The Financial Aid & Scholarships office is located on the 2nd floor of the Carl R. Reng Student Union, room 2078.

Mail:
P.O Box 1620
State University, AR 72467

Ph: 870-972-2310
Fax: 870-972-2794
Email: finaid@astate.edu
www.astate.edu/finaid

The office is open Monday-Friday from 8 am to 5 pm.

Yes. You may set up an appointment by going to the following www.astate.edu/finaid

An award letter is a list of the aid a student has been awarded for both Federal Student Aid and scholarships. An award is based upon eligibility and could possibly change due to additions of scholarships or other types of aid.

New students begin receiving award letters in mid-March each year. Continuing/returning students begin receiving notification in mid-May after Spring grades have been posted and reviewed.

No, the amounts are not guaranteed. Generally, the amounts are available if all eligibility criteria is met. However, changes to FAFSA information or other eligibility information (grade level, Satisfactory Academic Progress Status, loan default, etc.) can affect eligibility.

Current award information can be viewed by logging into the Financial Aid Checklist through myAState.

For Federal Student Aid, your eligibility can be re-evaluated to be re-offered assuming all eligibility requirements are still being met. It may not be possible for a scholarship to be re-offered if the deadline has expired. The student should contact the Financial Aid & Scholarships office at 870-972-2310 or finaid@astate.edu.

If a student does not have enough financial aid to cover their costs, it is recommended for them to speak with a financial aid counselor.

Beginning Summer 2022, if you have an anticipated refund you should be able to charge your books with our campus bookstore provider, Textbook Brokers. The amount available varies depending on your program. When shopping at the bookstore, notify the cashier you would like to charge your books against your refund. When shopping on-line (AStateBookstore.com) select “Financial Aid” as your payment option during checkout. When disbursement of funds occurs, the bookstore charges will be added to your account.

Information must be submitted to the financial aid office well in advance at the beginning of the semester in order for an award to be available. You must have an accepted award amount greater than their student account balance in order to charge books at our campus bookstore, Textbook Brokers.

Students should be prepared to purchase their books at the beginning of the semester. A student must submit all necessary information to the financial aid office for an award well in advance of the beginning of the semester in order for an award to be available to purchase books.

A budget is an established maximum amount of aid required for educational expenses. Budget amounts include components such as tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, etc.

A budget establishes a maximum amount of aid that a student can receive from all sources (scholarships, grants, loans, etc.)

Generally, a budget cannot be increased once a student has been given the maximum amount. Limited extenuating circumstances may allow for an adjustment. The student would need to contact the financial aid office to discuss the situation.

Yes. Budget amounts are adjusted annually to reflect updated amounts for cost-of-living, tuition and fees, room and board, etc.

No. The Cost of Attendance (or budget) is an estimated amount.

No. A financial aid disbursement is when the Financial Aid & Scholarships office credits aid to a student’s A-State student account through their myAState account. A refund is when the Student Account Services office issues a refund of excess funds to a student either through direct deposit or a paper check.

The Financial Aid & Scholarships office generally begins to apply funds to A-State student accounts after the 11th class day during a semester (Fall/Spring).

Student Account Services will begin processing excess refunds after the Financial Aid & Scholarships office has applied funds to student accounts. It usually takes at least 2-5 business days to process a refund.

A Student Account Summary can be viewed by logging into myAState and following the links Self Service > Student > Student Records > Account Summary by term.

1. Login to myAState
2. Click the Self-Service link
3. Student
4. Student Records
5. myBill
6. eRefunds tab
7. Setup Account
8. Choose your account type (Checking or Savings)
9. Enter Routing Number (consists of 9 digits)
10. Enter account number and confirm
11. Save

Students should contact the Student Account Services office at 870-972-2285, so they can research the issue.

All aid is credited to applicable student account charges before a refund is issued. The refund amount may be different than expected due to recent additional charges such as adding an additional course or making a change to a housing/meal plan.

Federal Direct student loans also have origination fees charged by the Federal processor. The amount applied to your student account will be different than the total awarded amount.

