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Financial Aid is money to help students and their families pay for educational expenses. The philosophy behind financial aid assumes that the primary responsibility to pay for college lies with students and parents to their level of ability to pay.
The Federal Office of Student Financial Aid (who governs the federal financial aid programs), established the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as a means to determine a family's ability to pay for their student's education.
The FAFSA is referred to as a "need-assessment document."
The Federal government contracts with an independent processor to compute the results of the FAFSA and report these results back to the student and the colleges the student has selected on the form.
Longwood administers its State and institutional need-based aid programs parallel to the Federal programs requiring FAFSA eligibility as a criterion.
Financial Aid Process at Longwood (PDF)
You must file a FAFSA each year.
Filing Your FAFSA (PDF)
Visit our How to Apply page! You can also check your FAFSA status and find information about fulfilling other requirements.
Financial need is the maximum amount we are permitted (by Federal regulations) to award you in assistance. Financial need is derived from subtracting your expected family contribution from our total cost of attendance (budget)
Total Budget - EFC = Financial Need
When financial aid officers refer to "cost of attendance," "educational costs," or "budget," they usually mean the total direct and indirect costs of attending college for one year.
Direct costs are the actual charges billed to students by the University (tuition, fees, room, board). Indirect costs are estimated by the financial aid office for items such as books, supplies, computer-related costs, personal expenses, and transportation. The financial aid officer adds these direct and indirect costs together to arrive at a total budget for a student who has filed for financial aid.
Expected family contribution (EFC) is the amount of money a family is expected to contribute to their child's education for a specific period of time (usually one academic year).
You file the FAFSA in order to have this figure determined.
The FAFSA processor enters the information (from your FAFSA) into a formula (established by Congress) and the result is the family's EFC.
You may calculate an estimate of your EFC using the FAFSA4caster.
After a student's need has been determined by subtracting the EFC from the total budget, an award is made. If we are unable to award students enough financial aid to meet their total computed need, the difference is unmet need.
Admission and financial aid are two separate processes.
You do not have to be accepted to the University before you file your FAFSA; however, you do have to be accepted before you will receive an award notification.
Our Loans Brochure (PDF) will answer all of your loan questions. You may also visit our Loans page or Studentloans.gov.
Only if there is a release consent form signed and on file in the registrar's office.
The staff in the Office of Financial Aid is committed to our students' right to have their identity protected.
We will now require students provide the following before discussing or releasing any personal financial aid information to them:
We will expect anyone else who has questions regarding a student's personal financial aid information, and is listed on the student's release of information form, to be able to provide this same information.
Yes. You can now set up your email account to automatically forward financial aid emails (PDF) from the Office of Financial Aid to your parents' email address.
Last year's income for most people is the best predictor for the current year.
Using the last taxable year's income makes it easier for parents to provide accurate information on the FAFSA. This also allows Federal tax dollars to be distributed on the basis of something "real" rather than on an estimate.
No. Students receive a paycheck once a month for the actual number of hours they work. However, all other aid is credited to your account.
The easiest and fastest way to receive your refund is through direct deposit. You may sign up for direct under your student tab on your mylongwood portal.
What aid is available for graduate students?
The Stafford Loan (unsubsidized) with a maximum of $20,500 per year. For additional opportunities for graduate students, you should check with the Chair of your department.
Students pursuing a second undergraduate degree are only eligible to apply for a Stafford Loan at Longwood.
This also applies to students obtaining a teacher certification who already hold a Bachelor's degree.
No. To receive aid you must be admitted to the University under the regular Admission process and be pursuing a degree.
Loans are available for summer school.
Grants may be offered if funds remain from the previous academic year.
A student must be enrolled at Longwood for at least 6 credit hours during the summer to receive aid.
Under certain conditions, a student may be enrolled less than half-time and receive a Pell Grant. A FAFSA for the current academic year must be on file along with a summer school application.
No, the Federal Pell Grant is only one of the need-based aid programs, with eligibility being determined by a Federal formula approved by Congress. It is possible to be ineligible for the Pell Grant and still be eligible for other federal, state, and institutional types of aid.
Yes. At the end of your freshman year, you must have at least a 2.0 GPA and a 75% completion rate.
For more information, see Satisfactory Academic Progress & Withdrawing.
It might. Students (or parents) should request a "Change in Income Form" from the Office of Financial Aid.
If you have eligibility for loan funds, you may be able to borrow to cover the surcharge; however, grant funds are not available for this purpose.
How do I apply for a student or parent loan?
The University is a participant in the Direct Lending program, where the federal government will be the funding source. Please see How to Apply for specific instructions on application methods.
Loan entrance counseling and MPN agreements can be found on the Federal Student Aid website.
Parents can apply for a Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) on the Federal Student Aid website under the "Parent Borrowers" tab.
The FAFSA is the only application you will be required to file to apply for federal, state, and institutional need-based assistance at Longwood. In addition, the Office of Admissions uses the admission application itself as the basis for selecting freshmen scholarship recipients.
There are several ways in which you can find out the results of processing your FAFSA. If you filed a paper FAFSA and did not provide your e-mail address, you will be sent a paper Student Aid Report (or SAR). If you filed using FAFSA on the Web and did not provide your e-mail address, you will be sent a paper SAR Information Acknowledgement.
However, if you provided your e-mail address, the FAFSA processor will send you an e-mail notification regardless of whether you filed a paper FAFSA or via FAFSA on the Web. The e-mail notification will contain a link for you to access and view your on-line Student Aid Report without requiring the use of a FSA ID. Of course, a student who has a FSA ID can access his or her SAR electronically using FAFSA on the Web.
Financial aid award letters for incoming freshmen for the fall 2016 semester will be mailed by the first week in April. Please review your award letter carefully. Many awards require action from the student. If you have questions, please call our office at 434.395.2077 or email us at finaid@longwood.edu.
We offer instructions on how to accept your financial aid award package.
What is the Freshmen Timeline?
During this process, we suggest that you check your Longwood emails regularly. We do not send you junk mail. If we send you an email, it is important: either a change to your aid has occurred or action is needed on your part.
October 1 – March 1:
April 1 (and ongoing):
May 1:
By June 1:
At Orientation:
By August 24:
ASAP: