Financial aid is the funding used to pay for a student’s education. Types of financial aid include grants, scholarships, work-study programs and loans. Financial Aid can come from a variety of sources such as the U.S. federal government, the state you live in, the college you attend, or nonprofit/private organizations.
If you want to be considered for federal financial aid (federal grants and loans), you must complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at https://studentaid.gov/.
LSSU’s Federal School Code is 0 0 2 2 9 3.
A FAFSA must be completed for each year you are requesting federal aid.
Be sure to check with your high school counselors, communities, parents’ employers, and free online search tools for scholarship opportunities. Also check the Financial Aid website for scholarship sign up opportunities every fall and spring semester.
To determine your dependency status, answer the following questions.
The Student Aid Index (SAI) is an eligibility index number that your college’s financial aid office uses to determine how much financial aid a student is eligible to receive. This number is not a dollar amount of aid eligibility or what your family is expected to provide. SAI is calculated using a federal formula and derives from data input to the FAFSA.
Once you have filed a FAFSA, the schools that you added to the FAFSA will receive it electronically within 3-5 business days. Your FAFSA may be selected for verification. If your FAFSA is selected, then you will need to turn in additional documents to the school for review before you will receive an “Official Offer of Award.” Students can check their requirements needed for financial aid through their Anchor Access account. Click on the “Financial Aid” tab, then the “Requirements” link.
If your FAFSA was not selected for verification and additional documentation is not needed by the school, then you should receive your “Official Offer of Award” in your LSSU email within a couple weeks.
In the meantime, check with your high school counselors, communities, parents’ employers, and free online search tools for scholarship opportunities. Also check the www.lssu.edu/admissions/financial-aid website for scholarship sign up opportunities every fall and spring semester.
Emails are sent to students who have not completed certain requirements needed in order to finalize their financial aid. The emails are reminders to check your financial aid requirements through your MYLSSU account. Click on the “Financial Aid Requirements” on the Financial Aid tile. This lists the steps still needed to complete your financial aid. Reasons for emails could be because you need to turn in additional documentation for verification or that you need to complete Entrance Counseling and sign a Master Promissory Note for your federal direct loans.
An independent student is one of the following: born before Jan, 1, 2001, married(and not separated), a graduate or professional student, a veteran, a member of the armed forces, an orphan, a ward of the court, a person with legal dependents other than a spouse, an emancipated minor, a person who is unaccompanied and homeless or self-supporting and at risk of being homeless.
If you filed your taxes separately during the FAFSA filing year you will need to both sign using your own FSA IDs.
Consent is required of all contributors to the FAFSA. Consent is allowing the IRS to provide Federal Tax Information (FTI) via a direct data share to Federal Student Aid. If there is no tax information on file for a contributor, that is the information the IRS will share with Federal Student Aid. If one or more contributors do not consent to the data share, the FAFSA will be rejected.
Now that the 2025-26 FAFSA is available, we recommend that you complete it as soon as possible to receive your financial aid package for the 2025-2026 school year.
Please note: The FAFSA must be completed by June 1, 2025 to be considered for any State of Michigan awards that you may be eligible for.
Your award letter shows what aid you are eligible to receive at our institution. The aid is listed for both fall and spring semesters, including a yearly total column. When you accept your aid, it disburses with half for the fall and half for the spring. If you want aid for a specific semester only, you must request it for fall or spring only.
If you see the word “Estimated” by a type of financial aid, pay close attention to the Important Message section. You cannot pay your tuition bill with “Estimated” aid. There are additional steps you need to take to make the aid “real.” Check your “Requirements” through your Anchor Access for more information.
Once you have reviewed your award letter, you need to officially accept your financial aid. You can officially accept your financial aid by logging into your my.LSSU, clicking on Accept Financial Aid Award on Financial Aid tile, and Award Offer in Financial Aid dashboard.
You should always be monitoring your financial aid via your My.LSSU/Anchor Access account. Also, be sure to check your LSSU email on a regular basis.
