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Financial Aid Help

Visit the new Tips and Advice for Applying for Financial Aid page and learn how to make the process easier and more successful!

Seeking nominations for the MENTORING ADVISING SUPERVISING (MAS) AWARD

Tips for Applying for Financial Aid (Completing the FAFSA)

In order to apply for financial aid, you must complete the federal application. The application is called the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Go to the FAFSA website: www.fafsa.ed.gov. Do not use FAFSA.com as this is a private site that will charge you a fee to complete the FAFSA.
Apply early to receive consideration for scholarship and grant funds before the accounts are depleted. UNCG has a March 1 priority deadline for the upcoming academic year, although other schools may have earlier or later deadlines. If applying to more than one institution, complete your FAFSA by the earliest deadline.
Apply for a Personal Identification Number (PIN) before you begin to complete the FAFSA. The PIN serves as your electronic signature and your FAFSA will be rejected without the appropriate signature(s). It will take 2-3 business days for you to receive your PIN. Your PIN will stay the same each year you apply for financial aid.
Apply electronically vs. using the paper application. Applying online is preferable as your FAFSA is processed much faster and the built in edits to the electronic FAFSA prevent many common mistakes and reduce the chances of a rejected application.
Sign the online FAFSA with your Personal Identification Number (PIN) or the paper FAFSA in Step 7. If you are a dependent student, your parent must also sign the FAFSA (parents must have their own PIN separate from the student).
Double check responses to all of the questions before submitting your FAFSA. An incorrect answer or even a typo on an item such as your SSN may result in a rejected application or reduced financial aid eligibility.
Do not skip questions or leave questions blank. A null (blank) answer is not an acceptable answer and may result in a rejected or FAFSA or delays at the schools that receive your FAFSA.
Call the Federal Processor customer service line with questions you have about the FAFSA or the application process. The customer service number is 1-800-4-FED-AID.
Have your tax return and W-2(s) on hand when completing FAFSA as many of the income questions in Step 2 (student) and Step 4 (parent) will refer to your tax return. Also keep the tax return and W-2(s) handy as you may be asked to provide them to your school if you are selected for a process called Verification where the institution will make sure your FAFSA has been completed correctly.
Read your Student Aid Report and correct any problems that may have resulted in a rejected application. You should correct the error(s) as soon as possible as your financial aid cannot be awarded until the school receives a valid FAFSA transaction (one that is not rejected). The most common error is a student and/or parent forgetting to sign the FAFSA.
Read your Student Aid Report and correct any items even if your FAFSA is not rejected. If you have made an error, you may find yourself receiving less financial aid than you are actually eligible to receive.

General Tips for Scholarship Applications

Do not skip questions and leave them blank. A blank answer does not mean "no". Also, in competitive application processes, evaluators will think you did not take the application seriously or put in the requisite effort if you leave questions blank. If that is the case, why should they reward you with scholarship dollars?
Do not leave personal information blank. The scholarship administrator may need to contact you (especially if you have been selected to receive the scholarship) and if they cannot reach you they will move on to another candidate. However, do not provide your Social Security Number on private scholarship applications.
Provide letters of recommendation if they are requested. These letters provide substance to your application beyond the mere facts of your SAT score and your grade point average.
Do not used canned essays - answer the question directly. A canned essay is obvious to the people evaluating your application. Again, if you cannot be bothered to write an original essay, they will not bother offering you their scholarship dollars. Also, your essay will be much better received if you answer the question posed on the application. The scholarship donor must feel the question is important enough to include it on the application. If you do not answer the question it will be akin to skipping it altogether as they will not know your thoughts on the subject matter.

Searching for Outside Scholarship Funds

The process of finding scholarship funds that fall outside the auspice of federal, state, and institutional financial aid can be time consuming, difficult, and frustrating. There is no one repository of outside scholarship information to check. One must be patient, diligent, and persistent to find outside scholarship opportunities. It is important to be organized as these opportunities will have an array of requirements and deadlines.

Be persistent. Outside scholarship funds are difficult to find and many students give up looking for them. If you remain persistent you may find a scholarship that others have overlooked or they have stopped searching altogether.
Check your employer and/or parents' employer. Many employers have scholarship programs that may not be well known among the staff.
Check churches in your area (not just your own church). Some churches offer scholarships that are not awarded exclusively to the members of their congregation.
Contact local civic groups and organizations to see if they offer scholarships. Again, these groups often offer scholarships to the community not just to members of their organization.
Visit the UNCG Financial Aid Office's Scholarship Room. Scholarships are organized by major and are indexed for easy retrieval. There is also a copier available to copy applications and scholarship information.
Check online scholarship sources such as www.fastweb.com. This website is very popular so the scholarships have tremendous competition. However, you cannot receive a scholarship unless you apply.

Understanding eligibility

There are some basic categories that determine financial aid eligibility. Every scholarship, grant, work-study, and loan program has its own criteria for determining eligibility. Here are the most basic criteria used in determining eligibility.

