Confused about your financial aid? These are questions that are commonly asked by students and/or parents. 

If you have any questions that are not answered here, please contact the Office of Student Financial Assistance at 786-1480 or just stop by the University Center.

General Financial Aid Questions:

• What kinds of financial aid are available?
• Do I qualify for financial aid?
• Do I need to report my parents information on the FAFSA?
• How do I apply for financial aid?
• When should I fill out my FAFSA?
  
• Do you have any tips that can help me avoid making mistakes on my FAFSA?
  
• What if my income has been reduced due to life circumstances or I've lost my job?
• What does verification mean?
• How do I transfer financial aid from here to there?

Financial Aid Award Questions

• I submitted a FAFSA, why haven't I been awarded yet?
• What is the difference between grants, scholarships and loans?
• Where can I get information on scholarships?
• What is the difference between a federal subsidized loan and an federal unsubsidized loan?
• I'm a continuing UAA student and have received federal student loans in the past, why am I now being asked to complete a new MPN?
• What is an Entrance Loan Counseling Session?
• How will UAA's switch from the FFEL program to Direct Lending affect me as a federal student loan borrower?
• What will happen to the existing federal loans I have with my bank now that I have new federal loans with Direct Lending?
• What does it mean when the financial aid has decreased my loan(s) due to grade level?

Financial Aid Policy Questions

• I have my letter and I have accepted my award now what? 
• If I drop a class, how will this affect my financial aid?
• What does it mean that I must complete my program in a 150% timeframe?
• What is the difference between financial aid probation and academic probation?
• How do I request aid for Summer?

Refund and Disbursement Questions

• My financial aid is more than my tuition bill, what happens to the extra money?
• How do I know if my refund has been direct deposited?
• Where's my refund?  I was told my financial aid would disburse today but haven't received the check/direct deposit.
• I need my books before the first day of class.  How can I purchase them?

The Office of Student Financial Aid participates in Federal TITLE IV programs. These are the Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Federal College Work Study, Federal Stafford Loan, and Federal Parent Loan Programs. In addition we participate in the State of Alaska Supplemental Education Loan (ASEL, formerly Alaska State Student Loan) program. UAA also has a large number of scholarships and tuition waivers each having unique eligibility requirements.

The basic requirements are to:

1. Be a US citizen or permanent resident of the United States
2. Have a high school diploma from an accredited high school or GED
3. Be admitted as a degree or certificate seeking student at UAA. (There is an application fee, generally $40) 
4. Males over the age of 18 must register with the selective service.
5. Not be in default of a federal student loan or owe a repayment on a federal grant.

Students who meet these basic requirements should qualify for some type of financial aid regardless of income. The type cannot be determined until you complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

This question is the cause for a great deal of confusion. To best answer this question you need to understand that this applies only in determining how to apply for student financial aid and has no bearing on IRS definitions or whether you physically live with your parent(s). The US Department of Education is using a definition as defined by the Congress of the United States to allocate finite funds to a large population of applicants.

The process of applying for financial aid begins with completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This can be done online at www.fafsa.ed.gov.  You must be admitted to a degree or certificate program at the University in order to qualify for federal and state programs. Once you submit your FAFSA, the Department of Education will process your file and send you a Student Aid Report (SAR). All the schools you have listed on the application will receive the information electronically. Once we receive this we can determine if additional documentation is required. Additional documentation could be proof of citizenship, a copy of a social security card, signed copies of tax returns, or many other items. We will generate a financial aid award letter based upon your eligibility determined by the information submitted on the FAFSA.

The best way to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is early and online. The FAFSA is primarily designed to assess eligibility for federal student aid but the state of Alaska uses your FAFSA to determine eligibility for the AlaskaAdvantage Education Grant if you submit your FAFSA before April 15^th  and for the Alaska Performance Scholarship (APS) if you submit before June 30th.  The University of Alaska  also uses the FAFSA to determine eligibility for some institutional scholarships, if you complete it and the UA scholarship application by the February 15^th deadline. As you can see, submitting your FAFSA early could earn you limited nonfederal aid funds that may not be available if you delay.

Completing your taxes early will help you get a jump on the FAFSA because you'll need that information to complete the FAFSA. You can estimate the amounts using data from previous tax years, but you'll need to correct the amounts on the form later by going to the corrections page on the FAFSA Web site. When possible, we recommend using the IRS retrieval when completeing your FAFSA as it can help prevent processing delays.

