Financial Aid provides a broad spectrum of federal, state, institutional, and private programs to students who find it difficult or impossible to attend WWU without financial assistance. Forms of aid include loans, work/study, scholarships, and grants. Assistance to students in locating part-time school year employment (on or off campus) and full-time summer employment.

Financial Aid Services offered at Western Washington University

Provides a broad spectrum of federal, state, institutional, and private programs to students.

Need-based programs funded by the federal government or individual educational institutions which allow students to work a specified number of hours per week while attending school and full-time during vacations in order to finance their education.  Work-study awards range from $600 to $4500 and students are not permitted to earn more than the award amount.

Work Study Programs

Offices in educational institutions that provide information about scholarships, grants, loans and work opportunities that may be available; and help students assess their eligibility for financial assistance, complete their applications and secure the resources they need to pursue their education.

Student Financial Aid Offices

Provides federal grants, loans, and work-study funds for college or career school. Also helps residents apply for public service loan forgiveness as well as enroll in an Income-Driven Repayment Plan.

Federal Student Aid offered by U.S. Department of Education

Programs that enable students who can demonstrate financial need to obtain cash awards (which do not need to be repaid) to help support the cost of their education. Included are Pell Grants and Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants which are funded by the state, and Grants-in-Aid (GIAs) which are usually made available by the educational institution.

Educational Grants

Programs that provide loan funds to meet the financial needs of students for whom grants and other forms of aid are inadequate or unavailable. Student loans are available at attractive interest rates (usually three to nine percent) and repayment is not required until after the student has completed school. Most student loans are federal Stafford Loans which have two variations: federally guaranteed Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) that can be obtained from banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions or other financial institutions; and loans from the Federal Direct Student Loan Program (FDSLP) which are provided to students and their parents directly by the federal government. Stafford Loans may be subsidized (the government pays the interest while the student is in school) or unsubsidized (the student must pay the interest either while in school or following graduation, if deferred). Other options include PLUS loans (federal loans to parents of dependent undergraduate students), state government loans, loans from the educational institution or private donors, and loans that are designated for students who are pursuing specific courses of study (e.g., nursing, medicine, law).

Student Loans

Programs that offer alternative arrangements for repayment of student loans under specified circumstances when borrowers are having trouble making their regular payments. Included are deferment programs which allow the individual to postpone repayment of the loan for an agreed period of time, generally with no interest accrual; forbearance arrangements which involve temporary postponement of payment on the principle but continued payment of the interest or capitalization of the interest (folding it into the principle); loan repayment programs under which the individual's employer (often the military or federal employer) or another organization makes loan payments on behalf of the individual up to a specified limit; and loan forgiveness programs which involve cancellation of all or a portion of the loan amount in exchange for military service, volunteer work, teaching in schools that serve low-income families, work in a public interest law firm or meeting other criteria specified by the forgiveness program. Individuals in the U.S.who are employed by a U.S. federal, state, local, or tribal government or nonprofit organization might be eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF), a federal effort that forgives student loan debt for nonprofit employees after 120 qualifying payments. For a limited period of time, people eligible for the PSLF program may receive credit for past periods of repayment on loans that would otherwise not qualify for PSLF. Borrowers can also make other arrangements with the lender including more affordable payment plans and loan consolidation.

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Financial Aid Services offered at Western Washington University

Federal Student Aid offered by U.S. Department of Education