Fund Descriptions:

Grants (All grants on your award are automatically accepted. Grants do not have to be repaid.)

Pell Grant: Students must be first time undergraduates and have a low Expected Family Contribution to qualify. At Eastern Oregon University, the offered amount of Pell Grant is for full-time enrollment. Part-time students will receive a prorated amount of the full award.

Oregon Opportunity Grant: Administered by the Oregon Student Assistance Commission (OSAC), the Oregon Opportunity Grant is offered to Oregon residents attending in Oregon. You must be a full-time student (12 credits or more per term) to receive this grant. The Oregon Opportunity Grant has a 12 term limit for eligibility.

SEOG: Funding for the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG) is limited on this program, so it is offered to high need students who apply for financial aid early (and who are admitted early).

Oregon Supplemental Grant: This is a fee remissions grant offered by Eastern Oregon University to needy students. Funding is extremely limited in this program.

Work Programs

Federal Work Study: This is financial aid that students work to earn. It does not have to be repaid. If awarded work study, students must find a workstudy job either on or off campus. Students are not guaranteed work under this program. It is their responsibility to find employment. Students can check current job postings at the Career Services Center. Federal Work Study is limited, and so it is offered to students with a low Expected Family Contribution who indicate an interest for work study on their FAFSA, and apply for financial aid and admission early.

Student Wage: While not financial aid, student wage offers students an opportunity to work. Students do not need to have financial aid to be hired under student wage. Check with the Career Services Center for a current job listing. Since this is not financial aid, it will not show up on an award.

Loan Programs (if accepting only one Stafford Loan, you must accept the Subsidized loan if you have been offered one)

Perkins Loan: The Federal Perkins Loan is a loan and must be repaid. It has a very low, fixed interest rate of 5%. Students have a 9 month grace period after they no longer are attending school at least 1/2 time. Interest begins accruing after the grace period is over. Students who accept the Perkins loan must complete a Master Promissory Note and Entrance Interview. Since the loan comes directly from the University and not an independent lender, the promissory note and entrance counseling are separate from the ones a student completes for the Stafford Loans. Funding is limited on the Perkins loan, so it is offered to students who indicate an interest in loans on their FAFSA, who have a low Expected Family Contribution, and who apply for financial aid and admission early.

Federal Stafford Loan: The Stafford loan is a program that must be repaid. Students may qualify by completing the FAFSA. These loans can either be Direct or FFELP loans. At Eastern, we offer FFELP loans, or loans through banks. There are two types of Stafford loans: Subsidized and unsubsidized. Subsidized loans means that the federal government is subsidizing the loan. The government pays the interest on the loan until the student enters repayment. Students qualify for subsidized loan if they show a need (difference between the budget and the expected family contribution (EFC), minus any resources). Unsubsidized loans do not have the interest paid on them prior to the borrower entering repayment. Students start accruing interest on these loans as soon as the school receives funds. Interest rates are variable on Stafford Loans, and will change each year. Students will complete a Master Promissory Note (MPN) that will follow them throughout their college career at Eastern.

PLUS: The Federal PLUS Loan (Parent Loan) is a loan that parents take out on behalf of their college-bound child. PLUS loans are offered to dependent students who have room in their budget for more aid after their own loans and other aid are counted. Parents who accept the PLUS loan for the first time will be sent a pre-approval packet from Eastern. They then will need to be pre-approved for the loan by one of several lenders. This pre-approval includes a credit check. If the parent is approved, the lender will send the parent a full application. The parent then needs to complete the application and send it to Eastern for certification. Starting with the 2003-2004 academic year, PLUS loans may have a Master Promissory Note (MPN). Parents who have filled out an MPN for the PLUS loan are not required to fill out another promissory note each year. However, they will still have to let the Financial Aid Office know that they are interested in taking another PLUS loan for the year. PLUS loans, like stafford loans, have a variable interest rate. Generally repayment begins after the last disbursement for the academic year. However, interest begins accruing as soon as the school receives the first disbursement. Students who have had a parent denied for a PLUS are eligible to request additional funding through the Stafford loan program. Note: All credit balances on a students' account, as a result of PLUS loan funds received, will be mailed directly to the parent borrower.

Alternative Loan: This is a private loan through one of several lenders. Alternative loans are not federal and generally have higher interest rates and charges than federal loans. They also do not have the same repayment options that federal loans have. Students who are applying for alternative loans must be credit worthy, or have a cosigner that is credit worthy. Maximum eligibility for alternative loans is budget less other aid and resources. We will only certify alternative loans for one lender at a time.

Alaska Loan: An alternative loan program for Alaska residents. It has benefits that are specific to the Alaska Loan Program.