Student Business Services and Financial Aid Chat

Transcription

1 Student Business Services and Financial Aid Chat Message Lsfrickey: This is a question about financial aid. Can you tell me how the dispersement schedule works and how to know how much Federal Plus money is awarded? DanasParent1: When will we know if the university has received Bright Future information? fsuchat(fsu Staff_Libby): Good afternoon everyone! Welcome to our chat with Student Business Services and Financial Aid. Thanks for joining us. fsuadmin(fsu We will allow Financial Aid staff assist you with those questions. Both Libby and I and the OL's Mary Beth, Andria, Rene, and Nathan can offer a student's perspective! fsuchat(fsu_ofa_staff_chatman): Hello, Disbursement schedules are listed on Student Business Services website. We award Federal Plus amounts based on your Cost of Attendance and your application data. If you specify an amount, we will award that amount (not to exceed your COA). If you select max on your application and are approved, we will award up to your COA also. fsuchat(fsu Once Florida Dept of Education processes the information from the high school and awards the student we will receive the information and post it to the student's file. We do this process everyday. DanasParent1: Is it best to have a SunTrust account for payments? fsuchat(fsu Staff_Libby): Here is the website for Student Business Services for your reference: Lsfrickey: Thank you. So, if there are no holds on the account and all master promissory notes are completed, then you will disperse scholarships, unsubsidized Stafford, and any needed plus money in that order? And will it be before the drop/add date? jtonglet: My son is an incoming freshman so this fall will be our first. My son received an out of state waiver, a freshman scholarship and a Stafford loan. Will all be applied to his fee bill at the same time? DanasParent1: Can you post the scholarship web page for current students? fsuchat(fsu Staff_Libby): Sure fsuchat(fsu Since last summer we allow all banks for direct deposit. As of right now Student business services only allows Suntrust (linked to FSU card) to be used for payment in the office. fsuchat(fsu_ofa_staff_chatman): We have a new process of early disbursement for Financial Aid. If all documentation is in, the student's aid should disburse a week before the term begins. fetterhoff: HI, my son is a freshman, when will we be billed for summer session C? Lsfrickey: If any further documentation is needed, will it show up under holds on my daughter's account?

2 fsuadmin(fsu Your student should be able to access their Financial Aid Toolkit, which lays out all their aid information with the amounts per semester. That is all applied at the same time once tuition is charged to your student's account. fsuadmin(fsu Tuition for Summer C is due tomorrow! fsuadmin(fsu Staff_Kimberly): They can pay online (with credit card) or at Business Services with Cash, Check, or Money Order Dzina: Do you know of any special scholarships for Eagle Scout freshman? Outstanding documents will be listed on the student's to-do list. fetterhoff: How would I know that, for future reference? fsuchat(fsu Yes once all funds have been assessed The university pays itself first. That includes tuition and fees and then housing. The student must set up student permissions to have all other university charges paid. If student permissions are not set up then any excess funds goes to the student and it is their responsibility to pay all outstanding bills. DanasParent1: RE student loans. Are we correct in that our student needs to go to StudentLoan.Gov.? There a dealine for fall Freshman? Lsfrickey: Thank you! fsuchat(fsu Tuition is always due the second Friday of classes. So for the Fall, it is due September 9th. jtonglet: Other than tuition, fees and housing, what would he have to set up permissions for to be paid? Meal plan? fetterhoff: Is it posted on my son's FSU account? robinbogosh: Where does the student give permission to have all the University charges paid before refund to student? fsuchat(fsuol_nathan): Dzina77: I am not aware of a specific scholarship for Eagle Scout freshman, yet there are a few scholarship websites that you may be able to use to filter scholarship rewards fsuadmin(fsu Yes! On your Student's Portal (my.fsu.edu) its under the "My Accounts" section. fsuadmin(fsu Staff_Kimberly): At the bottom of the homepage Most likely that would be listed as an outside scholarship and would be sent to us (FSU) from the organization. fetterhoff: Would they have sent an reminder for tuition? fsuadmin(fsu I would contact Seminole Dining about meal plans ( or call them at: Yes, your student should have received a reminder . fsuchat(fsu for any student loans that is throught the FAFSA that you should have completed January 1st. Once this is done the we determine what the student is eligible for.

