Eligible students deposit a minimum of $25 per month into their IDA (Individual Development Account), which is a bank account supervised by Casa of Oregon. For every dollar the saver deposits, Casa will match it with five dollars. (Not to exceed $1,600 of savings/$8,000 in match funds.)

IDA funds may be spent on tuition, books, fees, supplies and equipment at an accredited post-secondary educational institution.

Everyone’s financial aid award is different and so it is important that you talk to your financial aid officer if you have any questions. Your savings is excluded from your financial aid calculation. The match, depending on your school, may impact your financial aid. If it does impact your financial aid, it is likely to lower the amount of loans that you would receive, but will not reduce your Pell Grant or other entitlement grants.

IDA funds cannot be refunded to you like grants or loans, so see if your school can apply your IDA funds to you student account first in case there is remaining grant money to be refunded to you.

No, eligibility is based on your income when you apply.

When you apply, you will get to choose a special bank or credit union that has MCSP accounts.

You will have a maximum of six months after you have met your savings goal to utilize your full savings and match. If you do not use your funds within the timeline granted, you will lose the match money and your savings will be returned to you.