Paying For College

ITEMS TO COMPLETE AFTER REGISTERING & BEFORE THE PAYMENT/PAPERWORK DEADLINE:

• Complete a FAFSA form at studentaid.gov
• Complete any missing items (i.e. verification, missing signatures, unusual enrollment history, etc)
• Accept or Decline all awards on the student portal at my.rochesteru.edu
• If accepting loans, students must complete:
  • Entrance Counseling (EC)
  • Master Promissory Note (MPN)
  • Parent PLUS Loan MPN (if applicable)
  • Private/Alternative Loan secured (if applicable)
• New Traditional Students Only:
  • Tuition and Fees Promissory Note
  • Institutional Aid Renewable Policy
• If payment is due:
  • If paying in full, payment is due the Monday before the first day of the semester.
  • If doing a payment plan, the first payment is due the Monday before the first day of the semester.

OTHER INFORMATION:

• Students will receive an “Unofficial” email two times per month in June and July, notifying them of any outstanding items. One time per week during the first two weeks of August and then daily the week leading up to the deadline. Please do not ignore these emails.
• IMPORTANT: Students who do not complete all of the required steps will be administratively dropped from all of their courses on Tuesday following the payment deadline. You will not be able to move into the residence hall if a Traditional-Residential student.
• You will receive notification to your RU email that you have been administratively dropped from your courses.
• If you are administratively dropped from your courses and complete your paperwork/payment after the fact, then you can re-register for courses. You may not be able to get back into the same courses as before. Traditional students must re-register by 4pm on the first Friday after the semester begins (Census Date). Graduate and Accelerated Learning students must re-register by Friday 4pm before the first day of the semester.
• Exceptions will be limited, but must be approved by Student Financial Services.

Please contact Student Financial Services at sfs@rochesteru.edu or 248-218-2127 for any questions.

Students should apply for aid every year, even if they think they won’t qualify. Completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form is free, and it’s easy to apply. There are many factors affecting eligibility for financial aid, including income, family size and number in college. To apply for most financial aid — including federal and state student grants, work-study and loans – you will need to complete the FAFSA using one of the following formats:

• online at studentaid.gov
• using a paper FAFSA – note: PDF FAFSAs must be mailed for processing.

The FAFSA form is available as early as October 1 for the following school year. It’s important to fill it out as soon as possible to meet school and state financial aid deadlines.

IMPORTANT:  The State of Michigan has a priority deadline of March 1st (date received) for State of Michigan student aid programs!

1. Create a Federal Student Aid ID (FSA ID) number. Go to studentaid.gov and click on “Create Account.” Both students and parent(s) are required to use an FSA ID to access sensitive financial aid information and electronically sign Federal Student Aid documents. Each person will create a username and password and enter their personal email address. The FSA ID process requires your name, date of birth, social security number and contact information, along with challenge questions and answers. You will be able to use your new FSA ID number only after confirming your email address using a secure code sent to you when creating your FSA ID. It is important to remember that a mobile phone number or email address can be associated with only one FSA ID.
2. Have your and your parent’s tax return and income information available when you file the FAFSA. Students and families completing a FAFSA are now required to use tax and income information from two years prior to the academic year for which they are applying. This is commonly referred to as Prior-Prior Year FAFSA. Families have the ability to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) when completing the FAFSA, which allows for automatic transfer of tax and income information directly to a student’s FAFSA. While not required, we highly recommend using the tool for several reasons:
   • The IRS Data Retrieval Tool is the easiest way to provide tax return information.
   • It is the best way of ensuring that your FAFSA has accurate tax return information.
3. File your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as soon after October 1 as possible each year.*
   • The 2023-2024 FAFSA is for students attending or planning to attend Fall 2023, Spring 2024 and/or Summer 2024.
   • The 2023-2024 FAFSA is for students attending or planning to attend Fall 2023, Spring 2024 and/or Summer 2024.
   • *TIP: If you are given the option to complete a “renewal” FAFSA form, choose that option. When you choose to renew your FAFSA form, your demographic information from the previous year will roll over into your new application. Go to studentaid.gov to start your financial aid application and indicate that you are the student. Certain information may be automatically loaded into your application to prevent common errors. The online and app versions of the FAFSA include step-by-step instructions for completing the FAFSA. These versions provide built-in edit checks to catch simple errors and allow both the student and the parent(s) to utilize the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT). The student is the one applying for financial aid, so be sure it is the student entering his or her FSA ID in the “I am the student” tab.
   • Do not start the FAFSA form by supplying the parent’s FSA ID!
4. Be sure to include Rochester University’s federal school code (002288) in the number 1 spot in step 6 of the FAFSA to ensure that you receive the maximum amount of aid.
5. Before your FAFSA form can be processed, you’ll need to sign and submit the application. If you are providing parent information, one of your parents will be required to sign your application.
6. You will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) upon completion of the FAFSA. The SAR is a summary of the FAFSA data you submitted. Review your Student Aid Report and correct any mistakes online by logging into your student aid account.
7. Student Financial Services at RU will receive a copy of your FAFSA application 3-5 business days after submission and review to determine your eligibility for financial aid. If additional information is required, you will receive an email from SFS@rochesteru.edu outlining what information or update(s) is required. When your FAFSA is approved, you will receive an award letter outlining cost information and detailing your financial aid award package.

1. Log in to your current FAFSA form or start a new application at studentaid.gov.
2. Click Link to IRS. (Note: If you have already used the IRS DRT to transfer your tax return information into your application, the information will not display on your FAFSA. For your protection, the answer to each question is replaced with “Transferred from the IRS.”)
3. Enter your FSA ID. (Note: The person whose tax information is being transferred should enter his or her own FSA ID. Students will not be asked to enter their FSA ID if they entered an FSA ID to begin their FAFSA.)
4. Your FAFSA will be saved and you will be transferred to the external IRS Web site.
5. On the IRS Web site, you must enter the requested information exactly as it appears on your federal income tax return. If you get an error that there’s no match, double check your information, including the exact mailing address and tax filing status on your return.
6. Check the “Transfer my Tax Information into the FAFSA form” box and click the “Transfer Now” button.
7. Finish filling out the FAFSA, sign and submit it.