Financial Aid Guide

A. CLAIM YOUR ACCOUNT

If you haven’t already done so, follow these steps to claim your North Dakota University System (NDUS) Account:

1. Go to http://ndus.rightanswers.com/portal/ss. Click Claim My Account. 
2. Watch the video and click Claim you NDUS Account.
3. Enter your Student ID/ EMPLID and 8-digit birthdate in the fields provided.
4. Click Continue.
5. Click I Agree then click Continue to proceed.
6. A confirmation message displays indicating that your account has been activated. Click the Continue button again to proceed.
7. Follow the remaining directions as indicated beginning with inputting a new password.

You must choose a password between 12 and 16 characters. Your password will not expire. The process of claiming your account will take about 10 minutes.

If you have technical questions related to claiming your NDUS account, contact the NDUS helpdesk at 1-866-457-6387 or go to ndus.rightanswers.com/portal/ss/ .

B. LOG IN TO CAMPUS CONNECTION

Campus Connection is the system that you’ll use to accept or decline your financial aid offer, register for classes, and view and pay your bill.  After you’ve claimed your NDUS account and you have obtained your username and password, follow the steps below to log in to Campus Connection:

1. Log in to Campus Connection
2. Enter your User ID (firstname.lastname) and password, then click Log In.

Once you’re logged in, your Student Center page will be your default screen. Your Student Center is where you’ll view your financial aid, university bill, enrollment, academic and personal information.

C. REVIEW HOLDS AND “TO DO” LIST

In Campus Connection, you’ll be able to see if you have Holds on your account or if there are any items you need to complete on your To Do List. Click ‘details’ to find out which office is requesting additional information from you. Holds and incomplete items on your To Do List can delay financial aid processing and prevent class registration.

Important: If your FAFSA has been selected for Verification, it will show as an item in your Campus Connection To Do List. Your financial aid will not be processed until you’ve submitted all requested documents and Verification is complete.

D. REVIEW YOUR FINANCIAL AID OFFER

Go to the Finances section in Campus Connection and click on ‘View Financial Aid’.

After you click ‘View Financial Aid’, select the appropriate aid year to view your offer. Select 2025 if you plan to attend NDSU during the Fall 2024, Spring 2025 and/or Summer 2025 semesters.

Review the breakdown of your estimated cost of attendance by clicking on ‘Financial Aid Summary’.

Click on the dollar amount listed as your Estimated Financial Aid Budget to see a breakdown of your tuition and fees, housing and meals, books and supplies, and miscellaneous living expenses.

Keep in mind these are estimated costs and not what you owe directly to NDSU. The miscellaneous and personal expenses include estimated costs for essential living expenses such as laundry detergent and toiletries. If possible, we encourage you to pursue student employment opportunities rather than seek additional student loans to pay for these types of costs.

Important: Charges are only made available through Campus Connection under the Finances section. Invoices will not be mailed.

E. ACCEPT OR DECLINE AID OFFERED

Go to the Finances section in Campus Connection and click on ‘Accept/Decline Awards’. Check the appropriate boxes to accept or decline your financial aid and click the ‘SUBMIT’ button.

F. REPORT OUTSIDE SCHOLARSHIPS/AWARDS

To report any outside scholarships or third-party awards, click the Financial Aid tile on the student homepage in Campus Connection. Select the appropriate year. Click Outside Aid on the left side toolbar. Click the Plus sign. Enter the following: Award, Category, Award Description, Amount. Click Submit then click Yes to confirm.  You may also contact One Stop by completing the One Stop Inquiry Form

Important: If you are unsure if you want to accept or decline your financial aid offer, we recommend first completing the Budget Calculator Worksheet in Step 3 to determine your estimated costs.

If you accepted a Federal Direct Loan (subsidized and/or unsubsidized), there are additional steps you must complete online before your loan can be processed.

1. Go to studentaid.gov.
2. Log in with your Federal Student Aid Username and Password (FSAID), the same login used to complete your FAFSA.
3. Follow the directions to complete the following requirements:
   • Loan Entrance Counseling, a one-time requirement that educates students about their rights and responsibilities as a student loan borrower.
   • Loan Agreement also referred to as the Master Promissory Note (MPN). This open-ended note serves as a written agreement for the student to repay all loan funds borrowed.
   • Annual Student Loan Acknowledgment, you are acknowledging that you understand your responsibility to repay your loan, how much you owe and how much you can borrow.

