University News

WIU Aid Award Letters Lead the Way

November 8, 2016

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MACOMB/MOLINE, IL -- When the U.S. Department of Education changed the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) filing date from Jan. 1 to Oct. 1, Western Illinois University was ready. Within the first month of the Oct. 1 filing date opening, WIU Financial Aid received nearly 11,000 FASFA records, up more than 1,500 from the previous Jan. 1 deadline date.

Because of the swift work of Western's financial aid staff, prospective WIU students have begun to receive their preliminary financial aid award letters for 2017-2018, which puts WIU ahead of any other Illinois state university to send out the letters, noted Admissions Director Seth Miner.

"Students must have a FAFSA on file not only for federal and state financial aid consideration, but also for some scholarship opportunities offered by the University," Miner explained. "By filing on, or shortly after, Oct. 1, and the letters being sent to our prospective students so quickly, they will know nearly one year in advance of the next academic year the various financial aid options available and payment obligations. And for those who have not yet filed - and selected Western as their school - it's certainly not too late."

Students can complete the FAFSA at www.fafsa.ed.gov, which uses the 2015 tax year information. Students and parents are encouraged to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to streamline the FAFSA process. WIU's FAFSA code is 001780.

Prospective students who meet Western's admissions requirements, and accept the admissions offer, will lock in rates for tuition, fees, room and meal plan for all four years through Western's Cost Guarantee program upon registration for Fall 2017.

"Western's Cost Guarantee, which remains the only program to lock in tuition, fees, room and meal plan rates, was used as a model for the state of Illinois' 'Truth in Tuition' program, and we continue to be national leader in making college affordable and accessible," Miner added.

In addition to the Cost Guarantee, WIU offers the Western Commitment Scholarship program, which provides automatic four-year scholarships based on a student's high school GPA and ACT/SAT score.

"We understand the financial aid process can be a lot for students and parents to digest. That is why we work so hard to get award letters out as soon as possible, so families have ample time to review and ask questions in order to make informed decisions," said Director of Financial Aid Terri Hare. "Our financial aid advisers are available to discuss financial aid packages and answer questions."

For more information about Western's financial aid and college affordability, contact the Office of Financial Aid at (309) 298-2446 or financial-aid@wiu.edu.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
Office of University Communications & Marketing