How long after i receive my award letter will i get my money

Once you’ve been sent your financial aid award letter, here’s what happens before you receive your money:

1. You will need to log in to eConnect and accept your award(s). Please be sure to read the terms of your awards and learn about the requirements you must meet to maintain eligibility. These requirements are called Satisfactory Academic Progress standards.
2. If you haven’t done so already, you will also need to verify your address in eConnect (login required) so you can choose the method you prefer to receive any refund you may be owed through the eRefunds program.
   
3. Next, your award funds are credited to your account, usually 10 days before your first class day for a term. Any tuition you still owe to the college is deducted from these funds.
4. Your college then verifies the accuracy of award amounts credited to your account. This verification includes confirming your enrollment level and your eligibility to receive payment. Under federal regulations, Dallas College has up to 14 business days to complete this part of the process.
5. Once verification takes place and your eligibility is confirmed, your funds are released and distributed to you through eRefunds.
   

These steps, such as verification of enrollment with your professors, must be completed before you receive your remaining financial aid money.

In addition, if your award(s) include Pell, SEOG or federal loans, your eligibility must be confirmed with the Department of Education before your remaining funds can be released. This process usually takes just 24 to 48 hours and can only be done after your award(s) have been credited to your account.

While it may seem like financial aid is taking longer than it should, your funds will be released before the federally mandated deadlines pass.

What Can You Do to Get Your Money Earlier Next Semester?

The easiest way to ensure your funds are processed as quickly as possible is to stay on top of your paperwork.

• Submit your FAFSA as soon as possible — you can apply for financial aid as early as the October before the fall semester you plan to enroll (for example, the 2019-2020 application was made available in October 2018).
• Respond as soon as you get forms requiring input. If you get a request for more information, or a signature, send in your response as soon as possible.
  
• Financial aid isn’t a race, but the sooner you fill out your paperwork and submit it, the better your chances of receiving money. Colleges are only given a certain amount of money every year to distribute to students, and if your paperwork is submitted early, you have a much better chance of being fully funded.

Book Advance

Starting in the Spring 2022 semester (January 2022), the Department of Financial Aid and Scholarships will only authorize advance book and supply checks for students enrolled in the dental hygiene, nursing and culinary arts programs.

To be eligible to receive an advance book check, students must have one of these programs listed as their Primary Program of Study (POS). Please schedule an appointment with your success coach (advisor) if you have any questions about your Program of Study. If you have any questions about financial aid, please contact Financial Aid.

Most books and supplies are included in tuition through Dallas College’s IncludEd program.

While you’re applying to schools, you’ll should also be applying for financial aid from the U.S. Department of Education. You must use the Free Application for Financial Student Aid (FAFSA) each year you’re in school to qualify for aid, which means you’ll receive multiple letters detailing what you’re been awarded. The timeline varies among schools, but here is what you can expect during that process.

Applying for Financial Aid

After you’ve filed the FAFSA, you’ll be able to check your approval status online at fafsa.gov. That’s where you can verify that you completed the form correctly and attached all the right documents.

Depending on the schools you applied to, they may come back to you asking for additional scholarship, grant, or financial aid information. Some students applying to select colleges and universities are also required to fill out a standardized form called the CSS Profile, which assesses the financial history of students and their families to determine their eligibility for institutional financial aid.

Once you’ve completed and submitted your FAFSA, you’ll want to wait a few days to check your financial aid status. If you mailed your FAFSA, it can take approximately 7 to 10 days for it to process once it’s received.

While your application is being processed, the U.S. Department of Education will send your information to the schools you applied to and will verify your family’s financial standing. They’ll then send you a Student Aid Report (SAR) before you get your financial aid award letter. There’s a lot that happens after your file the FAFSA.

FAFSA Deadlines

Applying for 2020-2021 School Year, the FAFSA opens October 1, 2019 and closes June 30, 2021.

Applying for 2021-2022 School Year, the FAFSA opens October 1, 2020 and closes June 30 2022.

Read More: How to Apply for the FAFSA

Student Aid Report vs. Financial Aid Award Letter

Your Student Aid Report (SAR) will show the details from your FAFSA form. It will also show your Expected Family Contribution (EFC), a number that helps determine your eligibility for federal student aid. The SAR also includes the list of schools you’re applying to and will arrive by email typically a week after your FAFSA has been processed.

Your financial aid award letter is what individual schools will send you. If you apply to multiple schools and list them on your FAFSA, then you’ll receive a financial aid award letter from each accepted school. Typically, award letters will begin to arrive in March or April after you’ve received an accepted decision.
The award letter will come around the same time as acceptance letters from your schools, typically around March or April.

An award letter will include the school’s cost of attendance for one year and how much your financial aid package will cover. This should give you and your family a clear idea of whether you can afford to attend and how much money you’ll need.

What’s on a Financial Aid Award Letter?

● Cost of attendance (COA – an estimate of tuition and fees, room and board, books, and other supplies)
● Grants
● Scholarships
● Federal Loans
● Work-Study
● Expected Family Contribution (EFC – the amount of money your family is expected to contribute to your college education)

Since there is no standard format, it’s important you know how to accurately understand and review financial aid award letters.

After Your Financial Aid Award Letters Arrive

Once you receive your award letter, you can use an award letter comparison tool to get an apples-to-apples look at your offers. Once you have that information, you can contact the university’s financial aid office with any further questions you might have.

Considering the cost of attendance, remember that there are many other costs not outlined in your financial aid award letter. There are many costs to consider that go beyond tuition like, books, travel, clubs, off-campus housing, and dining.

What’s Next?

If you don’t receive enough financial aid to cover your college costs, you can appeal your financial aid package. You can ask your college’s financial aid office directly for more aid based on your family’s financial standing by stating your case through an appeal letter and requesting a modification to your aid.

Many scholarships are available year-round. There are so many benefits of applying for scholarships year-round, so keep searching and applying to scholarships even during the spring. Every little bit helps.

Many students need additional money beyond federal grants, scholarships, and loans. You may consider cost-cutting tactics like living at home or attending community college, or you can take out a private student loan. College Ave Student Loans provides private student loans that fit your family’s needs—compare our different loan options here.

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