Application Process
All graduate and undergraduate students must complete the entire Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) process after January 1 of each year in order to receive consideration for federal aid (including federal student loans) for the upcoming academic year.
Note: Students who wish to apply for the HOPE Scholarship need to refer to the HOPE Scholarship section of this Web site for the specific instructions on completing the HOPE Scholarship Application Process (GSFAPPS).
The FAFSA application process is used to determine your eligibility for aid such as:
- Federal Pell Grant
- Federal Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG)
- National Science and Mathematics Access To Retain Talent Grant (SMART)
- Federal Direct Student Loans
- Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan for Undergraduate Students
- Limited funded federal/state campus-based aid such as:
Return to the TOPTo have aid awarded and available in time for payment toward school charges, please review important dates.
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
Every year students and their families must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the appropriate award year if they wish to apply for federal financial aid (including student loans).
You need to complete the 2009-10 FAFSA in order to apply for federal student aid for the Fall 2009, Spring 2010, and/or Summer 2010 terms. The deadline to submit a 2009-10 FAFSA is June 30, 2010, and the FAFSA must be processed by the U.S. Department of Education Central Processing System (CPS) prior to the last date of your enrollment for the 2009-10 Academic Year.
You need to complete the 2010-11 FAFSA in order to apply for federal student aid for the Fall 2010, Spring 2011, and/or Summer 2011 terms. The deadline to submit a 2010-2011 FAFSA is June 30, 2011, and the FAFSA must be processed by the U.S. Department of Education Central Processing System (CPS) prior to the last date of your enrollment for the 2010-11 Academic Year.
Electronic FAFSA Application - We strongly encourage you to electronically complete the FAFSA on the Web or your Renewal FAFSA on the Web which are available January 1 of each year. Visit the FAFSA on the Web home page at http://www.fafsa.gov/ for more information. Students and parents who file via the Web make fewer errors and the process is much faster than filing the paper FAFSA. Please be careful and use the official U. S. Department of Education FAFSA on the Web site because there are numerous commercial sites with very similar Web addresses which charge you to complete the application.
We recommend Web filers print and complete the FAFSA on the Web Worksheet from Section 1 of the FAFSA home page. The UGA Title IV school code is 001598.
When completing a FAFSA, use your name exactly as it appears on your Social Security card. Do not use nicknames, abbreviations, or middle names as first names. The U. S. Department of Education requires your name on the FAFSA to identically match your name on Social Security Administration records. You will be required to submit additional information if there is a name conflict.
Paper FAFSA Application - Due to U.S. Department of Education policy, they are no longer providing schools bulk orders of paper FAFSA's. You can obtain a paper 2009-10 FAFSA by calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC) toll-free at 1-800-433-3243 and request they mail you a paper FAFSA. There are also PDF versions of the 2009-10 paper FAFSAs you can download from http://www.federalstudentaid.ed.gov/fafsa/fafsa_options.html The 2010-2011 paper FAFSAs will be available via these two options on January 1, 2010.
Important Dates for Non-Limited Need-Based Funds
Federal Pell Grant and/or Federal Direct Loans are NOT limited federal funds and you can apply and be awarded any time during the academic year if you still meet all eligibility criteria at the time the FAFSA process is completed.
However, if you wish to have the aid awarded and available in time for it to apply toward the charges made to your Student Account before classes are cancelled for non-payment of your Account (payment deadlines are available on the Bursar Web site www.bursar.uga.edu/deadlines.html), you must complete the FAFSA Application Process prior to the Important Dates for 2009-10 and 2010-11.
Important Dates for Limited Need-Based Funds Consideration
Federal Campus-Based funds such as the Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Federal Work-Study (FWS), Federal Perkins Loan, Leveraging Educational Assistance Program (LEAP) and OSFA awarded scholarships are limited funds.
Students who complete the annual FAFSA application process no later than March 1st each year will comprise the initial group of students who receive priority consideration when we are determining who meets the eligibility criteria for these limited funds. This initial priority consideration group of students is then reviewed on a "first-come-first-served" basis which is defined by using the later of either the date they completed the FAFSA Application Process or the date they were admitted to the University. Please note that all of these limited funds can be exhausted even before all the students in the initial priority consideration group have been awarded.
If any funds are still available after we have considered and awarded all the eligible students in the initial priority consideration group, we then award any remaining funds to eligible students on a "first-come-first-served" as defined above until the limited funds are exhausted.
Completion of FAFSA Application Process Defined
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application process is completed when we [the Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA)] have received from the U.S. Department of Education the valid Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) from the student's FAFSA, the student/family has completed the Verification Process (if selected), and furnished us any other requested documentation (citizenship, Selective Service registration, etc.).
Those students who submitted a FAFSA for a previous Academic Year should have received a Personal Identification Number (PIN) from the U. S. Department of Education (U.S. Dept. of Ed.). The PIN serves as your personal identifier and permits you to access your personal information in various U.S. Dept. of Ed. systems. Your PIN also serves as your electronic signature for U. S. Dept. of Ed. purposes, so do not share it with anyone.
If you cannot locate your PIN or do not have one, go to http://www.pin.ed.gov to request a PIN. Once you receive your PIN, you can then complete and submit the electronic FAFSA. Parents of dependent students also need to request a PIN.
