• Prospective and returning student timeline

FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, used to apply for federal student aid, including grants, loans, and work-study funds. At UVM, it is also used to determine your eligibility for institutional need-based grant, scholarship and loan aid.

Special Instructions & Process:

• UVM's Federal School Code to list on the FAFSA is 003696.
• UVM does not use the College Board CSS Profile.
• Use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) to transfer information directly from what you filed with the IRS. This simplifies the FAFSA filing process and may reduce paperwork you're required to submit to UVM.
• You will be notified by email once your FAFSA has been received by UVM (generally within 3-5 days of submission once we start loading FAFSA records).

Students in Unique Situations:  Tips for Completing the 2023-2024 FAFSA (PDF).

Other considerations:

• State Grants
  State grant applications are in addition to the FAFSA. State grants are “gift aid,” which does not need to be paid back and are awarded based on your financial need.
  • Vermont residents seeking an undergraduate or medical degree should apply for the Vermont Grant; those enrolling as non-degree can apply for the Advancement Grant
  • Out-of-state residents should check with their state grant agency for information on available grants and how to apply
• Outside Scholarships
  Consider applying for outside scholarships that are awarded based on certain characteristics or qualities, such as academic achievement, and can be merit-based or need-based. Scholarships are "gift aid", thus do not need to be repaid.

• Review your Student Aid Report (SAR): Once your FAFSA has been processed by the U.S. Department of Education, you'll receive your SAR electronically. Your SAR is a summary of the information you reported on the FAFSA, and should be reviewed for accuracy and important messages. Make any necessary changes by making a correction to your FAFSA.
• Watch for information requests: You may receive requests for additional information from UVM and/or your state grant agency. Please provide requested information promptly. Returning student financial aid offers cannot be completed until all requested information has been received and reviewed. Only send requested information. Receipt of unsolicited information will delay processing of your financial aid offer.
• Monitor your application: Students are notified by email if additional information is needed. Check the status of your aid application.

Process Information:

• After receiving an email notification, view your aid offer online.
• Review your financial aid offer carefully, noting your eligibility.
• If you have received a tentative (estimated) aid offer, understand what action you need to take to make estimated aid an "official" aid offer.
• Report outside assistance including outside scholarships, and tuition remission, not already listed in your aid offer to our office.

Notifications

• Email notification will be sent to students with an "official" financial aid offer once the accept/decline options are activated (generally, in mid-June).
  • Tentative (estimated) financial aid offers cannot be accepted. Prospective students who have received an estimated financial aid offer will not be able to accept/decline their offered aid until all requested documentation has been received and reviewed, and the aid offer has been made "official".

Aid Acceptance

• To accept your aid, log into your myUVM portal, and under the Financial Aid banner on the Student Financial Services page, click on 'View My Award'.
  • Note: You must first submit a response on the 'Resources/Additional Information' tab in order to access the 'Accept Award Offer' tab.
  • A partial loan amount can be accepted by selecting 'accept' from the 'Accept Award' column and indicating the amount you would like to accept in the 'Accept Partial Amount' column.
• While all offered aid does not need to be accepted/declined in the same session, our office encourages students to accept/decline their aid offers in advance of the semester billing dates so that it is reflected on the bill.
• Learn more about any loan options in your aid offer by visiting our Federal or institutional loan pages.
  • Most loans will need to be accepted by the last day of classes, unless an earlier deadline is specified.
  • The full amount of any offered Federal Direct Subsidized loan must be accepted before any amount of Federal Direct Unsubsidized loan can be accepted. The subsidized loan is need-based and more beneficial.
  • All aid is generally split in half between the fall and spring semesters. A request can be submitted to SFS to receive more than half of your Federal Direct Student loan in one semester if you plan to graduate after the fall semester or have extenuating circumstances.
• If you have been offered grants, scholarships, and/or an amount of UVM Need-Based Gift Aid, these will automatically be accepted for you since they do not need to be repaid.

VSAC grants (Vermont state grants)

• A separate application is required. If enrollment and grant amounts have been verified prior to the release of your financial aid offer, the VSAC grant will be listed as "estimated" in your award.  
• Use your MyVSAC portal to check the status of your grant if your grant is not listed. Grants will be incorporated into offers once enrollment has been verified.

Federal Work Study

• After accepting your Federal Work Study offer, watch your email for additional information on how to proceed to search for and secure a job. Learn more about deadlines for Federal Work Study.

Borrowers may need to complete a Loan Agreement (MPN), Promissory Note (PN), Entrance Counseling, Credit Check Authorization Forms, and/or apply for loans.  Follow the links below to learn more about the requirements for your accepted loans.

• Federal Direct Loans
• Institutional Loans
• Private Loans