Financial Aid Office

To be eligible for a textbook deferment, students must have more financial aid on their account than their semester charges. Below are various examples of a student's account:

• Maximum Eligibility:  The maximum a student may request for a textbook deferment is $750, even if they have a credit balance larger than $750.  The only exception is if a student prices their books and brings a copy of the estimate to the Financial Aid Office for review. In this instance, students should apply in-person.
• Partial Eligibility:  A student that has a credit balance of at least $1 may request that amount in a book deferment.  However, if a student believes they should be eligible for more, they should first check the status or their aid to ensure they have maximized their eligibility. Below are tips on how to ensure you have maximized your eligibility.
• Not Eligible: A student that does not have more aid than their charges, in other words, they owe Buffalo State money for the semester, are not eligible for a textbook deferment. 

Students must accept their loans in Banner in order for them to be used as a deferment on their student bill.  Log in to Banner to verify that you have accepted the loans.  

• How to accept aid video
• How to accept aid guide (pdf)
• Additional Banner Help

Students that accepted federal student loans but failed to complete the entrance counseling and or master promissory note will have reduced eligibility.  Students must complete all the loan requirements before the loans can be used as a deferment on the student’s bill.  Therefore, check your Banner Student Requirements to see if there are outstanding loan requirements that still need to be completed.

• How to Check Eligibility Requirements (pdf)

Students that were selected for verification or have other requirements, will not be eligible to apply for a book deferment because their aid eligibility cannot be finalized. To determine if you have outstanding paperwork that needs to be completed, refer to your student requirements in Banner.

• How to Check Eligibility Requirements (pdf)
• Verification Website
• Other Issues

To be eligible for federal and state financial aid, students must be making satisfactory academic progress.  If you see no financial aid posted to your account for the given semester, it could signal a problem with your SAP status.  Typically, students are notified at the Buffalo State emails address and permanent address of their federal SAP standing at the end of each semester.  If you are not eligible for federal and/or state financial aid, you can appeal to have your aid reinstated if exceptional circumstances existed.  To appeal, visit Academic Standards.  Alternatively, students may be eligible to borrow a private student loan.

• How to View Satisfactory Academic Progress Status (pdf)
• Federal and State Satisfactory Academic Rules
• Academic Standards - Appeal to Have Aid Reinstated
• Apply for a Private loan

A student that has not filed the appropriate FAFSA and/or TAP applications will not have any federal or state aid offered to them.  Thus, they are very unlikely to have a credit balance on their account.  To verify your filing status, go to the FAFSA and TAP websites.  Makes sure you have filed the appropriate year and Buffalo State is listed on the applications.

A student that has aid offered to them but is registered for an insufficient number of credits may not be eligible for a textbook deferments.  Below details the number of credits needed to be eligible for various types of aid programs.

If you have not accepted enough of your loans, you must email the Financial Aid Office at finaid@buffalostate.edu and we can set your loans back to offered so you may accept the correct amount.

• Tip: Loans are typically offered for the fall and spring semesters.  Any amount you accept will be split evenly between the two semesters.  If you only want a loan for one semester, you need to email us so we can revise how your loan is offered.

Private loans can take several weeks for the approval process and Buffalo State is not typically notified until the loan is approved.  Make sure your loan application has the correct school listed on it by calling your lender. Frequently, students mistakenly have SUNY Buffalo (UB) on the application instead of Buffalo State.  Have your lender verify the address to ensure the correct school is listed.  The address should be 1300 Elmwood Avenue. 

• More information on private loans