July 13th Champions Orientation- Financial Education
- Student ID pictures are due August 17th
- Resource calendars given out on move in day during Champions reception
Financial Aid/Student Accounts
- Notify Financial Aid about any outside scholarships
- FAFSA is annual(opens in October)
- “Gap” on student bill is the price that families are responsible for after financial aid
- Students/Champions need to accept federal direct loans
- Students/Champions need to complete entrance counseling and master promissory note(MPN) and log into their myWestfield account to accept loans
- Loans need to be paid back- Aid does not need to be paid back
- Private student loans- in the students name(they will need someone to co-borrow)
- Parent plus loan- in parents name only
- Parents with job situations that might still be affected by COVID-19 should contact financial aid about possible additional aid for their student
- Health Insurance needs to be waived or enrolled by September 30th(once a year students will either need to enroll or waive the health insurance fee)
- Universityhealthplans.com
- For students that enroll, the health insurance will be active from 8/1 through 7/31
- Bank mobile disbursements- set up refund preferences
- Only need to set up refund preferences once. The information will continue through each year your student is on campus
- Scholarship letters need to be sent to the school if payable to Westfield State. If scholarships are in the students name, they can either cash the checks themself, or they can endorse them and send them to financial aid if they want to put it toward the student bill
- Student bills are a flat rate for 12-18 credits. If a student has less than 12 credits it could affect their financial aid. Anything over 18 credits will require additional funds
- Fitness center fee will appear on each semester bill, it can be waived on each bill
- Billing cycle:(cycle stays the same every year)
- Fall: bill released in the first week of July. Due the third week of July
- Spring: released before Thanksgiving. Due mid-December
https://www.westfield.ma.edu/cost-aid/student-accounts-bursar/about-your-bill
- Payment plans- split into 4 monthly payments
- $50 enrollment fee every semester for the payment plan
- Payment plans are available every semester. Students can pay using a payment plan one semester, then change their payment method the following semester
- If students received external scholarships and want them to be put toward the students bill, financial aid needs to have the award letter sent to them
- Owl bucks
- www.owlbucks.com
- Excess financial aid can be transferred into Owl Bucks for up to $1,000
- Owl bucks are dollar-for-dollar
- Students do not get discounts using them
- It is an alternative way for students to go to different locations in town and not having to worry about carrying their wallet with them. With Owl Bucks, at select locations in down students can use their ID just like a debit card,
- Scholarships for the spring semester can either be sent to financial aid in the fall or they can wait until December/January to send in
Contact info:
413-579-3080
Studentaccounts@westfield.ma.edu
413-579-3090
Housing
- Hall Staff-Resident Assistant, Resident Directors
- In hall programming/events for residential students that are run by hall staff
- Halls Housing first year students: Davis Hall, Courtney Hall, University Hall and Lammers Hall
- New Student Move in: September 2nd 8:00AM-2:00PM
- Fall athletes will receive move-in information from their coaches
- Student athletes that move in early will move into their room for the 2022/2023 academic year
- Furniture that comes in rooms: Twin XL bed, desk, desk chair, dresser, closet, microfridge unit
- Beds can be lofted high enough to leave 42” of space underneath the bed
- Linen program- can order linens through the school, and they will be there on move-in day. One less thing to worry about packing in the car!
- Laundry is free for all residential students
- Machines use high efficiency detergent only
Contact info:
413-572-5402
FAQ
Lifetime Owls- Alumni Association. One time only fee. Lots of scholarship opportunities for students who are Lifetime Owls. Alumni social/networking events specifically for students that are Lifetime Owls
The $160 student fee is a one time fee
A post will be made all about Dining Dollars and Owl Bucks and the differences between them, so if you are at all confused about those be sure to check that out!
Commuter students do have different meal plan options that are specifically for commuters.
Check out the options with this link:
Here is the link for our Linen program:
Here is the link for Housing, on this page if you click your students residential hall, there are floor plans to see where your students room is located!
https://www.westfield.ma.edu/student-life/living-on-campus
Students must maintain at least a 2.0 GPA in order to still receive their financial aid
If you have any questions about anything that you are still unsure about, please email us at nso@westfield.ma.edu