Types of Financial Aid

There are four types of Financial Aid: Grants, Scholarships, Work Study, and Loans.

Listed below is more detailed information about each type of aid.

 

1. Grants

Grants are a type of financial aid a student receives based income information reported on the FAFSA.  The source of a grant may be through the federal government or state government.  To apply for all grants a student should complete the FAFSA by LSUA's priority deadline of March 1st prior to the start of a Fall Semester and submit all additionally requested information to the LSUA Financial Aid Office by May 1.  Any additional requested information will be listed only in the student's Net Partner Account.  Students must also meet  Satisfactory Academic Progress standards to be considered eligible for grants.  

While there are a number of Grant programs, the Federal Pell Grant is the only guaranteed grant program.  Students interested in applying for all grants processed through LSUA's Financial Aid Office must: complete the FAFSA; submit all paperwork requested as listed in the student's Net Partner Account; and maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress. 

 

 

2. Scholarships

Scholarships are another free source of financial aid that is awarded based on a variety of criteria such as academic performance, leadership, community involvement, etc.  Scholarships may be awarded by the university or through an outside agency. 

All on-campus students will be considered for the LSUA Academic Scholarship.  The scholarship will be based on your official academic credentials (SAT/ACT & GPA) and is contingent upon your application and acceptance.  First-time freshmen can click here to see what you qualify for. Transfer students with a 2.5-2.9 GPA qualify for $1,000 per year, and with a 3.0+ GPA qualify for $1,500 per year. 

In addition to scholarships offered through LSUA, students are encouraged to apply for scholarships through various businesses, community organizations, family employers, etc.  We strongly encourage students to continuously search and apply for as many external scholarships as they can find. As with anything done on the internet, please take heed to avoid scholarship scams. You should never have to pay to apply for a scholarship as well as provide information like SSNs, etc.

Check out The College Monks blog on how to avoid scholarship scams: https://www.thecollegemonk.com/scholarship-scams/b/217.

Here are a few trusted links for additional scholarship search engines and scholarship opportunities:

Search Engines:

 

Individual Scholarship Opportunities:

LELA.ORG - apart from their scholarship search, they have a $1000 (50) Quarterly scholarship, an art scholarship (amount varies), a wildlife scholarship, and others.

***Important note: LSUA Scholarships are not available for any 100% online degree programs.***
***Important note:  There are many scholarship scams out there. Do not ever pay money to apply for a scholarship***

TOPS

Fall & Spring - Full time* = $2447 per semester. 
Tops Performance stipend =  $200 per semester 
Tops Honors Stipend = $400 per semester

Students must be enrolled full time (12 credit hours) as of the 15th class day of each semester in order to receive their award. Students in clinical courses or student teaching are exempted from this rule and may still receive their award at a prorated rate.

100% online students must also be enrolled in 12 hours to receive TOPS for the semester. How you break this up between the terms is up to you but your hours must total 12 or more between the ELearn 1 and ELearn 2 term through the census day.

TOPS TECH: Students must be enrolled in either the Associate of Science in Radiologic Technology, Associate of Medical Laboratory Science, or the Associate of Science in Nursing programs. Only students in these programs that graduated high school Spring 2017 and beyond are eligible for Tops Tech in the below amounts.

AS Nursing / AS MLS = $1190 per semester
AS Rad Tech = $2447 per semester

TOPS Tech is valid for up to 4 semesters.

TOPS Opportunity, Performance, and Honors are valid for up to 8 semesters.

 

 

3. Work Study

LSUA receives very limited funds to award students jobs through the Federal Work-Study Program.   To qualify for a work-study award, a student must demonstrate financial need as determined by information reported on the FAFSA and other types of financial aid the student may be receiving.  Students must also meet Satisfactory Academic Progress.

To apply for a campus job, students need to:

 

 

4. Loans

Loans are a resource to assist in paying for the costs of going to college in which a student or parent borrows money that must be repaid.  Student loans are a type of financial aid and are subject to many of the same criteria as all other federal aid programs.  It is important to remember that student loans must be repaid.