3 mmcarlisle: Hello. Just joining in late. My son has a Bright Futures scholarship. Will it go directly to FSU to pay part of his tuition or will we me the middle man? fetterhoff: Thank you jtonglet: We have selected a meal plan so it should show up on his fee bill. Do we have to set specific permissions for that to be included in what is paid with scholarship and loan disbursements? fsuchat(fsu It will go directly to FSU as long as he has FSU listed on his Bright Futures application. Your student can take care of that through their FSU portal at my.fsu.edu fsuchat(fsu yes student permissions would be needed for meal plan to be paid automatically. jtonglet: Thanks Tasha. fsuchat(fsu no problem mmcarlisle: Great news. Thank you. Bright Futures will be credited to the students account after drop/add and will pay whatever fees are remaining on the account for the amount of Bright Futures applied. mmcarlisle: When would be the earliest that we would see a total amount due for residence hall/meal plan/ and tuition? We would be transferring in $ into his Sunburst account most likely. You would need to contact Student Business Services for accounts and billing questions. (850) DanasParent1: RE student Loan. Our student has already received the award notification. Is there a deadline to go to Studentloan.gov to finalize the loan? lisas12: How does my daughter delegate access to her FSU account to me? We couldn't find it Surfers4: Getting here late, sorry. My daughter can use checks from out local community bank at FSU correct? Everything seems to keep referring to SunTrust. fsuadmin(fsu Your student can accept or decline the loan through their Student Portal. They can accept all, some, or none of it. Dzina: Is there an amount paid to an RA or just a percentage taken off tuition? And do you know when the student is eligible to become an RA? ( missed the orientation ) any other jobs for students on campus to help with tuition? fsuadmin(fsu Delegated Access steps can be found here: fsuchat(fsu Yes, of course! Suntrust just has a branch on campus making it more convenient for students who live on campus. fsuchat(fsu If you are trying to receive the loans on time or in a timely manner you would need to complete the Loan entrance counceling and the master promissory note at studentloans.gov asap fsuadmin(fsu Our OL Nathan was a RA! He can definitely answer that question for you!

4 Yes! I personally pay my tuition through my bank back home. Surfers4: Direct deposit can be set up with our local bank also for financial aid refunds also? to my knowledge RA's receive a percentage off of their housing, likely half off. The RA selection process happens in the spring, and students are given the opportunity to visit information sessions before hand. Your student can find out more information about campus jobs through jobs.fsu.edu kookyme: How are charges paid (dorm/meal plan) when it comes to financial aid? Does it come out of scholarships first, then loans? Dzina: Thank you fsuadmin(fsu Correct! That can be done through your Student's Portal DanasParent1: We have also accepted the loan on the portal. I understand Studentloan.gov is the final step for the promise note? Iss this correct? fsuadmin(fsu Yes, you are correct! Financial aid will pay tuition first and then other charges on the studentâ s account including housing rent charges. Any remaining financial aid funds left after FSU charges are paid will be disbursed to the student. All financial aid is applied to the student's account and a refund is processed, if available. cdrduncan2003: Is there a way to get an official letter (on FSU letterhead)from finance on the cost of attendance? Or is there another way to get this information fsuchat(fsu yes it. Without the 2 things i said before no loan money can be disbursed DanasParent1: FSU OFA - Thanks your reply came across as I was typing. lisas12: is there any advice/recommendations on private loans Surfers4: Can the federal loan amount be reduced after accepting it before tuition is paid? fsuchat(fsu no there isn't but we advised to compare them and pick the best one for you fsuchat(fsu yes it can. Just click on the amount and it should let you change the amount AndersonFam2015: Hello, when the final High School transcripts get entered and reviewed, IF their final GPA ends up higher, is there a chance an academic award may still be given? Or, is it too late for that now. In this situation my son ended up at 4.03 and I'm wondering if 4.0 happened to be some cutoff point for any scholarships/grants. You can find the Cost of Attendance here: mmcarlisle: With regards to delegation.. My son gave me permission and I received the confirmation . Do I need to create an FSUID for me? or do we use my son's FSUID? We initially used my address for correspondence... fsuchat(fsu You would need to contact the admissions dept to see how their process is since they handle academic scholarships

5 You will create your own username and password kookyme: We have Florida prepaid for tuition. That leaves housing and meal plan (basically). My question was that if my child has financial aid say for $10,000 ($8,000 in scholarships/ $2,000 in Stafford Loans) and the housing and meals are $9,000, is the scholarship funds used first and then the loan funds? It will depend on if the check/money is already received in Student Business Services for the scholarship. If the funds for the scholarship are not received at the time of disbursement, the loans will pay first. You do, however, have 30 days to return any loan funds received that you do not want to keep. DanasParent1: Does repayment of Student loans help the students credit ratings? AndersonFam2015: I faxed in an extenuating circumstances/hardship request 2 days ago. Is there a way to make sure it was received?i understand it will take up to 6-8 weeks to hear anything and would hate to wait out 6 weeks to find out it was never in process. kookyme: How will I know if the funds for the scholarships have been received for disbursements? fsuchat(fsu Yes it does. Once you receive the letter from Direct Loans it will let you know how the loan process works with repayment and such I would try calling them to check. lisas12: where can I find a extenuating circumstances/hardship request, or information regarding fsuadmin(fsu your student needs to notify (through their portal) that they will be receiving outside aid through scholarships, once they have done so, it will be on your student's account. kookyme: Where can he find that in his portal? DanasParent1: My student will doing Marching Chiefs, Will the SunTrust Branch be open the week before school starts? Does she have to open the SunTrust on Campus? fsuchat(fsu it is on our website financialaid.fsu.edu under financial aid forms fsuadmin(fsu On the home screen, if he scrolls to the bottom there is a "My Finances" section and he can click the "Financial Aid" tab and in the corner there is a "Report Outside Aid" link in garnet lisas12: I apologize if this is a redundant question - is there a deadline to accept loans so that they are available in time for disbursement? fsuchat(fsu Yes they will be fsuchat(fsu There's not a deadline set, but the sooner the better! jeanegg: For the "Report Outside Aid"... does FSU need notification in this area that my student will receive Bright Futures and Florida Pre-Paid? To have a Suntrust account linked to your financial aid, you must open an account on campus. The Suntrust will be open! fsuadmin(fsu It is not mandatory that your student opens an account through SunTrust as Direct Deposit can be through any bank fsuchat(fsu No. You only use that Report Outside Aid for private scholarships or loans.

