General Financial Aid Frequently Asked Questions:
Undergraduate students who have already submitted their 2024-2025 FAFSA application:
- New students will receive their offers beginning in April
- Returning students will receive their offers beginning in late-May, after the spring 2024 semester has ended and grades have been posted.
Graduate students who have already submitted their 2024-2025 FAFSA application:
- Summer 2024 start students will receive their offers beginning in late-April
- Fall 2024 start students will receive their offers beginning in late-May
- Returning students will receive their offers beginning in late-May
All students who submit their 2024-2025 FAFSA applications after the initial awarding process begins will be reviewed and offered their financial aid within 3 weeks of receiving and reviewing their FAFSA application.
If you have previously claimed your credentials but have forgotten your password, please try this link to reset your password OR you may reach out to IC at helpdesk@su.edu: https://iaas6idm.fischeridentity.com/identity/self-service/suv/smsreset.jsf
- Hornet Hub where it reads “Upload” in your Financial Aid Checklist
- Fax: 540-665-4939
- Mail: Shenandoah University, Attn: Financial Aid; 1460 University Drive Winchester, VA 22601
- In person: We are located on the main Winchester campus in the Wilkins Administration Building on the 2nd Floor (Hornet Central area)
- The VTAG application can be found online. The state set deadline for this grant is July 31, 2024 so you will want to be sure to get it into our office before the due date! The signature line is required to be a handwritten signature.
- You can submit your application via Hornet Hub, fax, mail, or in person.
You can log into your Hornet Hub account to accept or decline your loan offer(s); you may also choose to decrease the amount of your loan offer. You will be offered the maximum allowable federal loan amount at the time of your offering.
If you are choosing to accept your loans, you will also need to complete the following two requirements by logging into your studentaid.gov account with your student FSA ID and PIN.
Dependent Undergraduate Students:
- If your parent(s) would like to consider a Parent PLUS loan, they may apply for that by logging into studentaid.gov with their Parent FSA ID and password; please note that the application for the 2024-2025 academic year will become available around May 1, 2024. The Department of Education does perform a soft credit check and your parent(s) would be notified of the result via email. Interest rates and loan origination fees are updated each year.
- If approved, your parent will need to complete a Parent PLUS MPN
- You or your parent(s) may consider a private educational loan option. Private loan interest rates as well as terms and conditions will vary based on the borrower/co-borrower’s credit score. This list is not comprehensive, but represents the most common lenders used by our students. If you know of a preferred lender not on this list, you may apply and our loan specialists will be able to certify it once they receive the information from your preferred lender.
Independent Undergraduate Students:
- You may consider a private educational loan option. Private loan interest rates as well as terms and conditions will vary based on the borrower/co-borrower’s credit score. You may choose to review other educational lenders that are not on the list that we have provided and our loan team can certify the request once received from the lender.
Undergraduate Nursing Students:
- You may reach out to us to request information regarding a federal Nursing student loan. This loan is a need-based loan that we may have to verify prior to you receiving it. The amounts are awarded based on the number of earned credits a student has and has a fixed 5% interest rate. Please reach out to us for more information on this loan.
Graduate Students:
- You may consider a Graduate PLUS loan. You may apply for this loan by logging into studentaid.gov with your student FSA ID and PIN; please note that the application for the 2024-2025 academic year will become available around May 1, 2024. The Department of Education does perform a soft credit check and you would be notified of the result via email. Interest rate and loan origination fees are updated each year.
- You may consider a private educational loan option. Private loan interest rates as well as terms and conditions will vary based on the borrower/co-borrower’s credit score. You may choose to review other educational lenders that are not on the list that we have provided and our loan team can certify the request once received from the lender.
In mid July, provided you accepted your award, you will then be automatically enrolled in the Work4SU Canvas Organization.
To get started, via Work4SU, you will:
- Apply to positions of your choice
- Complete the required paperwork for hire
- All documents can be completed online except the I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification form which must be completed in person
For additional information and FAQs check out our Work Study Student Employment webpage.
- All documents can be completed online except the I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification form which must be completed in person
To initiate the Professional Judgment Request process, please submit an online request for our financial aid counseling team to review. The counseling team will reach back out to you with clarifying questions and request the necessary documentation needed to complete the review process.
When asked to do so, you may submit your documentation via Hornet Hub, fax, mail, or in person.
