Financial Aid

Federal Student Financial Aid Penalties for Drug Law Violations

Federal law provides that a student who has been convicted of an offense under any federal or state law involving the possession or sale of a controlled substance during a period of enrollment for which the student was receiving financial aid shall not be eligible to receive any federal or institutional grant, loan or work assistance.

Financial Aid Information

The mission of the Office of Student Financial Aid is to support the University's overall goal of providing an affordable, quality education by providing financial assistance to those students and their families seeking to offset their educational cost.

• FAFSA 2021-2022 - Beginning October 1, 2020. By filing your FAFSA on, or as soon as possible after, October 1st, you establish eligibility for Financial Aid funds which have limited funding and are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, such as the State of Illinois MAP Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG) and Federal College Work-Study. For more information please visit our Apply for Financial Aid (FAFSA) web page or the U.S. Department of Education “FAFSA: Apply for Aid” web page.
• Illinois 2021-2022 Alternative Application - Allows qualifying undocumented students and transgender students who are not otherwise eligible for federal financial aid to apply for Illinois Monetary Award Program (MAP) grants to attend eligible Illinois colleges, universities, and career education programs.
• FSA ID - Students, and parents of Dependent students, need to create a FSA ID in order to access certain Federal web sites, such as fafsa.gov and StudentLoans.gov, and to sign certain financial aid documents, such as the Master Promissory Notes. Creating an FSA ID is a simple process. It will only take you a few minutes. Additional information is available on the Federal Student Aid Managing Your Account web page.
• Stay Informed - Students are required to become familiar with all rules, regulations and issues (Federal, State and CSU) that may affect their financial aid eligibility by regularly reviewing the university's Undergraduate Academic Catalog and/or the Graduate and Professional Academic Catalog, the Office of Student Financial Aid web site, and their individual account information which they may access through Cougar Connect and on CSU X-press. Visit this web page periodically for information regarding any changes to financial aid programs that may affect your eligibility and remember to read all e-mail communications from the Office of Student Financial Aid.
• Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) Complaints)  -  If you have an unresolved complaint with CSU, or any other institution of higher education, IBHE may be able to help you to resolve your issue. 
• CSU's U.S. Department of Education's Office of Postsecondary Education school code is  001694  
• Additional information can be found here