Financial Aid FAQs

Typically students in non-degree-seeking status and most certificate programs are not eligible to receive financial aid.

• General Non-Degree, Learning for a Lifetime, Continuing Education and Post-Baccalaureate Non-Degree-Seeking: Ineligible to receive aid
• Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Certificate: ineligible to receive aid Graduate and Post-Master’s Certificate Programs: Ineligible to receive aid
• Teacher Recertification: Ineligible to receive aid Teacher Certification (initial): eligible to receive Stafford and Private Loans only  
• Post-Master’s Nurse Practitioner: Eligible to receive Private Health Professions Loans only (requires application to a private lender, credit approval, and school certification; contact your lender for application and eligibility information)

If you do not see your program listed above, or have further questions, please contact One Stop Student Services.

If you haven’t already filed a FAFSA, that’s your first step.  See the previous question about the FAFSA for more information.  Keep in mind that the FAFSA results allow us to award aid for one academic year (Fall-Spring-Summer).
 

If you are beginning in the summer, you should file both the current year’s FAFSA to determine your financial aid eligibility for the summer and the new year’s FAFSA for the fall term (and beyond).
 

Additionally, you need to complete an online Mid-Year Financial Aid Request (available Oct 15) for spring or a Summer Financial Aid Request form (available March 15) for summer.

Beginning around March 15, the Summer Financial Aid Request form will be available online. You must submit this online form to be considered for summer aid.
 

If you are beginning in the summer you should file both the current year’s FAFSA to determine your financial aid eligibility for the summer and the new year’s FAFSA for the fall term (and beyond).
 

Summer term aid is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. Don't delay in submitting your FAFSA and Summer Aid Request Form.

There are many factors that affect the awarding process, including student need, GPA and enrollment requirements from previous semesters, and availability of funds.

In many cases, students who apply after the April 1 priority deadline may not have these grants reflected on their accounts because funds were unavailable.

Some grants are based on enrollment status and/or need. In some cases we have very limited funds that are awarded on a first-come first-serve basis.

You must be enrolled in a minimum of 6 credit hours, in standard grade mode to receive most financial aid.

Hours taken in audit or other non-credit modes will not count toward financial aid eligibility.

Most grant awards assume full-time status. Some grants require full-time enrollment. For grants that do not require full-time, enrolling less than full-time may prorate your grant as follows:

Loans require a minimum enrollment of 6 hours. If you drop below 6 hours before the loan has disbursed, it will not pay.

Scholarships are subject to the enrollment requirements specific to the scholarship agreement.

If you drop or withdraw below the required hours for your aid type, your funds are subject to return, which will result in a balance owed to UNF.

Students who wish to concurrently enroll (degree-seeking at UNF, taking courses at another college or university) must complete a Transient Student Application online via www.flvc.org (or a paper form if planning to enroll at a private or out-of-state school).  Your Academic Advisor must approve the course(s) as applicable toward your degree to be eligible for financial aid.

To receive financial aid, the student must be enrolled in a minimum of 6 hours at one school (UNF or the other school). Click here for more information on concurrent enrollment and your financial aid award.

The student must pay up-front for courses at the other institution.

Students seeking enrollment at a Florida private or out-of-state institution must submit a paper Concurrent Enrollment Form, available at One Stop. In addition, a Consortium Agreement and a detailed fee statement from the other school (which must be marked "Paid in Full")  must be submitted by the posted Consortium deadline.

Financial aid awards can be adjusted to account for the concurrent enrollment. Financial aid will be calculated based on the student’s enrollment at UNF and/or the other school. UNF specific grants and scholarships will not pay toward courses taken elsewhere.

The Consortium Agreement does not guarantee that a student will receive the full amount he or she paid to the other institution. This is not a “reimbursement”, but rather a payment of eligible aid.

Awards are not disbursed until after the last drop/add date. However, disbursement depends on the type of award you receive. For example, the Pell Grant can not be disbursed until we received federal authorization. State grants and state scholarships can not be disbursed until the funds are received from the state of Florida. Loans will not pay until you have accepted the award and completed the loan process, as listed below.

Stafford Loans, Private Loans and Plus Loans are disbursed twice within the school year. If you have completed the loan process prior to the start of term, your first disbursement will be approximately two weeks after the first day of the fall semester. The second disbursement will be approximately two weeks after the first day of the spring semester. If you complete the process after the start of term, your disbursement will be delayed accordingly.

