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You have been directed to this web page due to one of the following reasons:

1) you recently submitted a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to the national processing agency and Chicago State University (CSU) has received a copy of your Student Aid Report (SAR) and, as a result, has prepared a Financial Aid Award Package for you, which you need to review, or

2) you have recently submitted information to either the national processing agency, or the CSU Office of Student Financial Aid, which has brought about a recalculation of your financial aid eligibility and, possibly, an adjustment in the amount(s) of your award(s), or

3) there has been a change in the amount(s) of your financial aid award(s) due to a change in your enrollment status and/or Federal, State or CSU policy and/ or availability of funds, or

4) we have recently processed your loan request and the results are now posted to your account for your review, or

5) there are certain “student requirements”  which you need to fulfill before we can either prepare a Financial Aid Award Package for you or finalize the awards that were established for you based upon the information you provided on your FAFSA, or

6) we have a message or information you need to access that pertains to your financial aid package or financial aid eligibility.

To review your status and properly respond (if required) to this offer of financial assistance, please click on the link provided at the bottom of this web page to be taken to CSU X-Press.

When you arrive at CSU X-Press click on Enter Secure Area.

If this is your first time entering the CSU X-Press web site follow the directions on the screen in order to access the site. Please pay careful attention to the order and format in which information should be entered.

Your CSU ID number is listed at the top of the e-mail/letter notification that brought you to this web site. Please use that as your User ID when entering CSU X-press..

If you cannot gain access using the CSU ID, and you have yet to be fully admitted, please try using your Social Security Number.

Once you have accessed the web site you will immediately be prompted to change the PAC.

You will need your PAC to access the web site in the future.

PLEASE, DON’T FORGET IT!

After entering the site:

. . . Click on the Student Services & Financial Aid link.

. . . On the next screen click on the Financial Aid link.

. . . On the next screen click on the My Overall Status of Financial Aid.

. . . Select the Aid Year referenced in the e-mail/letter we sent you.

If, when you go to the next screen, you see the following statement: “You have unsatisfied student requirements for this aid year.” (in the middle of the screen) please click on “student requirements” and review what is required from you before your financial aid package can be finalized. Please try and fulfill all requirements as soon as possible. Your financial aid package will not be finalized until you have done so.

If you have no unsatisfied student requirements (or after you have reviewed what you need to do) please back up to the Financial Aid page and click on My Award Information.

. . . Review and accept any awards in an Offered Status.

If there are no awards with an Offered Status, please review those awards that are accepted, if any. Again, please note that some awards may have been adjusted to reflect recent adjustments/corrections to your SAR or because of a change in your enrollment status or enrolled hours.

FEDERAL PELL GRANTS AND STATE OF ILLINOIS MAP GRANTS ARE AUTOMATICALLY ACCEPTED IN OUR SYSTEM. IF YOU HAVE BEEN AWARDED PELL AND/OR MAP YOU DO NOT NEED TO ACCEPT THESE AWARDS.

While you are in the CSU X-Press web site please take a few minutes to look at all the information available to you in addition to financial aid information.

PLEASE NOTE: For the purpose of presenting you with an initial Financial Aid Award Package, for the 2011-2012 academic year, we have used 2010-2011 award amounts for the State of Illinois MAP Grant. This is due to the fact that the actual amount available for the State of Illinois MAP Grant for 2011-2012 has yet to be announced by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC). It is expected that an announcement will be forthcoming in late July. Once our system has been updated to reflect the new 2011-2012 amount for this award we will recalculate your Financial Aid Award Package, if necessary, and notify you that you should, once again, review your award status on CSU X-Press.

If you have a problem entering the CSU X-Press web site please call 773-995-2304 (during normal business hours of 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM, Monday – Friday and until 7:00 PM on Thursday), to have your Personal Access Code (PAC) re-set.

EXCEPTIONS

Awards, for admitted students, are based on full time attendance (except as otherwise noted such as in the case of the MAP grant, discussed in the "State of Illinois Monetary Award Program (MAP) Grant" section below) and your anticipated academic status, based upon available information, as reflected in the CSU student information system, for the 2011-2012 school year.

