Federal Aid Terms and Conditions

All students must fill out a FAFSA application in order to receive federal aid. The FAFSA is a Free Application for Federal Student Aid which can be found at StudentAid.gov. The FAFSA determines the financial need for federal student aid programs.

All students and/or parents (if dependent) will need an FSA ID to submit a FAFSA Application. Visit FSAID.ed.gov to create an FSA ID.

Each aid year, students must re-submit a FAFSA and other documents to be considered for Federal Aid. Awards will be recalculated according to the new information submitted each year.

Verification is a process required by the Federal Government to determine the validity of the information submitted on the student's FAFSA application.

BYU–Hawaii will verify the information for all students who are randomly selected by the U.S. Department of Education.

BYU–Hawaii may select students for verification to resolve conflicting information on the FAFSA Application.

Federal aid will not be disbursed until the verification process is complete.

Students will need to successfully submit all required documents by the deadline for that semester.

Verification forms can be found here for dependent or independent students.

The federal government requires submission of tax information for the prior-prior year for students and, if applicable, parents and spouses. For example, the 2024-2025 academic year requires 2022 tax information.

Verification cannot be completed without the proper tax return transcripts. Tax return transcripts can either be linked by using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool in the FAFSA Application or by requesting a copy online at www.irs.gov.

You may also call the automated phone transcript service at 1 (800) 908-9946.

Note: Tax return transcripts are requested through the IRS. Tax return forms are sent to the IRS.

Students will be offered a Stafford Subsidized Loan on their BYU–Hawaii Student Center based on their eligibility. If they want to borrow a Stafford Unsubsidized Loan, they will need to submit a Loan Request Form online.

Parents who are interested in applying for a Stafford PLUS Loan will need to submit a Loan Request Form online.

Students will need to accept all Stafford Loans by logging in to their BYU–Hawaii Student Center.

Students who have been offered Stafford Loans are required to complete an entrance counseling at StudentAid.gov before they are certified for the loan. This ensures that they understand the responsibilities and obligations that accompany loans. Topics include interest rates, debt management, deferments, repayment rates, loan balances, and obligations regarding repayment. This will enable them to determine if federal aid is the right path for them to take in paying for their education. Students are only required to complete an entrance counseling once during their academic career; if they discontinue for a year, the entrance counseling may need to be renewed.

Students who have been offered Stafford Loans are required to complete a master promissory note at StudentAid.gov. This ensures that they understand the obligations that accompany that loan for that specific time period. Students are required to complete a master promissory note each academic year they are borrowing the Stafford Loan.

Students who borrow Stafford Loans are required to complete exit counseling at StudentAid.gov. This ensures that they understand the responsibilities and obligations that accompany the loans they have borrowed during their academic careers. Topics include interest rates, debt management, deferments, repayment rates, loan balances, and obligations regarding repayment. Students are required to complete exit counseling if they borrowed a Stafford Loan and must complete it no more than 30 days after graduating, discontinuing, or dropping below half-time status.

Students will need to successfully complete all requirements for their loan(s) before the last day of the semester they want the loan to be applicable.

Students who plan to borrow Stafford Loans must complete a master promissory note (MPN) at StudentAid.gov. This is a legal document in which you promise to repay your federal student loan(s) and any accrued interest and fees to your loan servicer.

There is one MPN for subsidized and unsubsidized loans and a different MPN for PLUS Loans.

MPN can be completed at StudentAid.gov.

Students who have been offered Stafford Loans are required to complete entrance counseling before they are certified for the loan. This ensures that they understand the responsibilities and obligations that accompany loans. Topics include interest rates, debt management, deferments, repayment rates, loan balances, and obligations regarding repayment. Entrance counseling can help students determine if federal aid is the right path for them to take in paying for their education.

Entrance counseling can be completed at StudentAid.gov.

If a student decides to accept a Stafford Loan, they will be required to complete exit counseling before or no more than 30 days after graduation to remind them of their financial responsibilities.

Exit counseling can be completed at StudentAid.gov.

Because students must repay student loans and interest, they should not borrow more than they need to finance their education. They need to know the interest rate for their loans and when the interest begins to accrue. Students may log in to the StudentAid.gov website to review their Stafford Loan history and lender contact information. If a student chooses to prepay their loans early, they would need to contact their loan servicer directly.

Students who want to project their loan repayment amounts can use this repayment calculator.

Students who transfer from another university during the aid year and have received federal aid at their former university should notify Financial Aid & Scholarship as soon as possible. This will ensure the student is awarded the correct amount in financial aid without going over their aggregate limits.

In order to retain federal aid awards, students must exhibit satisfactory academic progress. This includes the following:

• Complete degree within 180 credits.
• 67% passing percentage.
• 2.0 CGPA

See Satisfactory Academic Progress for more details.

Students must be enrolled in a regular degree-seeking program at BYU–Hawaii in order to receive federal aid awards.

Students must maintain an enrollment status throughout the semester, or they could lose all or part of the award (Full Pell Grant – 12.0 credits, Stafford Loans – 6.0 credits or more). Summer is not an official term as it is only meant for internship enrollment therefore, no federal aid is available.

Students must be enrolled in at least 51% on-campus credit hours.

Students who discontinue enrollment after receiving federal aid may be required to repay some or all of their aid received.

Students are encouraged to meet with their financial aid counselor before discontinuing.

See Return of Title IV Policy for more details.

Students who add or drop credits throughout the semester may be required to repay some or all of their federal aid received. Students are encouraged to meet with their financial aid counselor if their enrollment count changes after receiving aid.

Students who experience extenuating circumstances that may impact their federal aid eligibility status may schedule an appointment to meet with a financial aid counselor to review their case.

Students may use funds listed on their award notice only for educational-related expenses incurred for the respective aid year.

The University applies financial aid awards directly to charges on the student’s account, including tuition, fees, housing, and other charges. Funds in excess of these charges are refunded to the student. If charges are applied to the student’s account after receiving the refund, it is the student’s responsibility to pay them. See Dates & Deadlines.

Financial aid awarded for a specific semester can only pay for charges for that semester.

Students are responsible for paying any outstanding remaining balances not covered by financial aid.

The repayment of Federal Aid is based on federal regulations published by the U.S. Department of Education.

Students may be required to repay all or a portion of their financial aid received if their enrollment status changes during the semester.

Students will need to complete a FERPA waiver (under Other) in order for Financial Aid & Scholarships to disclose any information to third-party inquiries. This includes parents, spouses, children, etc.

See FERPA for more information.

Students must immediately inform BYU–Hawaii Financial Aid & Scholarships of any anticipated financial aid not listed on the award notice (external scholarships, external loans, Kamehameha School scholarships, veteran’s benefits, etc.)
Students must be enrolled in the semester in which they are receiving aid.

Students must check their BYU–Hawaii email accounts regularly, as this is where all financial aid notifications are sent.
Financial aid questions may also be directed to Financial Aid & Scholarships by phone at (808) 675-3316 or by email at financialaid@byuh.edu.