Financial Aid Eligibility
How much financial aid you can receive at Nova Southeastern University depends on several factors. Generally, your eligibility depends on your Student Aid Index (SAI), your year in school, your enrollment status, and your program’s cost of attendance (COA).
General Financial Aid Eligibility Requirements
- Demonstrate financial need. (For some sources of aid, this is not a requirement.)
- Be a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen
- Have a valid Social Security number
- Be enrolled or accepted for enrollment as a regular student in an eligible degree or certificate program
- Be enrolled at least half-time in degree-applicable coursework to be eligible for Direct Loan Program funds
- Maintain satisfactory academic progress toward a degree or certificate in an eligible program
- Provide consent and approval to have your federal tax information transferred directly into your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®)
- Sign the certification statement on the FAFSA stating that
- you are not in default on a federal student loan and do not owe money on a federal student grant and
- you will use federal student aid only for educational purposes.
- Show you are qualified to obtain a college education by
- having a high school diploma or a state-recognized equivalent such as a General Educational Development (GED) certificate.
- completing a high school education in a homeschool setting approved under state law (or—if state law does not require a homeschooled student to obtain a completion credential—completing a high school education in a homeschool setting that qualifies as an exemption from compulsory attendance requirements under state law).
Additional eligibility requirements can apply for non-U.S. citizens and students with criminal convictions.
IMPORTANT: On the FAFSA form, a contributor refers to anyone (you, your spouse, your biological or adoptive parent, or your parent's spouse) who's required to provide information on the FAFSA form. If a required contributor doesn't provide consent and approval to have their federal tax information transferred into your FAFSA form, you won’t be eligible for federal student aid—even if they manually enter tax information into the FAFSA form.
U.S. Citizenship or Eligible Noncitizen Status Required
Only U.S. citizens and eligible noncitizens may receive federal student aid. If your FAFSA Submission Summary indicates that you are required to provide documentation, the NSU Office of Financial Aid will notify you accordingly via NSU email and messages in your Self-Service Financial Aid Account.The following documents will be accepted as proof:
| U.S. Citizens | Eligible Non-citizens |
|---|---|
|
|
Option 1: Submit copies of your citizenship documents
U.S. Citizens
Print the Affidavit form available under the Forms tab at our website, nova.edu/financialaid. Make copies of all of the appropriate documents, as indicated above. Fill in the academic year for which you are submitting these documents, your name (printed), and complete the list of documents with their expiration date and issuing authority. Bring all of your documents, as well as the Affidavit form, to a notary in your area. Sign the form in the presence of a notary and ensure the notary's signature and/or stamp is included.
Eligible Non-Citizens
Eligible non-citizens may submit copies of the above listed documents without an affidavit. NSU will verify non-citizen's documents with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Submit everything to NSU by one of two methods:
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Scan and email to finaiddocs@nova.edu
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U.S mail to:
Nova Southeastern University
Office of Financial Aid – EPS
3300 S. University Drive, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33328-2004Do not mail original documents to NSU.
Option 2: Present original documents in person
Any of the originals listed above may be presented at the following locations:
- One-Stop Shop, Horvitz Administration Building, Fort Lauderdale/Davie Campus
- Financial Aid Offices at the Shepard Broad College of Law, the H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship, and the Health Professions Division Terry Administration Building (Fort Lauderdale/Davie Campus)
- Your local NSU Campus
For questions regarding this process, please call the Office of Financial Aid at 800-806-3680.
Need-Based Financial Aid Eligibility
Need-based financial aid, such as the Federal Pell Grant, the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, the Direct Subsidized Loan, Federal Perkins Loan, and Federal Work-Study, is determined based on the following formula:
Cost of Attendance (COA) - Student Aid Index (SAI) = Eligibility for need-based aid
Definition of Terms
The Student Aid Index (SAI) is an eligibility index number that the financial aid office uses to determine your financial aid offer. The SAI results from the information you provide on your FAFSA. The number is not a dollar amount of aid eligibility or what your family is expected to provide. A negative SAI indicates a higher financial need. Your SAI is listed on your FAFSA Submission Summary. Before receiving your official SAI, you can complete the Federal Student Aid Estimator for an estimate.
Eligibility for aid that is not need based, such as the Direct Unsubsidized Loan, the Federal PLUS Loans, and the Teacher Education Access for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant, is determined as follows:
- Cost of Attendance (COA) – Financial Aid Awarded So Far* = Eligibility for financial aid that is not need-based
Special Circumstances – Professional Judgment
The Office of Financial Aid may use Professional Judgment to consider a student’s special and/or unusual circumstances to make adjustments to:
- certain components of the Student Aid Index (SAI)
- the cost of attendance budget, and/or
- a student's dependency status, as determined by federal guidelines.
Contact Us
Horvitz Admin. Bldg
3300 S. University Drive
Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33328-2004
Monday - Friday
8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
(954) 262-3380 | 800-806-3680