•  Leaving blank fields–enter a '0' or 'not applicable' instead of leaving a blank. Too many blanks may cause miscalculations and an application rejection.

• Using commas or decimal points in numeric fields–always round to the nearest dollar.

• Listing incorrect Social Security Number or Driver's license number–check these entries and have someone else check them too. Triple check to be sure. If your parent is completing the FAFSA for you, make sure they do not enter their SSN when the application is asking for the student’s SSN.

• Entering the wrong federal income tax paid amount–obtain your federal income paid amount from your income tax return forms, not your W-2 form(s).

• Listing Adjusted Gross Income as equal to total income–these are not the same figure. In most cases, the AGI is larger than the total income. This mistake is particularly common.

• Listing marital status incorrectly–only write yes if you're currently married. They want to know what you're marital status is on the day you sign the FAFSA, or Renewal FAFSA.

• Listing parent marital status incorrectly–the custodial parent's marital status is needed; if they've remarried, you'll need the stepparent's information too.

• Forgetting to list the college- UAA’s federal school code is 011462.

• Forgetting to sign and date–if you're filling out the paper FAFSA, be sure to sign it. If you're filing electronically, be sure to obtain your PIN from www.pin.ed.gov. Your PIN is your electronic signature and will always be assigned to you only.  If you are dependent your parent must also have a PIN to sign your FAFSA electronically.

• Entering the wrong address–your permanent address is not your campus or summer address.

• Sending in a copy of your income tax returns–you will be contacted if your information needs verification; you don't need to send a copy of your tax returns in with your application.

Verification is a process that the Department of Education uses to ensure that applications are accurate. Approximately 30% of all applications are selected for verification. When you are selected, we must collect a signed, completed verification worksheet, copies of your tax returns, information related to untaxed benefits such as social security or military housing, documentation of family size, or any other documents that may be needed for your specific situation. We compare this information with the data you reported on the FAFSA. If there are discrepancies, we must then correct the data and transmit it to the Department of Education. It generally takes 3 or 4 working days to get the corrected data back.

There are three basic types of financial aid. Grants and scholarships are both “Gift Aid”–money that you do not have to earn by working and it generally does not need to be repaid. The difference is that grants are primarily based on financial need, while a scholarship is usually based, at least in part, on merit. A special type of scholarship is a tuition waiver. It is different because it only pays tuition and not fees or any other student expense. A loan on the other hand, is a type of financial aid that must be repaid with interest by the student. The repayment is usually after the student leaves school or drops below half-time enrollment.

If you have accepted Stafford loans you will need to go to the Direct Loans website and complete a Master Promissory Note(MPN). You must complete a MPN for subsidized and unsubsidized loans, a separate MPN for the Graduate PLUS loan , and parents must complete a PLUS loan MPN on behalf of their child if they wish to borrow the PLUS loan. An alternative loan can be used once other options have been explored. Check out the Lender List at the financial aid web page for alternative lenders UAA students have used in the past. Be a smart consumer and double check for fees, interest rates, and other requirements. If you need some extra help understanding all the loan lingo, go to our Loan Information webpage.

Both types of loans are federally guaranteed loans, but with a subsidized loan, the federal government pays the interest while you are enrolled in school at least half-time or during other approved deferment periods. An unsubsidized loan begins accumulating interest from the time the loan is disbursed.  Students have the option of paying the unsubsidized interest before they enter repayment or the interest will be capitalized.

UAA is changing participation in the Federal Family Educational Loan Program (FFELP) to the Direct Lending program.  By the fall 2010 semester, ALL student loan borrowers at UAA must complete a new MPN with Direct Lending because their old MPN under the FFELP program is no longer valid.  Once you complete your new MPN with Direct Loans, you will not need to sign another MPN as long as you continue to attend UAA. Don't forget to also complete your Direct Loan entrance counseling!

All first-time student loan borrowers at UAA are required to complete Direct Loan Entrance counseling before their loan can be disbursed. This is completed on-line and takes about 20 minutes. It is a process designed to inform you of the rights and responsibilities associated with your student loan. Starting Fall 2010, all students borrowing any federal Stafford loans will be required to complete Direct Stafford Loan Entrance counseling, regardless of prior counseling under the FFEL program.