Important: Keep track of how much you owe and who your federal loan servicer(s) are by logging on to studentaid.gov using your FSAID and password.

Our interactive Budget Calculator Worksheet should be used to estimate your cost to attend NDSU. Enter your costs, financial aid offered, and any other resources such as scholarships, college savings plans and personal savings. Your payment due is the balance that remains AFTER your anticipated financial aid has been applied to your bill. Your actual charges will be posted to your Campus Connection Student Center the first week in August for the fall semester and the first week in December for the spring semester.

In addition to the financial aid programs listed on your aid offer, we recommend the following options and resources to assist you in paying for your bill at NDSU:

• PERSONAL SAVINGS including money received from your high school graduation and earnings from working during the summer.
• PARENTAL ASSISTANCE in the form of self-payment or willingness to borrow a Federal Direct PLUS Loan for Parents.
• QUALIFIED TUITION PLANS
• EXTERNAL SCHOLARSHIPS awarded to you by organizations other than NDSU.
• NDSU MONTHLY PAYMENT PLAN which is covered in detail here.
• PRIVATE STUDENT LOANS are interest-bearing loans and typically require a credit-worthy borrower (student) and a credit-worthy co-signer (usually a parent or family member).
  • To choose a private student loan program and lender:
    1. Go to Private Student Loan page.
    2. Scroll down and click on the “Enter FASTChoice” icon.
    3. Click “Undergraduate Student – Private Loan Options” and then click Next.
    4. Read the disclosure and click Next.

Lender information is provided as a courtesy and in no way should it be interpreted as a requirement to use one of the lenders listed on FASTChoice. NDSU will process loans from any participating lender.

If you wish to have your financial aid refund (including excess funds from a private student loan) deposited directly into your bank account, you may self-enroll after you have completed your Orientation session by clicking the following link: Direct Deposit Online Enrollment

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) prohibits NDSU from releasing any of your information, including your financial aid, to anyone other than you, the student, unless you have given us written permission to do so. If you wish to have your information released to your parent(s) or other specified individuals you may submit the FERPA Consent to Release Form by clicking the following link: FERPA Consent to Release Form

Yes. If you want financial aid, you are required to accept your offer. You may accept or decline all or part of your financial aid offer by following the directions in Step 1 above.

Yes. There are both annual and aggregate loan limits for the Federal Direct Loan program.

ANNUAL LIMITS

AGGREGATE LIMITS

Undergraduate dependent students: $31,000 with up to $23,000 of that amount being subsidized.

Undergraduate independent students: $57,500 with up to $23,000 of that amount being subsidized.

Yes. A snapshot of your enrollment, called “census” is taken at 11:59 p.m. on August 25, 2024 for the fall semester and on January 16, 2025 for the spring semester. Your financial aid offer and Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) status will be both based on your enrollment as of that date and time.

Yes. The University reserves the right to adjust your offer on the basis of additional information that may become available, including but not limited to: Verification of information reported on your FAFSA, notification of tuition waivers, scholarships, grants, or other third-party payments, and changes in enrollment status (e.g. changing from full-time to part-time status).

Yes. You must meet certain academic requirements to be eligible for federal financial assistance. These requirements are called standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress, or SAP for short. They include:

• Earn a semester and cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.00.
• Successfully complete two-thirds (67%) of your attempted credits each semester and cumulatively. Credits dropped or failed after the NDSU census date are counted as attempted but not completed.
• Be sure you read the complete SAP policy every year.

NDSU One Stop
Dept. 2836, P.O. Box 6050
Fargo, ND 58108-6050

Encourage your scholarship donors to mail your check early to ensure that it will be applied to your NDSU charges in a timely manner.

Yes. Your financial aid may be delayed or canceled because of one or more of the following reasons:

• If you did not accept or decline your financial aid offer through Campus Connection.
• If you did not complete your Loan Agreement/Master Promissory Note (MPN) at studentaid.gov.
• If you did not complete Loan Entrance Counseling  at studentaid.gov.
• If you did not complete the Annual Student Loan Acknowledgment at studentaid.gov
• If your FAFSA was selected for Verification and you have not submitted all requested documents.
• If all required first-year application documents have not been submitted to the Office of Admission such as an official final high school transcript, ACT or SAT scores, college transcript(s), etc.
• If you have not electronically signed the Financial Obligation Agreement.
• If you do not meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP).