Much of the daily activity in Student Financial Services is focused on 1.) removing obstacles that prevent FAFSA or WASFA applications from being successfully completed or 2.) Getting students to complete the missing steps needed for all accepted aid to pay on their student account.  Whenever we initiate an email to you then,  it is almost always to get your aid paid onto your student account.    To save time and effort and possible frustration, we also attempt to include everything you need to do in our first email, rather than sending multiple emails, requesting something new each time.  You can assist us in this process by reading through the entire email and responding as quickly and completely as you can.  If you have a question before we’ve reached out to you, we recommend the following:

FAQ’s

Almost every situation or circumstance you might have experienced has likely been encountered previously and asked about before. You may find the answer to your questions 24/7 by clicking on and searching through our FAQ’s, which are grouped together by topic

Video Library

Visit our “How To’s” video library to see if your question has been asked often enough that a response needed to be provided in a video format.

If you don’t find your question or have additional questions after reading the answers provided in the FAQ’s or viewing our video, feel free to contact us using the options listed below. While all staff are financial aid generalist able to assist you on most topics, who you call may be influenced by each staff’s program responsibilities, which can be found by clicking on their picture to “View Full Biography”.

Email:

sfs@plu.edu. The sfs in-box is checked every morning, Monday through Friday and we try to respond within 24 to 48 hours. When contacting us via email, please use your PLU email address, since emails from your PLU email address are considered to be coming from you. If your preferred email address is an alternate email, it will require us to check your preferred email in Banner, which will delay our response. Important: Email is not a secure platform for communicating sensitive or personal information. Do not include or attach information which include social security numbers or personally identifiable information (PII) that you would consider sensitive and not of a “directory” nature.

Phone:

You may reach us Monday through Friday, 8:00AM till 5:00PM at 253-535-7161 or toll free at 1-800-678-3243. We try to respond to any voice mail messages within 24 to 48 hours, dependent upon volume. You may reach a specific staff person by dialing their office number, which you can find on our staff page.  Important: We cannot talk to you about your protected financial information unless you can provide us with your PLU ID# and or other student specific information not of a “directory” nature that we can verify in Banner.

Fax:

You may send us documents or forms via fax at 253-535-8406. Fax is considered to be a secure platform. Be sure that information sent includes the student’s PLU ID#.

U.S. Postal Service:  Office of Student Financial Services, Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, WA 98447.

In Person:

By Appointment: Office hours for appointments are 8:15 AM to 4:30 PM, Tuesday through Thursday, Scheduling an appointment at this time still requires a phone call or email request. Please be ready to show your PLU ID when you arrive.

Walk in:   Drop in at your convenience from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday. Wait times will depend on the volume of appointments and walk-in traffic. Please be ready to show your PLU ID when you arrive.

Virtually:

We are currently offering Live Chat and drop-in Zoo hours during the following days and times. These hours are subject to change, so please check back for updates:       Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 9-noon, 1-3:30      Wednesday: 10-noon, 1-3:30

Got a quick question?  Click here for Live Chat.  For security purposes, please access Live Chat through your PLU email account.

Have a more complex question or concern? Click here to enter Zoom Hours.  For privacy reasons, we can only meet with one student or family at a time in Zoom. Others will be placed in a waiting room until it is their turn