Start by using the Help Center at Help Center | Federal Student Aid or calling 1-800-433-3243. If you need additional assistance, contact our office.

The priority date for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is typically on February 1 of the same year that the school year starts.

If you apply after that date, please submit any requested documentation within two weeks from the date you were notified. If documentation is submitted after the semester starts, we cannot guarantee you will receive financial aid for that award year, since federal regulations dictate rules for eligibility. Review necessary documents in Self Service.

Notify the Financial Aid office so that it may be added to your awards. Provide any information you have about the scholarship. If you received a letter, please provide a copy to our office. The main information we need is: the name of the organization providing the funds, the total amount of the scholarship, the award period for which it is being awarded, and how the organization will pay the funds (will they send a check to us, to you, or will they be transmitting via EFT?).

If you have loans that are pending, it could be that you haven’t completed the additional loan steps. First-time Alverno students should complete Entrance Counseling and a Master Promissory Note here. Otherwise it’s normal for aid to be awarded, but not yet posted to your account until after the census date for the term, which is normally about 2-3 weeks into the start of the semester. As long as you can see it is accepted on your awards, you can expect for it to post to your account during the normal timeframe.

Check IOL to make sure you have submitted all of the required documents. Check your statement to see if any of your financial aid that you were expecting isn’t listed (see question above re: pending loans). If there is aid you are expecting to receive that isn’t listed, please email our office or call us at 414-382-6262.

Your tuition charges and your financial aid may both be affected if you add or drop a class. For tuition implications, please visit Student Accounts.

Please keep in mind that adjustments to either your tuition or your financial aid will change your overall balance, so it’s important to check with both the Student Accounts and Financial Aid offices to know how your balance may be affected.

If your financial aid will be more than enough to satisfy your tuition charges for the term, you may be eligible for a refund check. Disbursements begin posting to student accounts after the census date for each term (in some programs with 8-week sessions, your Pell grant will be split into two disbursements).

Checks take about 2 weeks (14 days) to process after the aid is applied to your student account. Checks will be mailed to you.

Most often, it’s due to an overage of financial aid. If you don’t need the check for living expenses, you are encouraged to reduce your loan borrowing. You are also encouraged to review your account statement on IOL prior to the census date at the beginning of each semester to make sure you are taking the appropriate amount of financial aid before the aid is posted to your account.

Some reimbursement plans will pay when you get your initial bill, others need to see proof of completed coursework. Either way, let us know if you qualify for tuition reimbursement. Many students will take out loans for their first semester, until they start getting reimbursement back from their employer, and then they will opt for a payment plan or opt to pay in full each semester going forward. Others take out loans the entire time and then pay back their loan at their own pace.

Once you begin courses, we will report your enrollment to the National Student Clearinghouse, which should automatically put most loans into a “deferment” status. If you have subsidized Stafford loans, interest will not accrue on these loans during this time. Interest will however accrue on any unsubsidized or private loans you may have borrowed previously. You can still make payments on your loans while you are in a deferment status, but payments must be made manually rather than through an automatic EFT.

Please visit the Student Accounts web page for more information.

Books and supplies are not included in your charges, as costs for these materials varies based on the courses for which you register. If you have more financial aid coming in than will be necessary to cover your tuition costs, you may be eligible for a book advance if you wish to purchase from Alverno’s partner bookstore.

Everyone’s situation is unique, but here are some things to consider. We typically recommend that most students start by determining their eligibility for Stafford loans for a few reasons: Capped interest rates; as long as you meet FASFA requirements you cannot be denied for having bad or insufficient credit history; deferment and forbearance options; flexible repayment options; and potential for public service loan forgiveness.

Another loan option for dependent students who file the FAFSA is called a parent PLUS loan. There is a credit check involved in this process; however, it isn’t based on a credit score, it is simply looking for any adverse credit history like accounts in collections, bankruptcy, etc. The interest rate is a fixed rate, no matter what your credit score is.

Private loans are based on your credit score, and the lender determines the interest rate and criteria for the loan. If you have excellent credit, rates for these loans can be extremely competitive and often can have lower interest rates than other federal loans.

Please see our loans page for more detailed information.

Since most students prefer to receive their maximum financial aid eligibility during fall and spring when total tuition costs tend to be higher, Alverno does not automatically package loans for students who are taking summer classes. If you are interested in receiving loans for summer courses, please fill out the Summer Planning Form so we can help create the best package for your situation. We will automatically package Pell grant for the summer session per federal guidelines; however, if you do not wish to receive Pell Grant funding in summer, please notify our office in writing.

More information is available here.

Everyone’s situation is unique, but here are some things to consider. We typically recommend that most students start by determining their eligibility for Stafford loans for a few reasons: Capped interest rates; as long as you meet FASFA requirements you cannot be denied for having bad or insufficient credit history; deferment and forbearance options; flexible repayment options; and potential for public service loan forgiveness.

Another loan option for graduate students who file the FAFSA is called a graduate PLUS loan. There is a credit check involved in this process; however, it isn’t based on a credit score, it is simply looking for any adverse credit history like accounts in collections, bankruptcy, etc. The interest rate is a fixed rate, no matter what your credit score is.

Private loans are based on your credit score, and the lender determines the interest rate and criteria for the loan. If you have excellent credit, rates for these loans can be extremely competitive and often can have lower interest rates than other federal loans.

Please see our loans page for more detailed information.