All students who drop below half-time status, withdraw or graduate, must complete a Direct Loan Exit counseling session.

Direct Stafford Loan Entrance and Exit Counseling

The most important difference between the two programs is the source of loan funding.  Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) funds come from independent lenders (banks).  The guarantor and servicer may be other agencies.  Very often the students's loan is "sold" to another lender or servicer. 

Direct loans come through the U.S. Department of Education and are obtained from the U.S. Treasury.  This program offers students one point of contact because the loans are made, backed and serviced by the U.S. Department of Education.  As you can see, from a student borrower perspective, the Direct Loan program often results in a much less confusing repayment process.

Don't worry, your prior Stafford loans will not go into repayment as long as you remain enrolled at least half-time.  After graduation you have a choice.  You may either make individual payments to your previous lender(s) and to the Department of Education for your Direct Loans or you can consolidate your loans into one simple payment.  Visit the Federal Direct Loan Consolidation Program website for more information on their consolidation program.

 The Financial Aid Office packages loan amounts/limits based on the grade level you have indicated on your FAFSA (Freshman, Sophomore, Junior & Senior). If it is determined that your grade level differs from what you have reported, the Financial Aid Office must revise your loans accordingly. Students who have a Junior/Senior standing but are admitted into an AA/AAS degree program can only get loans at a Sophomore level.

The deadline to apply for UAA and UA Statewide Scholarships is February 15th.  The main scholarship application is available via UAOnline.  Visit the UAA Scholarship website for additional information and instructions.  You can also find information on "The University of Alaska Foundation" page. Other scholarship information can be found in a variety of places. If you are an Alaskan Native, check with your corporation. If you are Native American from outside Alaska, check with your Tribal Government. You can also look in the local areas such as your high school counselor, Rotary, Kiwanis and Lions Clubs.  Be aware of Deadlines when you are applying for scholarships.

If the total of your financial aid (grants, scholarships, loans, etc.) is greater than the amount of your bill, you will receive a refund.  You may enroll to have your refunds sent to your bank account by setting up a direct deposit via UAOnline.  If you do not set up direct deposit, a refund check will be mailed to the address you have on file with UAA.  It is therefore very important to update your address via UAOnline if and when you move. 

Just like excess financial aid can not sit in a student's account for use in a future semester, excess financial aid can not typically be used to pay for previous balances, per Federal Regulations, unless that balance occurs within the same award year.  If you owe an outstanding balance, contact the Office of Student Financial Assistance for the best advice on available options.

You can check to see if your financial aid refund has been directly deposited via UAOnline.  To do so:

• Login to the secure side of UAOnline. 
• Select the "Personal Information" Tab.  S
• Select "Financial Information"
• Select "Direct Deposit Services"
• Select "Review your direct deposits"
• Select the fiscal year from the drop down menu that you wish to view and then hit "Display"
• Each direct deposit that has been applied to your bank account will be listed.  The "Process Date" is the date the money was deposited.

First of all, the disbursement date for financial aid is the date that UAA can request the money and apply it to your student account.  It is not the day that you should expect to receive a refund.  The earliest UAA can legally request a disbursement of your financial aid is ten days before the start of each semester.  UAA then has to process your financial aid and request a paper check be mailed or direct deposit be issued to your bank (if you've set up a direct deposit).  This processing generally takes between 5 and 7 business days.  Therefore, if you are confident your financial aid is in order before the scheduled and published disbursement date (ex. you have no outstanding paperwork to be completed, you are admitted, in good SAP, etc.), you should expect to see your refund NO EARLIER than the first day of class. 

For Anchorage campus* students only: UAA can not charge your books to your student account.  If you have excess financial aid on your account, above and beyond the amount you owe UAA for your tuition and fees, you may request to have money applied to your Wolfbucks Card by completing a Financial Aid Authorization Form.  Money can be applied to your Wolfbucks Card in increments of $200 and this money can be used at the UAA bookstore to purchase your books.  NOTE:  This form must be completed at least two weeks prior to the first day of class.  Emergency Loan Fund (ELF) Applications will not help you to purchase your books early as these are not accepted before the first week of class.  

*Other UAA campuses may have different policies.  If you are a student of another UAA campus, please consult your specific campus for additional information. 

Financial Aid recipients are required to make Satisfactory Academic Progress. The consequences of dropping a class vary and can only be determined by looking at the student’s current SAP standing and course load. Generally speaking, a student who is currently in good standing must complete at least 67% (rounded to the nearest 1%) of his or her required credits and maintain at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA. So say during your first term of attendance you are enrolled in 12 credits, you would need to complete at least 8 of those credits to have completed the term at 66.6% and have a 2.0 to be in good standing. Say at the end of your second term you are again taking twelve credits and you only complete 6. Your cumulative (all terms combined) completion ratio would be 14 earned credits out of 24 attempted (58%). Because you have dropped below 67% you will be placed on warning.

Financial aid probation, under the terms of our Satisfactory Academic Progress policy, refers to students who are on an approved financial aid appeal. A student on probation for financial aid is eligible for financial aid disbursements. A student will continue on academic progress probation until they reinstate their eligiblity by meeting the minimum standards outlined in our policy- unless they fail to complete any of their courses or deviate from their academic plan in which case they will become financial aid ineligible again.

Academic probation, under the terms of UAA's Academic Standing policy is monitored by the Registrar's office. Students receive an academic standing of probation when their semester and cumulative GPA falls below 2.00. Continuing on probation is the status assigned to students who begin a semester on probation and during that semester earn a semester GPA of 2.00 or higher without raising their cumulative GPA to 2.00. This status may be continued until the student raises their cumulative GPA to 2.00 or loses their certificate or undergraduate degree-seeking status.

Strictly speaking financial aid does not transfer from one school to another. Pell Grant eligibility should be fairly constant, but all other awards must be re-evaluated at the new school. The first step in the process is to have the information from your FAFSA sent to the new school. If you have your Student Aid Report (SAR) you can call 1-800-4-fed-aid and tell them where you want the information sent. You will need the Data Release Number (DRN) from the upper right corner of the SAR. Alternatively, we can add the school code to your application from our office or your new school can do it. After you have sent your information to them you must contact the new school and find out what other documents they need. Each school may have slightly different requirements and you may need to resubmit copies of the same information you gave to the first school. Make sure you disclose to both schools that you have attended elsewhere, especially if you were disbursed aid during that award year.

This can be a difficult question to answer. Some of the reasons are:

• Forgetting to list UAA’s Federal Title IV code 011462 on the FAFSA.
• Waiting to file for financial aid too close to the start of the semester. As a general rule it is best to file for financial aid 3 months prior to the start of classes.
• Not responding to requests for information. Generally all work stops on your file until the requested information is received.
• Outside agencies sending scholarship checks late. As a general rule scholarship checks need to be received 10 working days before the start of the semester.

Summer aid is processed once a student is registered in summer classes. A Summer Revision form is made available to students in the Forms section of the Financial Aid page after Summer registration is activated. On this form the student must include the number of classes they are registered in, the amount of aid requested, and indicate if the request includes a grade level adjustment due to completion of coursework from prior terms. Do not submit a Summer Revision form if you are not registered in the classes for which you are requesting aid. This can result in unnecessary delays. For Summer 2010, all students requesting Federal loan monies will be required to complete Federal Direct Loan Entrance Counseling and their loans will be processed under the Federal Direct Stafford Loan program as opposed to the current FFEL program, unless they are in one of the following situations:

• student is graduating at the end of Summer 2010 and already uses FFELP Stafford loans.
• student is a Bachelor's of Nursing student who has already been awarded in a 12 month budget and has summer FFELP loans already anticipated.
• student started in Spring 2010 and has already completed the Federal Direct Stafford, Graduate PLUS, and /or Parent PLUS Loan requirements.

If these situations do not apply to you, Federal Direct Stafford Loan Entrance Counseling as well as a Direct Stafford Loan MPN will need to be completed. Please see the Financial Aid Checklist for instruction on this process, or information on the Summer Revision Request form.  

The amount of aid offered, the budget, and the eligibility for additonal funding is based on the summer credit load and the student's living arrangements, as well as other variables including residency, aggregate loan limits, and grade level.

• If you have already completed the FAFSA and your income has been reduced due to life circumstances or you lost your job; you can complete the Professional Judgment: Request for Income Override Form.

• Make sure  you complete the FAFSA and answer ALL the questions prior to submitting your Professional Judgment (PJ).  Remember BLANK is never considered 0 when entering dollar amounts of your FAFSA.