Typically, private scholarship funds are sent directly to LSSU. If you received a scholarship check made payable to you, sign the back and bring it to the Financial Aid Office. Once we receive the scholarship check, we will apply half the money to your fall semester charges and half to your spring semester. Occasionally, the donor may request that all funds be applied to a specific semester. In that case, we honor the donor’s request. If, at the time we receive your scholarship check and your tuition charges are paid in full, you may receive the money as excess aid.
Work-Study is a type of need-based financial aid that encourages college students to work part-time while attending college. If you work as a Federal Work-Study employee, you will be paid throughout the academic year on a bi-weekly basis. You will only be paid for the hours you have worked. The amount of your work-study award does not get applied to your tuition bill.
Your financial aid can change throughout the semester. This can be a result of changing from full-time to part-time status, a change in your student aid index (SAI) due to a correction to your FAFSA, a form of aid changing from “estimated” to “actual”, etc. Be sure to review your new award letter to determine what has changed. The change could have resulted in you receiving excess aid or possibly owing the University money.
When you receive your initial “Official Offer of Award” letter, it will be based on full-time enrollment (12 or more credits). Because you have the ability to add/drop classes up to the 6 days after the semester starts, your financial aid won’t be adjusted until the end of the add/drop period. Here is a summary of how the different types of aid are adjusted based on the number of credits you are enrolled in:
If you were enrolled full-time at the start of the semester and received excess aid, your financial aid may be reduced if you drop to part-time. This may result in your owing the University money.
In general, if you attended full time for both the fall and spring semesters and accepted the maximum loan and grant amounts that you were offered, you most likely would not have any aid eligibility for the summer. If you did not utilize the maximum amount of loan offered to you during the school year, you may have eligibility left for the summer.
Once you have registered for your summer classes, you will be reviewed by the Financial Aid office to see your federal aid eligibility. You will receive an award letter via your LSSU email stating the types of aid you are eligible for.
There are cases where you may move up a grade level, increasing your annul loan limits. To be eligible for federal loans during the summer, you must be enrolled at least part-time (6 or more credits.)
If you are a Dependent student enrolled in 6 or more credits for the summer semester but have no subsidized or unsubsidized loan eligibility left, you could utilize the Parent PLUS loan option.
Alternative loans are another option to cover summer classes if you are not eligible for federal aid.
Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans are loans you may be eligible to receive determined by the FAFSA.
Federal Direct Subsidized Loan: The federal government does not charge interest on subsidized loans while a borrower is attending school at least half-time, during the six-month grace period, and during deferments (postponements of repayments). Financial need (determined from the FAFSA) must be shown to receive this type of loan.
Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan: For students without financial need, the Direct Loan Program offers Direct Unsubsidized Loans. Unlike the subsidized loan, the federal government charges interest on unsubsidized loans while borrowers are attending school, in the grace period, and during deferment. If borrowers do not wish to pay the interest while in school, the interest amounts will be capitalized (added) to the principal loan balance.
The following are the maximum annual loan amounts that can be borrowed through the Federal Direct Loan Program:
Maximum Annual Loan Amounts
| Year | Dependent Undergraduate |
Independent Undergraduate* |
|---|---|---|
| Freshman 0-25 credits earned |
$5,500 No more than $3,500 may be in subsidized loans. |
$9,500 No more than $3,500 may be in subsidized loans. |
| Sophomore 26-55 credits earned |
$6,500 No more than $4,500 may be in subsidized loans. |
$10,500 No more than $4,500 may be in subsidized loans. |
| Junior/Senior 56+ credits earned |
$7,500 No more than $5,500 may be in subsidized loans. |
$12,500 No more than $5,500 may be in subsidized loans. |
| Aggregate Loan Limits(maximum lifetime eligibility) | $31,000 No more than $23,000 may be in subsidized loans. |
$57,500 No more than $23,000 may be in subsidized loans. |
* The independent undergraduate loan limits also apply to dependent students whose parents are unable to borrow under the Parent PLUS loan program.
The loan amount a borrower may receive is determined by subtracting the amount of other financial aid received from the total cost of attendance for the applicable academic year. In determining subsidized loan eligibility, the SAI is subtracted from the cost of education to determine need. LSSU’s financial aid office will certify the loan amount and eligibility.
