Financial Aid and Scholarship Office
Have questions about grants, loans, work-study or scholarships? Start here. We'll guide you through the application process and give insight on all aspects of financial aid and scholarships while attending Northern Illinois University.
Disbursements and Refunds - For the majority of students, disbursements occur about two weeks after your first class begins (1/28/2019 for classes that began on 1/14/2019). Refunds will be generated over the rest of the third week of classes. To receive a refund, you must have financial aid completed and in excess of your charges. We recommend that students consider signing up to have their refund directly deposited into their personal bank account. Refund checks will be sent via mail to the student's local address who do not take advantage of this service. Parent borrowers who opt to have any Parent PLUS refunds sent to the borrow rather than to the student have the option to receive the refund as a direct deposit or paper check.
- Cost of Attendance
- Financial Aid Process
- Students Rights and Responsibilities
- Award Terms and Conditions
- Financial Aid and Your Student Account
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Federal Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loan
- Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan
- Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan
- Private Loan
- NIU Law Financial Aid Step-By-Step
- Creating an FSA ID (PDF)
- 7 Easy Steps to FAFSA (PDF)
- Using the 2018-2019 IRS Data Retrieval Tool on the FAFSA (PDF)
- Requesting a Tax Return Transcript from the IRS (PDF)
- Requesting a Tax Return Transcript via fax or mail from the IRS (PDF)
- Requesting a Verification of Non-Filer from the IRS (PDF)
- Requesting a Wage and Income Transcript from the IRS (PDF).
- Completing Entrance Counseling (PDF)
- Completing a Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loan MPN (PDF)
- Completing a Direct Parent PLUS Loan (PDF)
- Accepting or Declining Your Award
Common Topics for Frequently Asked Questions
- FAFSA
- Managing College Costs
- Financial Aid
- Financial Aid and Your Student Account
- My Award
- Loans/Loan Counseling
- Scholarships
- Using the MyScholarships system to Apply for Scholarships
- Charges
- Unpaid Bills and Outstanding Balances
- Disbursements and Refunds
- Title IV Authorization
- Exit Counseling
Contact Us
Financial Aid and Scholarship OfficeSwen Parson Hall 245
815-753-1395
finaid@niu.edu
For scholarship-specific questions
scholarships@niu.eduNIU School Code
Use NIU's School Code when completing the FAFSA.
001737
Share financial information with parents, family or guests with MyNIU Shared Access.
