Checklist - Finalize Your Aid Offer
For Students: Be sure to seek and apply for other scholarships and grants. Work with your high school guidance counselor, college advisor or connect with a local college access program. A good starting point to search for external, private scholarship can be found here: https://www.cia.edu/financial-aid/types-of-aid/
For Parents: Assess your Finances. If you do not have the financial means to contribute by the institute's deadlines, then make sure you know your credit standing early on as you consider the use of a PLUS loan or private / alternative loans.
Review and Accept Your Financial Aid Offer
Net Partner Portal
Access your Net Partner Portal (https://netpartner.cia.edu). Net Partner is your online portal of your financial aid information.
- Click First Time User.
- “Activate Your Account” by entering your CIA User ID as your username and submit.
- Follow the prompts to update your login information.
- From the Home page, click on the Menu in the upper left corner.
- Select the Accept/Decline Aid Offered from the dropdown.
- Update the Pending Status for the Federal Student Loans and Federal Work Study to Accept or Decline offering.
- Click Submit to save and update.
The “Click to View Message” link provides more details on the requirements to receive this aid. If a student has additional questions regarding Federal Work-Study eligibility, please contact the Financial Aid Office.
Accept or Decline self-help aid (Federal Student Loans and Work-Study, if offered).
Submit your $300 Enrollment deposit and $200 Housing deposit (if you plan to reside on campus) at cia.edu/deposit.
Review early billing statement on MyCIA at https://my.cia.edu/
Begin stART pre-orientation (online). Full details here: https://www.cia.edu/deposited-student-checklist/
Make arraignments to finance your remaining balance.
Sign-up for a Payment Plan on MyCIA at https://my.cia.edu/
Student Accounts offers a monthly payment plan. Sign into your MyCIA to access the application: https://my.cia.edu/ICS/Student/My_student_account_info/
The payment plan option divides your semester balance into more manageable payments. There is a $50 fee to join and there is no interest accruing on your account balance. Your first payment is due when you enroll.
FINANCING YOUR REMAINING BALANCE:
Submit Parent PLUS Loan application at https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/loans/plus/parent
This is for parents of undergraduate, dependent students. The PLUS is a credit-based loan and the application is at studentaid.gov.
The present interest rate is fixed 8.94% and there is a fee of 4.2%.
For new parent borrowers, the annual loan limit is $20,000/year with an aggregate limit of $65,000. We recommend not borrowing more than $16,250/year if you plan to borrow on this program for 4 years.
Apply for the Parent PLUS Loan online: https://studentaid.gov/plus-app/parent/landing
Explore Work-Study positions at https://www.cia.edu/career-center/
Financing Your Remaining Balance
We are glad to discuss options for financing what you might still owe after receiving your financial aid offer. All options are detailed here: https://www.cia.edu/financial-aid/payment-options/
Option 1: Direct cash payment
With an out-of-pocket payment, your remaining balance is due by July 15 for the Fall semester and December 15 for the Spring semester. CIA accepts cash, checks, wire transfers, credit card payments, debit card payments, ACH payments made directly from a bank account, and payments made using a 529 college savings account.
Make a direct payment online: https://my.cia.edu/ICS/Student/My_student_account_info
Option 2: Tuition Payment Plan
The payment deadlines for your Student Account are:
Fall semester - July 15th
Spring Semester – December 15th
Student Accounts offers a monthly payment plan. Sign into your MyCIA to access the application. https://my.cia.edu/ICS/Student/My_student_account_info/
The payment plan option divides your semester balance into more manageable payments. There is a $50 fee to join and there is no interest accruing on your account balance. Your first payment is due when you enroll.
Option 3: Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS)
This is for parents of undergraduate, dependent students. The PLUS is a credit-based loan and the application is at studentaid.gov.
The present interest rate is fixed 8.94% and there is a fee of 4.2%.
For new parent borrowers, the annual loan limit is $20,000/year with an aggregate limit of $65,000. We recommend not borrowing more than $16,250/year if you plan to borrow on this program for 4 years.
Apply for the Parent PLUS Loan online: https://studentaid.gov/plus-app/parent/landing
Option 4: Private Education Loan
Private (alternative) education loans are offered by banks, credit unions, and private lenders to the student. Some lenders have parent or sponsor loans as well. Since these are credit based, a credit-worthy co-borrower will likely be required on student applications. The interest rate is based upon the credit worthiness of the applicant(s) and most, if not all, loans have no fees.
The typical repayment begins six months after graduation or upon leaving school. These loans are not subsidized and the interest accrues from the point of disbursement. The maximum amount that can be borrowed in an academic year is the total cost of attendance minus all other aid offered.
More info is available on the FastChoice website: https://choice.fastproducts.org/FastChoice/home/398200/1
You are done. Great job!