Students who attend the BSN-Express program offered by the College of Nursing are eligible for federal financial assistance in the form of Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loans at the undergraduate level.  The BSN-Express program is a second-undergraduate degree; therefore federal, state, and/or institutional grant funding is not available to students in this program. 

To apply for financial aid, new first-time students in the BSN-Express program need to submit the following items to the Office of Financial Assistance by March, 1 2012:

·  2012-2013 FAFSA*

    - We highly recommend using the IRA Tax Data Retrieval Tool when filing the FAFSA for both the student and parent(s), if dependent. **

·  2012-2013 VU BSN Express Financial Aid Application

*Please note when completing the FAFSA:  As the BSN-Express program is a second-undergraduate degree program, students need to complete the FAFSA as attending their third year of undergraduate study.  Students should not complete the FAFSA as attending a graduate program.

** Students selected for verification by the U.S. Department of Education may be required to submit IRS Tax Transcripts, W-2's and 1099/1099R's to the Office of Financial Assistance if you or your parents opt to not use the IRS Tax Data Retrieval on the FAFSA.  You will be notified if additional items are required.  Dependent students will also need to submit these items for their parents as well.

New BSN-Express students who submit all materials by the March,1 2012 deadline will receive their award notification by April 15, 2012.

Returning BSN-Express students who are applying for federal financial assistance for Summer 2012 need to submit all of the above materials by April 30, 2012.  Award packaging for Returning BSN-Express students will commence after Satisfactory Academic Progress is reviewed at the end of the spring semester.

Borrowing Federal Direct Loans

The number of transfer credits a student is admitted with into the program determines the student’s grade level, which in turn determines the borrowing amount of Direct Subsidized and/or Direct Unsubsidized loan a student may utilize.  Direct Loan amounts for undergraduate students can be found here. Students who wish to borrow Federal Direct Subsidized and/or Direct Unsubsidized Loans need to complete an entrance interview and sign a Master Promissory Note online at www.studentloans.gov. More information about the Federal Direct Loan program can be found on our website here.

The BSN-Express program stretches over 14-months with students attending the following terms: Summer 2012; Fall 2012; Spring 2013; Summer 2013.  By using a borrower-based academic year, BSN-Express students are able to fully maximize their eligibility for Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized loan funds through the length of their program.  An example of a Borrower-Based Direct Loan for an independent, junior-level student is as follows:

In the final summer semester, students need to either use their remaining Direct Loan funds from the spring semester, or borrow a private alternative loan to finance their costs.

Planning Ahead

The rigorous accelerated curriculum and clinical coursework of the BSN-Express program prevents students from being able to hold outside employment during the academic year.  We strongly recommend that students develop a financial plan before beginning the program to avoid shortfalls in financing, and would be happy to set up an individual meeting to discuss how to finance the program or how to create a budget for the academic year, etc.  Preparing in advance of beginning the BSN-Express program can also help students to establish a savings plan of funds to set aside for the 14-month program, and avoid unnecessary over-borrowing of student loans.

Alternate Financing

Even with planning ahead, BSN-Express students often need to utilize another form of funding beyond the Direct Loans to meet both their direct and indirect costs during the year. A private educational loan from a bank or lending institution can be a useful resource in meeting the “gap” of expenses that other sources of aid do not cover.  Applications for these loans are available directly through the lending institution.  Once approved for an alternative loan, the Office of Financial Assistance will review the loan for school certification, which includes confirming enrollment in the BSN-Express program, verifying the eligibility of the type of loan requested, and confirming that the borrowing amount requested fits into the academic year's cost of attendance.  Please view additional information available on our Private Educational Loans webpage.

To check on the status of your application or to confirm that items were received, please visit the myNOVA site where you can access your financial assistance records online.