Parents and/or step-parents of undergraduate dependent students may utilize the Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan to assist in paying the student’s educational expenses. Parents may borrow up to the difference between the cost of education and other financial aid for which the student is eligible. The student must be enrolled in school at least half-time. This loan is in the parent’s name, not the student’s.
Your parent may complete an on-line PLUS application at http://studentloans.gov .
If your parent’s application is denied due to adverse credit history, contact the LSSU Financial Aid Office to discuss your options. Beginning March 29, 2015, PLUS loan counseling will be required if you are determined to have adverse credit history, but qualify for a PLUS loan by documenting extenuating circumstances or obtaining an endorser. This can be completed at http://studentloans.gov.
Subsidized Loan-6.53%
Unsubsidized Loan-6.53%
Parent Plus loan-9.083%
Subsidized and unsubsidized loan borrowers begin repayment after a 6-month grace period. Students enter their grace period after dropping below at least half-time enrollment status (less than 6 credits), withdrawing, or graduating from a university.
Repayment begins on the Parent PLUS loan immediately after the loan is fully disbursed. Parent borrowers may contact their loan servicer to request a deferment while the dependent student is enrolled at least half time and for an additional six months after the student ceases to be enrolled at least half time. Parent borrowers can also select the deferment option during the on-line application; however, this may not automatically defer the payments.
You will make your payment to your loan servicer.
To find out who your loan servicer is:
For students receiving financial aid, the aid will be applied against your charges. Any remaining charges not covered by financial aid can be paid in full online through your Bill and Payment Suite, in person at the Business Office (located in the Fletcher Center), over the phone at 906-635-2600, or by mail to:
Lake Superior State University
Business Office
650 W. Easterday Ave.
Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783.
There is also the option of a payment plan which splits your remaining balance into four monthly payments. There is a $25.00 service fee per semester. To sign up for the payment plan, log in to the Bill and Payment Suite through your Anchor Access account.
For more information about payment options, please contact the Business Office at 906-635-2276.
Your initial “Official Offer of Award” is based on full-time enrollment and for the full academic year (fall and spring semesters). Fall semester tuition bills are due by mid-August and spring semester tuition bills by mid-December.
Your tuition bill will include the cost of tuition, campus room and board (if living on campus) and any other fees charged by the University. You will not receive a paper tuition bill in the mail. An email will be sent to your LSSU email notifying you that you have a tuition bill due. You can view your tuition bill by logging into your My.LSSU account, then clicking on Anchor Access. Once in Anchor Access, click on the Student tab, then the Student Billing Information link.
All completed and finalized financial aid (other than employment – Federal Work Study or Food Service) that has been accepted by you will appear on your tuition bill. Please note that if you still have outstanding requirements (i.e. completing the Entrance Counseling and Master Promissory Note), the financial aid will not appear on your tuition bill. If your financial aid does not cover all your LSSU charges, your tuition bill will show the amount you owe the University. This amount should be paid by August 15th (fall semester) and December 15th (spring semester) to avoid a late fee.
If your financial aid exceeds your tuition and room & board charges, you will receive an “excess aid” refund issued by the Business Office. Students with excess financial aid beyond semester charges may receive up to $600 beginning the Friday before the start of the semester for early book and supply purchases. Remaining balances will be available two weeks after classes start.
We strongly encourage you to set up direct deposit for the refund of your excess financial aid by adding your personal bank account information to your payment profile in the Bill and Payment Suite and selecting it to be used for refunds.
NOTE: This direct deposit account is only for excess aid refunds from your student account and is not for direct deposit of payroll checks.
If you have not set up direct deposit, your check will be mailed to your mailing or permanent address. (Or sent to the Housing Office if living on campus.) You can sign up for electronic direct deposit by logging into your Bill and Payment Suite under the Student section of your Anchor Access account. You will be notified via your LSSU email when you have excess aid available.
Yes. When you complete your FAFSA, make sure you indicate that you are living off-campus. Your financial aid budget will include an allocation for off-campus room and board expenses. The financial aid that you accept will first be applied to cover your tuition charges. The financial aid that exceeds your tuition charges will be released to you as “Excess Aid.” You can use this money to pay your rent, utilities, food, etc.