If you have accepted a loan, your steps toward the loan process include the following:

i. Completion of verification (if selected)
ii. Completion of entrance interview
iii. Completion of Master Promissory Note (MPN)

Additional steps may be required if your prior student loans have gone into default or if you have reached your aggregate loan limit. These situations are exceptions with which One Stop Student Services may assist you.

The University will automatically pend or defer your tuition and fees against financial aid you have accepted prior to the start of the term. You can accept your awards via myWings or in person at One Stop Student Services.

Please be advised that the following programs are EXCLUDED from the pending process.

• Federal Work-Study Program
• The State University System Minority Scholarship
• The Barnes and Noble Bookstore Scholarship
• The Delores Auzenne Fellowship

If you only receive the above programs, you must contact the Cashier’s Office to pay your tuition and fees.

If your award does not cover all of your tuition and fees, you must pay the amounts owed by the end of drop/add.

Tuition and fees remain in a pending status approximately 5 weeks into the term. If your balance has not been paid in full by that time, whether paid directly by you or by your financial aid, you may be subject to a $100 late fee. If your aid has not paid by week 4 of the term, you may pay the balance in full to avoid the fee. Your aid will continue to process and will pay once all requirements have been satisfied and all awards received by the University.

If you have sufficient funds to cover the other charges included in your UNF balance (tuition and fees, housing, etc.), you may receive email authorization to use all or part of your financial aid refund in the UNF Bookstore. This email will be sent to your UNF email account and notification will be forwarded to the UNF Bookstore of your eligibility and approved dollar value.

Bookstore authorization amounts will vary according to your balance due and aid awarded, up to a maximum of $500.

Your tuition and fees must be pended against awarded and accepted financial aid to utilize this process.

Please be advised that you are not being awarded additional money for books. You are simply borrowing against your pending financial award. If your financial aid award is adjusted during the verification process or due to changes in enrollment, you will owe any balance not covered by your awards. Learn more about bookstore authorizations.

You may be able to defer your housing costs by filling out a Housing form called a "Housing Pending Worksheet". This form will ask you to list your financial aid for the term and deduct estimated tuition and other expenses for that term. If there is a positive difference, the remaining financial aid may be used to pend your housing costs.

The amount that your financial aid can cover will be deferred until your award money arrives during the term. You will be responsible for paying any remaining Housing balance, by the Housing payment deadline. Please contact the Housing Office to confirm when housing fees are due.

If you have any additional questions regarding housing or how and when to complete the Pending worksheet, please contact housing by phone at (904) 620-HOME (4663), via email at housing@unf.edu, or on the web at housing.unf.edu.

Federal Direct Stafford Loans are a part of your financial aid award, based on the information you provided on each year’s FAFSA. If you indicate that you are interested in loans, and meet the need and budget requirements to qualify, you will be awarded Direct Stafford Loan funds. You may be offered Subsidized and/or Unsubsidized funds, depending on your Cost of Attendance, demonstrated financial need, grade level, and dependency status.

Federal Direct PLUS Loans and Private Loans require new loan applications each year. These applications will be subject to credit checks, and will be approved up to the amount your need and Cost of Attendance allow for the specific aid year.

We recommend you check with One Stop Student Services prior to the start of each year to make sure your lender selection and other loan requirements are in place.

For Direct Stafford Loans, and Direct Grad PLUS loans, you are automatically defered while you are in school at least half-time in a degree-seeking status. 

For Private and Parent PLUS loans, deferments are not automatic. Please contact your lender for deferment information. If your loan has entered the repayment period and you are seeking deferment, you are advised to continue making payments until your deferment has been approved.

Verification is a process to confirm the information that you provided on the FAFSA. The U.S. Department of Education selects approximately 1/3 of all students who file the FAFSA each year to be verified. Verification is conducted by the school and sent to the government for approval.

Verification ensures that the information students and parents report on the FAFSA is accurate. Verification prevents ineligible students from receiving aid via false reporting of information and ensures that eligible students receive the aid for which they are qualified. 

If you are selected for FAFSA verification, you must provide the specific documentation requested on your myWings account. Not all students selected for verification will have to submit the same documents. Save the records and materials that you used to complete the FAFSA, so that you may provide us with signed copies of the originals.   You can minimize the number of documents you must submit by opting to participate in the IRS Data Matching option when completing your FAFSA. 

