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Minnesota Office of Higher Education

The Minnesota Office of Higher Education oversees a main state grant program, a smaller grant program, a scholarship program (which is not merit-based) and it's own state loan program.

Minnesota's scholarship program, the Achieve Scholarship Program, had it's funding cut (probably permanently) last year.

The Minnesota Indian Scholarship Program is the only state scholarship left. The qualifications are:

be eligible for a Pell grant
have 1/4 Native American ancestry
be a Minnesota resident
be enrolled in a Minnesota accredited institution

The amount of the award is calculated based on financial need; up to $4,000 per year for an undergrad and up to $6,000 per year for grad students. Students can receive 5 years of undergraduate awards and five years of graduate awards (3 years for a two-year degree).

The Minnesota Postsecondary Child Care Grant is a Minnesota Office of Higher Education program for students who need child care while attending school. Students need to have at least one child, aged 12 or under, be enrolled for at least 6 credits, not have completed 4 years of college, be Minnesota residents and U.S. citizens, and not have defaulted on a student loan.

Based on income and family size, students can receive up to $2,600 per child.

Minnesota State Grant Program

This is a never repay financial aid program (overseen by the Minnesota Office of Higher Education) for low and moderate income families. Requirements include:

Minnesota resident
enrolled at an eligible Minnesota institution (130 are eligible)
high school graduate (or equivalent) or 17 years old
must be taking at least 3 academic credits

These are renewable grants (if you have not completed 8 full time semesters). Awards range from $100 to $9,391, depending on college expenses, enrollment, and your EFC. 46.3% of college expenses is expected to be paid by the student (can be by loans). The other 53.7% will have the student's EFC subtracted, and that would be the amount of the grant that the student is eligible for.

Find more college grants and scholarships for Minnesotans to apply for.

Minnesota Student Educational Loan Fund (SELF) Program

Students must seek federal student loans and other aid before applying for these loans. (The switch from FFELP federal loans to federal Direct student loans did not impact Minnesota students badly, because the state did not offer added benefits for FFELP loans, and lenders were dropping out of the program before it was canceled.)

But Minnesota does offer its own state private student loans . These are long-term, low-interest educational loans financed through the sale of revenue bonds.

Requirements include:

Minnesota residents attending school in or out of state or non-residents attending Minnesota schools

enrolled at least half-time and making satisfactory progress

must seek other sources of federal, state, institutional, and private aid for eligibility

a creditworthy co-signer

Loan features:

Limits are $500-$10,000 per year for undergraduates pursuing a bachelor’s degree and graduate students; or $500-$7,500 per year for students in programs which are less than four years.

The variable interest rate is the LIBOR + 3.5% (now 4.0%); or the fixed interest rate option is 7.25%.

There are various repayment periods based on amount of debt.

Interest payments are required quarterly while in school- regular monthly payments after leaving school.

No fees are required.

This loan is unusual for a private loan because there is no deferment period.

Minnesota participates in a large number of college loan forgiveness programs. Some are strictly state programs, while others are federal student loan forgiveness programs.

These health professions are eligible for college loan forgiveness:

Physician
Primary care nurse practitioner
Primary care physician assistant
Certified nurse-midwife
Dentist
Dental hygienist
Mental or behavioral health professional
Pharmacist
Health care instructors

These professionals may also qualify for college loan forgiveness:

Teachers
Librarians
Early childhood educators
Child welfare workers
Speech language pathologists
National Service participants
School counselors
Public sector employees

Here's some useful pages for you to see:

Federal college loans

Best private loan lender

Financial aid appeal letter

Minnesota helps its students avoid crushing loan debt when they get out of school by offering an alternative loan that does not allow interest to build up by being deferred.

Minnesota Office of Higher Education
Suite 350
1450 Energy Park Drive
St. Paul, MN 55108-5227
Phone: (651) 642-0567
Toll-Free: (800) 657-3866
Fax: (651) 627-3529
TTY: (800) 642-0597