Financial Aid FAQ

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When will my refund check be ready?
Refund checks are mailed within 14 days of the date the funds are officially disbursed (posted) to your student account. If you are on the list to pick up your check in the Financial Services Office, you will get an email to your student email address letting you know when your check is ready.

What happens to my financial aid if I need to drop one or more of my classes?
Generally, dropping a class will not immediately affect your financial aid, though it can hurt your eligibility if you fail to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress standards. If you drop all your classes or withdraw from Midwestern, we may have to return some of your federal aid to the Department of Education, which you will then be responsible for repaying.

How can I get my loans deferred while I’m in school?
You can obtain an in-school deferment form from your loan servicer. Fill out your portion, sign and date the form, then scan and email it to registrar@mbts.edu.

How do I know if Midwestern received my FAFSA?
If you completed the FAFSA and added Midwestern to your list of schools, we will receive it. Once we have reviewed it, we will send an email to your student email with next steps.

How will I know when Midwestern has awarded my financial aid?
Once we have reviewed your FAFSA information and packaged your financial aid, we will send an email to your student email with next steps.

What if I don’t need all the loans offered to me? Can I accept a lower amount?
We encourage our students to borrow conservatively. To specify lower loan disbursement amounts you can complete a Loan Modification/ Request form in the Student Portal under the “My Financial Aid” tab.

How can I buy books using my financial aid?
Once your financial aid is pending on your student ledger, you can complete a Bookstore Voucher Request. See also “How do I know if my financial aid is in place?” under the Financial Aid Process section.

Can I get financial aid for summer and/or winter classes?
Yes. Winter term is connected to the spring semester for financial aid purposes. This means your enrolled hours are added together, but your disbursement happens with the spring disbursements. Summer is considered a trailer to the academic year, so you can receive a loan disbursement if you have not already borrowed your annual limit. Pell eligible students may be able to receive additional Pell Grant funds for summer classes.

I have read all of the questions above and I still have questions. Is there a way I can arrange to speak with someone?
Our Financial Aid team would love to talk with you regarding your questions about scholarships, grants, work-study, and loans. Please schedule a call with our Financial Aid Counselor or email us at financialaid@mbts.edu.

Applying for Financial Aid

Who can get financial aid at Midwestern?
All students can take advantage of Federal Student Aid; for more information, please click here. On-campus students, including doctoral students, can receive institutional scholarships; for more details, see our Scholarships Page. Any student, including online students, can receive outside scholarships or contributions to their student account.

Do I have to wait until I’m admitted to apply for financial aid?
You do not have to be an admitted student to apply for Federal Student Aid using the FAFSA. However, until you are admitted, we cannot package your financial aid. You must be an admitted student to apply for Midwestern scholarships.

Which year’s FAFSA should I submit?
The FAFSA runs on academic years, not calendar years (think basically August – August). For example, if you want financial aid for the Fall 2020 through Summer 2021, you would need to submit the 2020-21 FAFSA.

How do I apply for Federal Student Aid?
Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at https://fafsa.ed.gov.

How do I apply for scholarships?
First, be sure you are qualified to apply. Are you admitted to Midwestern as an on-campus student? Then visit our Scholarships Page for more details and to complete our online application.

How can my parents apply for a Parent PLUS Loan?
Parents can apply for a PLUS loan and complete a PLUS Loan Master Promissory Note at https://studentaid.gov. If approved, we will award the PLUS loan to your student account and email your student email with any necessary information.

How can I complete Loan Entrance Counseling?
If you have never completed Loan Entrance Counseling before, you can do so at https://studentaid.gov. You need to complete this requirement only once.

How can I complete a Master Promissory Note?
If you do not already have a current, unexpired MPN, you can complete a new one at https://studentaid.gov. If you already have a valid MPN on file for the type of loan(s) you are receiving at Midwestern, you do not need to complete another one.

Can I get financial aid for summer and/or winter classes?
Yes. Winter term is connected to the spring semester for financial aid purposes. This means your enrolled hours are added together, but your disbursement happens with the spring disbursements. Summer is considered a trailer to the academic year, so you can receive a loan disbursement if you have not already borrowed your annual limit. Late in the spring semester, Financial Aid will email students enrolled in summer classes about summer loans. Pell eligible students may be able to receive additional Pell Grant funds for summer classes.

The Financial Aid Process

How and when will I receive my financial aid at Midwestern?
Midwestern will credit your student account, generally during the third week of each online term in the semester. Allowable charges are taken out and a refund check is issued to you. See also “When will my refund check be ready?”

Where can I see my financial aid awards?
To see all your awards, click the My Financial Aid tab in the student portal. To see pending awards for a given semester, choose the correct semester in the portal. Click the My Ledger tab and then click the Show Pending Financial Aid button.

How do I accept my financial aid awards?
Log in to the student portal and click the “My Financial“ tab. Choose to accept or decline each loan award disbursement. You may, but are not required, to accept Pell Grant or scholarship awards.