Awards for students, yet to be admitted to CSU, are based upon full-time attendance at the academic level indicated on the FAFSA. If a student is admitted at a different academic level, the amount of any awards may have to be recalculated.

Full-time status is based upon enrolled hours as follows:

If you do not attend full time, or your anticipated academic status should change, your awards can be increased, reduced or denied/eliminated. If you change your enrollment status (e.g., add or drop a course), inform the Office of Student Financial Aid promptly.  Awards may be estimated.  They will not be official until you have accepted the awards (with the exception of Pell and MAP which are automatically accepted) and a Financial Aid Advisor and/or Satisfactory Academic Progress Counselor, if required, has completed a review of your status. If you have been selected for Verification by the United States Department of Education (USDE) the amount of your awards may change as a result of the completion of the Verification process. If any funds are increased, decreased, or eliminated, you will be notified by e-mail that there has been activity on your account and that you should review your award status on CSU X-Press.

PLEASE NOTE: There is the possibility that your record may reflect no awards when you access CSU X-Press. This may be due to a variety of reasons such as a) an incomplete FAFSA, b) your income is sufficiently high that you are not eligible for any of the standard grants, c) you have exhausted your loan eligibility, d) you are in default on a student loan, or any variety of reasons too numerous to list here. If you have no awards and do not understand why this has occurred please contact our office. We will be happy to review your award status with you.

FEDERAL PELL GRANT

The Federal Pell Grant Program provides need-based grants to low-income undergraduate students as determined by the U.S. Department of Education using a standard formula, established by Congress, to evaluate the financial information reported on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The fundamental elements in this standard formula are the student's income (and assets if the student is independent), the parents' income and assets (if the student is dependent), the family's household size, and the number of family members (excluding parents) attending postsecondary institutions.

FEDERAL SUPPLEMENTAL OPPORTUNITY GRANT (SEOG) AND FEDERAL COLLEGE WORK-STUDY (CWS)

Funding for both of these grants is limited. CSU has historically awarded these grants to students with $0.00 (zero) EFCs who filed their FAFSA as early as possible after the initial date the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) began accepting FAFSAs (January 1st). The funds would be awarded until our allocation had been exhausted. This usually occurred sometime in mid-to-late January.

This year (2011-2012) due to the high number of students filing FAFSAs beginning January 1st, all SEOG is being awarded to students who filed their FAFSA on January 1st and 2nd only as SEOG funds would be exhausted after these dates.

Similarly, this year (2011-2012) due to the high number of students filing FAFSA beginning January 1st, all CWS is being awarded to students who filed their FAFSA on January 1st, 2nd and a portion (random selection) of students who filed their FAFSA on January 3r, as CWS funds would be exhausted after these dates.

If you have been offered either/both of these awards you must accept them by June 1, 2011. If you do not accept them by that date we will assume you do not wish to receive these awards. We will remove any unaccepted SEOG and CWS after June 1, 2011 and re-award any available funds to other eligible students. If you are or become the recipient of "re-awarded" SEOG or CWS you will have 45 days from the date of notification to accept or decline either or both award. If you do not accept an award it will be removed from your award package at the end of the 45 day period and again "re-awarded" to other eligible students. The "re-awarding" process will continue, if necessary, until both funds are exhausted. Please Note: Only students who demonstrate exceptional need are eligible for SEOG.

Please Note: Only students who had complete FAFSAs that were filed on the aforementioned dates will be awarded SEOG and/or FWS. If the initial FAFSA you filed was incomplete (did not have an EFC, missing income information, missing a signature, etc.) you will not be awarded SEOG and/or CWS even if it is later determined that you have a $0.00 (zero) EFC. In addition, if you originally have an EFC greater than $0.00 (zero) but it is subsequently reduced to $0.00 (zero) due to completion of the Verification process, a change you make to your FAFSA, or special conditions effecting EFC, you will not be awarded SEOG and/or CWS as funds will have already been exhausted.

FEDERAL TEACH GRANT

This Federal grant was introduced for the 2009-2010 academic year. Please visit the The Financial Aid Process web page of the Office of Student Financial Aid web site to review eligibility requirements and the procedure for applying for this grant.

FEDERAL IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN SERVICE GRANT

This is a new Federal grant program, for the 2010-2011 academic year, for certain survivors of U.S. military personnel who lost their lives as a result of the Iraq or Afghanistan conflicts.

