The term ‘award’ refers to any monies on account that helps pay educational related expenses. Financial aid consists of all awards – not just free money. These can include grants, scholarships (SVSU scholarships and scholarships from other sources), waivers, loans, work-study, and college saving plans. 

Awards are submitted at various times to the Financial Aid Office.  Continue to monitor your account through mySVSU Portal and your SVSU email for updates. If a student is expecting a renewed scholarship be certain to review the renewal requirements. If you did not meet the renewal requirements the award is forfeited and will not be added to the award letter.

When your FAFSA is processed you will receive an Award Letter notification through your SVSU email.

Saginaw Valley State University utilizes e-mail as the official method of communication with students to conduct business thus reducing paper waste, saving money and communicating efficiently and effectively.    NO PAPER BILLS WILL BE ISSUED.

Upon acceptance to SVSU, each student is issued a complimentary personal university email account (an “SVSU account”) for his/her use while enrolled at SVSU. Official university correspondence will be directed to the SVSU account, and it will be the student’s responsibility to monitor this account regularly and to read all posted University correspondence.  

All the following communication noted below will be sent to the SVSU student email account:

• Detailed information needed to complete their financial aid file
• Award letter notifications
• Enrollment status and renewal requirements for scholarships
• Loan information
• Other award requirements and eligibility information
• Payment due dates
• Billing notifications
• Direct deposit advice notification
• Other special reminders

Email Addresses Carbon Copy Feature
Students and/or parents may wish to have SVSU communications sent to other email addresses in addition to their SVSU email account. 

Please be aware, not all offices utilize this function.  Some emails will ONLY go to the SVSU email address and not be carbon copied.  Please refer to the complete Student Email Communication Policy for more information.

How to Set-up Carbon Copy Email Addresses:

• Log-into my.SVSU.edu with username and password
• Go to Self Service
• Select Students
• Select Privacy Settings
• Select My Carbon Copy Email Address

Once carbon copy email addresses are established, that access will remain in effect until it is removed by the student.

A number of options exist within my.SVSU.edu Self-Service allowing students to view up-to-date information regarding their student account, including access to the following financial aid features:

Financial Aid Missing Information

This feature allows students to view the status of their financial aid file, including where they are in the process. Up-to-date information will appear when SVSU receives a student’s FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) results, and what other information SVSU may need to collect from the student.  Log-in to my.SVSU.edu and view this page after you have filed your FAFSA!

Financial Aid Opt-In

This allows students to view, accept, and reject their scholarships and financial aid online and for SVSU to accept the student’s signature electronically for any documents pertaining to scholarships and financial aid.  The electronic signature binds the student to the terms and conditions of scholarships and financial aid. Once opting to receive this information electronically, the student will remain "opted-in" for any future semesters.

How to Set-up the Financial Aid “Opt-in” Feature:

• Log-in to my.SVSU.edu with username and password
• Go to Self Service
• Select Students
• Select My Financial Account
• Select Financial Aid Opt-in

Once opted-in to this feature, the student will remain opted-in for future semesters.

Financial Aid Award Letter – Accept/Reject Awards Online

If a student has opted in for electronic acceptance of their financial aid, they will be able to view their award letter online.  Information will be sent to the student email account when their award letter is available to view.

Log-into my.SVSU.edu with username and password

‌‌

• ‌Award Letter Information & Instructions (231kB)
• SVSU Award Letter Instructional YouTube Video
  
  • Go to Self Service
  • Select Students
  • Click ‘My Financial Account’
  • Click Financial Aid Award Letter Accept/Reject
  • Choose a Financial Aid year & click submit
  • Review your Award Letter
  • At the bottom under ‘Accept/Reject Your Awards’ choose ACCEPT ALL or REJECT ALL within the drop down menu & click submit OR individually 'Accept' or 'Reject' each award & click submit

Financial resources are applied evenly between Fall/Winter terms. Federal loans and grants, as well as most institutional aid, cannot be placed all in one term. Not only is this an awarding requirement but it helps the student/parent plan appropriately for upcoming term balances. 

If your financial aid awards do not cover the total of your expenses there are additional resources available. They include Parent PLUS Loans, Alternative Loans, or a Payment Plan.  

Spring & Summer aid eligibility is based on annual award limits minus any awards used during Fall and Winter semesters.

Students who wish to apply for their remaining financial aid eligibility need to submit a Spring/Summer Aid Request Form available on our "Financial Aid Forms" page.

If a student chooses not to accept a loan that was awarded they can reject the full amount electronically through their student financial account.  To decrease the loan by a specific amount the student must print out their award letter from their student financial account which can be located under Financial Aid Award Letter Paper Version, fill in the requested loan amount and the difference.  The letter must be signed, dated and then submitted to the Campus Financial Service Center via email cfsc@svsu.edu; fax (989) 964-2492, or mail at SVSU Attn: CFSC 7400 Bay Rd. University Center, MI 48710.

To make a custom selection of your Fall/Winter awards you must print out their award letter from their student financial account which can be located under Financial Aid Award Letter Paper Version, and check the “decline” box next to the loans you wish to remove. The letter must be signed, dated and then submitted to the Campus Financial Service Center via email cfsc@svsu.edu; fax (989) 964-2492, or mail at SVSU Attn: CFSC 7400 Bay Rd. University Center, MI 48710.

If you are a first time student borrower at SVSU, you will have to complete Entrance Loan Counseling before federal loan funds can be credited to your account or sent to you. You may complete this requirement on line at www.studentloans.gov.

You must have a Department of Education PIN in order to complete loan counseling online. If you have forgotten your PIN or do not have one, go to www.pin.ed.gov to have your PIN sent to you. 

As a first time borrower you must complete a Direct Loan Electronic Master Promissory Note (MPN). The electronic MPN site allows you to complete and sign a MPN over the web as an alternative to using a paper MPN. Please do not go to the site to complete the process until we have sent you correspondence to do so.

To complete your electronic MPN, you will need to provide the following information: your social security number, your permanent address and telephone number, your driver's license number and state, and names, addresses, and phone numbers for two references.

Go to www.studentloans.gov to complete the electronic MPN. Allow enough time to complete the MPN process in a single session. You cannot save your work and return to it at a later time. Once you are at the website, be sure to review the "What You Need", and then select the type of loan that you have and proceed through the process.

You must have a Department of Education PIN in order to complete the electronic MPN. If you have forgotten your PIN or do not have one, go to www.pin.ed.gov to have your PIN sent to you.