- Tuition for Summer 1 2024 will be due on Friday, May 10, 2024
- Tuition for Summer 2 2024 will be due on Friday, June 14, 2024
- Tuition for Fall 2024 will be due on Monday, August 5, 2024
- Tuition for Spring 2025 will be due on Monday, December 16, 2024
- Tuition for Summer 1 2025 will be due on Monday, May 12, 2025
- Tuition for Summer 2 2025 will be due on Monday, June 16, 2025
- Academic Calendars
Scholarship checks can be mailed to Shenandoah University, Attn: Hornet Central; 1460 University Drive Winchester, VA 22601; we do ask that the scholarship committee list your name and student id number in the memo line of the check or with the scholarship letter so that our Student Services Specialists can receipt the funds to the correct account!
- Consider reaching out to your high school guidance counseling’s office as well as local businesses in your local community.
- Additional SU Scholarships
- Outside Scholarships
- Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant
- Methodist Scholarship
General Verification Frequently Asked Questions:
Students will also be sent an email from the Office of Financial Aid when they complete their FAFSA instructing them to log into their Hornet Hub to view any outstanding verification documents. All verification documents can be accessed via Hornet Hub, on our website, or in person.
- Verification Worksheet
- Tax Return Transcript
- W-2 Forms
- Monthly Expense Form
- Dependency Status Documents
- Marital Status Information
- Social Security Card
- Proof of Citizenship/Permanent Resident Card
Other documents may be needed for verification or to resolve conflicting information. The type of documents required will vary from student to student, as not all students selected for verification will have to submit the same documents.
If a student or parent needs to make corrections to their FAFSA they will need to log onto fafsa.gov, enter their FSA ID, and choose “Make FAFSA corrections”.
To be considered an Independent student, a student must meet one of the following criteria:
- will be 24 or older by December 31 of the school year for which you are applying for aid;
- is married as of the date the FAFSA is submitted;
- At the beginning of the school year, the student will be working on a master’s or doctorate program (such as an M.A., M.B.A., M.D., J.D., Ph.D., Ed.D., graduate certificate, etc.);
- is currently serving on active duty in the U.S. armed forces for purposes other than training, (If you are a National Guard or Reserves enlistee, is on active duty for other than state or training purposes);
- is a veteran of the United States Armed Forces;
- have children who will receive more than half of their support from the student between July 1 and June 30 of the awarding year;
- at any time since the student turned age 13, both of their parents were deceased, the student was in foster care, or was a dependent or ward of the court;
- it has been determined by a court in the student’s state of legal residence that they are an emancipated minor or that they are in a legal guardianship;
- at any time on or after July 1, 2016, the student was determined to be an unaccompanied youth who was homeless or were self-supporting and at risk of being homeless, as determined by (a) their high school or district homeless liaison, (b) the director of an emergency shelter or transitional housing program funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or (c) the director of a runaway or homeless youth basic center or transitional living program.
If the student fully meets any one of the items listed above, they are considered Independent for financial aid purposes. The Office of Financial Aid has the ability to institutionally select students for verification if they answered “Yes” to one of the above questions. If a student is selected based on their dependency status, they must provide all necessary documentation to the Office of Financial Aid as soon as possible.
- Legal Parent: The dependent student’s biological or adoptive parent;
- Married: Spouses, regardless of gender, considered legally married in the state or other jurisdiction in which the marriage took place;
- Remarried: Biological parents are required to include their current spouses information (i.e. the student’s “stepparent”) more information may be found at Student Aid;
- Separated: Spouses who consider themselves no longer married for an indefinite period of time or have a legal declaration of separation;
- Note: Separated spouses living together must report their marital status as “Married or remarried” on the FAFSA.
- Divorced: Former spouses declared no longer married by a court of law.
- Note: Divorced spouses or parents who were never married and are living together must report their marital status as “Unmarried and both parents living together” on the FAFSA.
If a student does not provide the necessary documents to the Office of Financial Aid by the fourth week of the semester, all of their Federal, State, Institutional financial aid, and student loans may be cancelled. Any tuition, fees and late charges will be the student’s responsibility.
