Financial Assistance Forms

If requested to do so by the Office of Financial Assistance, please print out the appropriate form(s) and mail to:

Buena Vista University
Office of Financial Assistance
610 West 4th Street
Storm Lake, IA 50588
Fax: 712.749.1451

To keep your financial information secure, please do not e-mail anything that would include a social security number or tax information belonging to yourself, a parent, or spouse.

To securely upload your documents online, please click below.

Financial Assistance Upload

Special Assistance for Families Affect by the Coronavirus Pandemic

If your ability to pay for college expenses has been affected by loss of income due to the pandemic or other issues and those issues occurred in 2020, please send your (parent or independent student) 2020 tax return and all schedules and W-2s to the BVU Office of Financial Assistance, if you feel that tax return would provide a better indication of your ability to contribution towards college expenses. Please also provide a written description of your situation. If you or a parent is currently receiving unemployment compensation, please also provide a copy of documentation. Safely upload this information here.

If you haven’t already completed the 2021-22 FAFSA, please do so before submitting additional information. The 2021-22 FAFSA collects 2019 income to determine your financial aid eligibility for the 2021-22 school year. If you submit a 2020 tax return, the represented income should be substantially different than the 2019 income used on the FAFSA. If you have a situation that won’t be reflected on a 2020 tax return, unusual medical expenses as an example, please submit a written explanation, providing documentation to support your situation (see below).

If you family's situation has recently changed (2021), please provide a written explanation and complete the "Special Condition Form for Covid 19" under "Other Forms, 2021-2022" below. If you or a parent will receive unemployment benefits in the 2021 calendar year, please provide documentation. All information should be uploaded at the link above.

We are here to help during this difficult time. We will try to make the process as simple as possible for you.

Office of Financial Assistance Forms

2022-2023

Verification is a way to ensure that the information on the FAFSA is accurate and financial aid is being distributed appropriately and fairly. If you are selected for verification, you may need to submit a copy of your/your parent 2020 Federal Tax Return or Tax Return Transcript(s).

Verification Worksheets (2022-2023)

Review of Ability to Contribute-If you don't find an option below that allows you to report anything unusual that affects your family's ability to contribute towards college costs, please contact our office at 800.383.2821 ext. 2164 or email us at finaid@bvu.edu.

If you have any unusual family situation that you feel was not reflected on the 2022-2023 FAFSA, please read below.

If you have unusual medical or dental expenses that were paid in 2021, please send a signed letter of explanation including the family member affected, the date(s) the condition occurred, and the total amount paid out-of-pocket for the condition. The amount must be substantial, as the federal needs analysis formula provides an allowance for substantial medical expenses. DO NOT INCLUDE AMOUNTS THAT WILL BE PAID BY INSURANCE OR AMOUNTS NOT YET PAID BY YOU OR THROUGH INSURANCE PAYMENTS. You must include documentation that reflects the amount you paid out-of-pocket in 2021; we will not proceed without this documentation.

Please send a letter of explanation if parent/independent student 2020 income was higher than 2021 due to such things as the below list indicates. Note: You must include a copy of parents'/independent student's 2021 tax return, W-2s, and applicable schedules as documentation of any of the following conditions. We will not proceed without this documentation.

Unusual overtime or bonus pay which was not or will not be received in 2021
More than one job in 2020 but not in 2021
New employment at a lower pay rate

If you (independent student) or a parent (dependent student) are separated, divorced, or widowed at the time you are completing the 2022-2023 FAFSA, but that condition was not represented in a 2020 tax return, you should complete the FAFSA using only relevant 2020 income for you (independent student), or the parent you live with (dependent student), unless you (independent student) or that parent (dependent student) have/has remarried. You do not need to provide BVU with information about this situation. Simply complete or correct the FAFSA using the correct 2020 income and use current asset information. If you or a custodial parent are/is currently remarried, you will provide both 2020 incomes and current joint asset information on the FAFSA.
The appropriate Special Condition Form below (dependent or independent) may be used to reflect changes in marital status, loss of 2022 untaxed or taxable income, or the death of a parent/spouse.

Other Forms, 2022-2023

2021-2022

Verification Worksheets (2021-2022)

If you have any unusual family situation that you feel was not reflected on the 2021-2022 FAFSA, please read below.

If you have unusual medical or dental expenses that were paid in 2020, please send a signed letter of explanation including the family member affected, the date the condition occurred and the total amount paid out-of-pocket for the condition. The amount must be substantial, as the federal needs analysis formula does provide an allowance for medical expenses. DO NOT INCLUDE AMOUNTS THAT WILL BE PAID BY INSURANCE OR AMOUNTS NOT YET PAID BY YOU OR THROUGH INSURANCE PAYMENTS. You must include documentation that reflects the amount you paid out-of-pocket in 2020; we will not proceed without this documentation.

Please send a letter of explanation if a parent’s/independent student's 2019 income was higher than 2020 due to such things as:

Unusual overtime or bonus pay which will/was not received in 2020,
More than one job in 2019 but not in 2020,
New employment at a lower pay rate
You must include a copy of parents’/independent student's 2020 tax return and W-2s as documentation. We will not proceed without this documentation.

If you (independent student) or a parent (dependent student) is separated, divorced or widowed at the time you are completing the 2021-2022 FAFSA, but that condition was not represented in a 2019 tax return, you should complete the FAFSA using only relevant 2019 income for you, as an independent student, or the parent you live with, as a dependent student, unless that parent or the student has remarried. You do not need to provide BVU with information about this situation. Simply complete or correct the FAFSA using the correct 2019 income and use current asset information. If you or a custodial parent is currently remarried, you will provide both 2019 incomes and current joint asset information on the FAFSA.
The appropriate Special Condition Form below (dependent or independent) may be used to reflect changes in marital status, loss of 2021 untaxed or taxable income, or the death of a parent/spouse.

Other Forms, 2021-2022

Military Benefits

If you wish to use Military Benefits to attend Buena Vista University, please complete our online form. This form will notify our School Certifying Official that you wish to receive benefits as a first-time recipient, or if you have a change in remaining benefits or a change in source of benefits. This form is available to accepted students only, and login into BeaverNet is required.

Military Benefits Form