Federal Work Study is need based as determined by the student Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) and the budget (or Cost of Attendance) for the student. The student must have unmet need to be eligible for work study. Awards are granted on a first-come first-served basis. Students are encouraged to apply early if they would like to receive Federal Work Study.

To be considered for a Federal Work Study award, the student must complete a FAFSA and indicate they are interested in Federal Work Study.

Schools are allocated a limited amount of funding for the Federal Work Study program each year. If Federal Work Study is not included in an award, then the student is either ineligible or the funds have been exhausted for the year.

Information regarding Federal Work Study jobs can be found on the Career Services website.

Visit Career Services >>

Federal Work Study funds are distributed to students through the payroll process as students work and earn wages throughout the semester.

No. Federal Work Study awards must be used during the term for which they are awarded.

FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid maintained by the U.S. Department of Education to determine a student’s eligibility for Federal Student Aid programs.

View the FAFSA >>

The A-State Federal School Code is 001090.

While a FAFSA is not required, students should complete a FAFSA to determine if they are eligible for grant money. A FAFSA is required for a Federal Direct student loan. Also, some scholarships such as the programs administered by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education (i.e. Arkansas Lottery Scholarship) require a FAFSA be completed.

Yes. Students must complete a FAFSA for each academic year in order to receive Federal Student Aid for that year.

Students should begin the financial aid process as soon as possible each year. The FAFSA is available beginning October 1 each year for the following Fall semester.

The financial aid office recommends that students complete their FAFSA by July 15. Students entering in the spring semester are recommended to complete it by December 15.

For each academic year, the FAFSA must be completed by June 30 of that academic year end. For example, for the 2013-14 school year, the deadline to complete a FAFSA is June 30, 2014. However, completing a FAFSA does not guarantee eligibility if the semester has already ended. It is best to submit the FAFSA before the semester (Fall, Spring, or Summer) ends. Eligibility may be limited if the FAFSA is not completed during the requesting semester.

The FAFSA can be completed online at www.studentaid.gov. It can also completed in the myStudentAid mobile app.

Students, parents, and borrowers are required to use an FSA ID, made up of a username and password, to access certain U.S. Department of Education online systems. Your FSA ID is used to confirm your identity when accessing your financial aid information and electronically signing your federal student aid documents. The FSA ID is the username and password you use on federal student aid websites such as fafsa.gov and StudentLoans.gov, and on the myStudentAid mobile app.

Using the A-State School Code 001090, the student will login at www.studentaid.gov to complete the FAFSA by providing some basic demographic and financial information. If possible, students and parents should use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to automatically transfer tax information to the FAFSA. Once the FAFSA is complete, the information will be sent to A-State automatically for processing.

Dependent students must use their parent’s information to complete the FAFSA. A student is not considered independent just because they do not live with their parents. The dependent and independent categories are defined by the U.S. Department of Education.

View the U.S. Department of Education Site >>

Yes. If you are a dependent student, your parents’ information must be included on the FAFSA.

View Dependency Status information on the U.S. Department of Education Site >>

Students whose parents are divorced should use the parent who provides more than 50 percent of financial support for the student.

Only parents or adopted parents may complete the FAFSA with the student. Grandparents, foster parents, and legal guardians are not considered parents for FAFSA purposes.

The dependent and independent categories are defined by the U.S. Department of Education.

View Dependency Status information on the U.S. Department of Education Site >>

SAR stands for Student Aid Report. A SAR is a summary of the information provided from the FAFSA. A SAR is automatically sent to the student after completing a FAFSA. It contains important information regarding eligibility for Federal Student Aid. It is not necessary for the student to send the SAR to the school.

Once A-State receives the FAFSA information, it generally takes 2-3 weeks. Awards for FAFSAs for an upcoming year will be processed after the previous academic year is complete (Fall/Spring).

Financial information originally submitted on the FAFSA cannot be updated. Unique circumstances such as job loss, significant change in income, or major medical expenses may be reviewed on a case-by-case basis for possible adjustments. Contact the financial aid office, 870-972-2310, to discuss the situation with a financial aid counselor.

