Financial Aid

The SDC does not offer financial aid to students. However, the Office of Financial Aid oversees all the financial aid at CSU and assists students in navigating the financial aid process.

Prorated financial Aid as an Accommodation

Many sources of financial aid require students to be enrolled as a full time student in order to receive this aid. Some students need to take a reduced course load due to their disability and this can impact their ability to receive financial aid. In situations like this, students can request an accommodation of a reduced course load for financial aid purposes. If approved, this accommodation can prorate any financial aid given by CSU based on the number of credits a student is enrolled in. This only applies to CSU given financial aid and does not apply to federal financial aid (such as the Pell Grant) or privately provided financial aid. Please contact the SDC to learn more about this.  

Disability-Related Expenses

Students who have additional expenses due to their disability (such as assistive technology) can report these expenses to the OFA in an attempt to get additional financial aid to cover these expenses.

Reporting disability-related expenses to the OFA is known as a “budget appeal”. Budget appeals can increase a student’s loan eligibility by offering them additional student loans or parent loans that can be used to cover disability-related expenses.

In order to file a budget appeal for the OFA, they will need well-documented evidence of the accommodations a student is receiving during the school year, as well as the need for additional funds. The SDC is happy to help students with providing this documentation.

Budget appeals are determined on a case-by-case basis, based on each student’s situation and each specific request.

Students can begin filing a budget appeal after the add/drop deadline of each semester. Therefore, students should be proactive and begin working on a budget appeal as soon as they know they will have additional expenses. Unfortunately, incoming students cannot file a budget appeal until after the add/drop deadline of their first semester.

For more information about filing a budget appeal please contact the Office of Financial Aid.