Office of Student Financial Aid & Student Employment General Timeline for New First-Year Students Disclaimer: The following information is an overview of the financial aid process for a traditional student attending their senior year in high school, although adult students who are applying to college for the first time can also benefit from this timeline.
The accuracy of the timeline based on many factors including timeliness of student responses to University requests for information.
Because there are so many variables in this process it is impossible to predict the exact dates that any portion of this process will be completed.
Nonetheless, it is useful to provide an overview of when certain parts of the financial aid process are completed, to assist parents and students in understanding the various parts of this process. This allows students and parents the opportunity to contact our office for assistance if they have questions or concerns about their specific process.
This timeline frequently utilizes holidays to work as a memory hook for students and parents as to where they generally want to be in the process at a specific time. Use of a holiday name is not meant to endorse or minimize the comemmoration of said holiday.
If at any point you have questions about the status of your application, please do not hesitate to contact our office with questions. Financial Aid Timeline For First Year Undergraduate Students October 12, Columbus Day! (actual)
HONORS SCHOLARSHIP
Click the above link to obtain information regarding the Honors College, including an application for admission to the honors program and honors scholarship information.
Recipients must be admitted to the Honors College to receive these scholarships. Honors Scholarship awards are in addition to other University Scholarships.
Early Admission Deadline: November 1 preceding the academic year
Standard Admission Deadline February 1.
Essay and Interview required
For criteria and award amount information visit the Honors College web site via the link above for more information.
January 1. Happy New Year!
Think about picking up a paper application of the latest year’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) which allows you to apply for all federal and state grant and loan programs. January 6. Epiphany
Get on the ball! You should have that application in hand, or have visited the web site (which you can do by clicking the following link: www.fafsa.ed.gov
If you are planning on filing electronically, now would be an excellent time to apply for your PIN number and one for a parent (if you are a dependent student) you may do this by clicking on the following linked text: www.pin.ed.gov. PIN’s are delivered in 10-14 business days by mail, or within 72 hours by email. PINS allow students and their parents to electronically sign their applications, saving valuable time,especially at deadline time!
February 2, Happy Ground Hog Day!
Hopefully Punxatawney Phil has not seen his shadow, AND You have received your PIN number by now!
Or, if you will file by pencil & paper form, you now have a blank copy of the FAFSA form. These are available from your school guidance office or the University of Akron. (1-800-621-3847 or 330-972-7032) February 14, Happy St. Valentine’s Day!
Today is the day you should be mailing your FAFSA form (if you haven’t already done so!!!) to meet the priority awarding deadline for The University of Akron. Other schools may have earlier priority awarding deadlines, contact the school of your choice for details, and act accordingly.
If you are filing electronically and printing your signature page, you should complete the form and those pages should be mailed at this time.
If you are filing and both the student and the parent have PIN numbers you should still do this online—or have already done so online by this date.
REMEMBER:It is acceptable to estimate your income!!!! Be sure to list The University of Akron, Title IV code # 003123 on the form to make sure we receive it!
(Note: Applications for Aid for Summer each year, become available the week of 3/1 Remember: Summer aid will impact your Fall -Spring eligibility) March 1, St. David's Day
(National holiday of Wales.)
Last day to file and to be guaranteed to be considered for priority awarding of Campus Based Aid. If you are filing after this date, do not panic, you will be eligible for consideration for Stafford Loans, Pell Grants and Ohio Instructional Grants (actual eligibility for all these awards is based in financial need.)
March 17, Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Wearing green or not, If you filed on or before Valentine’s Day, you should be receiving your Student Aid Report (SAR) from the Federal Government during the week of St. Patrick’s Day--if not earlier. This is a report of how the federal government received the information you provided on the FAFSA.
NOTE: If you provided an email address you will receive the SAR at your email address. If your email is setup to redirect potential spam, be sure to check that your e-SAR did not go there for deletion.
Be sure to check to see if there is a number after the EFC: (on page one of the report) and that you have listed all of the schools that should receive the form on the last page of the document. If either of these is incorrect contact your college for assistance.
Check the rest of the SAR for errors. You may need to make corrections. If you and your parent have a PIN number you may do this online at the www.fafsa.ed.gov web site. If you do not, you will need to:
(1) Make a photocopy of the student aid report for your files--especially the first page.
(2) make the correction(s),
(3) sign the SAR on the last page (parent AND student!!!) and
(4) Mail the SAR to the federal processors—You will find the address on the last page of the SAR, near the signature boxes.
Allow 3-4 weeks for paper processing of corrections, 7-10 business days for electronically to receive a new SAR that should have the changes you have made processed corrections.
(If you need to do this the rest of the process may be a bit delayed but you can still use time estimates included here to determine when you should be completing the next step in the process.) If you have questions, please don't hesitate to call us. April 1. April Fools Day
No foolin', during this time, new students should also be checking their mailboxes this week for your University of Akron Award Notification,and your Loan Request form all bundled in one very important piece of communication.
You will need to read the Award Notification letter and decline any aid you may not be interested in. DO NOT DECLINE LOANS OR OTHER AID UNLESS YOU ARE COMPLETELY, 100% CERTAIN THAT YOU WILL NOT NEED IT, AND that you have discussed this with a financial aid counselor. All too often students decline aid that is actually better than aid they accept.
If you are in doubt, contact the Financial Aid Office for assistance.
Remember: Depending on the type of aid you decline, we may be unable to re-instate it if your circumstances change.
You can CLICK HERE for a link to our electronic award guide which will provide more detailed information about the financial aid process at the University of Akron.
If you are interested in Stafford Loans, complete the Loan Request Form and return it to the University of Akron. (If you have lost your original form, this form is available on-line, by clicking "Loan Information" to the left of this text, and following the "Stafford Loan Information" link to find the link to the "Undergraduate Stafford Loan Request Form." MEMORIAL DAY (Last Monday in May)
If you have completed the Loan Request form above, when the Post Office and The University of Akron re-open on the Tuesday after, you should be receiving a Master Promissory Note (MPN) from Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation approximately during this week, if you have not already received it.
Complete this note and return it to Great Lakes in the provided envelope. This will ensure that your loan money is guaranteed and waiting to apply to your bill before school starts.
NOTE: By federal law, monies over and above your bill from Stafford Loans are not available to first-time-freshmen borrowers until the 30th Day of classes. Thus it is important for you to have made arrangements to pay for your text books and supplies through other means.
You will want to check with our office two weeks after sending the MPN to Great Lakes to make sure that the loan has been guaranteed.
At this point, your financial aid process is complete. If you have questions, special circumstances or any other concern please contact our office at 330-972-7032. |
