Resident Assistants
If you have a position as a Resident Assistant, Transition and Cultural Aide, or Assistant Hall Director, you are granted the benefit of free room and board as a part of your employment. Your financial aid won’t include aid to cover room and board, since you’re not charged for these costs. You will see this benefit entered into your financial aid package as a resource instead.
If you received an award package as a regular student (one paying for housing and food from your own resources), your aid offer will be covering costs you do not have to pay. The Office of Financial Aid will revise your aid offer and enter your free room and board benefit in your aid package once we have been notified of your appointment to the position.
See the table below for a comparison of a full-need undergraduate aid offer for a dependent, in-state, undergraduate student with and without an assistantship position.
| Offer without Assistantship | Offer with Assistantship | |
|---|---|---|
| Pell Grant | $5,645 | $5,645 |
| Supplemental Grant | $400 | $400 |
| Student Aid Grant | $7,100 | $7,100 |
| Available Work-Study | $3,000 | $0 |
| Assistantship Resource | $0 | $8,526 |
| Perkins Loan | $700 | $700 |
| Stafford/PLUS Loans | $8,669 | $3,211 |
MSU is required to follow federal rules in the awarding of aid and MUST reduce certain types of aid if you were originally assigned a regular budget and now have an assistantship position. Financial aid may only cover your actual costs. While it may seem that something is being taken away from you when we your adjust your aid package, it is actually being replaced by the benefit of free room and board.
If you are appointed midway through a semester, your resident assistant resource will be prorated to reflect the actual value of your appointment.
We hope this information helps you understand your MSU charges and financial aid awards/revisions. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