STATE OF ILLINOIS MONETARY AWARD

PROGRAM (MAP) GRANT

By applying for financial aid (FAFSA) and agreeing to share that information with ISAC undergraduate students have been considered for the State of Illinois (IL) Monetary Award Program (MAP) Grant. If you were determined to meet the eligibility criteria for the MAP grant, an award is included in your Financial Aid Package. This award may be an estimate made by the Office of Student Financial Aid and if so is identified as a "State of IL MAP Grant (Est)."  MAP grants are limited based on the number of applicants and funding levels appropriated by the Illinois General Assembly. Please be aware that in light of state funding constraints, reductions to estimated or actual MAP grants are possible. If a "State of IL MAP Grant (Est)" is not included in your Financial Aid Package, you are not eligible for the grant at CSU.

Starting with the 2004-2005 academic year, eligibility for a MAP grant began being tracked by the equivalent number of semester hours of MAP benefits paid on your behalf. This is called MAP Paid Credit Hours. Payment for each term is being made according to the equivalent number of credit hours eligible for MAP payment, with a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 15 MAP Paid Credit Hours.

There is a limit on the number of MAP Paid Credit Hours that can be paid while you are classified by your school as a freshman and sophomore. This limit is the equivalent of 75 MAP Paid Credit Hours. If this maximum is reached, you must attain junior status for your MAP grant eligibility to resume. The maximum number of MAP Paid Credit Hours that can be received is capped at 135.

PLEASE NOTE: MAP GRANTS ARE INITIALLY POSTED TO STUDENT ACCOUNTS AT 80% OF THE TOTAL ELIGIBLE AMOUNT AVAILABLE TO STUDENTS REGISTERED FOR 15 HOURS PER SEMESTER. FINAL ADJUSTMENTS TO MAP AWARDS WILL BE MADE AFTER THE “DEADLINE FOR 100% REFUND FOR REFUNDABLE FEES” AS PUBLISHED IN THE CLASS SCHEDULE BULLETIN FOR THE APPLICABLE SEMESTER. SHOULD YOU ENROLL FOR LESS THAN 12 HOURS DURING EITHER THE FALL OR SPRING SEMESTER THE AMOUNT OF THE MAP YOU ARE ELIGIBLE FOR WILL DECREASE AFTER SAID DEADLINE. SHOULD YOU ENROLL FOR MORE THAN 12 HOURS THE AMOUNT OF MAP YOU ARE ELIGIBLE FOR WILL INCREASE. SHOULD YOUR MAP AWARD DECREASE YOU WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR REPAYING THE DIFFERENCE TO THE UNIVERSITY IF THE RESULTING ADJUSTMENT CREATES A DEFICIT IN YOUR STUDENT ACCOUNT. ADJUSTMENTS TO MAP AWARDS ARE A MANUAL PROCESS. PLEASE ALLOW SEVERAL WEEKS AFTER THE AFOREMENTIONED DEADLINE FOR APPROPRIATE ADJUSTMENTS TO BE MADE.

Please review the  "2011-2012 Monetary Award Program (MAP) Right and Responsibilities" (.pdf) as published by ISAC.

ONCE AGAIN, PLEASE NOTE: For the purpose of presenting you with an initial Financial Aid Award Package, for the 2011-2012 academic year, we have used 2010-2011 award amounts for the State of Illinois MAP Grant. This is due to the fact that the actual amount available for the State of Illinois MAP Grant for 2011-2012 has yet to be announced by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission. It is expected that an announcement will be forthcoming in late July. Once our system has been updated to reflect the new 2011-2012 amount for this award we will recalculate your Financial Aid Award Package, if necessary, and notify you that you should, once again, review your award status on CSU X-Press.