Degree Type (undergraduate/graduate)
Residency Status (NC resident/non-resident)
Enrollment Level (full-time/half-time/less than half-time)
Class level (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, graduate student)
Gender (male/female)
Teacher licensure/School of Ed
Major
Financial Need (determined by the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) calculated from your FAFSA. Your EFC will be recorded on your Student Aid Report).
Academics (grade point average)
Test scores (SAT, ACT, GRE, etc.)
Residence (some scholarships are specific to certain towns or counties)

Glossary of Terms

Subsidized Stafford Loan - The federal government is paying the interest on your loan while you are enrolled and during your grace period (the period of time before you begin repayment on your loan).
Unsubsidized Stafford Loan - The federal government does NOT pay the interest on your loan while you are enrolled and during your grace period (the period of time before you begin repayment on your loan). You have the option of paying your interest on a monthly basis or allowing the interest to accrue and it will be added to the principal amount upon repayment.
Perkins Loan - A student loan program where UNCG serves as the lender. There is a fixed interest rate and a 9 month grace period before the repayment period begins.
Stafford Loan - A student loan program where an outside source serves as the lender. The interest rate is variable and is set by the federal government each year. There is a 6 month grace period before the repayment period begins.
Pell Grant - Federal grant program for students with exceptional financial need
Self-help aid - Student loans and Work-Study
Gift aid - Scholarship and grant aid that does NOT need to be repaid.
Full-time - At UNCG full-time enrollment for undergraduate students is 12 hours and for graduate students it is 6 hours.
Half-time - At UNCG half-time enrollment for undergraduate students is 6 hours and for graduate students it is 3 hours.
In-school deferment - When a student is enrolled half-time (or more), a student enters in-school deferment status and does not have to make monthly payments on their student loan. If the loan is unsubsidized interest will continue to accrue.
FAFSA - Free Application for Federal Student Aid. This is the application for federal, state, and UNCG institutional financial aid.
Undergraduate - A student who is working on a bachelor's degree
Graduate - A student who is working on a master's or doctoral degree
CED - Counseling and Educational Development
CUI - Curriculum and Instruction
SES - Specialized Education Services
ELC - Educational Leadership and Cultural Foundations
ERM - Educational Research Methodology
LIS - Library and Information Studies
Praxis - An exam required to earn teacher certification. The Praxis I, or Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST), consists of three parts: reading, writing and mathematics. The Praxis II assessments cover specific subject areas and are taken according to the content area a student wishes to teach. In North Carolina, a passing score on the PPST is required for admission to teacher education programs. Most subject areas in NC require passing scores on the Praxis II to qualify for teacher licensure.
Lateral entry - A way for individuals who do not have a degree in education to complete an approved education program while teaching in a field closely related to their four year degree. The initial lateral-entry license in NC is valid for three years.
Licensure - The process by which individuals receive permission to teach from the state by completing certain coursework and training.
DPI - Department of Public Instruction

Budgeting Hints

Plan ahead and use the available payment plan to pay on a monthly basis rather than one lump sum. The payment plan breaks the semester bill into five (5) equal payments. There is a one-time fee to use the payment plan and the plan amount can be increased or decreased (i.e. if you received additional financial aid you would want to lower your payment plan as your costs have been reduced) with no additional cost.
Approved financial aid shows as a credit on your bill and serves to reduce or eliminate your out of pocket expense.
Financial aid, including student loans, is not designed to replace lost income, it is awarded to cover school and basic living expenses. If you are leaving a job you have to be prepared to meet your expenses with less income.
How do I receive my financial aid funds? Your financial aid funds will pay to your student account in the Cashiers Office electronically. The aid will satisfy your bill and any leftover funds are mailed to you automatically in the form of a refund check. Refund checks available the week prior to start of classes when all requirements are satisfied in advance. The refund check is to be used for your semester expenses such as books, rent, food, and transportation costs.
Refund checks generated at beginning of each term - you must make your money last until the next disbursement. If you run out of funds in November, you will not be able to get any more financial aid until the spring term begins in January.

FAFSA4caster

FAFSA4caster allows a student to receive an early estimate of eligibility for federal student aid. This Web site provides students with an opportunity to increase their knowledge of the financial aid process; become familiar with the various types of federal student aid that are available; and investigate other sources of aid, such as grants and scholarships.

College Foundation of North Carolina Financial Aid Estimator

College Foundation of North Carolina Financial Aid Estimatorprovides financial aid information for student planning to attend a North Carolina school.

Undergraduate

Pell Grant (minimum = $400, maximum = $4731 starting in 2008-2009)
Stafford Loan (freshman = $3500 plus $2000 additional unsubsidized, sophomore = $4500 plus $2000 additional unsubsidized, junior/senior = $5500 plus $2000 additional unsubsidized)
PLUS Loan (amount determined by Cost of Attendance)
TEACH Grant (up to $4000)
UNC Need-Based Grant (amount varies)
Teaching Fellows ($6500)
Prospective Teacher Scholarship Loan ($2500 - $4000)

Lateral Entry/2nd Degree

Stafford Loan ($12,500 maximum)
TEACH Grant (up to $4000)
Prospective Teacher Scholarship Loan ($2500 - $4000)

Graduate Student

Stafford Loan ($20,500 maximum)
Graduate PLUS Loan (amount determined by Cost of Attendance)
TEACH Grant (up to $4000)