About NSU Financial Aid

On December 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA) was signed into law authorizing the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund II (HEERF II). In total, the CRRSAA authorized $81.88 billion in support for education, in addition to the $30.75 billion that had been provided to colleges and universities through the Coronavirus Aid, Recovery, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in the spring of 2020.  As a result, NSU has received additional federal funding to make financial aid grants available to students with exceptional need. 

Eligibility: Federal regulations stipulate that priority is to be given to students with demonstrated exceptional need. NSU will be distributing grants in the amount of $1,500 to students on a first come, first served basis who meet the following criteria:

• Student must be eligible for Title IV funds and enrolled in the winter/spring 2021 semester/term.

• Student must have an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) of $0 based on submission of a 2020-21 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

•  Priority will be given to those students who have not previously received emergency grant funding through the Federal CARES Act at NSU or who have received less than $1,500 in Federal CARES Act funding.

• The student must apply funding toward components of the cost of attendance budget which include tuition, student fees, books & supplies, room & board, transportation, personal, healthcare (including mental health), childcare, and/or toward emergency costs related to COVID-19.

• Student must submit an NSU Application for Emergency Grant Funding.

• IMPORTANT: Students with exceptional need ($0 EFC based on the 2020-21 FAFSA) enrolled in the winter/spring 2021 semester/term will be invited to apply for a grant in the amount of $1,500. Students may not forward or share the link with others as it is specific to them. Students must monitor their NSU email for additional information. 

• The application will be available to eligible students beginning March 1 through March 8, 2021.

• Funds will begin to be disbursed in mid-March.

• Students will be notified of the outcome of their application by NSU email.

 International students are ineligible for HEERF II Funding. 

Should the federal government pass new legislation for a third stimulus package, including additional funding for emergency financial aid grants to students, the Office of Student Financial Assistance will notify students accordingly.

On March 8, 2021, the Department of Education (ED) announced that the Annual Student Loan Acknowledgement (ASLA) will NOT be required for students and parents who wish to borrow a Federal Direct Loan in the upcoming 2021-22 academic year.

The ED had previously announced the implementation of the ASLA in November 2019. It is currently available on the studentaid.gov website and was supposed to become a mandatory requirement for 2021-22 student loans to disburse. This directive has now changed, and borrower completion of the ASLA prior to disbursement will not be required as a result of continued disruptions caused by the coronavirus.

The ASLA informs borrowers what they owe or could owe in federal student loans and is individually tailored toward first-time and current loan borrowers to help provide details surrounding loan status and forecasts of estimated monthly payments. It may still be completed on a voluntary basis.

The 2021-2022 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is now available at studentaid.gov and in the myStudentAid app. The FAFSA determines your eligibility for grants, scholarships, loans, and work-study programs and is the essential first step in receiving financial aid from federal, state, and private sources. The Office of Student Financial Assistance encourages you to file your FAFSA as soon as it becomes available on October 1 each year: 

• The sooner you apply, the better chance you have of receiving the maximum amount of funds.

• Completing the FAFSA early will allow you to plan more efficiently.

• Many scholarships require you to complete a FAFSA.

New Filer? Get a Head Start by Creating Your FSA ID

If you will be filing the FAFSA for the first time, you can get a head start by creating your FSA ID ahead of time. The FSA ID is a username and password combination that gives you access to Federal Student Aid's online systems. It can also serve as your legal signature. If you don’t have an FSA ID by the time you fill out your FAFSA, you will be prompted to apply for one, but it may take one to three days before you receive it. Get a head start on that process today by creating one here.  

Returning Filer? Changes to the 2021-22 FAFSA include:

• You will use your (your parents') 2019 federal tax return information.
  
  
• Enhanced abilities of the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) to verify if a Schedule 1 was filed 

Don't miss out by filing late! File as soon as possible at studentaid.gov.

NSU Federal School Code: 001509

Tips:

• Have your FSA ID handy before you begin.
  
  
• Use your legal name as it appears on your Social Security Card! Any deviation from that name will cause your FAFSA to be rejected.
  