Yes, if supporting documentation can be provided. Example: students may include nieces or nephews provided their parents (dependent students) or themselves (independent students) support the child more than 50 percent of the time. If students include a grandparent or sibling over the age of 24, the family member’s income (W2s, Social Security benefits, etc.) will need to be added to the FAFSA.

Yes, if supporting documentation can be provided. Students who include friends as part of the household must include the friend’s income (W2s, Social Security benefits, etc.) to the FAFSA.

Per IRS Publication 17, if the student's parents were married on the last day of the tax year, they are considered married. They will need to amend their taxes to "Married Filing Joint" or "Married Filing Separate".

Applicants should include all of the earned wages from the previous year’s W2s.

Tax return transcripts are available from the IRS at: http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Order-a-Transcript or 1-800-908-9946. Make sure you request a tax return transcript. Do not request a tax account transcript.

Federal guidelines require A-State to only accept tax return transcripts. Students unable to obtain a tax return transcript online may try calling the IRS at: 1-800-908-9946. If that is unsuccessful, students must submit a paper request to the IRS. http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4506t.pdf

Students unable to obtain their parents’ information should visit their financial aid counselor.

First-time users will need to activate their account by following the "First-Time Users" link on the myAState login page.

Follow the "Reset Password" link on the myAState login page to reset the password and retrieve the correct username. If unable to login after resetting the password, contact the Information & Technology Helpdesk at 870-972-3933 or visit www.astate.edu/its.

No. A student enrolled in more than one institution at the same time can only receive aid from one school, not both.

The Financial Aid & Scholarships office handles numerous calls during peak times. Dedicated call staff constantly answer calls.

Students can stop by the office for personal assistance. Students may also email the office at finaid@astate.edu. Emails should include the student A-State ID number. Students should also check their myAState account for messages from the office.

An EFC is the amount of expected family contribution calculated by the Federal Processor based on the financial and household income information provided on the FAFSA. The EFC is used to determine eligibility for Federal student aid.

Federal loan eligibility is determined by a number of factors such as FAFSA income information, budget (or Cost of Attendance), grade level, and previous borrowing history.

Unsubsidized loans are available to eligible undergraduate and graduate students. Federal Direct subsidized loans are available only to eligible undergraduate students. The main differences between the two loans are 1) subsidized loan eligibility is based on financial need, whereas an unsubsidized loan is not, 2) the government pays the interest for the student on subsidized loans while the student is enrolled in school at least half-time.

Federal Direct loans have an annual as well as a lifetime limit. For more information on loan limits, please visit the Federal Student Aid website.

View the Federal Student Aid Website >>

Undergraduate students must be enrolled in at least 6 hours of undergraduate level courses required for their degree program. Graduate students must be enrolled in at least 4.5 hours of graduate level courses required for their degree program.

Visit the U.S. Department of Education site at http://studentaid.ed.gov/types/loans/interest-rates for the most up to date interest rate information.

Students should borrow as little as absolutely necessary. Loans must be repaid and will have interest that will be added to the loan over time. Only borrow the amount needed to pay for education costs.

View a sample repayment calculator >>

No. Federal regulations require schools to provide at least two equal disbursements of a loan. For example, a loan must be disbursed in two equal disbursements, one part in each of the Fall and Spring semesters.

For Federal student loan eligibility, students must complete a FAFSA. Loan eligibility will be awarded to the student automatically once all FAFSA requirements have been satisfied.

Students must complete an entrance counseling session and a Master Promissory Note (MPN) to receive a loan.

Complete Requirements at www.studentaid.gov >>

Students will receive notifications from their lender regarding their grace period as well as when the repayment process will begin. Students are allowed a 6-month grace period (from the date the student drops below half-time or graduates).

Yes. It is recommended that students log-in to the National Student Loan Data System at www.studentaid.gov to access information about the lenders for all of their federal loans. Once the student has this information, they may create a username and password for each lender to monitor their accounts and update their information, if necessary.

