1. In order to receive Financial Aid, Matriculated Undergraduate students must be at least registered as a Part Time student with a minimum of 6 credits. Matriculated Graduate Students must be at least registered as a Part Time student with a minimum of 6 credits.
2. Important: Incoming Students must file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA) or Renewal FASFA. Be sure to list Eastern Connecticut as one of the colleges to receive the results. Our Federal code number is 001425.
   
• For Returning Students who have previously filled out a FAFSA and meet certain conditions, the U.S. Department of Education will send you an electronic notification for a Renewal FAFSA on the Web. You can reapply for student aid using the Renewal FAFSA. Renewal FAFSA's are available online. DO NOT file both a RENEWAL and a new FAFSA. Just do one of them.
• NOTE: If you do not already have one, you will need a PIN number to apply.
3. Be on Time, the FAFSA or Renewal FAFSA must be returned to the FEDERAL PROCESSOR, with Eastern listed (001425), by our priority deadline. Allow plenty of delivery time because we MUST use the date the Federal Processor RECEIVES the application.
4. The Federal Processor will process your FAFSA information and send Eastern the results electronically.
5. Students who are selected by the Federal Processor for "verification" must do the following: Dependent students must send us a signed copy of your prior year federal tax return and accompanying W2s. We also need a signed copy of your parents' prior year federal tax return, tax schedules and W2s, along with a dependent verification worksheet. Independent students must send a signed copy of their prior year federal tax return, tax schedules and W2s, along with filling out an independent verification.

   Verification worksheets may be downloaded from our website, mailed on request, or picked up at our office.

6. Financial Aid paperwork will be accepted only when ALL requested documents have been completed correctly, with signatures and dates where required. All paperwork MUST be stapled and your ECSU student ID# must be clearly written on every page. The Financial Aid Office cannot make copies for you.
7. When your file is complete, your awards will be posted to your E-Web account and an email will be sent to your campus email address. If you are not eligible for University administered aid or for a Pell Grant, you still will be eligible for student loan assisstance and also may be able to find employment on or off-campus.

• Several hundred ECSU students are employed on campus and in community service jobs each year through our JobQuest program. Some employment is "awarded" through the financial aid process, but most positions on-campus are filled without regard to need ("non-awarded" jobs). The average student employee works 10-12 hours a week during the school year, and many work full time during semester break and in the summer.
• JOB QUEST also is designed to assist any matriculated ECSU students in locating part-time and/or seasonal job opportunities on/off-campus. We identify and post jobs, counsel student registrants, and function as an employment resource for Windham area communities. For all job related questions or issues, please visit us at www.ecsujobs.org.

• Eastern participates in the New England Regional Program, a program that offers residents of the other New England states reduced tuition and fees for selected majors.
• Eastern has an excellent Honors Program that offers renewable scholarships that cover the cost of in-state tuition, up to 18 credits (out-of-state and New England Regional Program recipients would have a tutition balance to pay after the scholarship). For more information contact the Honors Program, 860-465-4317.
• Eastern offers a limited number of merit-based scholarships to selected incomming first-time students. No special application is required, as the University identifies recipients during the admission process. For more information please contact Chris Dorsey, Admissions Office (860-465-5021)
• Eastern has a popular time-payment plan through Academic Management Services (AMS) that can help students and parents pay for school at a minimal service charge, with no interest charges. Call AMS at (800) 635-0120 or visit their website www.tuitionpay.com, for more details about this option.
• There are numerous "alternative" student, parent, and family loan programs available if needed.
• Eastern offers it's own Co-Operative Education Program and Army or Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (R.O.T.C.) programs through University of Connecticut, any of which can help finance their education. Additionally, service in the Connecticut National Guard provides a tuition waiver each semester for guard members, both CT residents and non-residents,attending Eastern .

• Eastern is supported by Connecticut taxpayers, so we charge students much less than what it costs us to provide this fine educational opportunity.
• Your net cost (expenses minus financial aid) is what is most important, not the amount of aid you are receiving. Your question when comparing colleges should be "What will it cost me?", not "How much aid will I be awarded?"
• Borrowing to pay for college has become a fact of life for a majority of students because there is not enough grant and scholarship aid available at most colleges to meet everyone's need. The CSU campuses are no exception to the national trend.

Eastern is currently not a participant in the TEACH Grant Program, however; the Financial Aid and Veterans Affairs Office is in the process of completing and will submit an application to participate, to the U.S. Department of Education. The outcome of this process will be published on our website upon notification of our status by the U.S. Department of Education. We appreciate your patience and cooperation and encourage you to contact our office if you have additional questions about this program.

• Fill out a FAFSA.
• Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen.
• Be enrolled as an undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, or graduate student in a postsecondary educational institution that has chosen to participate in the TEACH Grant Program.
• Be enrolled in coursework that is necessary to begin a career in teaching or plan to complete such coursework.
• Meet certain academic achievement requirements (generally, scoring above the 75th percentile on a college admissions test or maintaining a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25).
• Sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve. For comeplete information regarding the Federal TEACH grant please visit this site.