The thermometer screams “February”, but in Student Financial Services, we already have springtime on our minds. The deadline to apply for need-based financial aid is March 1, just around the corner, and we are busy contacting students, parents, and high school guidance counselors to do all we can to ensure no one misses out on State and University funding sources. Students need to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and either the CSS/Profile (for entering and transfer students) or the University Financial Aid Application (UFAA, for all returning students).
After the application deadline, we begin to review application materials, request additional information when necessary, assign awards to students and then notify them by email that their award is available to view in their SIS Student Center. For first-year undergraduates, we have a very tight turnaround, as regular decision applicants learn of their admission decision right around April 1. Since they have until May 1 to decide whether to attend U.Va., we work long, hard and smartly to get their awards to them so they have all the financial information they possibly can to make an informed decision about where to attend University.
After the middle of May, when we have also completed the same process for fall transfers, we turn our attention to the returning undergraduate and graduate students, all with an eye to having their awards complete by the time the Fall 2015 statement of term charges comes out in mid-July. Whew! It sounds like a lot of time to get things done, but when you factor in the individual counseling sessions with parents and students who want to understand the details behind their awards, as well as other regular activities, our financial aid team is tying up their track shoes for a marathon effort.
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