Financial Aid 101 Guide

Pre-October

• Create your student and parent FSA ID.

December

• 2024-2025 FAFSA Available in December 2023 - Historically, the FAFSA has been available beginning October 1st each year. However, because of significant changes to the application and the rebuild of the FAFSA processing system, the 2024-25 FAFSA will not be available until sometime in December 2023.
• Submit ONLY ONCE!
• Aid is awarded in the order students apply and is ready to be packaged for aid until all funds are exhausted.
• We can't guarantee funds will still be available for late applicants.

December 1

• Apply for University Scholarships.

January 1

• Monitor UNCW email address regularly for verification notifications and respond immediately because funds are packaged first-come, first-served until exhausted.
• FAFSA filing priority deadline for in-state (Need-based Grant & Lottery) & institutional financial aid.
  • We strongly encourage FAFSA completion on October 1 as some institutional grant funds could be exhausted prior to January.

March 1

• University Scholarship application priority deadline.
• Summer 2024 Financial Aid Application.

March/April

• After receiving your financial aid notification (June 1 for returning students), reach out to your Financial Aid Counselor to request our FA 101 Budget Worksheet to make a plan for your financing options.

April 1

• Monitor UNCW email address for award notification or request for additional verification items (returning students with completed applications will be awarded around June 1 once grades are in and SAP is reviewed).
• Accept/decline your Federal Student Loan(s) and/or Federal Work Study on SeaNet. Then check your SeaNet Student Requirements to complete any associated requirements.

April/May

• Sign-up for E-Bill notifications and set-up your E-refund profile.

All new UNCW students (first year at UNCW & transfers) will be required to:

• Accept or Decline your federal student loan(s) and answer Title IV questions accordingly on SeaNet
• Complete Entrance Counseling and sign the Loan Agreement/Master Promissory Note at studentaid.gov for any federal student loans that are accepted. Transfer students who have received federal direct loans at other institutions will need to complete exit counseling for previous institutions, also. Items in this bullet can be completed in any order.

• Merit awards are very limited at UNCW. Selection, based on your admissions application, and notification (via email) is done by Admissions typically by the end of January. A few additional offers are made by OSFA to students who have completed the scholarship These decisions are made by April 1.
• Additional scholarship resources are available.
• If your FAFSA is selected for verification, please submit all of the requested items immediately and ensure all forms are complete in order to avoid delays in receiving your financial aid award. If forms are incomplete (questions left blank, unsigned/dated, etc.) or if the information on the forms conflicts with what you submitted on the FAFSA, this will delay processing of your financial aid
• When you complete your FAFSA, be sure to indicate the appropriate degree/certificate program you're planning to complete and the accurate year in college you’ll be beginning the next academic year. These answers impact the type, if any, and amount of aid you may be
• There is a significant increase in calls, emails, & visits during the months of July & Therefore, we cannot guarantee that awards will be processed before bills are generated or due in July if you apply for aid or if verification items are submitted after June 30. This could mean that you will have to remit payment in full by the due date for the balance owed on your bill or risk having your classes dropped due to non-payment.
• Grant account access to parents, guardians, via SeaNet Proxy
• For Federal Parent PLUS loans, parents MUST apply at studentaid.gov and complete the electronic Master Promissory Note/Loan Agreement. This is a credit-based loan and there is no guarantee of approval.
  • If the parent is denied the loan and chooses not to secure a co-signer/endorser, the student can receive additional student loan funds ($4K for Fr/So & $5K Jr/Sr) by accepting the additional loan on SeaNet.
• Visit our Affording Your Education page for more information on college costs, money management, and financing a UNCW education (including the use of Private/Non-Federal Loans).