Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, your Trine University academic merit scholarship may be renewed each year you are enrolled as a full time student at Trine, making satisfactory progress towards degree completion, which means successfully completing the required number of credit hours each academic year and maintaining a cumulative GPA above 2.0. To renew your scholarship you need not apply for it again, your financial aid file is reviewed at the end of each academic year when financial aid packages are created for students. If you have successfully completed the academic year and you are registered as a full time student then the academic merit scholarship will appear on your financial aid award letter.

In order to apply for Indiana state grants, all Indiana residents must complete the FAFSA no later than March 1st of each academic year, demonstrate financial need, attend an Indiana college or university, and be making satisfactory progress towards your degree to obtain eligibility for one of the state grant programs. For further details on this program, please visit their Web site at www.in.gov/ssaci.

If a student is eligible for work-study it will show as an award Called Federal College Work Study on their financial aid package.  Students can begin to apply for on campus positions on or after July 1st by completing the application on the TrinCareers.org Web site or by contacting our office at workstudy@trine.edu.

When you apply for federal student aid, your answers to the questions in Step 3 of the paper FAFSA or in Step 2 of the online FAFSA determine whether you're considered dependent on your parents or independent. If you're considered dependent, your parents' income and assets as well as your own must be reported on the FAFSA. Students are classified as dependent or independent because federal student aid programs are based on the principle that students (and their parents or spouse, if applicable) are considered the primary source of support for postsecondary education. 

Trine University is an NCAA Division III school and a member of the MIAA athletic conference. The NCAA Division III guidelines state a member institution shall not award financial aid to student-athletes based on athletics participation or performance. Therefore we do not offer athletic scholarships to students.

No, the academic merit scholarship that was awarded to the student as a new Trine student will remain the same during their entire college career as long as the student is making satisfactory academic progress towards their degree.

Yes, there are other options for students. Students are eligible for Federal Stafford Loans as long as they complete a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). If additional funds are still needed there are alternative educational loans available. These are still educational loans, deferred until graduation but not part of the Family Federal Educational Loan Program. Trine works with preferred alternative loans and we can assist you in choosing the one that works for you. These loans generally require a co-borrower and other conditions as well.

The application for the federal grant programs is the FAFSA.  The Federal Pell Grant is a need-based award that is determined by the information you supply when filing the FAFSA. Your EFC (expected family contribution) is the determining factor.

Trine's Full Tuition Scholarships are a combination of the Full-Tuition Scholarship Award, State of Indiana SSACI grants or scholarships, Federal grants or scholarships, and private grants or scholarship. A total of all of these will equal full tuition at Trine University. Because of this some of your Institutional awards may be decreased. This also applies to a student who receives awards that total up to the cost of tuition where we include Federal, State and Institutional Grants up to the cost of tuition.

Ideally, you should complete a FAFSA after you've done your tax return, but don't wait until April to complete the FAFSA. Trine University has a filing deadline of March 1st. Also, you may not be eligible for state aid if you wait until April to submit your FAFSA. The Indiana state aid deadline is March 1st. If you haven't submitted your tax return, you should calculate your adjusted gross income (AGI) and taxes paid by utilizing last year’s forms and estimating this year’s AGI and taxes paid. This practice is strongly discouraged if this year’s income is significantly different than last year's, as that can initially affect your eligibility for aid. Keep in mind that if you submit your application before you complete a tax return, you may need to make corrections later if your income or tax information isn't accurate. You will also need to return any federal student aid you received based upon incorrect information. You might have to provide Trine University with a copy of your completed tax return (assuming you're required to file one) before you receive federal student aid.

Report the information of the parent with whom you lived the most during the 12 months preceding the date you completed the FAFSA. It does not make a difference which parent claims you as a dependent for tax purposes. If you did not live with either parent or lived equally with each parent, the parental information must be provided for the parent from whom you received the most financial support during the preceding 12 months or the parent from whom you received the most support the last time support was given.

If you are a dependent student and your parent is remarried, the stepparent's information must be included or you will not be considered for federal student financial aid. If you believe that your situation is unique or unusual other than the stepparent's simple refusal to provide the requested information, you should discuss the matter further with your financial aid administrator.

The financial aid office will receive electronic notification from studentloans.gov of the PLUS denial within 2-3 business days and we will recalculate your federal loan eligibility. Having a parent denied the PLUS loan opens up additional unsubsidized loan eligibility. Be checking your Trine email account, as we will email you once this additional loan eligibility is made available to you. The email will ask you to accept the additional loan amounts online through MyTrineFA. If you still need more money than the additional amount made eligible to you, then you may want to start considering a private/alternative loan.

If you haven’t yet you can try to have your parent apply for a federal PLUS loan (dependent students only). If your parent is denied the PLUS loan that can open up additional unsubsidized loan eligibility for you to take out as the student. You can also look into private/alternative loans (see trine.edu/loans for more information). To avoid loans you can search for outside scholarships on websites such as fastweb.com.

First off, know that you are not alone. Every time you submit a FAFSA you have a chance of being selected for verification. The Central Processing System (CPS) randomly selects the FAFSA’s chosen to be selected for verification and not Trine University. However, under federal regulations Trine University is required to collect the documentation. There is nothing personal or discriminatory about the verification selection process. We appreciate understanding as our office strides to be compliant with federal regulations.

If you are eligible for participation in the Federal Work study program (Need-based criteria as determined through the FAFSA) it will appear on your financial aid award letter letting you know that you qualify and have the opportunity to obtain a work study job on campus. Because bills are due before the start of the term and the money will not be earned until after the student puts in the hours of work, we cannot provide this money up front. We also cannot guarantee every student eligible for a work study job will participate in the program. If you obtain a work study job you will receive this money in biweekly paychecks.

If your FAFSA was selected for verification we ask for copies of the W2’s because W2’s have certain amounts needed to verify items on the FAFSA that cannot be found on the federal 1040 forms such as payments to tax-deferred pension and saving plans.

MyTrineFA is the Financial Aid website. This is where you can view your financial aid award letter and make sure all required financial aid documents are submitted. MyPortal is your website for everything else other than financial aid. This is where you can view your class schedule and bills.

What you are looking at is called the Federal Budget. It is not what you are being charged. It is not your bill. The Federal Budget is the average costs a typical student incurs while attending our college. The budget is used by the financial aid office to prepare award letters, and is provided to families to help assist with personal budgets. To see what you are actually being charged you will need to contact the Business Office or view your invoice online through MyPortal.