COST OF ATTENDANCE  (a/k/a/Cost of Education or Student Budget)

Cost of Attendance (COA) is the total amount it will cost you to go to school over a typical nine-month period. It is determined using rules established by federal law. The COA includes tuition and fees, on campus room and board (or a housing and food allowance for off-campus students), an allowance for books and supplies, transportation, loan fees, and, if applicable, dependent care.  It also includes miscellaneous and personal expenses, which include an allowance for the rental or purchase of a personal computer. The COA is designed to be a reflection of costs associated with attending CSU. COA does not accommodate  a lifestyle of luxury but rather addresses  basic costs associated with going to school and maintaining a modest lifestyle. COA is the cornerstone of establishing a student’s financial need as it sets a limit on the total aid that a student may receive for purposes of determining eligibility for the ACG and SMART Grant programs, Campus-Based Programs such as SEOG and Work-study, and Stafford/PLUS loans. CSU has, for the 2011-2012 academic year, established COA figures for both undergraduate and graduate students. To review all budgets please access, and download if you wish, the 2011-2012 Cost of Attendance chart which reflects all 2011-2012 figures. You may also review your individual COA figures on CSU X-Press. Please note that as nearly all students will be "Offered" loans as part of their financial aid award package, the COA includes estimated/average Loan Fees as a component. In the event that you do not accept a loan(s), or for some reason are not eligible for a loan(s), the Loan Fees component may be reduced to zero.

SCHOLARSHIPS

Your Financial Aid Award Package may indicate that you will be receiving a scholarship, grant or stipend, hereafter collectively referred to as scholarships, from a source other than those managed by the Office of Student Financial Aid. All such scholarships must be reported to the CSU Scholarship Coordinator, as the receipt of same may have an effect on a student’s eligibility for other forms of financial assistance including loans and work-study funding.  For more information please visit the Procedures for reporting Scholarships, Grants, Stipends and other forms of Gift Aid web page.

SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS

CSU's Satisfactory Academic Progress Policies (Undergraduate and Graduate) measure whether students are progressing at a reasonable rate toward the completion of their educational objective. Students must be in compliance with these policies in order to maintain continued financial aid eligibility. The basic requirements students must meet are set forth below. The entire Satisfactory Academic Progress Policies are published in the CSU Undergraduate Catalog and the CSU Graduate Catalog. Copies of the policies are also available from the Office of Student Financial Aid.

BASIC SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS REQUIREMENTS

UNDERGRADUATE
GPA: 2.0 or higher
Attempted and Completed: 67% of hours enrolled
Maximum Eligibility: 180 attempted hours (including transfer hours)

GRADUATE

GPA: 3.0 or higher
Attempted and Completed: 67% of hours enrolled
Maximum Eligibility: One and one-half times (150%) the number
of hours needed for degree completion (including all hours attempted)

CREDIT BALANCE DISBURSEMENT

Full-year Federal Direct Loans (Subsidized, Unsubsidized, Parent PLUS and Graduate PLUS) will be disbursed in two installments. The first disbursement, from Direct Loans, is scheduled to take place approximately one week prior to the beginning of the Fall semester. The second disbursement, from Direct Loans, will take place approximately one week prior to the beginning of the Spring semester. You will receive a disclosure statement from Direct Loans once your loan(s) is processed confirming the actual dates. If you have a credit balance on your student account, after all your financial aid and loans are received and your tuition and any other charges you may have have been paid, you will be issued the credit balance remaining on your account. Credit balances are issued by the Office of the Bursar, not the Office of Student Financial Aid. The Office of the Bursar will notify the CSU community as to when credit balances will be issued.

If you fail to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress, or do not attend the Spring semester, your financial aid awards may need to be revised, returned or canceled. If your enrollment should drop below half-time status this occurrence must be reported immediately, in writing, to the Office of Student Financial Aid so that we can make any appropriate adjustments to your grant and/or loan disbursements. Remember you must be enrolled on at least a half-time basis in order to maintain loan eligibility. Failure to report changes in a timely manner may result in significant delays in processing your credit balance, or might result in you owing a balance to CSU if your credit balance is issued prior to any required adjustment(s) being made due to untimely notification (or no notification) of a change in your enrollment.

REMEMBER: Awards are based upon full-time attendance (except as otherwise noted) in an eligible academic program and the information currently available on your SAR. Should you enroll at a less than full-time status, change academic programs or enrolled hours, or if the information on your SAR should change (either through the verification process or changes you make to your SAR) the amount(s) of any award(s) may decrease, increase or be eliminated entirely.

You may need      to download forms/documents on this web site.