Financial aid is money that is provided to help bridge the gap between your own resources and the amount of money needed to pay the cost of attending college. When you apply for aid, you are applying for gift aid (scholarships and grants) and self-help programs (Federal Work-Study and loans).

The first step in the financial aid process is completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). You must file a FAFSA every year in order to receive your financial aid. You will need to add CSU (school code: 003032) to the list of schools on your FAFSA in order for our financial aid office to receive your records.

You can list multiple schools on your FAFSA in any given term; however, you are only able to receive aid from one institution at a time.

Effective Fall 2011, the financial aid office at Cleveland State University will no longer process financial aid consortium agreements. Unfortunately, federal financial aid regulations no longer make it possible for CSU to fund classes that students are taking at other schools. Therefore, partnership students registered at CSU will be awarded financial aid based solely on the credit hour enrollment in Cleveland State University courses.

Dual Enrollment

If you enroll in courses at both CSU and Tri-C, then you will have two separate tuition bills. You can only receive financial aid from one school at a time, so be sure to check all tuition dates and deadlines for each institution and make payment arrangements accordingly.

Cleveland State will process your financial aid based on the number of credit hours you are enrolled in at Cleveland State University. Any funds above the cost of the charges on your CSU bill will be refunded to you. A refund check will be issued by The Office of Treasury Services. You may use your refund to pay tuition at Tri-C or for related educational expenses.

Please contact our Campus 411 Office at 216-687-5411, or campus411@csuohio.edu with any questions you may have.