSU email, so please check it regularly.
AFFORDABILITY framingham.edu/financialaid FINANCING YOUR EDUCATION There are several options available to a student and their family for managing the balance due. When considering any one of the following options, costs for the entire year should be kept in mind. This can easily be done by taking the fall semester balance due to FSU and doubling it to determine the full year. Some families will choose one of the following options to cover the balance due and many families will use a combination of these. Monthly Payment Plans - FSU provides interest-free payment plans that allows you to divide your educational costs into smaller, more manageable installments. The enrollment fee is $40 per semester. Using this plan can reduce borrowing and can be combined with your financial aid award or other financing options. More detailed information is provided at summer orientation programs and accompanies the electronic billing statement for the fall semester. You can also check online at framingham.edu/admissions-and-aid/studentaccounts or contact the Student Accounts Office. Federal Direct PLUS Loan - The PLUS Loan enables parents of dependent undergraduates to borrow for their child’s education. Repayment of this loan generally begins within 60 days of the date that the loan is disbursed unless parents apply for a deferment. The fixed interest rate for the 2023-2024 academic year was 8.05%. There is also an origination fee taken by the federal loan processor at the time of each disbursement. In 2023-2024 this fee was 4.228%. Interest rates for the 2024-2025 academic year will be set during the summer of 2024. Parents may borrow up to the cost of attendance annually, less any financial aid offered to the student. Parents can apply for PLUS loans and get specific information on repayment, deferment, cancelation, and default provisions at the Federal Student Aid website, studentaid.gov. Private Alternative Education Loans - Private banks and loan companies also offer student and parent loans, commonly known as alternative loans. Parents may borrow up to the cost of attendance annually, less any financial aid offered to the student. Additional information is available at framingham.edu/admissions-and-aid/financial-aid/types-of-aid/alternative-loans. PAYMENT EXAMPLES You may use one or a combination of options to pay your bill. Below are some examples: Brian is a full-time undergraduate student who is living on-campus for the 2024-2025 academic year. His total direct costs are $27,230 for the full school year. He applied for financial aid and received an aid offer of $18,000 for the year. Brian’s Direct Costs = $27,230 – Financial Aid of $18,000 = Balance Due to FSU of $9,230. Option 1: Brian’s family has decided that they want to utilize the monthly payment plan for both the fall and spring semesters, totaling $9,230 for the year, or $4,615 per semester. His monthly payments will be $923. The fall plan starts July 1, 2024 through November 1, 2024. The spring plan starts December 1, 2024 through April 1, 2025. Option 2: Brian’s sister is also in college and his parents have been using a monthly payment plan at her university. They plan to continue this for 2024-2025 so they decide to utilize the Federal PLUS loan program to pay the $9,230. Remember that there is a 4.228% origination fee taken out by the loan processor. Therefore, the PLUS loan amount requested should = $9,620 so that the net amount disbursed after the fee will pay his account in full. Option 3: Brian and his family have determined that combining the payment plan and the plus loan is the best option based on what they can afford monthly. They have decided to enroll in the payment plan for $1,500 per semester. The monthly payment would be $300. The family would borrow through the Federal PLUS loan program or an alternative education loan lender for the remaining balance of $6,230 due to FSU. Using a combination of the payment plan and a loan program results in a lower overall cost than borrowing the full amount, as less interest will be repaid on the loan over time.
COSTS FOR 2024-2025 Cost of Attendance (COA) is the amount we estimate it may cost you to attend Framingham State University (before financial aid) for one academic year. These costs have been developed as a guide to help students anticipate their educational expenses. Some students will spend more than the estimated amounts, others less, depending on individual choices and circumstances. The total COA includes direct and indirect costs. Direct costs are the charges that appear on your University bill and include tuition, fees, and on-campus room and board. Indirect costs are the costs of items such as books, supplies, off-campus room and board, personal expenses (clothing, laundry, recreation), and transportation needs. Students entering their first year at FSU are also required to purchase a laptop that meets the University’s specifications. The total COA has been estimated based on costs for the current academic year. Any increases to direct costs for 2024-2025 will be finalized by June 2024. ELECTRONIC BILLING Students are electronically billed (eBill) by the University each semester for their direct costs. Student eBills for the fall semester are generally sent in early July with a due date of early August. Spring bills are sent late November and due late mid-December. The eBill will reflect total charges, anticipated financial aid and payment plan (if applicable). IN-STATE TUITION* Tuition & Fees (full-time) $11,920 Residence Halls** $10,600 Meal Plan† $4,710 TOTAL DIRECT COSTS: $27,230 OTHER ESTIMATED EXPENSES: Average Direct Loan Fee $68 Books $1,200 Laptop Computer $1,000 Personal $1,560 Transportation $750 TOTAL OTHER COSTS: $4,578 OUT-OF-STATE TUITION* Tuition & Fees (full-time) $18,000 Residence Halls** $10,600 Meal Plan† $4,710 TOTAL DIRECT COSTS: $33,310 Part-time undergraduates (1 or 2 courses per semester) pay pro-rated tuition & fees. ** The expenses listed above are estimated for 2024-2025 as of the time of this publication. ** Median residence hall rate. *† 1 9 swipes/ week and $100 Dining Dollars per term ESTIMATED 2024-2025 COST OF ATTENDANCE Direct Costs - Financial Aid Balance Due to FSU
100 STATE STREET • PO BOX 9101 • FRAMINGHAM, MA • 01701-9101 508-626-4534 • framingham.edu/financialaid CONTACT US! NEED HELP? We look forward to working with you! Students and parents can make an appointment to speak with a counselor at any time during normal business hours. If your counselor is not available, another counselor can assist you. TELEPHONE: 508-626-4534 | FAX: 508-626-4598 | EMAIL: FINANCIALAID@FRAMINGHAM.EDU FRAMINGHAM.EDU/FINANCIALAID THE FINANCIAL AID OFFICE IS OPEN MONDAY - FRIDAY 9:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. Financial Aid Office Framingham State University D. Justin McCarthy Center Student Services Center (Room 515) A-Di Michelle Tosi Dj-K Susan Lanzillo L-Q Maribeth Ford R-Z Traci Hickey ALL STUDENTS: Caitlin Laurie, Director Christine Sweeney Rosemond Odoom Cann Each student is assigned a financial aid counselor based on the first letter of their last name. STUDENT LAST NAME BEGINNING WITH…
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