6 kookyme: Thank you fsuchat(fsu we suggest doing it asap and completeing loan entrance counceling and master promissory note at studentloans.gov to ensure that disbursement happens in a timely manner fsuadmin(fsu Staff_Kimberly): Some people find it useful because we have the bank right on campus! It's very convenient! fsuchat(fsu OFA_Tasha): Counseling* AndersonFam2015: I've heard some talk of "payment plans" available...is that a "thing". If after all moneys are funded and borrowed, there is still an amount needed, are there any options for parents to make payments to FSU on a set monthly schedule? fsuchat(fsu Student Business Services does offer a split plan option but no monthly plan. You can contact them at to learn more jeanegg: If my son applied for Bright Futures before he considered going to FSU and FSU is not listed... can he go on a Bright Futures website to be sure FSU will receive his funds? (He probably already knows this... but just in case!) Dzina: Does the split plan have interest attached or interest free? fsuchat(fsu Yes please ensure he adds us to his profile or we will not be able to process his BF fsuchat(fsu You would need to contact Student Business Services to learn more for this option fsuchat(fsu Their phone number is if you'd like to give them a call! Dzina: Thank you Libby fsuchat(fsu Sure thing! fsuchat(fsu OFA_Tasha): I apologize I forgot to add that piece of information Dzina: No worries Tasha Lsfrickey: When looking at awards, my daughter has everything listed but parent plus loan. When does that get added to the list of available awards? fsuchat(fsu We will begin to process those after July 15. Lsfrickey: Very good, thanks again! fsuchat(fsu OFA_Tasha): no problem Dzina: Do you know of any websites that offer FSU student discounts on Apple products? I realize this is a bit off topic. fsuchat(fsu OFA_Tasha): I dont personally but maybe you can contact the bookstore I know they have special deal on some products. I personally got my macbook from there fsuchat(fsu I also think Apple has special student pricing through their website. Just a parent here. Google Apple for educator and student pricing. As far as I know, the bookstore can honor it too. fsuchat(fsu OFA_Tasha): (850) fsuchat(fsu Here is the website for quick access! fsuchat(fsu OFA_Tasha): I just gave bookstore number

7 Dzina: Ok...haven't checked yet. Just trying to think of questions before this closes Dzina: Thx! fsuadmin(fsu Staff_Kimberly): Speaking of, we only have 8 minutes left in the chat! Feel free to keep asking questions! DanasParent1: This has been a very good session with a lot of answers. Thank You to FSU! Dzina: Can we hire you to find loans for us?! cdrduncan2003: I am looking for some guidance please...to cover the rest of my student's tuitioni amgetting a withdrawal from my 401k. In order to get the money, I need an official breakdown of the cost for my student. Can I get that official information for my student via the portal?...basically what they are looking for is something like a bill. Yes the student accounts section of your student's portal can give you a breakdown of all the costs for your student AndersonFam2015: thank you very much - this was extremely helpful! cdrduncan2003: Great...thank you Surfers4: Have a great afternoon fsuadmin(fsu Staff_Kimberly): Glad we could help out! If you pay more than minimum wage! Haha #brokecollegestudents Dzina: Absolutely! fsuchat(fsu Staff_Libby): We have about 5 minutes left everyone! lisas12: my daughters portal does not list any of costs (tuition), housing, etc FSU: will you be holding another session like this after July 15th? eanderson: Hi, I am not getting my son the meal plan. His dorm is Wildwood. I was planning on letting him pay as he goes. Do the cafeterias take regular credit/debit cards? Did any of you do it that way? Yes, that's perfectly normal! The fall semester charges should not show up on the account yet. fsuchat(fsu contact student business services for more guidance on finding that needed information fsuchat(fsu We have another Financial Aid and Student Business Services chat scheduled July 23 from 2-3PM. fsuadmin(fsu Yes! All dining locations take cards, even the dining halls accepts cards as well! fsuchat(fsu Staff_Libby): You can always view the schedule in the What's Goin' Round monthly family newsletter (sign up at dos.fsu.edu/family) or here: Dzina: Thanks again! fsuchat(fsu OFA_Tasha): Thanks for all the wonderful questions and dont hesitate to contact our office at fsuchat(fsu OFA_Tasha): Office of financial aid!we are all very helpful! fsuchat(fsuol_rene): Bye everyone! Thank you for your great questions!

8 fsuchat(fsu Staff_Libby): Thanks everyone for joining us! Remember we will have a transcript of this chat posted to our website for you to refer back to. Special shoutout to all of our wonderful Orientation Leaders and the staff from the Office of Financial Aid! fsuchat(fsu Staff_Libby): You can always contact our office with any further questions at Have a great day everyone!