Generally, all loan eligibility is awarded during the Fall and Spring semesters of the academic year. To use loan money for the summer, the student will need to reserve loan money from Fall or Spring to pay for summer. If loan money is not needed during the Fall or Spring term, the student can decline all or part of the loan.

Generally, a MPN is good for 10 years. If a MPN is signed but not used for a year, then it becomes invalid.

If a student previously completed entrance counseling for A-State, then it does not need to be completed again. However, transfer students will need to complete a new entrance counseling session for A-State.

SAP is the policy established by A-State to monitor and enforce academic progress standards to ensure a student is satisfactorily progressing to complete their degree program.

View the A-State Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy >>

Federal Student Aid eligibility must be immediately suspended for failure to meet the SAP requirements. All Federal Student Aid must be suspended including grants and loans.

No. All Federal Student Aid eligibility is suspended when a student fails to meet the SAP requirements.

Cumulative GPA is used for all Institutional Scholarship and Arkansas Department of Higher Education (ADHE) reviews and reporting. The Cumulative GPA is a calculation of all college work (excluding remedial courses, but including courses taken while in high school and transfer work). If you can see the course and grade on your official transcript, it will be calculated into your GPA (excluding any replacement grades, some repeated coursework or non-accepted transfer hours). It is also known as your Overall GPA.

Students may appeal to have their eligibility restored if there were extenuating circumstances that affected their academic progress. In order to appeal, the student must file an appeal with the Financial Aid & Scholarships office.

View Appeal Information >>

Students who have submitted a complete appeal are usually notified of their appeal decision within two business days of the appeal meeting.

Students will be notified of their financial aid appeal decision via A-State email. Decisions will not be given out over the phone. Students who do not have an A-State email account will receive a letter through the mail.

Students on Financial Aid Suspension are suspended from receiving Federal Financial Aid. It does not prevent a student from registering for classes.

Students on Academic Suspension are suspended from the university, and are not eligible to register for classes.

Yes. All hours attempted and completed affect aid eligibility even if you paid for them on your own.

For a list of institutional scholarships, visit our scholarships web page >>

Arkansas residents transferring from an Arkansas two or four year institution may be eligible to receive a Transfer Scholarship. Please visit www.astate.edu/scholarships for criteria and application information.

A-State offers a wide range of privately funded scholarships, and all students are encouraged to apply for them each year. The application is available in December, and the application deadline for the upcoming award year is February 1. The application can be found at www.astate.edu/scholarships.

The scholarships website at www.astate.edu/scholarships provides several resources along with website addresses for outside source scholarships. We encourage students to visit the websites provided and apply for these additional scholarships.

Yes. Each scholarship has requirements that the student must meet. Requirements are provided to the student before receiving the scholarship. It is the student’s responsibility to read and meet the requirements of their scholarship.

Dropping a class could possibly affect scholarship eligibility. Most scholarships have requirements for a student to complete a specified number of hours.

If unsure about the hours required, the student should contact the Financial Aid & Scholarships office for clarification.

If an additional scholarship or grant is received after a student is awarded Federal Student Aid, then the original award may be revised to reduce or remove your loans.

Verification is a process mandated by Federal regulations to confirm the information provided on the FAFSA – Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Selection for verification is random but may be based on FAFSA data that was incomplete, estimated, or inconsistent.

The U.S. Department of Education selects students for the verification process. A-State will select others if there is conflicting information.

Students should ALWAYS log into their myAState account to check the status of their financial aid. Students selected for verification will have a checklist of requested items. A Student Aid Report (SAR) will also be sent from the U.S. Department of Education notifying students that they have been selected for verification.

No. Federal guidelines prohibit the financial aid office from receiving 1040s. However, there are limited special instances where they are acceptable.

Federal guidelines require A-State to only accept tax return transcripts. Students unable to obtain a tax return transcript online may try calling the IRS at: 1-800-908-9946. If that is unsuccessful, students must submit a paper request to the IRS. http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4506t.pdf

No. Students may turn in documents as they collect them. Make sure the student’s ID number is included on all pages of the submitted documents. Please be reminded, documents will NOT be reviewed until they are signed, and ALL requirements are satisfied.

