Apply for Aid & the Award Process

Follow these Steps

• Step 1: Create a Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID

  The FSA ID is used to log into certain U.S. Department of Education websites and electronically sign FSA documents. You, the student applying for financial aid, and at least one parent in your household (if you are a dependent student), should create a FSA ID. Visit the create an account page and follow the instructions. Once submitted, you will be able to use your FSA ID right away.

• Step 2: Complete the FAFSA after Oct. 1

  You complete the FAFSA annually. For all forms of financial aid with limited resources, SUNY Plattsburgh gives priority to students whose FAFSA data is processed as close as possible to Oct. 1. While completing the FAFSA online, list SUNY Plattsburgh as one of your school selections.

  SUNY Plattsburgh’s FAFSA school code is 002849

• Step 3: Complete the NYS Payment  Application

  New York state residents also have the opportunity to apply for the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) online. On the confirmation page at the end of the FAFSA, select the appropriate link to submit your state aid application. If you overlook this link, visit tap.hesc.ny.gov/totw/ to apply. This application may also be needed to determine eligibility in other NYS aid programs, like the Excelsior Scholarship.

• Step 4: Apply for the Excelsior Scholarship

  Learn more about this scholarship opportunity, participation requirements and application availability at www.hesc.ny.gov.

• Step 5: Receive Your Financial Aid Summary

  The financial aid office begins sending financial aid notifications in December. Your financial aid summary details your financial aid eligibility and advises you of additional steps/actions to finalize your awards.

• Step 6: Respond to Inquiries

  During this entire process, respond promptly to any inquiries from federal and state agencies and from the financial aid office. Try to respond timely, as delays could impede the review process, emailing of aid summaries, and disbursement of funds.

• Step 7: Bill Payment

  Process your tuition bill (also called confirming enrollment) on MyPlattsburgh once it is available online. You will receive an email from us when your bill is ready. Pay close attention to its due date, and follow the instructions for removing optional fees, accepting or waiving medical insurance, choosing cardinal cash, making payment and other processing activities.

• Financial Aid Summary & Email Notifications

  We will email you a summary of your financial aid programs when we receive the results of your submitted FAFSA and after you have been admitted to the college. The financial aid summary lists the aid programs that you are eligible for.

  If there are changes in your aid after the initial email notification, we will send an email to your FAFSA email account if you are a new student and to your Plattsburgh email account if you are a continuing students.

  We also send emails when there are tasks to complete for us to finalize your financial aid, bill, or both. It is important that you check your FAFSA and Plattsburgh email often. Most aid programs are deducted from the bill as long as you have completed all of the steps that are required for us to pay the aid to your account.

  Failure to complete your aid requirements will delay aid and cause other problems.

• Determining Your Aid Eligibility

  Your eligibility for financial aid is based upon your cost of attendance (COA), expected family contribution (EFC), unmet need, enrollment status, eligibility requirements of each specific aid program, and fund availability. In order to meet your need, we first award any scholarships, Pell Grant, Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) Grant, and Federal SEOG Grant for which you are eligible.

  Federal nursing loans are then added to your package if need remains and you are a nursing student. Federal subsidized loans and federal work-study are then offered to eligible applicants with need remaining, and as long as work-study funds are still available. Eligible students are then offered a federal TEACH Grant.

  Students who need additional assistance to cover their bill or education expenses may wish to consider a payment plan, Parent PLUS Loan, or private student loan.

• Your Cost of Attendance

  Cost of attendance (COA) is the sum of the educational expenses that we expect you to incur during your enrollment period. These expenses include estimated billed costs such as tuition, mandatory fees, optional fees, room rent and meals. Also included are estimated non-billed expenses such as books, off-campus rent, food, transportation costs and personal expenses like clothing and entertainment. We use the housing plans that you reported on your FAFSA to help determine your cost of attendance.

• EFC = Expected Family Contribution

  Your EFC is an index number that is used to determine how much financial aid you are eligible to receive. The information you report on your FAFSA is used to calculate your EFC.

