Financial Aid Process

Financial aid comes in the form of grants, scholarships, work-study, and loans. Your financial aid package may consist of any or all of these resources depending on a variety of factors. In addition to meeting basic eligibility requirements, students must file a FAFSA and be making satisfactory academic progress (SAP) to be eligible for most forms of financial aid.
This is a step-by-step process in applying for and accepting financial aid at UAPB. You may be redirected from this website if you click on any of the links provided.

Todetermine eligibility for Federal Student Aid (FSA/Title IV) a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) must be completed. It is also required in order to be considered for various state and institutional awards. For maximum consideration for aid available aid programs, we recommend you file your FAFSA by April 15 each year. If you do not complete your application by that date it may prevent you from getting maximum financial aid for which you may be eligible and may delay the awarding process.

Before completing the FAFSA, check to see if you meet the basic eligibility requirements at https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/eligibility/basic-criteria.

Before you complete the FAFSA:

*You must use an FSA ID to log in and sign the FAFSA online. If you are required to provide parental information on the FAFSA, your parent must also register for an FSA ID. You can create your FSA ID at StudentAid.gov/fsaidHelpful steps to Filling out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) may be found at https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa.

The FAFSA is FREE to complete, and you don’t need money in order to fill out the application. Here are the steps to get started.

If you completed a FAFSA last year: Click “Login” and enter your FSA ID. If you haven’t changed your old PIN to an FSA ID, do so at here. If possible, make sure you link your PIN during the FSA ID registration process. Otherwise, you will need to wait 1-3 days before you can use your FSA ID to sign and submit your renewal FAFSA.

If this is your first time completing the FAFSA: Click “Start a new FAFSA” and enter your FSA ID. If you haven’t created an FSA ID yet, you can do that here. You will be able to use your FSA ID to sign and submit your new FAFSA right away.

If you are a parent: Click “login” and “Enter the student’s information.”

Choose which FAFSA you’d like to complete

The FAFSA that becomes available annually on October 1 is for the subsequent academic year. You should complete the 2018-19 FAFSA if you will be attending college beginning Fall semester of 2018 through Summer 2019. Remember, the FAFSA is not a one-time thing. You must complete your FAFSA each school year. Students who apply early and provide all required financial aid and admissions documents timely may be considered for maximum campus-based federal aid such as federal work-study. Early completion may also ensure financial aid is awarded prior to the beginning of the semester when payment is due. A FAFSA cannot be completed later than June 30th each year of the academic year of enrollment.

Enter your personal information

This is information like your name, date of birth, etc. If you have completed the FAFSA in the past, a lot of your personal information should pre-populate to save you time. Make sure you enter your personal information exactly as it appears on official government documents. (Absolutely, no nicknames.)

Enter your financial information

You should use income records as requested on the FAFSA application. You will use information from the 2023 tax year when completing the 2023-24 FAFSA. If your taxes have been completed you may be able to automatically import your tax information into the FAFSA using the Data Retrieval Tool (DRT). It makes completing the FAFSA super easy!

Choose up to 10 schools

Make sure you add any school you are interested in attending even if you haven’t applied or been accepted yet. You can add up to 10 schools to your FAFSA at a time. The necessary information will be sent over to the schools you listed so they can calculate the amount of financial aid you are eligible to receive. If you’re applying to more than 10 schools, this is what you do. Enter UAPB’s school code (001086) when completing the FAFSA.

Sign the document with your FSA ID*

Your FSA ID serves as your electronic signature, or e-signature. You’ll use it to electronically sign and submit your FAFSA. If you don’t have an FSA ID, you’ll need to get one. If you are considered a dependent student, at least one of your parents or your legal guardian will need to get an FSA ID as well. You will use your FSA ID to renew/correct your FAFSA each school year, so keep it in a safe place. If you have forgotten your FSA ID, you can retrieve it. If you have siblings, your parent can use the same FSA ID to sign FAFSA for them as well.

*If you are considered a dependent student, your parent(s) will also need to obtain an FSA ID. Go online to the FAFSA and answer the dependency questions to learn your status.

Step 2: Review Your Student Aid Report (SAR)

You will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) from the Federal Processor either by mail or email. Review this document for accuracy. Make corrections on the FAFSA website at www.fafsa.gov, if necessary.

Step 3: Check for Missing Documents

The Financial Aid Checklist at www.finaid.uapb is the site for the Financial Aid Checklist.You will log on using an email address you have on file at UAPB. You will be directed to the checklist where you will find information about what may be needed to complete the processing of your financial aid. You should check the site regularly because your status could change based on new information received or changes to your FAFSA. Your record may be selected for a process called “Verification” requiring additional information/documents to be submitted by you.

Step 4: Award Notification

Returning students and newly enrolled students are informed of their awards via an email that is sent to their UAPB email account. Applicants who have not yet enrolled are notified via the email account they provided during the application process and will be sent an award letter via mail. You may view, accept or reject your financial aid awards and read terms and conditions of awards via your WebAdvisor account under the My Financial Aid Awards heading. Federal Direct student loans and Federal Work- Study are awards that you will need to be either accept or reject. Federal Work- Study awards not accepted by October 1, will be canceled and you may be required to get on a waiting list for reconsideration in the event funds become available.

Step 5: Complete Your Loan Processing

Federal Direct Student loans have certain requirements that must be met prior to funds being disbursed to a student’s account. A student must: (a) Be enrolled in at least 6 Title IV credit hours at the time of disbursement (credits in your Degree Plan); (b) Complete Loan Entrance counseling (first time loan borrowers only complete once); (c) Complete a Master Promissory Note (only complete once every ten years).

If you become a Federal Direct student loan borrower, it is important that you become knowledgeable about how much has been borrowed at any given time. Loan balances can be checked at any time at NSLDS.

Whenever you drop your enrollment below six credit hours during any semester, withdraw from all classes, or graduate, Loan Exit counseling must be completed ( “Complete Loan Exit Counseling”). Loan repayment options should be considered once you are in a loan repayment status. View these options at Loan Repayment Options.

Students and parents of students are advised that if they enter into a Title IV, HEA loan, the loan data will be submitted to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), and will be accessible by guaranty agencies, lenders, and institutions determined to be authorized users of the data system.

You will complete Loan Entrance Counselling (first-time borrowers ONLY) and sign the Direct Loan Subsidized/Unsubsidized Master Promissory Note (MPN) at StudentLoans.gov. If these steps are not completed, your loan will not be processed. You may also complete this process before you have been awarded. You must still accept your awards on WebAdvisor to complete the process. Remember, you must be enrolled in at least 6 Title IV credit hours at the time of disbursement to receive your loan funds. You will receive an email notification when your loan has been disbursed to your student account.