East Carolina UniversityFinancial Aid OrientationFREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS – FALL 2016

How Do I Apply For Financial Aid

Students desiring to receive financial assistance need to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid each year.You can complete the FAFSA as early as January 1st prior to the academic year that begins in August.Priority filing date is March 1st each year. However, we do not have a deadline for applications.Applications received after the priority deadline may not be completed in time before the payment deadline.You may complete the FAFSA online at www.fafsa.gov and the ECU school code is 002923-00

Things to Remember

Read emails regularly - Respond promptly to requests for information – Financial Aid is a PROCESSBanner ID – KNOW IT – Include it on all documentsBuckley – Student must complete this to give us permission for Parent/Guardian/Other to get specific student financial informationStudents must authorize Financial Aid to pay for expenses other than Direct Costs, this release must be completed in order for Federal aid to cover other charges on the Cashier’s student account (health service fees, parking fines, etc…) This is called a Title IV Authorization Form and the student will receive information from the University Cashier on how to complete this process

Why Am I Being Asked for Additional Information

As required by Federal regulation, each year a number of financial aid applications are selected by the U.S. Department of Education at random for detailed review.Applicants who are selected will be notified by email and will be required to submit additional documentation to confirm/correct selected information (e.g. family size, number of family members enrolled in postsecondary education, adjusted gross income) which may affect the aid award.Weekly email reminders are sent to students who have outstanding requirements.Failure to provide the required information will result in the all aid processing being held and possibly all aid being cancelled for the academic year.It can take 4 -6 weeks from receipt of the verification documents for them to be reviewed, processed and completed.*Please make sure to submit requested information in time to meet payment deadlines*

How Do Outside Scholarships Affect My Award

If you receive additional scholarships/grants from outside sources, please complete the Additional Aid form located on the Financial Aid forms page and submit to the OfficeThe scholarships you receive from sources other than East Carolina University will be added to your student account and may reduce the monies we offered, but only if these additional funds create an over award situation (either over financial need or cost of attendance)Loans are reduced before grants/scholarships if possibleStudents will receive a revised award notice via ECU email any time changes are made to the aid award

How Do I Find Out What I Have Been Awarded

The Office of Student Financial Aid will send out Award Notifications ONLY to the ECU email address when there are new awards or any changes are made to the award package.Students may also log into Pirate Port Banner Self Service and Select Financial Aid to view/accept the award(s) at any time. The amount of aid the student accepts is for the full academic year, please keep that in mind when accepting student loans.Financial Aid awards are completed for the full academic year. Students will receive their funds in 2 disbursements, once at the beginning of each term. Funds are transferred to the Office of the Cashier approximately 3 business days before the first day of class.

May I Appeal My Financial Aid Award

YES, if your financial circumstances changed after you submitted your financial aid application (illness or death of parent, loss of employment, separation, etc….)YES, if you have complicated circumstances, and you would like us to take a second look at how we interpreted your financial situation.YES, if you have additional DIRECT EDUCATIONAL EXPENSES that need to be taken into consideration.Contact the Office of Student Financial Aid for assistance with completing this process.

Student Health Insurance

The UNC System requires that eligible students must have health insurance

Students may be covered by his/her own plan or a parents’ planOr the student may choose to enroll in the UNC System’s Student

Health Insurance PlanFor more information visit bcbsnc.com/ecu

*For students who do enroll in the ECU’s Health Insurance Plan, this cost is not currently included in the student Cost of Attendance or “Budget.” However, students may complete a “Budget Adjustment Request” form to have these charges included. Please contact the Office of Student Financial Aid for additional information on this process.*

Am I Required to Accept Loans

No student is required to accept a student loan.Students may accept all or some portion of the loan as needed based on other financial resources available to the student.Students who find they need more than the maximum Stafford Loan amount for the year may apply for the Plus loan for a dependent student, or an alternative loan. Information about these types of loan can be located on our web page at www.ecu.edu/financialMonitor your loan debt at www.nlsds.ed.gov – create a student account.

How to Complete the Student Loan Process

Students who have accepted a Federal Stafford Loan will be required to complete a Master Promissory Note the first time they borrow from this program.First time loan borrowers at ECU must also complete Federal Student Loan Entrance Counseling.The student may do both at www.studentloans.govStudents will receive emails from Financial Aid with instructions on how to complete these processes*This must be completed prior to loan funds being posted to student accounts – it can take 7 – 10 business days for us to receive confirmation from the US Department of Education that these processes are complete. Please make sure to allow adequate time to meet payment deadlines

Parent or Alternative Loan Borrowing

If you have a ‘gap’ between the aid offered to your student and the costs above you may:

a) decide to use the Tuition Payment Plan via the Office of the Cashier;

b) decide to borrow a parent loan, the PLUS; c) decide that the student will borrow a private loan and the

parents will co-sign that loan; d) some combination of these three. The Parent and/or Alternative Loan Process takes a MINIMUM of

30 days to complete. Please begin the process in time to meet payment deadlines.

I Need To Change The Loan Amount I Accepted

If you originally decline or only accept a portion of your loan, accept more loan that you determine is needed and decide that you would like to make a change - you must contact the Office of Student Financial Aid at faques@ecu.edu .In the email subject line put your Name and “Loan Adjustment”Please include your Banner ID in the body of the email.Tell us what you would like to do:

State the loan and the amount of loan you would like to receive for the year;

If you are not certain of the amount, you may ask us to reoffer the loans in full so you may accept the amount you need.All requests for adjustments in student loan amounts MUST come from the student’s ECU official email address

Federal Work Study

Federal Work Study (FWS) is an employment program for students with a demonstrated financial need and who are qualified by the ECU Financial Aid office.

• Work on-campus with ECU departments or off-campus with approved community service agencies

• Undergraduates earn $8-$10/hour based on experience• Student employees are paid twice a month through direct

deposit. *Credit is not received for FWS funds until hours are worked.*

• Students who do not qualify for FWS or did not receive an FWS award, there are other employment opportunities available through the Office of Student Employment

• Search part-time job opportunities (on and off campus) via our online jobs database at www.ecu.edu/hireapirate.

How And When Will I Receive The Funds I Have Accepted

Financial aid monies are released at the start of each semester. Your financial aid funds are sent first to the student account in the Office of the Cashier to pay your tuition/fees, any other charges on your student account. After all your University charges are paid for the term, any remaining funds will be sent from the Office of the Cashier through the E-Refund process If you have not set up your E-Refund preference you may do so by going to the Cashier’s web page and following the steps for this process. We strongly encourage you to do this as soon as possible to avoid delays at the beginning of the semester.Please note that refunds are based on charges posted to the student account at the time the refund process begins.

Important Dates

Thursday, August 4th – The Office of the Cashier will cancel all schedules for non-payment after 5:00 p.m. this dayNote: The on-line payment system will not be available between 5:00 p.m. and 12:00 a.m.Beginning Friday, August 5th – A $25.00 processing fee will be charged to all student accounts who re-register after being purged or who late register for the first timeIt is imperative that all Financial Aid paperwork be completed a minimum of 4 weeks prior to this date to ensure that the award package will be complete and funds available before the schedule cancellation date

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Contact Information

ECU Office of Student Financial Aid2103 Old Cafeteria Complex, MS 510Greenville, NC 27858FAX – 252-328-4347PHONE – 252-328-6610EMAIL – faques@ecu.eduWalk in hours – Monday – Friday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pmPhone hours – Monday – Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00pm