Failure to submit the verification documents will result in your financial aid being delayed or cancelled. If any of the data reported on the FAFSA is found to be incorrect, your financial aid eligibility will be recalculated.

Learn more about verification.

Once you submit the requested documents, your file will go through an initial review. During this process we may identify a need for clarification.

If clarification is needed additional documentation may be added to the list of Financial Aid Requirements on your myWings account. Until all clarification documents are satisfactorily submitted, your verification cannot be completed. We recommend that you keep an eye on your myWings account and submit any additional information in a timely manner. The clarification process may add time to the processing of your verification. 

After all of your requirements are satisfied and evaluated they will be compared to the answers that you entered in on your FAFSA. If there are any discrepancies or errors, we are required to make the appropriate corrections and resubmit your FAFSA to the government. Your verification cannot be complete or your aid disbursed until UNF receives the corrected Student Aid Report (SAR) from FAFSA. This generally takes a couple of weeks from the time UNF submits the corrections.

Depending on the information included in your individual file and your specific situation, the verification process generally takes several weeks.

To order an IRS Tax Return Transcript or letter of non-filing from the IRS complete the IRS "Request for Transcript of Tax Return" (form 4506-T) and submit it to the IRS.

• The form is available on the IRS website. You can fax or mail the form to the IRS fax number or address listed on the form.
• Or, you can call the IRS at 1-800-908-9946 to request Tax Return Transcripts by phone.
• You can also submit an online request for a Tax Return Transcript

The IRS will process your request for a Tax Return Transcript and send you either a letter of non-filing or a transcript for the information reported on the tax return.

For verification purposes, the Tax Return Transcript or letter of non-filing must be signed by the person named on the form (parent, student, spouse, etc). The student’s N number must be written on the form to ensure timely processing.

Submit your signed Tax Return Transcript or letter of non-filing to One Stop Student Services in person, via mail, or by fax (904) 620-2414.

Each financial aid (academic) year is based on a new FAFSA, which requires information from the previous tax year (Example: the 2013-2014 FAFSA requires information from the 2012 tax year).

A student’s financial information can change from one year to the next. Changes in income and other financial issues are reported on each year’s FAFSA, potentially resulting in changes to the types and amounts of financial assistance a student is eligible to receive.

One-third of all students who file the FAFSA are selected for verification each year. You could be selected each year, requiring you to submit verification information and tax documents each time.

Any scholarship money received will first be applied to the student’s balance due. If there is an overage, a refund/overpayment will be processed by the Cashier’s Office.

The Cashier's Office disburses scholarship dollars to students when the university issues checks and direct deposits for financial aid students. This occurs once a week beginning approximately 3 weeks into the term provided the scholarship funds have been received.

The scholarship program has to be cleared, the student’s financial aid adjusted (if necessary) and a check issued from the awarding organization before any disbursements will be made to a student’s account or in the form of a refund.

Potentially, but the student needs to check with One Stop Student Services to ensure proper enrollment for different scholarships and financial aid programs. Many UNF scholarships and grants will not pay for hours taken at another institution.

If you do choose to take classes at another school, you must obtain permission from your Academic Advisor. See, "How does financial aid work if I am taking classes at another school?"

If enrolled at a Florida private or out-of-state institution, you must bring in proper documentation (Concurrent Enrollment form, detailed fee receipt from the host institution, and signed (Financial Aid Consortium Agreement) to One Stop Student Services by the posted deadline for UNF to begin the processing toward receiving your aid for courses at the host institution.
 

*Your scholarship and/or financial aid may be jeopardized if you are not properly enrolled at UNF. Check with One Stop Student Services before making any schedule changes.

Scholarships count toward your financial need. Therefore, other need-based aid (grants, subsidized loans, etc.) may have to be reduced so that you are not in an over-award status.

A Cost of Education budget is determined for each student based on grade level, dependency status, state residency, and living arrangements. According to Federal Regulations the university cannot award a student beyond his or her budget.

If you are an athlete, the NCAA has regulations and guidelines regarding your financial aid that must also be followed, that may result in adjustments to your Financial Aid award.

It is imperative that you notify One Stop Student Services if you are receiving additional funding.

The scholarship award might affect your Federal Financial Aid and our office must adjust the financial aid award offer. This might include deleting an already awarded program or reducing the dollar amount offered.

If you are found to be in over-award status after you have received your disbursements and/or refund, reducing your aid as required by Federal regulation may result in a balance owed to UNF.