  
• Don't rush! Any type of mistake, even an innocent typo, will cause a delay in processing. Take advantage of the helpful tips and read questions, instructions, and definitions carefully.
   
• Whenever possible, use the the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) to automatically import information from the federal tax return into your FAFSA. That makes filing not only faster, but also more accurate. 
  
  
• You can also complete the FAFSA using the myStudentAid app, available on the App Store (iOS) or on Google Play (Android).

The Office of the University Bursar is pleased to announce that students may now set up direct deposit for financial aid and tuition refunds online in SharkLink. Prior to this enhancement, students had to submit a paper form.

If you already have a direct deposit authorization on file, no action is required, unless you would like to make changes to your existing banking information.

Follow the steps below to access the direct deposit authorization:

• Log in to SharkLink.
• Click on “My Account” and locate the “Additional Bursar’s Resources” section in the lower left corner.
• Click on “Sign Up for Direct Deposit.”

Direct deposit is an expedient and safe way to receive any applicable refunds to your checking account. If you are eligible for a financial aid or tuition refund and have no direct deposit authorization on file, your refund will be issued to you in the form of a check mailed to your preferred address in SharkLink. If payment was made by credit card or gift card, any refund you may be entitled to will be added back to the card used to make the payment. Therefore, students are advised to retain any gift cards used to make payments. For more information about direct deposit, visit the direct deposit webpage.

Paper Direct Deposit Authorizations will no longer be accepted and processed.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, NSU awarded a total of $3.6 million to students in need. NSU received and awarded all of the approximately $3.5 million from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund under the Federal CARES Act for emergency financial aid grants to students. In order to be considered eligible, students had to meet the following criteria:

• have incurred expenses as a direct result of a disruption in campus operations due to COVID-19; and
• be enrolled in the 2020 Winter semester/term; and
• be eligible to file a 2019-2020 FAFSA; and
• be enrolled in at least one ground-based (face-to-face) course on or before March 13, 2020 (date of President Trump’s Proclamation of a National Emergency for the COVID-19 outbreak).

On April 28, 2020, the university sent an email to the 19,527 students enrolled in the Winter 2020 semester/term announcing that the application for emergency relief was open. Students had the opportunity to apply for emergency relief through the Federal CARES Act or the NSU COVID-19 Student Support Fund from April 28, to May 31, 2020. The NSU COVID-19 Student Support Fund was established to supplement Federal CARES Act funding, as many NSU students did not meet the eligibility requirements for federal funding.  Financial aid grants of up to $3,000 each were awarded to a total 1,543 students under the Federal CARES Act. 

Through the university’s fundraising efforts, an additional 79 students were awarded funding totaling more than $36,817.53 from the NSU COVID-19 Student Support Fund.

Should the federal government pass new legislation for a second stimulus package including additional funding for emergency financial aid grants to students, NSU will give priority consideration to students who previously submitted an application for Federal CARES Act funding but could not be considered due to limited funding.

To view NSU’s federal reporting requirements for receipt of funds for emergency financial aid grants to students under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, click here.

Students who are expecting a refund from their financial aid disbursement may submit an online emergency loan application.

Gold Circle Emergency Loan Application for Non-HPD Students: This application is available to non-Health Professions Division (HPD) students whose financial aid file is complete for the period in which the loan is being requested. The loan limit has been increased to $1,500, and the five percent processing fee has been waived due to the Coronavirus pandemic.  To view additional eligibility requirements and to access the online application, visit https://www.nova.edu/financialaid/forms/index.html and select the appropriate form from the drop down menu. Gold Circle Emergency applications will be reviewed no earlier than three weeks before the first day of classes for the semester/term the loan is being requested.

HPD Pre-Loan Application:  This application is only available to Health Professions Division (HPD) students whose financial aid file is complete for the period in which the loan is being requested. The loan limit is $2,000, and the processing fee has been waived due to the Coronavirus pandemic.  To view additional eligibility requirements and to access the online application, visit https://www.nova.edu/financialaid/forms/index.html and select the appropriate form from the drop down menu. HPD Pre-Loan applications will be reviewed no earlier than five weeks before the first day of classes for the semester/term the loan is being requested.