Overawards
A financial aid over-award occurs when the aid you receive from all sources is greater than your cost of attendance or your federally determined need eligibility. The Financial Aid Office takes care not to overaward a student initially. Overawards occur when we receive additional information not accounted for when the student was awarded originally. Per federal financial aid regulations, we must resolve any overaward on a student's account. Common examples of changes that cause overawards, include, but are not limited to:
- Receipt of internal or external scholarships
- Notification of Exemptions/Tuition and Fee Waivers
- Late Awards
- Enrollment changes
- FAFSA Corrections
- Residency Updated
When overawards occur, we are required to review your financial aid eligibility and may be required to adjust, reduce, or eliminate financial aid awarded to ensure that the total you receive is within federal guidelines. In some cases, overawards will result in a balance due to the college.
To help prevent an overaward, we strongly recommend the following:
Notify the Financial Aid Office of any potential awards not already listed on your financial aid award summary.