Submit documents:
Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships
P.O. Box 1620
State University, AR 72467
Fax: (870) 972-2794

Yes. Students should keep a copy of paperwork submitted to our office such as tax forms, W2s, court documents, etc.

Students selected for verification must provide required supporting documentation and a completed Astate verification form.

These documents are compared to the information on the student’s FAFSA, and if necessary, corrections are made to the FAFSA by the institution.

Students can view requested documents by logging into their Financial Aid Checklist through myAState.

Students should check their Financial Aid Checklist through myAState to determine what documentation is needed.

Documents can be hand-delivered to the Financial Aid & Scholarships office located on the 2nd floor of the Carl R. Reng Student Union.

Documents can also be mailed to:
Arkansas State University
Financial Aid & Scholarships
P.O. Box 1620
State University, AR 72467

Due to security concerns, it is not recommended for students to email sensitive information to the Financial Aid & Scholarships office.

The Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships receives more than 500 pieces of mail a day during peak times. Unfortunately, there is not time to stop processing students’ financial aid to check to see if paperwork has been received.

Checklist requirements are satisfied when items have been processed. Students are encouraged to log into their myAState to check if paperwork has been received.

If it has been more than five business days, and there is no change to the student’s myAState checklist, students should resubmit the requested item.

If a students is selected for verification, they MUST complete the process or forfeit eligibility for Federal Student Aid and other need-based aid.

While there is not a set timeframe, all requested information should be submitted by July 15 (Fall semester) or December 15 (Spring Semester) in order for processing to be completed before class begins.

All documents submitted after these dates will be processed as quickly as possible.

All information should be submitted by the end of the semester in order to be processed for that semester.

Many times during the verification process follow-up questions arise and need to be answered. Students are encouraged to check their myAState periodically for notification.

No. If students or parents filed an extension, submit the Form 4868 along with W2s from the previous year. If the student, spouse or parent owns a business or farm, submit a signed statement of wages from the previous year.

Submit the completed and signed 1040x along with the original 1040, tax transcript or any IRS transcript that includes all of the income and tax information required to be verified.

Students may contact their employer for a reprint of the W2 or contact the IRS and request a wage statement at: http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Online-Ordering-for-Information-Returns-and-Employer-Returns.

It is recommended for the student to not change their FAFSA to correct issues with verification. It is quicker and easier for the financial office to handle updates to the student’s FAFSA.

If changes are made to the FAFSA to correct issues with verification, students must contact the financial aid office to notify us of the change so we may continue processing the aid. That is the only way we will know the issue has been resolved.

When verification is complete student awards could show up as early as the next day. However, if a correction was made to the FAFSA students should expect awards to show in 2-5 business days. During peak times this may take a few days longer to complete.

Students should check their myAState account and make sure all requirements have been satisfied. There could be additional information requested or questions. If it has been at least ten days since all requirements were satisfied, students should contact the financial aid office at (870) 972-2310 or finaid@astate.edu.

Make sure all documents are signed by the student and by the parent(s), if applicable.

Students should check their myAState account regularly. All communication from the financial aid office is posted there.

Use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool on the FAFSA. This simplifies and expedites the process. Using the tool means students will not be required to submit a Federal tax return transcript.

Make sure the number in the household and in college, on the verification form, matches the information on the FAFSA. If there has been a change, students may make a note on the verification form. Discrepancies will require follow up questions and may lengthen the verification process.

Students required to complete an itemized worksheet must complete all items. If a family member or friend pays the student’s rent, it is fine. Financial aid needs to know what the cost would be for the student’s portion (rent/house payment divided by number living in the household) of the rent.

A withdrawal is when a student ceases attendance from all enrolled courses during a semester after beginning attendance.

A drop is when a student ceases attendance from a course while continuing attendance in other courses during a semester.

It is possible that a student would be required to return a portion of their Federal Student Aid if they withdraw.

For more information, please visit our website >>

Dropping a course may prevent a student from earning the required number of hours required for a scholarship. For Federal Student Aid, dropping a course may affect the measurements established for the Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy which could result in loss of eligibility for grants and loans.