In Person:
Monday – Friday: 9:00am to 5:00pm
SU Office of Financial Aid – Wilkins Building
1460 University Drive, Winchester, VA 22601
Email:
Fax:
(540) 665-4939
Note: Some verification documents may only be submitted in person or by mail. Also, remember to protect your privacy please redact your social security number on documents submitted via fax or electronically. Please check with the Office of Financial Aid if you have any questions
Tax Information Frequently Asked Questions:
There are certain times where students and parents are not given the option to utilize the IRS Data Retrieval Tool. If you are unable to view or link your tax information using the DRT, you must submit a Tax Return Transcript to the Office of Financial Aid.
Do not make any changes to the IRS information once it has been retrieved. Doing so will render the retrieved data invalid, and you will be institutionally selected for verification.
Note: If you utilize the DRT, please be aware you will receive notification in the mail stating your taxes have been accessed. If you receive this notice in the mail, but did not attempt or use the DRT – please contact the IRS immediately.
- To obtain online: Click on “Get My Tax Record” from the website provided above. Students will then need to set up an account with the IRS in order to retrieve their transcripts. To do so, they will need to provide a personal account number from a credit card, car loan, mortgage, home equity loan, or line of credit in order to verify their identity.
- To obtain via mail: Click on “Get My Tax Record” from the website provided above. Students will then need to enter personal identifying information such as: name, address, SSN, and DOB.
- If ordering by phone, call 1-800-908-9946 and follow the instructions.
Dependent Students
- If a student did not file a Federal Tax Return, and they are not required to do so by the IRS, then they must self-certify this information on the verification worksheet provided by The Office of Financial Aid. (These students are not required to submit a Verification of Non-filing letter)
- If a student worked, but did not file in the tax year they are still required to provide a copy of all W2’s to the Office of Financial Aid.
Independent Students
- If a student did not file a Federal Tax Return, and they are not required to do so by the IRS, then they must submit a Verification of Non-filing letter. The student must also self-certify this information on the verification worksheet provided by The Office of Financial Aid.
- If a student worked, but did not file in the tax year they are still required to provide a copy of all W2’s to the Office of Financial Aid.
Parent(s) of Dependent Students
- If parent(s) of a dependent student did not file a Federal Tax Return, and they are not required to do so by the IRS, then they must submit a Verification of Non-filing letter. The parent(s) must also self-certify this information on the verification worksheet provided by The Office of Financial Aid.
- If parent(s) worked, but did not file in the tax year they are still required to provide a copy of all W2’s to the Office of Financial Aid.
To obtain an IRS Verification of Non-filing letter online or by mail:
- Go to the Get Transcript section of the IRS’s website and click on “Get Transcript by MAIL.” The student will be instructed to list their social security number, date of birth, street address, and zip code. After that is complete, they will be presented with different options for ordering a transcript. Select “Return Transcript.” Select the tax year in which you are submitting documentation for.
OR
- Download the IRS Form 4506-T and follow the instructions on the form.
- A copy of IRS Form 4868, ‘‘Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return,’’ that the individual filed with the IRS for the tax year (IRS Record of Account transcript can be used in lieu of Form 4868);
- If applicable, a copy of the IRS’s approval of an unexpired extension beyond the automatic six-month extension if the individual requested an additional extension of the filing time for the tax year;
- A copy of the tax filer’s IRS Form W–2 for each source of employment income received for the tax year;
AND
- If self-employed, a signed statement certifying the amount of AGI and U.S. income tax paid for the tax year.
Once the student/parent(s) have filed their taxes, they are required to submit all tax information to the Office of Financial Aid to complete the verification process. All financial aid for the student will be placed on a hold status until the Office of Financial Aid has received and processed official tax documents.
If the student/spouse or parent(s) filed an IRS Form 1040X Amended Tax Return, the “Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return,” they must submit the following:
- An IRS Tax Return Transcript that includes information from the original tax return
AND
- A signed copy of the IRS Form 1040X (the “Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return”) that was filed with the IRS;
- A copy of all W-2’s for the applicable tax year
*NOTE: If you filed an amended return, you will likely not receive the option to link with the IRS Data Retrieval Tool.
- Contact the IRS by telephone at 1-800-908-4490. Once the tax filer’s identity is authenticated by the IRS, the IRS will mail a Tax Return Database View (TRDBV) printout to the individual;
- Submit the Tax Return Database View (TRDBV) printout to the Office of Financial Aid;
- Submit a statement signed and dated by the tax filer indicating that they were victims of IRS tax-related identity theft and that the IRS has been made aware of the tax-related identity theft.