To receive a student loan at LSUA, students must complete the FAFSA, enroll in at least a half-time status of eligible hours (see the Federal Funds Info document for details on eligible courses), and be maintaining Satisfactory Academic Progress. Students cannot exceed their lifetime loan limits of $31,000 for Dependent students and $57,500 for Independent students. Also loans cannot exceed annual limits or annual/semester cost of attendance budgets. Annual limits are as follows:

Freshmen (0-29 earned hours): Dependent = $5500 Independent  $9500
Sophomore (30-59 earned hours):  Dependent = $6500   Independent = $10500
*Students in Certificate or Associate programs cannot be awarded above the sophomore level, regardless of the number of earned hours)
Juniors/Seniors (60+ earned hours Bachelor/Post Bach programs only): Dep = $7500 IND = $12,500

The main loan program that LSUA students participate in is the Federal Direct Loan Program.  Direct loans include Stafford Loans borrowed by the student and Parent PLUS loans borrowed by the parent of a dependent student.  For additional information regarding the Federal Direct Loan Program, visit studentaid.gov

 

LSUA FEDERAL LOAN STATISTICS

 

Steps to Apply for a Federal Direct Student Loan

Before a student may complete the Online Loan Application, LSUA must have received a processed a current FAFSA for the student. LSUA will award the maximum eligible loan amount available to each student. You may complete the below application if you have declined that award, reduced it, or do not yet see it in your Netpartner accept awards tab.

The following steps will guide a student on how to access the LSUA Online Student Loan Application:

  1. Log in to your MyLSUA Account
  2. Click on the STUDENT button located in the top right of the screen
  3. Click on the apply for a Student Loan link
  4. Carefully read and follow all online instructions to complete the application
  5. Complete a Direct Loan Entrance Counseling Session online
  6. Complete a Direct Loan Master Promissory Note online

Click here to access the LSUA Parent PLUS Loan Application 

All loans are subject to an origination fee prior to disbursement that is removed from the gross amount. Below are the Interest rates and origination fees for the past and current year.

 

Origination Fees:

Award

Fee removed from each disbursement amount:

Direct Subsidized

1.057%

Direct Unsubsidized

1.057%

Direct PLUS (parent)

4.228%

 

Interest Rates:

Award

2022-2023

First disbursed on or after 07/01/2022 and before 07/01/2023

2023-2024

First disbursed on or after 07/01/2023 and before 07/01/2024

Direct Subsidized

4.99%

5.50%

Direct Unsubsidized

4.99%

5.50%

Direct PLUS (parent)

7.54%

8.05%

 

NON-FEDERAL STUDENT LOANS:

It is strongly recommended that students exhaust all Federal student loan eligibility before applying for private student loans. If you are not eligible for any reason to receive Federal Stafford or PLUS loans, you may wish to apply for a private student loan through an outside lender. Many lending institutions offer student loans, and while the eligibility criteria differ for each financial institution, all are credit-based. There is no limit to the amount you may be approved for, unlike the Federal loans, except your award cannot exceed your cost of attendance budget minus other aid. For a list of some of the most common private lenders, please click HERE.

 

 

LOUISIANA NATIONAL GUARD

The Louisiana National Guard offers a State Tuition Exemption Program (STEP) that is available to its members. It is Louisiana state law that *”Any student enrolled, or who may enroll, in a public institution of higher learning of this state who is seventeen years of age or over and who is serving in the Louisiana National Guard shall be exempt from all or a portion of tuition charges imposed by such institution of higher learning if the applicant for free tuition is presently domiciled in Louisiana.” *Excerpt from § 36.1. Exemptions from tuition charges for service in the Louisiana National Guard, LSA-R.S. 29:36.1

The Louisiana National Guard offers 100% free college tuition to its members. Get your college paid for at no charge to you!

The Louisiana National Guard also provides:

We only serve one weekend a month and two weeks during the summer.

Contact SSG Sydney Matthew at (318) 955 - 0887 for more information.

Office located above the cafeteria in the Student Center.

National Guard Photo

 

 

 

 

Questions

Financial Aid Office: (318) 473-6423    Email: financialaid@lsua.edu