Award Letter Types
Your initial award letter is marked as Preliminary and is an estimate of your financial aid. Once we have verified your financial information, you will receive an Official award letter. Any changes made after the Official letter is sent will come to you on a Revised award letter. All awards are based on full-time attendance.
Your Cost of Attendance could change between the Preliminary and Official Award letter. The Board of Visitors will determine the final figures for tuition and fees at their April meeting, and this could change your Cost of Attendance and your preliminary financial aid offer.
Determination of Need
Your eligibility for assistance is determined by using information from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the University of Virginia’s Financial Aid Application. The information for Parent and Student contribution comes from the FAFSA. Independent students will not have a Parent contribution. Other Resources include room rent and meal values for Resident Staff participation, ROTC scholarships, VPEP payments, direct outside awards, etc.
Grants and Scholarships
The University of Virginia awards financial aid primarily on the basis of need. Examples of need-based aid include Pell Grants, Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants (SEOG) and ACCESS UVa Grants.
Work Study
Work-Study earnings are used to pay indirect educational expenses and will not appear as a credit on your semester bill. You will be paid bi-weekly based upon the number of hours worked during the previous two weeks. You may search for and apply for Work-Study positions online after August 1.
Loans
Our preferred lender for Federal Stafford loans is Bank of America. We will certify your loan amount through Bank of America unless you tell us otherwise. To make a change to your loan amount or to change your lender, use the Financial Aid Change Form which was included with your award letter and mail the completed form to Student Financial Services.
2006-2007 Financial Aid Change Form
These loan funds will be disbursed to your university ISIS student account after you have (1) final registered for at least 12 hours, (2) submitted a signed Master Promissory Note (MPN), if you are a first-time borrower with Bank of America and the University of Virginia, and (3) completed on-line entrance counseling if you are a first-time borrower. The MPN and on-line entrance counseling information is available at www.bankofamerica.com/uvafinaid.
If you were awarded a Federal Perkins loan, the Master Promissory Note will be mailed separately unless you have previously completed a Perkins MPN with the University of Virginia. Although the loan appears on your bill, no funds are actually available to you until after the promissory note has been completed and returned to our office. If the MPN is not signed and returned to our office by October 1st, the loan will be cancelled and funds will be removed from your account.
If you were awarded a Federal Nursing loan, a Promissory Note will be mailed to you separately. Although the loan appears on your bill, no funds are actually available to you until after the promissory note has been completed and returned to our office. If the Note is not signed and returned to our office by October 1st, the loan will be cancelled and funds will be removed from your account.
You may also be eligible for additional funds through the Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) program. You must complete both the University Application the Bank Application with the Master Promissory Note.
Our preferred alternative loan is the GATE (Guaranteed Access to Education) loan from Bank of America. The rates, loan limits and application can be found at Bank of America.
Payment Plans
The University offers a no-interest payment plan through a third party vendor for parents interested in making monthly payments throughout the academic year rather than one per semester. The first payment will be due in June. For payment plan information, go to Student Accounts page.
Financial Aid Account Information
Loan funds will be applied first to your university ISIS student account to pay any existing charges such as tuition and fees, etc. All remaining funds will be sent to the student via Direct Deposit, or paper check mailed to the local address listed with the university. You may update your local address with the University Registrar at www.virginia.edu/ISIS. Since remaining funds will not be available until after final registration, students need to be prepared to cover early semester expenses with other funds.
Outside Scholarships
If you receive outside scholarships or other non-University awards after your Federal funds have been awarded, your eligibility for aid will be reassessed. When your Federal aid is reduced by other awards, you will receive written notice of which funds have been reduced and by how much. You may be required to pay back disbursed funds for which you are no longer eligible.
Please complete the Notification of Non-University Award form as soon as your receive notification that you will receive a non-university scholarship.
Robert C. Byrd Recipients
Students receiving the Robert C. Byrd scholarship must complete 12 credit hours for each semester. Failure to complete the required number of credit hours will result in the cancellation of the award for that semester.
Additional Information
The Financial Aid Forms Directory contains the forms that you will need for most situations. The following are common situations for which you may need to complete a form:
*Notify our Office about Non-University Awards -- All non-university scholarship awards must be reported to the University. Non-university awards will be applied first to unmet need, then loans and then work-study. If your non-university award exceeds your unmet need, loans and work-study, then your university grants will be reduced.
*One-Time Computer Expense Request -- If you have or wish to purchase your own computer, you may apply for a one-time computer allowance loan. If you have available loan eligibility, your award will be increased by the allowable amount for your computer expense. Please note that if you are granted a computer loan, the funds will be applied first to your university ISIS student account to pay any existing university charges. If there are funds remaining after all university charges are paid, a refund will be sent to the student.
*File an Appeal for Reconsideration of Your Financial Aid -- If you feel that your financial aid award should be reviewed because special or extenuating circumstances have occurred since your financial aid was first awarded, you may submit an appeal for reconsideration. A limited number of circumstances will warrant an appeal. A list of the criteria for an appeal and the form are available on-line.
ISIS On-Line
The Integrated Student Information System (ISIS) is available on-line at: http://www.virginia.edu/isis. You can view your financial aid information as it is awarded and all current billing information.
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