The hard work is done. Your FASFA is complete and has long been mailed or sent electronically. Maybe you've even submitted your CSS Profile. Now what? The wait and questions begin: "When do I receive my scholarship and/or loan money?", "How will I know it arrived?", "Does the money automatically go to my school or personally to me?"
Well, no need to wait for the answers about financial aid disbursement as you wait for your money to come through.
Your financial aid is almost always distributed to your school first. Then, your school takes that money and applies it to school fees (tuition and room and board if you are on campus). Your school will give you a letter detailing the different types of awards and their amounts. If there is any money left over after paying for your school fees, your school will distribute that money personally to you. The leftover money is for you to use for any other school expenses you may have.
When it comes to the Federal Financial Aid, such as the Perkins Loan, your school will give you a check for the left over amount or credit it to your account. You usually will get the loan money in at least 2 payments during the school year. The Stafford Loan usually pays at least twice during the school year, also.
You will not receive an installment that is more than half the total amount of your loan. For example if you have a $4,000 loan, you will not receive an installment that exceeds $2,000. You will receive the left over money in the form of either a check or cash. If you desire for your school to hold the money, rather than giving it to you, you must give them permission to do so in writing.
Furthermore, you can only disburse your loan money 30 days after the first day of your enrollment term, if you are a first time borrower and first year undergraduate student applying for the Stafford Loan. However, you must complete the Entrance Counseling to receive your first loan money, if you are borrowing from the Stafford Loan for the first time.
Well, the last big question is, "When will the money come?" When speaking about the Stafford Loan, you must check with your school's financial aid office for their disbursement date. It's all dependent on their disbursement date.
Check with your school as to their disbursement date to find when your wait is over to receive your financial aid. You may want to consider a financial aid consultant to help you ensure that your applications are submitted correctly and your financial aid is disbursed on time.
If you’ve looked at our site Go Financial Aid, you will realize that the majority of the information is FREE, and we keep the site running Ad-free because of our financial aid consulting services. If you still have questions, please contact us contact@gofinancialaid.com
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