When asked to provide Federal Income Tax information on the FAFSA or Renewal FAFSA, use completed U.S. Income Tax Return(s). The use of estimated tax information or your failure to complete all required items on the FAFSA will require correction which can substantially lengthen the aid application process.
If you provide your e-mail address on your FAFSA, the U.S. Department of Education Central Processing System (CPS) will email you a direct link to your PIN (if you don't already have a PIN), and a Student Aid Report (SAR) link to your data on "SAR on the Web". If you submitted your FAFSA via the Web, you will receive this email approximately 3-4 days after submitting your completed FAFSA to the CPS.
If you submitted a paper FAFSA, allow approximately three weeks. If you do not provide your e-mail address on your FAFSA, the CPS will mail you a green paper SAR (2009-10) or a blue paper SAR (2010-11) and if you do not have a PIN, they will also mail you a PIN. You will receive these documents approximately two to three weeks after you mailed your completed FAFSA.
Review the SAR for accuracy. If the SAR needs corrections, make them on Part 2-Information Review Form, provide appropriate signatures and send Part 2 to us (OSFA). We will then electronically transmit the corrections to the U.S. Department of Education CPS. If the SAR is correct, do not submit it to OSFA.
UGA Financial Aid Application Status
Students who have applied for aid but do not have an estimated Early Award on OASIS or have not received a UGA email notification of their Financial Aid Award can review their financial aid award status by accessing the " Application Status" option under the Student Financial Aid Menu on the UGA OASIS system. Application Status will indicate if and what additional information we still need to complete your aid application process.
The U.S. Department of Education created the Verification Process to confirm the accuracy of information submitted on the FAFSA. Your Student Aid Report (SAR) may indicate your application was selected for Verification. However, UGA participates in the U.S. Department of Education's Quality Assurance Program (QAP) so only students who receive Verification Worksheets from us are required to complete the process at UGA. Even if your SAR does not state you have been selected by the U.S. Department of Education, you may be required to complete a Verification Worksheet and provide us a copy of federal tax returns and W-2's. You should only provide tax documents if we request them.
Generally, we will ask you to verify the following: Adjusted Gross Income, federal income taxes paid, untaxed income, household size, and number of family members in college. Complete and sign the Worksheet and submit copies of all requested signed federal (not state) income tax returns and W-2 forms. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) granting of an extension to file a tax return does not eliminate the requirement to submit the tax return to us. The Verification process cannot be completed until all requested documents have been received.
As part of the Verification Process, it may become necessary for you to submit additional information. You should promptly submit the requested information to us. If discrepancies are noted between the information submitted on your FAFSA and the Verification documents, we will electronically transmit the corrected information to the U.S. Dept. of Ed. Central Processing System (CPS).
We will contact you if we need additional information to process your application for student financial aid. Please respond promptly to prevent delays in processing your application for aid. We cannot determine your aid eligibility until the Verification Process is complete.
Many students complete the FAFSA process or are awarded a scholarship prior to our receiving the Academic Year tuition information needed to generate the official electronic Financial Aid Award. Our estimated Early Award provides a reasonable estimate of upcoming financial aid awards. We stop providing estimated Early Awards once we began generating the official Awards for the year.
Financial Aid Awards are accessed on the UGA Online Access to Student Information Systems (OASIS). All UGA students are required to create a MyID which will then create a UGA e-mail address.We use your UGA e-mail address as the official mechanism to electronically notify you of the availability of your Financial Aid Award on UGA OASIS.
If you have not yet created a MyID, we will email you at the address you provided on your UGA Admissions application. It is critical that you regularly check your e-mail account and delete old e-mails in order to avoid reaching your disk space capacity; otherwise your electronic Award notification may be rejected by your account. Read more information about e-mail notifications from OSFA, on the E-mail Information Web Page.
When you access your Award on OASIS, review all Award messages and the information we provide concerning the types of aid included on your Award. If your award includes the offer of Federal Work-Study (FWS) assistance and/or student loans, you will be directed to accept or cancel your aid in OASIS. We automatically pre-accept any gift aid you may be awarded (HOPE Scholarship, Federal Pell Grant etc.) at the time of the award. We also notify applicants who requested aid that is not available.
NEW federal student loan borrowers who are eligible for and request a Federal Direct Loan or a Federal Direct Parent (PLUS) Loan and have accepted the awarded loan(s) will receive written instructions from the Student Accounts Department in the Bursar's Office directing them to complete the Web-based Master Promissory Note (MPN). Also, first time federal student loan borrowers will be directed to electronically complete federally required loan entrance counseling. Student borrowers who received a Federal Direct Loan at UGA during the previous academic year generally will not be required to sign another Promissory Note for the current academic year. Please refer to the Loans Programs section of this Web site for additional information regarding the Federal Direct Loan Program.
Completion of the Financial Aid Application Process Defined
IMPORTANT - You have completed the financial aid application process once you confirm your acceptance of any awarded loans and/or Federal Work-Study and, if applicable, your Federal Direct Loan Promissory Note and federal loan entrance counseling has been correctly completed and submitted on-line.
Students who meet the general eligibility requirements (including admission to a degree program) will have their eligibility for aid determined once OSFA has received valid electronic SAR data, and, if selected, all requested verification information.