Applying for Financial Aid

Financial aid is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, so it is important that students apply to CIU and complete the Office of Student Financial Services requirements by February 28 to receive priority.

1.  CIU Admissions Application

Complete the application online. 

• Prospective students may apply for financial aid before they have been accepted at CIU. However, no financial aid will be awarded until the student has been accepted. Current students skip this step and proceed to step 2.

2. FAFSA – The Free Application for Federal Student Aid

Before completing your FAFSA  you need to register for a PIN at www.pin.ed.gov if you do not have one.

Complete the FAFSA online at www.fafsa.ed.gov (CIU's school code is 003429)

• You must complete the FAFSA in order to be considered for federal, state, or institutional financial assistance programs. For more tips on completing the FAFSA click here.
• You must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident alien in order to complete the FAFSA.  International students do not complete the FAFSA.
• After completing the FAFSA, you will receive an email from the CIU Office of Student Financial Services with a link to Financial Aid Online . New students need to click on the 'first time user' hyperlink to create a PIN.
• Submit the forms and documents necessary to complete your FAFSA. The list of materials to submit is under the "Documents" tab and the forms to submit are under the "Forms" tab.    
• Optional 2012-2013 FAFSA on the Web Worksheet: http://ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/attachments/123011AttachEnglishfafsaws13c.pdf

3.  CIU Scholarship Application

• The Scholarship Application is located on  Financial Aid Online.
• Please note: you will only be able to access the System once you have completed the CIU admissions process.

Here are some additional financial aid tips.