What if I don’t need all the loans offered to me? Can I accept a lower amount?
We encourage our students to borrow conservatively. You can complete our Loan Modification Request to specify lower loan disbursement amounts.

How do I know if my financial aid is in place?
In the student portal’s My Financial Aid tab, if your awards have a status of Ready to Originate or Ready to Disburse, your aid is in place. When you click on the My Ledger in the portal, if your awards show up when you click the Show Pending Financial Aid button, your aid is in place. If you see an award posted to your student ledger with a date, it has been applied to your student account. For loans, you will receive an email notification at your student email when they have been officially disbursed to your account.

How can I pay for my campus housing using my financial aid?
Your financial aid can pay for your housing and meal plan charges that are on your account at the time of disbursement. Future rent charges will not be taken out of your financial aid unless you complete an Authorization to Hold Funds form, found on the Financial Services page.

Can I get financial aid for summer and/or winter classes?
Yes. Winter term is connected to the spring semester for financial aid purposes. This means your enrolled hours are added together, but your disbursement happens with the spring disbursements. Summer is considered a trailer to the academic year, so you can receive a loan disbursement if you have not already borrowed your annual limit. Late in the spring semester, Financial Aid will email students enrolled in summer classes about summer loans. Pell eligible students can receive additional Pell Grant funds for summer classes.

Loans

What are my loan limits each year?

Undergraduate Students	Dependent	Independent
Freshmen	$5,500	$9,500
Sophomores	$6,500	$10,500
Juniors and Seniors	$7,500	$12,500

*The above numbers represent a combination of subsidized and unsubsidized loan funds.

Graduate Students: $20,500 (unsubsidized loans only)

How can I get a private loan?
We encourage student to complete the FAFSA to apply for federal loans before seeking a private loan. Generally, Federal Direct Loans have better interest rates and repayment options. If you are ineligible for federal loans or still need an additional private loan, you will need to locate and secure a private education loan of your choice. Midwestern will certify your private loan through the ELM system.

How can I complete Loan Entrance Counseling?
If you have never completed Loan Entrance Counseling before, you can do so at https://studentaid.gov. You need to complete this requirement only once.

Undergraduate Students

What is the definition of full-time and half-time?
Full-time for undergraduate students is defined as 12 or more credit hours per semester. Half-time is defined as at least 6 credit hours per semester. These definitions are for fall, spring, and summer semesters (not online terms).

Why is my Pell Grant less than the FAFSA said it would be?
The Pell Grant award provided to you when you completed the FAFSA is a full-time award based on the SAI they calculated. If your SAI changes due to a correction by you or the school, your Pell award may change. If you are enrolled less than full-time during the school year, you will receive less than the full award published. At Midwestern, we package you for the full-time Pell award, but adjust it downward later (if necessary) before we disburse it to your account.

What is the difference between a subsidized loan and an unsubsidized loan?
Subsidized loans have slightly better terms to help students with financial need. You are only responsible for paying interest on your subsidized loan during repayment periods. Unsubsidized loans do not require need, but you are responsible for paying interest from the time it disburses to your account.

I’m transferring from another school. Can I get financial aid at Midwestern?
Probably. You can receive any financial aid you have left within your annual limits, so if you didn’t use it all at your previous school, you can get aid here. Please notify financialaid@mbts.edu if you are a transfer student who received aid at your previous school.

Graduate Students

Can I get a Pell Grant?
No, the Pell Grant is only available to undergraduate students who have financial need.

Can I get a subsidized loan instead of an unsubsidized loan?
No, subsidized loan funds are only available to undergraduate students who have financial need.

What is the definition of full-time and half-time?
Full-time for master’s students is defined as 9 or more credit hours per semester. Half-time is defined as at least 5 credit hours per semester. These definitions are for fall, spring, and summer semesters (not online terms).

I’m transferring from another school. Can I get financial aid at Midwestern?
You can receive any financial aid you have left within your annual limits, so if you didn’t use it all at your previous school, you can get aid here. Please notify financialaid@mbts.edu if you are a transfer student who received aid at your previous school.

Online Students

How does financial aid work for online students?
Midwestern will credit your student account, generally during the third week of each online term in the semester. Your Pell Grant will be adjusted if you are not full-time for the semester. It may also be split into more than one disbursement if you have classes in both online terms A and B. To receive loans, you must be enrolled at least half-time for the semester. For example, 3 hours in A-term and 3 hours in B-term is half-time for the semester. Your disbursement may be delayed if you do not meet the half-time enrollment requirement at the beginning of the semester.

What is the definition of full-time and half-time?

Undergraduate Students: Full-time is 12 or more credit hours and half-time is at least 6 credit hours per semester for fall, spring, and summer (not per online term).

Master’s Students: Full-time is 9 or more credit hours and half-time is at least 5 credit hours per semester for fall, spring, and summer (not per online term).