IU South Bend students receive more than $34 million in financial aid each year. In fact, more than 50 percent of our students receive one or more types of aid (such as scholarships, grants, or loans). It is worth your while to explore your options.

In awarding aid, we consider two distinct criteria—scholastic achievement and financial need. Some aid programs stipulate a combination of these criteria while others concentrate on one or the other.

Some of the requirements to receive aid are that you must:

• Be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States with a valid Social Security number. If you are a permanent resident, you must submit a copy of your permanent resident document to the Office of Financial Aid.
• Be admitted to and enroll in an eligible program as a regular student seeking a degree or certificate. Nondegree, guest, and high school students are not eligible for financial assistance.
• Be enrolled at least half time (some exceptions may apply). Half time is 6 credit hours for undergraduate students and 4 credit hours for graduate students.
• Maintain satisfactory academic performance and progress to assure completion of your degree objectives.
• Demonstrate financial need (for most types of financial aid). Need is the difference between the amount of contribution expected from you and your family and the cost of attendance.

Selection for Verification
For us to complete this process, you must provide all of the information requested of you. This information may include (but is not limited to) student, spouse, or parent tax forms, W2s and schedules, worksheets, or court-ordered documents.

Student Responsibilities in the Verification Process

1. You are responsible for providing this information as requested (for example: complete sets of tax forms, with proper signatures). All tax forms must be signed by the student, spouse, parent, or tax preparer.
2. You are required to submit this information within two weeks of receiving the request.
3. If all documentation is not received within two weeks of the date of the request, processing cannot continue.
4. All paperwork you submit must include your full name and student identification number (NOT your Social Security number).
5. Once submitted, your information is processed in the order in which it is received.
6. You are responsible for checking the status of your financial aid by reviewing the financial aid section of your OneStart account. Click the "Item Details" link to verify that we have received ALL requested documents.

After verification is complete, the Office of Financial Aid will submit any corrections to the U.S. Department of Education. It takes a minimum of seven working days for these corrections to be returned to our office. You will receive notification from the Department of Education when they have processed these corrections. If the changes affect your financial aid, you will receive a new financial aid award notification from our office.

Veteran Educational Benefit Programs
Most veteran educational benefit programs (including the Montgomery GI Bill and the Veterans Educational Assistance Program) are not technically financial aid programs. They are instead benefits veterans earn by serving their country. For more information regarding educational benefits for veterans, please visit the IU South Bend Office of Veteran Student Services.