FINANCIAL AID NOTIFICATION GUIDE FOR FRESHMEN AND TRANSFER STUDENTS
uca.edu/financialaid | finaid@uca.edu | (501) 450-3140
WELCOME
Welcome to UCA! Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your academic journey. Our goal is to assist you by providing timely, accurate and valuable information to allow you to access institutional, federal, state and private resources to help meet your educational expenses. You have been admitted and have completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and are well on your way to understanding just how affordable UCA can be. This document accompanies directions to view your federal aid eligibility. As you access your myUCA account, this document should help you better understand what you are seeing. As always, if you have questions, please don’t hesitate to call us at (501) 450-3140 or by setting up and appointment through our website at uca.edu/go/fa-appt.
COMMUNICATION • MyUCA is the self-service portal that provides you 24/7 access to your UCA academic, billing and financial aid records. Log-in information for myUCA was provided with your admission acceptance letter.
• UCA Cub Account: This is your UCA issued email account where we will send communication. Please check this email account frequently. Account information was also provided with your admission acceptance letter. You may access Cub account through myUCA or gmail.uca.edu.
• Release of Information: Would you like us to be able to speak with a family member about your application? If so, complete the Release of Information found at uca.edu/ financialaid under the Forms tab. You only have to complete this once unless you want to add or remove someone from the list.
GENERAL INFORMATION AFFORDABILITY
ENROLLMENT STATUS
Federal, state and institutional aid programs are available to eligible students to help make college expenses more affordable. Access our College Cost Calculators [uca.edu/financialaid/college-costs] to determine estimated costs for tuition and fees and room and meal plans. If there is a gap between estimated costs and your financial aid eligibility, you may want to consider utilizing the university payment plan for the difference.
Your financial aid award assumes you are regularly enrolled in an eligible degree or certificate program offered by UCA and that you are enrolling in courses required for your program of study. For financial aid purposes, 12 or more undergraduate credit hours is considered full time. Students are initially awarded based on full time enrollment and adjustments are made prior to disbursement for those who decide to enroll part-time. Your enrollment status can affect the amount of your financial aid. As such, if you don’t plan to enroll full time, please speak with a financial aid counselor.
Student Accounts Payment Plan If you find that you need a bit more assistance in addition to your financial aid eligibility, the Student Accounts Payment Plan [uca.edu/go/payment-plan] may be a good option for you. This plan allows you to make payments over the course of the semester. Emergency Aid Programs The Student Support and Resource Center is the central campus location for UCA students seeking assistance with unexpected financial difficulties. Their mission is to help students connect to campus and community resources when a temporary financial setback threatens their academic success. Any student facing a financial emergency is encouraged to set an appointment online or by phone at (501) 852-0704.
Level: undergraduates enrolled in freshmanto senior-level courses Full-Time
enrolled in 12+ credit hours
3/4 Time
enrolled in 9-11 credit hours
1/2 Time
enrolled in 6-8 credit hours
< 1/2 Time
enrolled in 1-5 credit hours
• Students must be enrolled at least 1/2 time to receive Federal Direct Loans. • Some types of aid require enrollment in more than 12 credit hours per term such as UCA Academic Scholarships, Academic Challenge Scholarships, etc.
ACADEMIC SUCCESS Federal Satisfactory Academic Progress Students must maintain satisfactory academic progress toward completing their degree in order to receive federal financial aid. At the end of each semester, three standards are checked: number of hours attempted, number of hours earned, and cumulative GPA. These standards, known as Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) determine whether you are eligible to continue to receive federal assistance. Scholarship Renewal Each type of scholarship (UCA, ADHE, Private, etc.) has its own renewal criteria. Your scholarship award notification will indicate the grade point average (GPA) and hours requirement that must be met for the disbursement of your scholarship and for the renewal of your scholarship for one term to the next or from one year to the next.
CHANGE IN FAMILY CIRCUMSTANCES Changes in family circumstances, e.g., death, loss of job, retirement, divorce, or separation, may result in a change in financial aid eligibility. Contact the Office of Student Financial Aid if such a change occurs.
