Related Information:

• Types of Financial Aid
• Scholarships
• Direct loans
• Loan counseling
• Disbursement/Refunds

Types of Financial Aid

Various types of aid are offered through Georgia State University. Please feel free to contact the office with any questions you may have concerning your particular award disbursement.

For further information regarding financial aid, refer to the financial aid website at www.gsu.edu/financialaid. The following types of aid are available:

Federal Pell Grants
These awards are available until you earn your first undergraduate degree. Eligibility is determined by the federal government based on family income and resources. Actual awards will be calculated upon registration and based upon actual hours attempted.

SEOG/IMG
All recipients must be in a degreeseeking program working toward a first
baccalaureate degree. Priority is given to Federal Pell Grant recipients. Funds for Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG) and Institutional Matching Grants (IMG) do not have to be repaid.

National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) Grant
This particular grant provides up to $4,000 for each of the third and fourth years of undergraduate study. The National SMART Grant award is in addition to the student’s Pell Grant award.

Academic Competitiveness Grant
This academic grant provides up to $750 for the first year of undergraduate study and up to $1,300 for the second year of undergraduate study. The program became available for the first time for the 2006-07 school year for first-year students who graduated from high school after Jan. 1, 2006, and for second-year students who graduated from high school after Jan. 1, 2005. The Academic Competitiveness Grant award is in addition to a student’s Pell Grant award.

HOPE
For Georgia residents, the HOPE award covers tuition and fees not paid by other sources. HOPE-BOOK is a stipend for books and supplies and disbursement is calculated based on hours attempted. However, this stipend may be applied to any outstanding fees for the term in which the stipend was awarded.

Scholarships

A scholarship is a form of non-repayable financial assistance awarded to students based on academic excellence, civic achievements, course of study, or other specific criteria developed by the sponsor.

As financial aid is applied to a student’s account, it pays billed charges in specific ways. Some types of financial aid pay down charges in the order applied. Other aid has strict requirements. State law requires that the Hope Scholarship only pay required fees like matriculation and mandatory fees.

How outside agency or scholarship donor checks are treated depends on a variety of factors. If the check does not require the student's endorsement, the funds will be posted to the student’s account; if fees are paid in full, a residual check will be mailed to the student. A co-payable check will be released by mail to the student if fees are paid in full, and if fees are unpaid, the student will be notified to endorse the check.

Direct loans

Federal Direct Student loans are a way for students to borrow money from the federal government to pay for an education after high school. Under this program, the U.S. Department of Education makes loans directly to students through their schools. Direct loans simplify the loan process and eliminate the need for an outside lender such as a bank. Direct loans make loan repayment much easier, as payments go directly to the federal government.

The kinds of loans available under the direct loan program are Federal Direct Stafford loans, Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford loans and Federal Direct PLUS loans. The Office of Student Accounts applies all loans awarded directly to any outstanding student fees and then issues the remainder directly to the student. Refer to the Student Accounts website at http://www.gsu.edu/es/tuition_and_fees.html for specific information regarding disbursement dates.

Students who borrow Federal Direct Student Loans are required to complete a Master Promissory Note (MPN) online at http://dlenote.ed.gov. In order to complete a MPN you will need your Personal Identification Number (PIN) that you used to electronically sign your FAFSA and two references with two different US addresses. If you do not have your PIN, you will need
to request one at http://www.pin.ed.gov.