Important Things To Know

The 草榴视频 State University Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid (OSFA) seeks to provide award information to students as quickly as possible.  Because of the need to have information from the US Department of Education, we typically begin sending offer notifications in early spring term for the upcoming fall term (i.e., January 鈥� February).  Admitted applicants are notified on a rolling basis as the OSFA receives financial aid applications.  草榴视频 State University reserves the right to modify financial aid offers at any time due to changes in program terms (i.e., if the federal rules change that are specific to a fund type, i.e., Pell Grant), changes in a student鈥檚 program of study, changes required and related to federal and state rules and regulatory compliance, changes in other resources the student may have received, or changes on a student鈥檚 financial aid application, which could affect the amount of available funding based on student eligibility regulations.

How to Accept, Decline, or Reduce an Award

After you receive your award notice and have become familiar with your financial aid awards and 鈥淭erms and Conditions,鈥� what should you do next?  If you are awarded 鈥淕ift Aid鈥� (any grant or scholarship money 鈥� which does not need to be repaid, i.e., HOPE, Pell, etc.), these funds do not require acceptance on your part.  If you have been awarded student loans, you will need to accept, decline or reduce the amount of loan you wish to receive or not receive. 

  1. Sign into 
  2. Click on Financial Aid
  3. Click on Financial Aid Dashboard
  4. Click on Award Offer
  5. Select aid year from the dropdown box (i.e., 2023 鈥� 2024 for aid year beginning Fall 2023 through Summer 2024)
  6. Review the Grants and Scholarships that have been accepted on your behalf
  7. Review the 鈥淥ptions to Pay Net Cost鈥� (Loans and Federal Work Study will be included in this section)
  8. Under the 鈥淭ake Action鈥� column click 鈥淪elect鈥� to Accept, Decline, or Modify the offered aid.
    鈥� If you select 鈥淢odify鈥� a pop-up box will provide the option to modify the amount you may type in the amount you wish to accept for the aid period.  (Note if you have been awarded aid for two terms, any amount accepted will be divided equally between the two terms.)
  9. Click 鈥淪ubmit鈥� to confirm you decision
  10. You will now be redirected to accept the Financial Aid Terms and Conditions
  11. Click the box 鈥淚 acknowledge these terms and conditions.鈥�
  12. Click 鈥淎ccept Award鈥�
  13. Once you Click 鈥淎ccept Award鈥� a pop-up box displays on the top right corner of the screen indicating 鈥淵ou have successfully submitted the Award offer.鈥�

Additional Steps

All new undergraduates who have accepted all or a partial amount of student loans must complete a Master Promissory Note (MPN) and an Entrance Loan Counseling.  Both of these should be completed by visiting .  The MPN will remain active for 10 years from the day of completion if a student continually receives student loans and there is no break of 12 months or more.

Deadlines and Payment Information

草榴视频 State University is part of the University System of Georgia (USG).  Payment procedures are determined by USG policy and deadlines are very specific.  It is important to remember, the Financial Aid Office awards financial aid while the 叠耻谤蝉补谤鈥檚 Office charges, collects and refunds.

Important Dates are always available on the Registrar and Financial Aid websites.  These websites are updated each term and you should become familiar with these very important dates. 

This is how financial aid assists with charges in the 叠耻谤蝉补谤鈥檚 Office:

  • Once your awards are posted and accepted (i.e., loans) and all documentation is provided (note Additional Steps), aid will authorize to be released at the appropriate time.
  • When you register for classes for an upcoming term, charges are posted and 
  • For each term, the authorization of aid will occur approximately one month before payment is required by the 叠耻谤蝉补谤鈥檚 Office.
  • Payment deadlines in the 叠耻谤蝉补谤鈥檚 Office are available each term. If payment (Charges - financial aid = the balance due) is not received by the Final Payment deadline, the Bursar will remove registration. 
  • Drop/Add period for coursework can be noted on the Registrar's Office website.   If coursework is removed by the Bursar because of non-payment, a student may re-register for available classes during this period. 
  • Following Drop/Add, financial aid releases automatically to the 叠耻谤蝉补谤鈥檚 Office. No action is required of the student to secure this release.
  • Once financial aid is released and credited to the student鈥檚 account in the 叠耻谤蝉补谤鈥檚 Office, all unpaid balances must be paid promptly. If remaining balances are not paid, the student鈥檚 registration will be removed and there will not be an additional opportunity to reinstate coursework.
  • If a student has a credit balance (more financial aid than charges), the Bursar will begin processing refunds typically within 3 business days.

It is important to remember the following regarding the disbursement of financial aid:

  • Financial Aid is always awarded based on full-time status (12 hours or more for any term). Aid will prorate according to enrollment for certain funds, i.e., HOPE, Pell Grant. 
  • To be eligible to receive a disbursement of a student loan for any term the student must be enrolled at least half-time (6 hours or more) after drop/add ends.

New and Prospective Undergraduates

Entering applicants are sent an electronic award notification. These notifications will be sent via the student鈥檚 草榴视频 email account (all communication will be sent to a student鈥檚 草榴视频 email account).  Here are some basic steps:

  • Look up your . Then activate your NETID.  Remember your 草榴视频# - as you will use this often.
  • Once activated, you may access your 草榴视频 Email account. All notifications will be sent via the student鈥檚 .
  • Sign into  using your NETID and password
  • Click on Financial Aid tab.

If you need assistance with this setup, you may contact . 

IMPORTANT 鈥� If documentation is requested (most often by the US Dept. of ED) to complete your awarding process, you must validate your account.

  • Log onto your  account
  • Click on the Financial Aid tab
  • Click on the appropriate award year - then 鈥淰iew Requirements and Submit Documents鈥�
  • Confirm the information you used to fill out your FAFSA to log into the portal
    • Social Security Number (SSN)
    • Name (your name as it appears on your Social Security Card)
  • Once you are logged into the portal, you will see what documents you are required to submit
  • All documentation must be uploaded to this secure site. No hardcopy forms are accepted via email or in-person. 

Please submit any required documentation as quickly as possible.

Current Undergraduates

The OSFA begins notifying current students in early spring term as applications are received.  If additional documentation is requested, you can find it on your Owl Express account.  Once all documentation is received, you will be awarded and notified via your 草榴视频 email account. 

All documentation must be received no later than May 1 (for fall term) in order to consider you for all aid programs. If you do not submit the requested documents, we will not be able to process your financial aid application and financial aid will not be disbursed to your 草榴视频 Student Account in the 叠耻谤蝉补谤鈥檚 Office to assist with educational expenses.

Rights and Responsibilities of Accepting Financial Aid

Accepting financial aid entails certain rights and responsibilities.  When you are awarded financial aid, it is critical that you read and understand the 鈥淭erms and Conditions鈥� list in your Owl Express Account for each academic year.  We strongly encourage you to learn as much as you can about the aid you are accepting and to know in advance what is expected of you in terms of your enrollment and academic progress.