Federal Student Guide – Department of Education 1-800-433-3243
(also at: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/resources#funding)
On-Line Financial Aid Information
Based on your scheduled courses, your eligibility for federal aid was reviewed. To be eligible for any remaining Federal Pell Grant and Federal Student Loan you must be enrolled in 6 credits. Your aid will be offered, based on annual limits:
NOTE – If it appears that you may move up in grade level, it is noted on your award letter.
Dependent Undergraduate Student Annual Loan Limits:
| Grade Level | Loan Limit |
|---|---|
| Freshman
(0-25 cr.) |
$5,500 (up to $3,500 subsidized loan plus $2,000 unsubsidized loan) |
| Sophomore
(26-55 cr.) |
$6,500 (up to $4,500 subsidized loan, $2,000 unsubsidized loan) |
| Junior/Senior
(56+ cr.) |
$7,500 (up to $5,500 subsidized loan plus $2,000 unsubsidized loan) |
12 credits is considered full time for summer and 6 credits is half time. Students must be enrolled in a minimum of 6 credits to be eligible for all federal loans, including Parent Plus Loans. Students enrolled in less than 6 credits may take out Alternative Loans for the cost of tuition, fees, books and required supplies.
Grant eligibility pro-rated for full time (12+), ¾ time (9-11 cr), ½ time (6-8 cr). If you attend less than half time, you are not eligible for most grants.
Alternative Loans may be available up to the cost of tuition, books and fees for summer. Alternative Loans are loans in the student’s name with a cosigner, usually a parent. For details about alternative loans, go to https://www.lssu.edu/admissions/financial-aid/types-of-aid/loans/alternative-loans/ for more information.
Yes. There is a $25 service fee. Check with the Business Office for further details.
TBD
If your federal aid is exhausted, you can apply for either an Alternative Loan (with a co-signer) or a Federal Parent Plus Loan (dependent students enrolled at least half time). If you need money for living expenses, these loans may be increased upon request. Please contact the Financial Aid Office for your maximum amount if you wish to borrow additional funds or submit a new Summer Aid Application.
A PLUS loan is a loan in one parent’s name for your educational expenses. Your parent or step-parent must pass a credit check to be eligible. If you are a dependent student and your parent wants to borrow a PLUS loan, one parent must complete a Federal Parent PLUS Application form. Your parent may apply for the PLUS loan on-line at www.studentloans.gov. A parent must sign-in under their own name and SSN, and use their own FSA ID. A Parent PLUS Master Promissory Note (MPN) must also be completed at this site, if this is the first PLUS loan for you. A paper loan application is available if needed.
NOTE: You must be enrolled for a minimum of six credits for federal loans.
Your maximum loan cannot exceed your summer costs. Costs for students attending 6 or more credits may include a living allowance. If you wish to borrow money to pay your living expenses, please contact the Financial Aid Office or submit a second Summer Aid Application and request maximum Cost of Attendance for loan purposes.
An Alternative Loan is a loan that you apply for directly with an outside lender. Most lenders require students to have a good co-signer to secure the best interest rate for the loan. You can find a list of lenders that LSSU students have used at www.lssu.edu/finaid/alternativeloans.php. Alternative loans require school certification and cannot exceed your budget less any other financial aid. Please allow 3-4 weeks for processing after you initiate your loan with a lender.
If this if your first Federal Nursing Loan, you will be required to complete a Master Promissory Note, for the Nursing Loan only, before your loan will disburse.
Once you accept your aid and complete the required documents, your aid will show as Anticipated Credit on your e-bill. Federal loans will not disburse until you have started attending at least half-time. Excess aid refunds TBD
If you cannot pay your full bill by the due date, you must drop your classes or enroll in a payment plan to avoid additional charges.
LSSU is offering a short semester, 4 weeks between the fall and spring semester, to make it possible to complete the same course with the same quality of instruction, but on a shorter schedule. Courses offered will fulfill general education requirements. These courses will be offered as online instruction.
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Lake Superior State University has around 2,000 students giving it the distinction of Michigan’s smallest public university.
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