Parent Guide to Student Financial Aid

Many Gallaudet University parents are actively involved in their children’s lives, especially when it involves college finances. We send most of our correspondence regarding students’ financial aid directly to students via email. To help you be informed about financial aid, we offer this page of information and links that parents of Gallaudet students often find useful.

Your Student’s Financial Aid Information

• Requesting Information about Your Student: Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and Gallaudet University policy, we cannot release financial aid information to anyone other than registered Gallaudet students. We can discuss financial information with dependent students’ parents or custodial parents, if parents provide the Gallaudet ID and if the student’s dependency status is confirmed.
• Accessing Your Student’s Financial Information on BISON: Students manage most of their business transactions, including financial aid, on the web via the secure student portal called BISON. The Parent/Family Authorization feature of BISON allows students to authorize a guest account for their parents or other family members. With a guest Account, parents may access student’s financial aid award notices, financial aid forms/documents, and bills.

Understanding Your Student’s Financial Aid Award

Gallaudet University’s Student Financial Services maintains students’ university accounts and issues student bills. Students are responsible for ensuring that the University bills are paid on time each term. To do this, you and your student should monitor your student’s account, check your student’s balance frequently, and become familiar with the way your student’s financial aid appears on your student’s account.

When your student receives financial aid administered by our office, including scholarships, grants, and loans, it appears on your student’s billing account and is applied against the charges, usually during the first month of the term. Other aid types, such as private scholarships, are also applied directly to account charges and reflected on your bill.

Some types of aid have restricted uses. For example, merit funds cannot be used to pay for lost ID fees or parking tickets. Some awards may only be applied to tuition. This may leave charges on the student’s account and they are responsible for paying any balance due.

If you have questions about your student’s account or bill, you may contact Student Financial Services at contact us directly.

Parent PLUS Loan

Federal Direct Loan payments applied to your account will be lower than amounts listed on your Financial Aid Award Notice because loan origination fees are deducted. Should you need to apply for Parent PLUS federal loan, please click here. You will also need to complete Parent PLUS Master Promissory Note (MPN) if you are a first-time borrower. Please click here for the Parent PLUS MPN.

To be eligible for the Parent PLUS loan, you must:

• be the biological or adoptive parent (or in some cases, the stepparent) of a dependent undergraduate student enrolled at least half-time
• not have an adverse credit history
• meet the general eligibility requirements for federal student aid

Note: Grandparents (unless they have legally adopted the dependent student) and legal guardians are not eligible to receive parent PLUS loans, even if they have had primary responsibility for raising the student.

Loan Terms:

• 5.30% fixed interest rate for graduate students (first disbursed on or after July 1, 2020, and before July 1, 2021. Rates change each July 1.)
• 4.236% for PLUS loan originated before October 1, 2020. (Fees change each fall.)
• The maximum PLUS loan you can borrow is the cost of attendance (determined by the school) minus any other financial assistance you receive
• Interest accrues immediately; paid periodically or capitalized
• Principal repayment deferred while enrolled at least half-time

The maximum PLUS loan amount you can borrow is the cost of attendance at the school your student will attend minus any other financial assistance your student receives.

A credit check will be performed during the application process. If you have an adverse credit history, you may still receive a grad PLUS through one of these two options:

1. Obtaining an endorser who does not have an adverse credit history. An endorser is someone who agrees to repay the grad PLUS if you do not repay it. Click here to endorse a Direct PLUS loan.

2. Documenting to the satisfaction of the U.S. Department of Education that there are extenuating circumstances relating to your adverse credit history. Click here to begin the credit appeal process.

With either option 1 or 2, you must complete credit counseling for PLUS loan borrowers. Please click here for the link.

If you request a deferment, you will not need to make payments while your student is enrolled at least half-time and for an additional six months after your child graduates, leaves school, or drops below half-time enrollment.

Information about student loans can be found on the Financial Aid Programs page.

Federal Work-Study

Work-Study funds do not appear on your student’s account. Your student receives your Work-Study award by getting a part-time job with a qualified employer and earning a paycheck.

Private Scholarships

If a private scholarship check was sent directly to the University, it will be applied to your University student account, one-half in the Fall term and one-half in the Spring term, unless the sponsor specifies otherwise. Payments are usually processed within two weeks. If the payment creates a credit balance on your University student account, the credit will be released to you by check or direct deposit to your bank account, unless the sponsor specifies otherwise.

If your scholarship sponsor sends your scholarship check directly to you, you should follow these instructions to make sure it is applied to your University student account:

• If the check is made out to the University, you should bring it to the Financial Aid Office.
• If the check is made co-payable to you and the University, endorse the check and submit it to the Financial Aid Office.
• If the check is made payable to you only, it is your responsibility to report this resource to us and to apply any funds necessary to your University student account.

Please send private scholarship checks (include your Federal Tax ID number on your check or accompanying correspondence) to:

Gallaudet University
Financial Aid Office
Chapel Hall, Room G-02
800 Florida Ave NE
Washington, D.C. 20002