Applying for Aid

• Create your FSA ID at studentaid.gov. Your FSA ID is your username and password for the StudentAid.gov account. You and anyone contributing to your FAFSA (like a parent or spouse) will need an FSA ID.
• Complete the FAFSA. The FAFSA application will determine your eligibility for Federal Student aid.  WDTC Financial Aid Office uses your FAFSA results to determine what federal financial aid you are eligible for: federal grants, federal work study, federal loans, or a combination of these.
• Western Dakota Technical College's school code: 010170
• You will need your tax information; you will use your prior-prior year tax information. For example, you will use your 2023 tax return when applying for aid for the 2025-2026 academic year.
• Be sure to use your name exactly as it appears on your Social Security Card.
• The FAFSA Simplification Act represents a significant overhaul of the processes and systems used to award federal student aid starting with the 2024–25 award year. This includes the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form, need analysis, and many policies and procedures for schools that participate in federal student aid programs.
  
  If you plan to accept all or a portion of the loans, you may need to complete Loan Entrance Counseling and the Direct Master Promissory Note (MPN). To complete these steps, you would log on to studentaid.gov using your FSA ID and select “Loans and Grants”. Entrance Counseling ensures you understand your rights and responsibilities to repay your federal student loans and the MPN is the contract you sign agreeing to the terms of the loan.

The Financial Aid Office will review all applications that have been selected by the U.S. Department of Education for verification. There are different verification groups. If chosen for verification, the student will be notified, by email, on how to complete the verification process. All verification groups will require a verification worksheet that coincides with the verification group. Students have 14 days from receipt of notification to submit documentation. Students who submit verification documentation after the time requested will be awarded aid on an availability basis.

If there is conflicting information in the file, the conflict must be resolved even if the application is not selected by the U.S. Department of Education for verification. The conflict may be resolved without being chosen for total verification. Western Dakota Technical College reserves the right to institutionally select student files on a case-by-case basis if there is reason to believe that data in the file or on the application is inaccurate.

Once your Financial Aid file has been reviewed and determined complete, you will receive a Financial Aid Offer to your personal email and/or your WDTC student email from the Financial Aid Office. This will outline the types of funding you are eligible to receive for your enrollment at Western Dakota Technical College.  Types of funding you may be eligible to receive includes: federal grants, federal work study, federal student loans, or a combination of these.  Western Dakota Technical College automatically accepts your financial aid funds for you.  If there are any financial aid funds you wish to decline, you will need to complete the decline form at wdt.edu/nextsteps. 

The Financial Aid Office has the authority under the law (section 479A of the Higher Education Act) to make adjustments, on the basis of adequate documentation, and on a case-by-case basis, to address circumstances not reflected in a student's original Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The Financial Aid Office at WDTC may adjust your Financial Aid Offer if you qualify for special or unusual circumstances.

Special Circumstances

Refer to financial situations such as:

• Loss of job by student or spouse if independent or student or parent if dependent
• Change in employment resulting in loss of income
• Costs related to disability or dependent care
• Unusually high medical bills due to an illness
• Any other financial changes not reflected on the FAFSA

Unusual Circumstances

Refer to a student’s request to have dependency reviewed because:

• Student is homeless or at the risk of being homeless
• Incarceration of parent(s)
• Statement of third party that student is victim of abuse, neglect, assault, or violence
• Documented interview with student and/or parent
• Any other unusual circumstances not listed above with proper documentation

Each professional judgment request will be considered on a case-by-case basis and will require specific documentation for each case along with the Professional Judgment form. To request a Professional Judgment review please contact the Financial Aid Office at (605) 718-2988 or finaid@wdt.edu. All documentation must be received before a final decision can be determined.

Once the Professional Judgement review has been completed, the student will be notified by email.

Students taking classes as another institution and planning to transfer them to Western Dakota Technical College may be able to receive financial aid from Western Dakota Technical College. Complete the Consortium Agreement Request Form or contact the Financial Aid Team to start the process.