M State's official notification process of financial aid awards will be via the web - log into E-Services.( There are two types of award letters, a preliminary and an official, that a student might find on their account. The preliminary letter is one that gives a student an estimate of awards. The official award letter informs a student, who has completed the admissions process and all required documentation for financial aid, what their anticipated award will be for the award year. Each letter clearly states which type it is on heading of the letter. When a letter is ready for a student an email will be sent to the student. All students who provided an email address on their college application or are current students will receive this email.


Students who have not provided an email address will receive the award letter by mail. Students who wish to receive a paper award letter can contact their campus financial aid office to receive a copy.



How to read the award letter:

The award letter consists of two or three pages. Page one provides information about your estimated grants and loans and page two is a response form. For students who have requested workstudy, and are eligible, there may be a third page.



Page One-Award Information

Page one begins with the address of the campus that the student will be attending and the year that the award letter covers. Below the award year is the statement of either "Preliminary award, Official award, or Revised award". The preliminary award is an estimate while both the official and official revised awards are actual awards as long as corrections are not made after the printing of the letter. The revised letter is generated when additional information about other awards are provided to the financial aid office that affect a student's eligibility for amounts offered on the official award letter. Usually the revised award letter affects loan amounts when a student receives scholarships or funding from another source or chooses to do work study instead of taking out a loan.


Students are directed to the College Handbook and Catalog for additional information relating to a student's academic responsibilities to maintain eligibility for financial aid. Important financial aid dates can be found on our website.


The main part of the this page is the chart that provides grants, loans and work study amounts at different enrollment levels. You will see the words Fall and Spring and a year following it and the word credits. This refers to the term and year you are enrolled in and the number of credits that you will be enrolled for. The headings 12-30(full time), 9-11( three quarter time), 6-8( half time) and 1-5( less than half time) refer to credits that a student takes for that term. Below these numbers are dollar amounts that correspond with award types at the left. As you can see the fewer the credits the lower the amount of financial aid offered. Loans are not available to students who are enrolled for less than six credits. Because students enroll for courses one term at a time, award information is provided by term. There is a chart for each term that we anticipate you will be enrolled. If you have a one term award the college is anticipating that you will only attend one term that academic year. If you plan to attend more than one term you will want to contact your campus financial aid office. Loan and work study amounts are amounts that are offered only; more needs to be done to receive/earn these funds.



State Grant Chart

Minnesota residents that are attending a Minnesota College and have attended less than four years of full time college may be eligible for the state grant. The grant amounts under the main table are amounts for enrollment at 15, 11, 8, and 5 credits. Enrollment of any credits different than that will not be accurate for the enrollment level in the main chart. If a student is eligible for state grant, the chart "Minnesota State Grant Credits" should be used to calculate state grant amounts. It indicates how much a student will receive per term for enrollment of 1 to 15 or more credits. The grant does not go up if a student takes more than 15 credits. Students who fill out a FAFSA after the first 30 days of the term are not eligible for State Grant for that term but will be for remaining terms of the academic year.



Page Two-Response Form

Page two is the college response form. All students need to print, complete and return this page. The page has links directly to loan counseling and the master promissory note websites. All students are required to do loan counseling and complete a master promissory note prior to receiving their first loan at M State. It is important to indicate how much you need (budget calculator) in subsidized and unsubsidized loans. Refer to the enrollment level on the award table on page one to see the maximum eligibility for each term and add them together for the year amount. The students also need to indicate whether the loan is for Fall, Spring semester or both. Remember a student cannot receive more than what is on the award notice for the year. Some students cannot fund their entire educational expenses with basic grants and loans. We provide a list of other basic types of financial aid for students and links to our website for applications.



Work Study- Optional page

Some students who have requested work study and are eligible for work study may receive a work study assignment sheet during the summer. Follow the instructions on the assignment sheet to rocure a job. Once the school year has begun students must visit the financial aid office to determine eligibility for work study and job placement.



Summer Award Letter

The Summer Semester is not included on the basic award letter. Students will need to complete a separate supplemental application to receive financial aid for the summer. Students who have attended two full time terms in the year at any college will have used their grants prior to summer. The award year begins in the Fall Semester and ends Summer Semester. If a student has not borrowed their maximum loan for the year the student may be eligible for loans if enrolled at least half time (6 credits). Enrollment is determined by the total number of credits for the entire summer term. The award letter that the student receives is just like the academic year award letter and the process is the same. Financial aid disbursement dates may vary with different programs at our campuses during the summer.