Financial Aid

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Current Financial Aid News:

Scholarships and other types of aid: For more specific information on grants, scholarships, loans, and student employment, please visit the Types of Aid section of our site.
Update on Stafford Loan eligibility for graduate students: The Subsidized Stafford Loan will no longer be available to graduate students starting July 2012 as a result of the Budget Control Act passed by Congress. The Unsubsidized Stafford Loan will still be available.
High School Seniors: In February, there are events held throughout the region to give you hands-on help in filling out your FAFSA for 2012-13. Please visit College Goal Wisconsin and College Goal Minnesota for locations and dates!

Direct Loan Information

In accordance with new federal regulations, the University of Wisconsin-River Falls is joining thousands of other U.S. higher education institutions in the Wm D. Ford Federal Direct Student Loan Program, (commonly known as Direct Loans) with the 2010-11 academic year. Specifically, UW-River Falls will begin awarding under the Direct Loan Program beginning this summer 2010.

As a result, UWRF students utilizing Federal Stafford subsidized, unsubsidized, and/or Parent PLUS loans will now borrow their funds directly from the federal government instead of from private banking institutions. Many private banking institutions had already suspended or terminated their participation in the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) in anticipation of the recent regulatory changes.

This change will have little visible impact on students and families, but requires one specific action on the part of students: all students need to sign a new Master Promissory Note (MPN) if and when they accept any new Stafford Loan award henceforth. Detailed directions will be presented to students online as they accept their financial aid awards. As always, each student must have completed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and have received a financial aid award letter first, reinforcing the need to apply for financial aid as soon as possible.

Direct Loans offer several advantages to students such as: more flexible repayment plans, easier tracking, and a greater possibility of loan forgiveness for students who perform public service after graduation. Parent PLUS loans will be more affordable with a new lower interest rate of 7.9 percent (compared to 8.5 percent in the FFELP). The interest rates, loan fees, terms and conditions of the Stafford Direct Loans remain exactly the same as they were under the FFELP.

While most loans will remain with their current service provider, (Great Lakes Higher Education Corp. is the most frequent provider for UWRF students), loans are sold to the U.S. Department of Education. Therefore, the Financial Aid Office strongly encourages students and families to pay very close attention to mailings from their loan provider. Their letters regarding repayment information have been sent to those who were affected by the sale. Borrowers can also track their federal loans online through the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) at http://www.nslds.ed.gov.

For more information, see www.studentaid.ed.gov.

Complete Your FAFSA Online for 2011-12!

If you are interested in receiving federal and state financial aid for the 2011-12 academic year, you must complete a FAFSA application. The FAFSA is available after January 1st each year. Complete your FAFSA as early as possible so that your aid is packaged in time for the start of fall semester and so that all aid types you may be eligible for are still available. You must complete a FAFSA on an annual basis.

Check out our Application Process page for complete information on the aid application process!