Financial Aid frequently asked questions

Absolutely. The federal Parent PLUS loan is one of the most common and widely used types of financial aid for parents helping their student pay for their education.

Explore parents and family information to see a step-by-step guide of applying for financial aid as the parent of a dependent student.

1. Log in to LOUIE to accept and/or adjust your loan amounts.
2. If you are a new borrower at NAU, go to Student Aid to complete Entrance Counseling and sign a Master Promissory Note. You can complete these two steps even if these items are not yet listed on your LOUIE To Do List. Your loan(s) will not disburse until these steps are completed.
3. New and continuing borrowers should monitor LOUIE and their NAU email for required items that might prevent financial aid disbursement.
4. At least half-time enrollment (6+ credit hours) is required in order for your loan(s) to disburse.

If your financial aid is greater than your account balance you will receive a refund. All excess financial aid will be sent via electronic funds transfer to your direct deposit bank account listed in LOUIE. Allow three to five business days for funds to transfer. If you do not sign up for direct deposit, the refund check will be mailed to your refund address listed in LOUIE.

Financial aid disbursement is the process of financial aid (scholarships, grants, loans, etc.) being released to your LOUIE account to pay for tuition and other university charges.

Learn more about when disbursement happens, in what order charges are covered by disbursement, and more.

Most financial aid awards are awarded under the assumption that students will complete the semester or academic year that the aid is being awarded for. If you withdraw from the university before the end of a semester, you might not be eligible to receive aid for that time period.

Unfortunately, yes. You have to meet certain requirements to maintain your aid, such as taking a certain number of credit hours and ensuring you meet Satisfactory Academic Progress.

It’s important to familiarize yourself with these processes to ensure you continue to receive the most possible aid while pursuing your degree!

ScholarshipUniverse is a dynamic tool that matches you with scholarship opportunities based on your information and need. You can apply for most of them right within the tool itself. No more sifting through endless lists of scholarships to try to find ones you’re eligible for—we’ll bring them to you!

Some scholarships are awarded automatically to eligible students when they are admitted to NAU. For all other scholarships, there’s ScholarshipUniverse.

ScholarshipUniverse is a dynamic tool that matches you with scholarship opportunities based on your information and need. You can apply for most of them right within the tool itself.

The best way to get a feel for what type of aid you might be eligible for at NAU is to use our Net Price Calculator. It’s a customizable tool that’ll give you an accurate and personalized estimate of the cost of earning your degree as a Lumberjack. It even shows you what tuition scholarships and special programs you might be eligible for.

You do for some of them, but not all. NAU tuition aid programs don’t require a separate application. As long as you are admitted to NAU, you’ll automatically be considered for these awards. In addition, students who are admitted to NAU and who will out the FAFSA are also automatically considered for some special programs that aren’t considered scholarships, such as Access2Excellence.

You can use ScholarshipUniverse to apply for Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid (OSFA) scholarships, as well as NAU Foundation scholarships. Additional scholarships such as private donor and academic department scholarships might have a separate application or additional requirements. Browse the various types of scholarships and grants offered at NAU to learn more about the requirements.

The best thing you can do after filing your FAFSA is to keep an eye on your NAU email account and your To Do List in your LOUIE student account. If we need anything else from you in order to determine your aid eligibility, it’ll show up in one of these places.

Assuming we don’t need anything else from you in order to determine your eligibility, keep an eye out for your financial aid award offer in the mail and in your LOUIE account. It’ll break down all the types and amounts of aid you’re eligible to receive.

You can also re-visit the step-by-step instructions for applying for financial aid to make sure you haven’t missed anything:

• Undergraduate students
• Graduate students
• Parents and families

You can simply log back in at Student Aid, access your FAFSA form again, and make the necessary corrections. The Federal Student Aid even has resources to help walk you through the process.

If you make changes to your FAFSA, keep an eye on your NAU email account and your LOUIE To Do List. We’ll get in touch with you if the changes you made affect your financial aid eligibility in any way. If you don’t hear from us, then the changes you made to your FAFSA didn’t affect your financial aid eligibility.

Of course! We’re always here to help.

The good news is that the newest FAFSA form is simpler and easier than ever, and the Federal Student Aid website has great walkthroughs and videos that make it simple to complete the form and become eligible for aid.

If you still have questions or need help, give us a call at 928-523-4951 or email financial.aid@nau.edu and we’ll be happy to assist.

If you are a current NAU student, you can also drop by the Student Service Center on campus during normal business hours for help filing your FAFSA, no appointment necessary!

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the first and most important step in paying for college. It’s an online form that determines what types and how much financial aid you will be eligible for. You must complete the FAFSA to be eligible for federal, state, and institutional financial aid.

You can learn more and complete the FAFSA at Federal Student Aid. Be sure to enter NAU code 0010802 when you fill it out!

To help you get a feel for what college will cost and how you can budget and plan for it, visit Budgeting for Northern Arizona University

Financial aid is more than just scholarships and we’re here to help you utilize every type of financial aid that could help you better pay for college.

Learn more about the guide to of financial aid available, including scholarships, grants, loans, student employment, and more.

View NAU’s tuition and fees.

To get a better feel for how much you’ll actually pay for college, including what scholarships and other aid you might be eligible for, we recommend using NAU’s Net Price Calculator. It’s a customizable tool that’ll give you an accurate and personalized estimate of the cost of earning your degree as a Lumberjack.

We understand navigating the world of financial aid can be overwhelming at first. That’s why we’re here to help you every step of the way.

If you’d like to talk to someone about how to get started applying for and understanding financial aid, give us a call at 928-523-4951 or email financial.aid@nau.edu.

Otherwise, we recommend starting on our step-by-step guides to applying for financial aid:

For parents and families

For undergraduate students

For graduate students