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Office of Financial Assistance

BSN Express Students


Students who attend the BSN-Express program offered by the College of Nursing may be eligible for federal financial assistance in the form of Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loans at the undergraduate level.  The BSN-Express program is a second-undergraduate degree; therefore federal, state, and/or institutional grant funding is not available to students in this program.  Please take the time to carefully and thoroughly read through the 2020-2021 BSN Express Program Financial Aid Booklet.

BSN Express students are not eligible for Institutional grant funding.  As a result, BSN Express students do not file the CSS Profile.

 

The number of transfer credits a student is admitted with into the program determines the student’s grade level, which in turn determines the borrowing amount of Direct Subsidized and/or Direct Unsubsidized loan a student may utilize. Students who wish to borrow Federal Direct Subsidized and/or Direct Unsubsidized Loans need to complete Entrance Counseling and sign a Master Promissory Note online at https://studentloans.gov. More information about the Federal Direct Loan program can be found on our website.

**Please note that if you are close to reaching the aggregate limit on Federal Direct Loans, your borrowing eligibility for the BSN Express program may be limited.

The 2020-2021 BSN-Express program stretches over 14-months with students attending the following terms: Summer 2020; Fall 2020; Spring 2021; Summer 2021. 

By using a borrower-based academic year, BSN-Express students are able to fully maximize their eligibility for Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized loan funds through the length of their program.  An example of a Borrower-Based Direct Loan for an independent, junior-level student is as follows:

Borrower Based Loan

  Maximum
Summer 2020/Fall 2020
(20/21 Academic Year)		 $5,500-Subsidized
$7,000-Unsubsidized
Spring 2021
(20/21 Academic Year)		 $5,500-Subsidized*
$7,000-Unsubsidized*

    *If the full amount fits within your cost of attendance

 
Summer 2021
(21/22 Academic Year)
 Direct Loan funding exhausted in Spring 2021.

Students receive an e-mail from the Office of Financial Assistance's Loan Department during the month of December to confirm their Spring Direct Loan request.

In the final summer semester, students need to either use their remaining Direct Loan funds from the spring semester, or borrow a private alternative loan to finance their costs.

The rigorous, accelerated curriculum and clinical coursework of the BSN-Express program prevents students from being able to hold outside employment during the academic year.  We strongly recommend that students develop a financial plan before beginning the program to avoid shortfalls in financing, and the Office of Financial Assistance would be happy to set up an individual meeting with you to discuss how to finance the program or how to create a budget for the academic year, etc.  Preparing in advance of beginning the BSN-Express program can also help students to establish a savings plan of funds to set aside for the 14-month program, and avoid unnecessary over-borrowing of student loans.

2020-2021 BSN Express Program Financial Aid Booklet

 

Even with planning ahead, BSN-Express students often need to utilize another form of funding beyond the Direct Loans to meet both their direct and indirect costs during the year. A private educational loan from a bank or lending institution can be a useful resource in meeting the “gap” of expenses that other sources of aid do not cover.  Applications for these loans are available directly through the lending institution.  Once approved for an alternative loan, the Office of Financial Assistance will review the loan for school certification, which includes confirming enrollment in the BSN-Express program, verifying the eligibility of the type of loan requested, and confirming that the borrowing amount requested fits into the academic year's cost of attendance.  Please view additional information available on our Private Educational Loans webpage, which includes a link to Elm Select that allows students to compare private loan options.

Applying for Aid

students

2020-2021 BSN Express Financial Aid Booklet

To apply for financial aid, new first-time students in the BSN-Express program need to submit the following items to the Office of Financial Assistance by November 1, 2019 for the 2020-2021 academic year:

2020-2021 FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)*
We highly recommend using the IRS Tax Data Retrieval Tool when filing the FAFSA.

*Please note when completing the FAFSA:  As the BSN-Express program is a second-undergraduate degree program, students need to complete the FAFSA as attending their third year of undergraduate study.  Students should not complete the FAFSA as attending a graduate program.

Verification Process:

** Independent students selected for verification by the U.S. Department of Education will need to submit the following to the Office of Financial Assistance:

  • A 2020-2021 Verification Worksheet 

** If you are a dependent student and selected for verification, you will need to submit the following to the Office of Financial Assistance:

  • A 2020-2021 Verification Worksheet

You will be notified if additional items are required.

New BSN-Express students who submit all materials by the November 1, 2019 deadline will receive their award notification by December 15, 2019.

Returning BSN-Express students who are applying for federal financial assistance for Summer 2020 need to submit all of the above materials by April 1, 2020.  Award packaging for Returning BSN-Express students will commence after Satisfactory Academic Progress is reviewed at the end of the spring semester.