Understanding Financial Aid

Financial aid can be challenging to navigate. It’s important to understand your options and the process as nearly all degree-seeking students are eligible for some type of financial assistance. For students seeking to expand their education through an online certificate, it is important to first verify if that certificate is eligible for financial aid before applying. It is also important to understand if Ohio State is legally authorized to offer a degree or certificate in the student’s state of residence.

Ohio State participates in federal and state financial aid programs to assist students in meeting their educational expenses. To begin the process for financial aid consideration, students must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly known as the FAFSA at https://studentaid.gov/. Be sure to include The Ohio State University’s school code of 003090.

After completing the FAFSA form, you’ll receive a confirmation with preliminary and estimated information related to eligibility for federal student aid. Any school you selected will receive your FAFSA eligibility information. You will be notified by email once this information has been sent to your selected schools.

For more information regarding financial aid eligibility, requirements, or to file the current year’s FAFSA, please visit Student Financial Aid at Ohio State.

Key Things to Consider

There are some financial aid matters that may be particularly relevant to you as an online student:

• Enrollment eligibility – It is important to understand your financial aid award. The award will assume you are a full-time student, so if you are attending part-time, you will need to be aware of how the money is distributed and your overall aid eligibility as it accumulates.
• Loan distribution – A student enrolled in all 3 terms would have a cost of attendance (budget) that includes costs for all 3 terms and aid would be awarded accordingly. An example: a financial aid loan would be spread out evenly over summer, autumn, spring for a student attending all 3 terms at least part-time.
• Prior aid history – The Department of Education has established limits to how much financial aid students can receive over the course of their education. If you have received federal aid in the past and are not sure how much aid you have received,  you should review your prior aid history on the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) to help you to determine your remaining eligibility.

What is Part-Time Enrollment?

As noted above, your financial aid award will be based full-time enrollment which is 12 or more credit hours as an undergraduate student or 8 or more credit hours as a graduate student. You are considered a part-time student if you are taking 11 or less credit hours as an undergraduate and 7 or less credit hours as a graduate student. This determination is made every semester in which you enroll in classes.

A student or student’s spouse who currently serve or have retired from the military, may be able to receive funding. Use of the GI Bill® is available upon completion of military service. For students who are on active duty, tuition assistance may be available from the military.

Review our GI Bill® Guide to help you navigate this process and verify your GI Bill® eligibility.

For more information regarding veteran’s admissions or for questions regarding financial assistance, please contact Ohio State’s Military and Veterans Services.

Ohio State offers a scholarship tool for all eligible students called ScholarshipUniverse. The tool simplifies the process of finding and applying for university and external scholarships. Students and applicants will log in with their Ohio State username and password (created after admission application) to build, update or confirm their profile.

Students are eligible to apply for scholarships in any state that Ohio State is authorized for their specific program. You must meet all eligibility requirements and be selected as a recipient for that scholarship to receive any funding. There may be certain expectations you must meet to maintain your scholarship.

Additional scholarships may also be found outside of ScholarshipUniverse with different application processes. To see these scholarships within Ohio State, please visit the Office of Student Financial Aid’s site.

For more information about ScholarshipUniverse, please visit: https://sfa.osu.edu/contact-us/consumer-disclosure/scholarshipuniverse.