  The EFC is calculated according to a formula established by law using information you report on your FAFSA such as your family ’s taxed and untaxed income, assets, and benefits. Also considered are your family size and the number of family members who will attend college during the year. The EFC Formula guide shows exactly how an EFC is calculated.

  Your EFC is not the amount of money your family will have to pay for college, nor is it the amount of federal student aid you will receive. It is a number used to calculate how much financial aid you are eligible to receive.

  Source: (2022, https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa/next-steps/how-calculated)

• Enrollment Status

  Your enrollment status includes your level (undergraduate, graduate, etc), class (freshman, sophomore, etc), credit load (full-time, half-time, etc), residency (NYS, out-of-state, etc), and housing plans (on-campus, off-campus, at home), among others.

  The financial aid summary identifies your enrollment status and assumes that you will be full-time (enrolled in 12 credits or more). Contact us if you will not be full-time.

  Please inform us of any changes or errors in your enrollment status since these may affect your aid eligibility and change your financial aid.

• Unmet Need

  Unmet need is the difference between the students COA and EFC (COA Less EFC Less Other Resources = Unmet Need).

  We use this formula to determine eligibility in various federal, state, institutional, and private aid programs. Your financial aid summary reflects the aid programs that you are eligible for based on this formula.

• How to Accept or Decline Aid

  You need to accept or decline any loans or work-study in an offered status. It ’s a good idea to consider all of your college financing options, review the costs of college and talk with your family before finalizing your award offers. When you are ready to either accept or decline your offered loans or work-study:

  New Students

  1. Login to MyPlattsburgh
  2. Click: Admissions tab
  3. Click: Review Financial Aid Awards in the Admissions Checklist box
  4. Click: Accept Award Offer tab and follow the instructions
  5. Students borrowing for the first time with a federal direct subsidized loan or federal direct unsubsidized loan must also:
     1. Complete and sign your electronic Master Promissory Note
     2. Complete an online entrance counseling session
  6. Any parent electing to use a Parent Loan (PLUS) must Apply for a Direct PLUS Loan. If credit approved for the PLUS loan, your parent will also need to complete the PLUS MPN, if this is your parents first PLUS loan at Plattsburgh.
  7. If you have any outside educational funds that are not listed on your award letter, mail a copy of the donor’s letter to the financial aid office.

  Enrolled Students

  1. Login to MyPlattsburgh
  2. Click: Student tab
  3. Click: My Awards in the Financial Aid menu
  4. Select: appropriate aid year
  5. Click: Accept Award Offer tab and follow the instructions
  6. Students borrowing for the first time with a federal direct subsidized loan or federal direct unsubsidized loan must also:
     1. Complete and sign your electronic Master Promissory Note
     2. Complete an online entrance counseling session
  7. Any parent electing to use a Parent Loan (PLUS) must Apply for a Direct PLUS Loan. If credit approved for the PLUS loan, your parent will also need to complete the PLUS MPN, if this is your parents first PLUS loan at Plattsburgh.
  8. If you have any outside educational funds that are not listed on your award letter, mail a copy of the donor ’s letter to the financial aid office.
• Understanding your Award Status

  Most aid programs are deducted from the bill as long as you have completed all of the steps that are required for us to pay the aid to your account. The programs listed on your financial aid summary and on my.plattsburgh.edu will have one of the following award statuses:

  • Offered — you need to decide whether to accept, decline, or reduce the loan or work-study award. You will continue to receive email reminders until you make a decision. Loan amounts that are offered are not deducted from the bill.
  • Accepted — you have accepted the loan or work-study award. Accepted loan amounts are deducted from the bill as long as you have completed all of the steps that are required for us to pay the aid to your account (ex. Master Promissory Note, Entrance Counseling). Work-study is never deducted from the bill because it is paid via a bi-weekly paycheck.
  • Estimated — we have not received confirmation of the award amount from the funding source and it may change. Award amounts that are estimated are not deducted from the bill.
  • Certified — we have certified your private loan with the lender. Loan amounts that are certified are deducted from the bill.
  • Confirmed — we have confirmed the award amount with the funding source. Award amounts that are confirmed are generally deducted from the bill.