Why hasn't all of my aid been credited to my student account?
Here are some reasons why certain types of financial aid may not be credited to your student account (the "exceptions" mentioned earlier in this article):
Federal Verification
Some FAFSAs are randomly selected for a process called "federal verification." If your FAFSA has been "flagged" by the federal processor for "verification of data," the FAO must collect and verify the information you've used to complete your FAFSA and, if necessary, correct any errors we find to ensure that your FAFSA reflects accurate family background and financial information. If your FAFSA is chosen for verification, any need-based assistance that is part of your financial aid award (i.e., grants, loans and work-study) can't be released to the Bursar's Office and won't show up as a credit on your account until verification is complete. Sometimes verification will change a student's eligibility for aid. If the corrected errors result in a different EFC (Expected Family Contribution), the FAO will revise your financial aid award accordingly.
To determine if your FAFSA was selected for verification, the following phrase will appear on the paper version of your Award Letter: "Your FAFSA has been selected for Verification." If you are not sure what to submit for verification, refer to our Web site, www.bw.edu/finaid/verification.
Federal Direct Loan
Obtaining a Federal Direct Loan requires additional steps on your part before the funds can be credited to your student account. As a first-time Federal Direct Loan borrower, you will need to complete an Entrance Interview statement and sign a Master Promissory Note (MPN). You can complete both of these requirements online.
- Entrance Interview
- MPN
Once you complete these steps, you should not need to complete them again at BW (there are a few exceptions).
Perkins Loan
Students eligible to receive a Perkins Loan must sign a Master Promissory Note (MPN) before the funds can be credited to their Bursar's account. Sometime in August, the Perkins Loan Office, located in Bonds Hall, will send an e-mail to those students who have been awarded a Perkins Loan that contains the link to electronically sign the Perkins Loan MPN. Once the MPN has been signed, the Perkins Loan officer will release the loan funds to the student's account. If you have questions about your Perkins Loan, feel free to call the Perkins Loan Office at 440-826-2218 or contact Marcia Shaffer at mshaffer@bw.edu.
Other Loans (Parent PLUS and Private Education Loans)
These funds are released to the Bursar's Office in the form of an electronic funds transfer (EFT) or as a paper check, requiring endorsement of the borrower. Sometimes parents are required to sign a paper check. If that is the case, the FAO will contact them.
Federal Work-Study Opportunity
Federal Work-Study is a unique type of financial aid that requires work to be performed in order to receive funds. If you have been awarded Federal Work-Study, you can decide how you would like to apply your earnings. You can choose to receive your earnings in the form of a paycheck which you cash and use for personal expenses, etc. or you could sign a form with the Student Employment Center that would credit your earnings directly to your student account with the Bursar. The amount of Federal Work-Study dollars listed on your Award Letter represents the maximum you can earn in an academic year.
If you are interested in using your Federal Work-Study eligibility, please refer to Federal Work-Study/Student Employment section of this guide.
Other Types of Gift Assistance
If you have notified our office that you have received a scholarship from an external source, we have included it as part of your financial aid award. Until the check has been received by BW, however, the funds cannot be posted to your student account. In some cases, BW doesn't receive these funds until after the end of the semester. Please keep in mind that any balance due to the Bursar's Office will be due regardless of the fact that outside funds are expected but not yet received. Therefore, you may want to pay your balance due for any outside scholarship amounts to avoid any finance charges on an unpaid balance assessed by the Bursar. [The finance charge policy is set by the Bursar's Office, not the Financial Aid Office.] For more information about finance charges or the policy, feel free to contact the Bursar's Office at 440-826-2217 or cashier@bw.edu. If the amount of your financial aid exceeds your charges for the semester, you may have a credit balance on your student account. For information about credit balances, contact the Bursar's Office.
In the pages that follow we have provided some additional information about certain conditions that may have an affect on your student aid eligibility. These include: withdrawing from all classes, dropping a course, participating in a study abroad program, maintaining Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP), etc.
Return to index. Proceed to the next section.