EXPECTED AID DOES NOT APPEAR ON FINANCIAL AID NOTIFICATION If you anticipate receiving financial assistance in any form that does not appear on this notice or on your myUCA self-service account, confirm with the donor and/or agency awarding the scholarship to determine when the funds will be sent to UCA.
TYPES OF AID FEDERAL GRANTS • Federal Pell Grant: A federal grant awarded to full-time or part-time students demonstrating high financial need. Federal regulations limit a student’s lifetime use of the Federal Pell Grant to the equivalent of six years of full-time eligibility. • Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG): A limited amount of SEOG funds are available for undergraduate, Pell Grant recipients with exceptional financial need.
STATE GRANTS AND SCHOLARSHIPS The Arkansas Department of Higher Education (ADHE) has a number of aid programs available for undergraduate students who are Arkansas residents [scholarships.adhe.edu/scholarshipsand-programs/a-z]. The most common ADHE scholarship is listed below. Don’t miss the opportunity to receive the funds. • Academic Challenge Scholarship The UCA Financial Aid Office will estimate your eligibility, if test scores are on file. However, ADHE will determine your eligibility after you apply for the scholarship and submit all required documentation directly to ADHE by their stated scholarship deadline.
EXTERNAL ASSISTANCE SCHOLARSHIPS, GRANTS AND OTHER RESOURCES It is never too late to seek out private sources of financial assistance. Contact local civic organizations or utilize a scholarship search engine to assist with your research. When we are notified of scholarships from organizations such as civic groups, schools, businesses, or religious organizations, they will appear on your financial aid notification as private funds. Most organizations will send a co-payable check to the university that must be endorsed by the student.
STUDENT EMPLOYMENT A limited number of jobs exist on campus for student employment. Open positions are posted on the Human Resources website at jobs.uca.edu. Federal Work-Study: A need-based program funded by the U.S. Department of Education. To determine eligibility, speak with a financial aid counselor. Institutional Work-Study: These positions are based simply on the availability of funds in each department and do not depend on any financial need. Students qualifying for Federal Work Study can also be hired and paid out of institutional funds at the department’s discretion.
PRIVATE EDUCATIONAL LOANS Private lenders offer educational loans as additional financial assistance. We encourage you to use all grants, scholarships, and federal loans for which you are eligible before considering use of a private loan. Private loans may have variable interest rates and each lender has different eligibility requirements, loan rates, repayment terms, and conditions. Find more information at uca.edu/go/loans.
FEDERAL DIRECT LOANS This loan is available for students enrolled at least half-time. Information about the interest rates, loan origination fees, and repayment can be found at studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/ loans. Our office will determine the type (Subsidized or Unsubsidized) and amount of Federal Direct Loan for which you are eligible based on the information provided on the FAFSA. Direct Subsidized Loan: Eligibility is needbased. No interest accrues on the principal while you are enrolled at least half-time and during the grace period. Direct Unsubsidized Loan: Eligibility is not need-based. Interest accrues while you are enrolled and during the grace period. Master Promissory Note (MPN) and entrance counseling: Federal regulations require that first-time borrowers and students new to UCA complete both a Master Promissory Note (Loan Agreement) and Entrance Counseling at studentaid.gov/mpn. Sign in using the same student Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID used when completing the FAFSA. Loan funds will not be added to your account (dispersed) until both the MPN and Entrance Counseling have been completed.
Loan Repayment If you receive a federal student loan you will be required to repay that loan with interest. It is important that you understand how interest is calculated and the fees associated with your loan. Both of these factors will impact the amount you will be required to repay. [studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/ loans/interest-rates] The U.S. Department of Education will assign repayment of your loans to one of their federal loan servicers. Loan payments are made directly to that servicer. Repayment of your direct loan begins six months after you graduate, withdraw, or drop below half-time enrollment status. Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) PLUS loans are available for parents of dependent students. They are non-needbased. Interest begins accruing immediately and repayment begins 60 days following disbursement. At UCA, we do not automatically include the PLUS loan as part of the financial aid package. If you are a dependent student and the funds included on your Financial Aid Notification are not sufficient to meet your expenses, one of your parents may want to consider applying for a PLUS loan. For more information about PLUS loans, visit studentaid. gov/understand-aid/types/loans/plus/parent.
uca.edu/financialaid | finaid@uca.edu | (501) 450-3140