Frequently Asked Questions

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the application for all federal and state aid programs. You will need to indicate Louisiana State University Eunice (school code #002012) in the school release section of the application so that we may receive your file. In most cases, you and your parents will need to complete the application.

The FAFSA should be submitted on-line at www.fafsa.gov . This application must be submitted annually after January 1st.

By completing the FAFSA you are applying for all Federal Title IV programs including grants, Federal Work-Study, and loans. Louisiana students can also use the FAFSA as the application for TOPS.

You may apply for financial aid any time after January 1 to use for the upcoming fall, spring, and summer semesters. We recommend that your application be submitted no later than June 1 for fall enrollment and October 1 for spring-only enrollment. It is important that you complete the financial aid application process early enough each year so that your award will be in place prior to tuition deadlines; otherwise, you will be responsible for payment of your fees.

You are more likely to receive funds from all programs for which you are eligible as there are limited funds available in some of the Federal aid programs. Also, you will help ensure that your financial aid will be available to you when tuition is due. Generally Course and Fee Statements must be processed 3 weeks prior to the beginning of each semester for students who early register and 1 week for those who enroll during regular registration. Academic Calendar.

Yes. Each year you must file the FAFSA for the appropriate award year. You must also maintain Standards of Academic Progress (SAP) in order to qualify for aid each year.

Yes and you should! You may access your financial aid information on your MyLSUE account under the Financial Aid tab. You will also receive correspondence from the Financial Aid Office through your university email account. You will not receive paper correspondence from the LSUE Financial Aid office unless we have to return a form to you for further completion or missing signatures.

You may be required to submit certain documents to verify the information you reported on your FAFSA. This may include, but is not limited to, copies of Federal IRS tax return transcript, household size information, and verification of untaxed income. These forms are to be submitted, upon request, to the LSU Eunice Financial Aid Office, not to the Federal processor. You will not be considered for an award until you have submitted the required documents.

Once all requested documentation has been submitted to our office your file is reviewed and a financial aid award prepared, the Award Letter will appear on the Financial Aid tab of your myLSUE. You can then accept or decline the desired programs and amounts. Note: Make sure you are viewing the appropriate semester in myLSUE.

Yes. Any changes in enrollment and/or attendance verification may affect your financial aid eligibility. If you have financial aid and cancel your registration, drop courses, or fail to begin attendance in all of your courses your aid will be affected.

Yes. All aid is monitored to ensure that the total amount awarded including federal financial aid, scholarships (both institutional and outside), and other resources do not exceed the total cost of attendance for the academic year. Also, please remember to notify the Financial Aid Office of any outside awards you may be receiving.

Your myLSUE ID and password are issued at the time you are accepted for admissions. Please note that it is important to access your financial aid information and university email account frequently throughout the application process.

The Federal processor determines your individual family’s ability to contribute to the cost of your education or Expected Family Contribution (EFC) using the information you provide on the FAFSA. This figure is used solely for the determination of financial need and does not represent a figure you will owe the University. The formula they apply is referred to as “Federal methodology”. After receiving your EFC from the processor electronically, the LSU Eunice Financial Aid Office then subtracts that EFC from the school’s Cost of Attendance (COA). In essence, the formula is COA-EFC= Financial Need.

The Cost of Attendance(COA) is the amount the university calculates or estimates that it will cost you to attend for the academic year. Costs includes: tuition/fees, room and board, books and supplies, transportation, and personal expenses. This figure is used solely for the determination of financial aid and does not represent a figure you will owe the university. Budgets are calculated for students living both on and off campus.

The amount that a student can borrow varies dependent upon many factors including but not limited to your level in college and your individual eligibility based on your FAFSA.

Some loans are independent of financial need. Please refer to our loan information on our website. You will find information concerning the Federal Unsubsidized Stafford Loan and the Federal Parent PLUS Loan. Financial Aid Programs

Once the Award Letter is processed all accepted aid is prepared for disbursement. Grant amounts are confirmed and loans are certified by the loan officer. First time borrowers will be notified via university email that they must complete an Entrance Counseling and Master Promissory Note. Once all steps are completed the file is released to the Business Office to be processed in the next scheduled Financial Aid Posting (FAP). The FAP schedule is generally every two weeks beginning after the 14th day of class until the end of each semester/session. For each FAP the Business Office will display a summary of federal aid which was posted to your account on the Home tab of your myLSUE. This also gives a time frame during which you can expect to receive the refund check, if applicable.

The loan officer will send an email to your university email account that will include instructions and a link to the site for completing loan certification requirements. If you have misplaced or forgotten your PIN you may request a duplicate through the same site that the promissory note is completed. Visit www.studentloans.gov

Any change in enrollment status may potentially affect the amount of aid a student is eligible to receive depending on the time frame in which the change is made and the aid programs involved. Standards of Academic Progress (SAP) must also be taken into consideration any time you consider changes to academic enrollment.

Notification of status under the Standards of Academic Progress (SAP) is made through the student’s myLSUE under the Financial Aid tab. There will appear a link to the SAP notification letter. This letter notifies the student of the requirement that is not met under the SAP provisions and options available to regain financial aid eligibility including filing an appeal with the Office of Student Affairs and Enrollment Services. The following are examples of common individual circumstances that may affect you. Please read further for more specific FAQ’s.

If your natural parents are separated or divorced, use the natural parent with whom you lived the most in the past twelve (12) months. If you lived with neither parent, or lived with each parent an equal number of days, use the parent that provided the most financial support to you over the past twelve (12) months. If that parent has remarried, you must also include the step parent’s financial information on the application, and parent and step parent should report themselves as married on the FAFSA.

When completing the FAFSA, only provide the income information from the tax return for the parent who qualifies as your responsible parent and your parent should report divorced/separated on the FAFSA.

It has no bearing on being able to be considered as “independent” whether or not your parents claimed you on their tax return. The Higher Education Act established requirements for establishing independence. Several questions are addressed on the FAFSA. If the answer is “YES” to any of the questions you will be considered “Independent” for financial aid purposes.

No. You must indicate your marital status as of the date you are completing the FAFSA. You cannot update your marital status once you have filed your FAFSA.

No. You must report asset information as of the date you sign the original FAFSA. You cannot update your asset information.

If you have experienced any of the following circumstances check with your Director of Financial Aid to see if this may affect your financial aid application/status: death of a major wage earner, loss of employment of a major wage earner, or loss of other income or benefits such as child support by you, your parents, or your spouse.