Tuition & Financial Aid

A Financial Aid (FA) Advance allows eligible students to use a portion of their pending financial aid to purchase required books and course materials before funds are officially disbursed.

The amount is based on the number of eligible credits you are enrolled in and is not extra money. It comes from your existing financial aid and is made available early to help you prepare for the start of the semester. This is not gift aid, it is your financial aid being used in advance for required expenses.

Financial Aid Advance is available only to Group 2 and Group 3 students and requires that you have scheduled financial aid available to cover the amount.

Students who meet all the following requirements two weeks before the official start of the semester may qualify for FA Advance:

• You must have no pending items on your ‘To Do List’ in MyCSN,
• Your aid total (including loans) must exceed your total bill plus the FA Advance amount
• Be registered for fall classes; waitlisted courses do not count.

To check, log in to your MyCSN, view the "View Financial Aid" section. Click on the link for the year 2027 and scroll to the appropriate semester. Review the accepted column.

Students who are eligible will be notified by Tuesday, one week before the semester begins, through the FA Advance award.
The FA Advance award will show as pending aid by Tuesday, one week before the start of the semester.
To view this information, log in to your MyCSN account. Go to “View Financial Aid,” select the 2026–2027 academic year, and scroll to the correct semester

Once your FA Advance amount has been established based on your enrollment level, no additional adjustments will be made, even if you add a class at a later date.

• Students in 12+ credit hours get $600
• Students in 9-11 credit hours get $450
• Students in 6-8 credit hours get $300
• Students in 1-5 credit hours get $150
   

If you do not receive a Financial Aid Advance or miss the deadline, you will need to purchase your textbooks and other required educational materials using cash or a credit card.

Financial aid will not be disbursed until at least three weeks into the term. To avoid delays, we strongly encourage you to finalize your eligible enrollment at least two weeks before the semester begins. Please note that there are no exceptions to the semester’s FA Advance deadline.

Students should be actively engaged and participating in courses from the very first day of class, including web and hybrid courses. This includes class discussions, projects, reports, quizzes, tests, homework, etc.  

If a student does not actively participate, their enrollment will be cancelled. Their financial aid eligibility will be reduced or cancelled. The student will be responsible for paying for any class they did not actively participate in.

Students are encouraged to communicate with their faculty instructors regarding any attendance or participation concerns. 

There are no exceptions to the rules regarding delayed disbursement.

Login to your MyCSN. Under “Finances” you will find the option to “enroll into direct deposit”

We strongly advise you to open a bank account and sign up for direct deposit through MyCSN, under “Finances." For any questions or concerns, contact the Office of the Cashier at Cashiers.Office@csn.edu.

Yes. If you have pending aid that exceeds your tuition balance, your financial aid will be disbursed a few weeks into the semester. Your classes will be protected from cancellation due to non-payment, and there will be no late payment penalties. However, if you have applied for a Payment Plan, continued payments are required to avoid late fees. 

Yes, a hold labeled "FA Protect From Enrollment Cancellation" is considered a positive hold, protecting your classes while aid is pending. It is temporary, added before cancellation, and removed afterward. For Fall 2026, classes will be dropped starting August 3rd, 2026, if you do not have an approved payment plan or pending aid, you are at risk of having your classes dropped. If using loans to help pay your tuition, you must accept the loan.