Financial Aid

Services

FAQs

You do not need to do anything to accept your scholarships and grants. Those will automatically be applied to your student account. You will receive half of your scholarships and grants for the fall and half for the spring.  

You do need to accept/decline your loan offers. Instructions for this are included later in the FAQs. 

The scholarships and grants that you have been awarded are the highest that Northwestern can offer to you, based on your academic achievements and financial need, as demonstrated by the FAFSA. We do our best to include all financial aid opportunities available to you in your award notification. 

We do have an appeal process for unusual financial circumstances that cannot be reported on the FAFSA. If you are considered a dependent on the FAFSA, please have your parent complete the Parent Appeal Form. If you are considered an independent on the FAFSA, please complete the Student Appeal Form. The appeal forms can be found here. You will need to submit the appeal form to the Financial Aid Office, with supporting documentation. We cannot make any promises, but it is possible that with an appeal, we might be able to offer additional need-based grants. 

You will have the opportunity to apply for the Northwestern Scholarship during your first year. The Northwestern Scholarship is available to all continuing/returning students. The Northwestern Scholarship Application will be available on theROCK during the fall semester. If you are awarded the Northwestern Scholarship, you will receive the scholarship for your second year at Northwestern. Students will be notified when it is time to apply for the Northwestern Scholarship. 

You do need to apply for the FAFSA every year. The FAFSA application is available after October 1st prior to the year for which you are applying for financial aid. The FAFSA is needed to be considered for the Federal and State Grants, the UNW Grant and federal student loans.  

As long as you continue to meet the necessary requirements to keep your UNW scholarships, your scholarships will be carried forward automatically. 

We start awarding continuing/returning students during the spring semester prior to following fall semester. You will receive your Financial Aid Award letter at your UNW email.  

If you have not received a financial aid award package from us, it may be for one of the following reasons: 

• Northwestern has not received your completed Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA can be completed here. You should receive an award package from us within one to two weeks of Northwestern’s receipt of your FAFSA, as long as you are not selected for verification. 
• Your FAFSA was chosen by the federal government for a process called ‘verification’. If this is the case, the Financial Aid Office sent you a letter explaining what you need to complete for the ‘verification’ process. Please contact the Financial Aid Office with any questions. 
• Your FAFSA was received by Northwestern, but there is a ‘hold’ on the FAFSA because of an error or because the Financial Aid Office requires additional information from you. If this is the case, the Financial Aid Office contacted you by email to explain what was needed. Please contact the Financial Aid Office if you have any questions.
• You do not intend to complete the FAFSA. Financial aid award packets are not sent to students who will not be completing the FAFSA. FAFSA is not required to receive Northwestern scholarships. Your Northwestern scholarships will automatically be applied to your student account at the beginning of the semester. You will receive half of the scholarship award in fall and the other half in spring. 

To accept a loan offered on your Award Letter follow these instructions: 

• Log in to theROCK
• Under Student Services tab(far right column), select Financial Aid then View your Financial Aid
• Select Aid Year and then Submit 
• Select Accept Award Offer tab to accept, change amount, or decline any of the loans offered 
• Complete additional loan requirements defined below if they apply to you. 

Federal DL Loan 

If you are accepting the Federal DL Loan (Subsidized and/or Unsubsidized) at Northwestern, you must: 

• Go to https://studentaid.gov 
• Login with FSA ID: 
• Under Complete Aid Process click on “Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loan MPN” and complete  
• Under Complete Aid Process click on “Complete Entrance Counseling” and complete 

Federal DL PLUS Parent Loan 
If you are accepting the Federal DL PLUS Parent Loan, a parent must:  

• Go to https://studentaid.gov 
• Log in with the parent FSA ID: 
• Under Apply for Aid click on “Apply for a Parent PLUS Loan” and complete 
• Under Complete Aid Process click on “Parent PLUS MPN” and complete 

Other Loan Options 

• You do have the option of borrowing a private student loan. Review private loan options here. Scroll down to “Lender-sponsored private loans”.  

Traditional Undergraduates Taking less than a full-time load or online courses 
Students taking only Online credits will not be eligible for UNW scholarships, discounts, and grants, but may be eligible for Federal and/or State aid and loans. Students less than full-time or taking a combination of traditional undergraduate courses and online courses will receive a prorated amount of institutional aid based on these guidelines.  

 
                                       Institutional Financial Aid Proration Table 

ATTENTION MINNESOTA STATE GRANT RECIPIENTS 
If you take fewer than 15 credits per semester, your state grant will be recalculated.  Let us know as soon as possible and we will make the adjustment.  You can see the per credit MN grant on the 2020-2021 Federal Pell & MN State Grant Award Eligibility Chart.   

Remember: Pell and State Grant is only available for credits that apply to your degree completion at UNW. Note: To receive the full amount of the Pell Grant (if eligible), you must be taking at least 12 credits. To receive the full amount of the MN State Grant (if eligible), you must be taking at least 15 credits. These credits could be a combination of TRAD and online credits and must all apply to your program of study. If taking less than the credits required for the full grant(s), please refer to the Pell/State Grant chart included with your emailed financial aid award offer to find out how your Pell/State Grant will be adjusted.

Tuition Costs 
Traditional undergraduate credits and online credits are charged separately. Online credits are not included in the 12-18 credit tuition rate. 

20/21 Traditional Undergraduate Tuition: 

12-18 credits per semester: $16,245 

Less than 12 credits: $1,390 per credit 

Over 18 credits: $900 per credit 
  

20/21 Online Credit Tuition 

Per credit charge for all online courses: $410 

Per course charge for online administrative fee: $55

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