Student Life

The Road to Returning to McPherson College
- Fall 2013

This guide is intended to make the process as clear as possible for students and their families. Please let us know if you have any questions. This guide maps out the process and addresses a few questions that may come up along the way.

You can complete your financial aid, housing and enrollment in whichever order is convenient. However, there are specific dates that you will need to be aware of as you plan for returning in the fall. Please refer to the dates below.

Student Services | Financial Aid | FERPA | Register | Billing Services | Dates

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Student Services

• Housing
  Beginning in February students may go to BULLDOG CONNECT to reserve their housing for fall. The following dates have been setup for students to reserve their housing. Students who have outstanding student services fines will not be able to reserve housing until financial obligations have been cleared.
  
  Current Juniors - February 25, Current Sophomores - March 1, Current Freshmen - March 5
  
  ACCESS CLOSES on March 8th at which point reservations for new students will be considered.
  
  
• Student Information
  Every student is required to verify health information and provide proof of insurance on BULLDOG CONNECT. Students who plan to take the school’s insurance should complete the waiver portion of the insurance on BULLDOG CONNECT. This information is required each year - even if it is the same as the prior year. Those who do not provide proof of insurance information by August 1 will automatically be billed for the student insurance.

Financial Aid

• Priority deadline March 1st!
  All students must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) prior to March 1st in order to be considered for limited, federally funded aid. Kansas students must complete the FAFSA by April 1st in order to be considered for the Kansas Comprehensive Grant.
  
  When completing the FAFSA we recommend you select the IRS retrieval tool to upload your tax information - this will improve accuracy and timeliness of completing the FAFSA.
  
  To complete the FAFSA go to www.fafsa.ed.gov the McPherson FAFSA Code is 001933.
  
  
• Selected for Verification
  The federal verification selection process is implemented by the Department of Education. If you are selected for verification we will notify you of the documentation needed.
  
  
• Accepting your Financial Aid Awards
  Award notices are called FANs – Financial Aid Award Notification – When you are notified of a new FAN you need to “accept” your award in order for it to be a applied to your account. Go to BULLDOG CONNECT to view and “accept” your award.
  
  
• Financial Aid Workshops
  This year we will be providing three Financial Aid workshops for returning students. This is an opportunity for you to get assistance completing the FAFSA and ask any questions about financial aid. Staff members will be available to help you. February 21st, February 22nd, and April 30th

FERPA

It is required that each student read and sign the Family Education Right to Privacy Act (FERPA) each year. This can be downloaded from BULLDOG CONNECT.

Register for Classes

With growing enrollment, classes fill up quickly so be aware of your scheduled enrollment dates. Enrollment is open to returning students beginning March 19.

Billing Services

Students will all receive a bill prior to leaving campus. It is important to have your housing, financial aid, and enrollment taken care of prior to the bill being sent. All of these factors will impact the amount of the bill.

New this year payment can be made ONLINE through BULLDOG CONNECT.

Payment or payment arrangements are due August 1st. A $100 fee will be added to the student account if this deadline is not met.

Download the Payment Selection form on BULLDOG CONNECT.

Payment Arrangements
McPherson College offers students and families several options to assist in caring for any amount due.

• Credit Card online at BULLDOG CONNECT or call 800-365-7402
• Check/Cash
• 10 Month Interest Free Payment Plan (Automatic Deduction)
• Parent Loan for Undergrad Students (PLUS)
• Private Education Loans
  

Important Dates

February 18 Housing applications for Baer/Harter/Off campus February 21 Financial Aid Workshop, 9:00am - Noon, MO 229 February 22 Financial Aid Workshop, 1:00pm - 3:00pm, MO 229 February 25 Housing open for current Juniors (online) March 1 Housing open for current Sophomores (online) March 5 Housing open for current Freshmen (online) March 19-22 Enrollment for current Juniors April 1 FAFSA Deadline for Kansas Comprehensive Grant April 2-5 Enrollment for current Sophomores April 8-10 Enrollment for current Freshmen April 12 Enrollment will be open for all new students April 30 Financial Aid Workshop
9:00am - 11:00pm and 3:30pm - 5:00pm, MO 229 May 1 Housing assignments for fall 2013 will be released May 15 First bill mailed for FA 2013 June 15 Second bill mailed for FA 2013 July 15 Third bill mailed for FA 2013 July 15 Online Bookstore opens with FA 2013 books August 1 Payment or payment arrangement deadline
($100 fee is assessed after August 1) August 9 Fall Athlete check-in August 21 Returning students check-in August 22 First day of FA 2013 classes