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Financial Aid Award Year
Students can receive financial aid at any point during the academic year. Millersville University 's academic year consists of two 15 week terms as well as the summer session. For 2008-09, the fall semester begins on August 25, 2008 and ends on December 13, 2008 . The spring semester begins on January 12, 2009 and ends on May 2, 2009 . Summer sessions begin on May 11 and end on August 21, 2008 .
Full time awards are based on a minimum of 12 credits per semester, 24 per year for undergraduates and 9 credits per semester, 18 per year for graduate students.
Download Freshman Checklist now! (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
August (senior
year for traditional students or year prior to starting college
for nontraditional students)
- Request applications and information from colleges.
September
- Mark your calendar for college fairs - many of these have financial
aid presentations you can attend for general information on receiving
financial aid.
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October
- Create a schedule of admissions and financial aid deadlines.
- Explore college or scholarship information or apply to colleges
online. See Education
Planner for information or FinAid
for more scholarship information.
November
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December
- Obtain any other financial aid forms that may be required by
your target schools.
- The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
is the main application needed to apply for financial aid at Millersville
University. This form is available after January 1. If you plan
to complete the FAFSA online, you are required to have a PIN number.
Students and parents (for dependent students) are required to
have a pin number. This will allow the form to be signed electronically
and allow us to get the information up to two weeks faster than
the paper FAFSA. You should request the PIN now so you have it
when you are ready to complete the FAFSA.
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January
- File parents’ and student’s federal tax returns early. Keep
copies of EVERY document sent to the IRS (1040, all schedules,
W-2’s, etc). The Office of Financial Aid may require these for
verification.
- Complete the FAFSA early
(as soon after January 1 as possible) for maximum consideration
of all available student aid programs. Check with the Office of
Financial Aid for individual deadlines at each of your target
schools. The priority filing deadline at Millersville is March
15 to be considered for campus-based aid (Perkins loan and SEOG
grant) for most needy students.
- Obtain a FAFSA from your high school counselor, the Office of
Financial Aid, or apply online at FAFSA
on the Web
NOTE: Do not wait until you have received
acceptance of admission to file your FAFSA. If you will not attend
your first-choice school, you can easily have your information released
to another school. NOTE: Non-PA residents should contact their state’s
higher education assistance agency to apply for a state grant from
their home state. See the United
States Department of Education State Higher Education Agency Listing
for contact information.
- Begin a student financial aid folder for all of your important
papers. Include copies of all applications, taxes, and letters
you receive.
- Upon receipt of the FAFSA, the Pennsylvania Higher Education
Assistance Agency (PHEAA) will send first-time Pennsylvania filers
a form to cllect more information for PA State Grant Consideration
- this form MUST be completed with the requested information or
your PA State Grant eligibility will NOT be processed!
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February
- Obtain a FAFSA from your high school counselor, the Office of
Financial Aid, or apply online at FAFSA
on the Web.
- If you have not filed your taxes and cannot file them early,
fill out the FAFSA with estimated income figures.
- Be sure that you have submitted all required forms: the college
admissions application, the FAFSA, any private scholarship applications,
and any state or campus forms required for financial aid programs
outside the federal student aid programs.
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March
- File the FAFSA
early. Priority filing deadline is March 15 for Millersville University.
- Watch the mail for the Student Aid Report (SAR), if you filed
using the paper FAFSA. It should arrive approximately 4-6 weeks
after filing the FAFSA. If you filed online, you should receive
your SAR in approximately 2-4 weeks after filing the FAFSA. If
you provided an email address on the FAFSA and filed online, you
will receive and email with a link to your SAR on the Web no longer
than 5 days after submitting the FAFSA. The SAR is the Department
of Education’s reply to your submitted FAFSA and summarizes your
financial aid eligibility for any federal programs. Read it thoroughly
and make any necessary corrections. If no corrections are necessary,
keep it for your records. [If you send the SAR back to the processor
for corrections, a revised SAR will be sent to you and electronic
corrections are sent to the school (if you listed Millersville
as one of your school choices). Review the corrected SAR and keep
it for your records.]
- Millersville University begins to send out financial aid award
letters to incoming freshmen and transfer students who have been
admitted to MU.
- Your financial aid application may be selected for a process
called verification. The federal government selects 30% of all
students who apply for financial aid for verification. The school
will notify you of your selection and require you to submit certain
documents to them, which may include tax returns, W-2 forms, and
1099 forms
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April
- Office of Financial Aid begins processing Stafford student loans
for students who indicated interest in a loan on the FAFSA [answered
“YES” to the question, “In addition to grants, are you interested
in student loans (which you must pay back)?”]. If you answered
“NO” to this question and desire a Stafford Loan, contact the
Office of Financial Aid to let them know (additional paperwork
may be required).
- AES/PHEAA sends a Master Promissory Note (MPN) to students to
complete after school pre-certifies loan (first-time borrowers
only). This is the only loan application required by a student
at Millersville to obtain a Federal Stafford Loan and the MPN
is good for ten years.
- Begin to compare financial aid awards at your target schools.
Be sure to consider the cost of education at each institution
when comparing the award amounts. Some schools may be offering
more money to you, but their cost of education may be considerably
higher than other schools and you may be awarded with more loans
instead of grants/scholarships.
- Access information regarding payment plans at each institution.
Millersville has a twelve-month payment plan called MIPP
(Millersville University Installment Payment Plan). There is a
deadline of May 1 (for the annual option or the Fall only option)
and November 1 (for the Spring only option – applications will
be accepted in October for the Spring option).
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May
- Deadline for PHEAA State Grant (The FAFSA must be received by
the processor by this date, not postmarked!) - MAY 1
- Deadline for starting Millersville University Installment Payment
Plan (MIPP)
May 1
- PHEAA notifies students about PA State Grant awards. (NOTE:
It is the school’s responsibility to notify PHEAA if the student
changes housing, adjusts enrollment, or receives additional aid,
all of which could affect the grant amount.) – please notify the
Office of Financial Aid of any changes in housing plans that have
occurred.
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June
- Incoming freshmen and transfer students complete an online Entrance
Interview as potential first-time Stafford loan borrowers.
A paper copy may be obtained by calling the Office of Financial
Aid at 717-872-3026 or you may stop by the office and complete
the Entrance Interview.
- Complete any additional financial aid forms for consideration
of all student aid.
- Plan for college orientation, transportation, and housing.
- Consider other types of financial aid necessary to pay your
bill, including the Federal PLUS
Loan (Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students) or Alternative
Loans. Do not wait until August to apply for these additional
funds. Doing so may jeopardize your start of the Fall semester!
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July
- Fall semester bill arrives middle of the month. Financial aid
that is approved (at the time the bill is printed) appears as
credit on the bill. Payment will be due in mid-August. Be sure
to respond to the bill, as this is the only way Millersville knows
that you will attend classes. If you have a “0” balance or a credit
to your account (the financial aid awarded exceeds your bill),
you can clear
your bill online. Please see the Bursar’s Office website for additional
information on paying
your semester bill.
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August
- Classes start at the end of month.
- Financial Aid is disbursed – refunds are mailed for students
who have an overpayment of financial aid. Federal Regulations
from the U.S. Department of Education require that all first time,
first year students (Incoming Freshman and Transfer Students who
have never received a Federal Stafford Loan) receiving Federal
Stafford Loans be subject to a delayed disbursement. This means
that the first disbursement of your Stafford Loan will occur thirty
(30) days after the beginning of your loan term (start of the
semester).
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Download a printable
version of this calendar to assist you in the financial aid
process.
(Requires Adobe
Acrobat Reader
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