Financial Aid Frequently Asked Questions

Refunds are normally processed about 45 calendar days after the semester begins. APUS receives your loan disbursement about 30 days into the semester and any remaining funds (above and beyond your tuition and fees) will be processed and sent to you typically within 14 days. Please note that this process may take longer if this is your first semester and/or you haven’t completed necessary paperwork. To check on the status of your refund, please email finaidrefunds@apus.edu.

Once you have received your check you may deposit it into your bank account or cash it. Due to the high prevalence of financial aid fraud in higher education, your bank may need to verify the authenticity of the check. They may do so by contacting our accounts payable department for verification at 877-468-6268 x3767 or via email at accountspayable@apus.edu. Please note that it is up to your financial institution to determine the holding period, if any, that may apply to your refund check before those funds are made available.

Your refund check can be used to assist with housing expenses and purchasing supplies needed for school. Examples of authorized expenses include: office supplies, computer equipment purchase or rental, software, dependent child care expenses, etc.

To begin the financial aid process you will need to first complete a Federal Student Aid Intent Form (FAFSA). The Federal Student Aid Intent Form must be completed three weeks prior to your intended start date. This form can be found in your e-campus under the Other Forms Menu. The Federal Student Aid Intent Form is used to set up your academic semester format. Once your Federal Student Aid Intent Form is in place, you will be prompted to complete the steps in your Virtual Financial Aid Office. For additional details, visit our financial aid site.

The amount of aid that you are eligible to receive depends on several variables, but the most important are your financial circumstances and the Cost of Attendance at your school.

You tell the government about your financial circumstances when you complete the FAFSA each year. The information that you provide is used to calculate your Expected Family Contribution, or EFC score. Your EFC score is sent to each school you indicate when completing the form with the Department of Education.

Estimated Family Contribution is an indication of how much a family can contribute based on entries on your FAFSA. It includes:  family income after taxes, family’s assets, family size, and the number of family members currently attending college.

When the financial aid office at your school receives that EFC, they compare it to the Cost of Attendance at that particular school. Cost of Attendance is a financial aid term that estimates what it will cost an average student to attend school at a particular university or college.

To estimate Cost of Attendance, each school considers the average cost of tuition, room and board, books, supplies, loan fees, and miscellaneous educational expenses.

Because the Cost of Attendance differs from school to school, when you change schools, your financial aid package is completely recalculated. The new school’s  financial aid office will start with the same EFC score (because you only get one EFC for the entire academic year), but they will calculate a revised financial aid package based on the new school's Cost of Attendance.

Estimated Family Contribution – Cost of Attendance = Financial Need

When your new school receives your EFC, they will evaluate your aid, and prepare an "aid offer letter." This letter will inform you of what forms of aid you qualify for and in what amounts.

Financial aid is available to all students who attend an institution that participates in the federal aid program (which includes American Military University). To remain eligible to continue receiving aid, you must satisfy your school's Satisfactory Academic Progress, or SAP, standard.

So long as you continue to satisfy the SAP standard, you may apply for aid each year (you must fill out a new FAFSA form every spring). Some forms of aid automatically end when you complete your first bachelor's degree - other forms of aid may continue even beyond this point. However, there is a lifetime maximum to the amount that may be borrowed from the Stafford Loan Program.

Financial aid is funding intended to help students pay for their education expenses, which include: tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, and other related expenses to your education. Federal financial aid consists of the Federal Stafford Loan Program, the Pell Grant Program, and the Teach Grant Program. Other forms of financial aid consist of private loans, state grants, and scholarships.

If you have questions regarding your financial aid status:

• Log in to the e-campus and check your account status
• Email us at finaid@apus.edu
• Email your personal financial aid application team specialist (assigned to you via email if you have already applied)
• Contact our financial aid customer service team at 877-468-6268 x3630

There are three  types of eligibility requirements for financial aid:

Financial Criteria

• You may not be in default on a federal student loan or owe an overpayment on a federal student aid grant or loan
• You may not have borrowed in excess of the annual or aggregate loan limits for the federal student aid
• Demonstrate financial need to receive subsidized federal loans

Personal Criteria

• You must have a valid social security number
• You may not have been convicted of an illegal drug-related offense. If previously convicted, complete and submit the FAFSA to determine your eligibility. You will be required to complete the drug worksheet as part of completing the FAFSA.
• You may not be incarcerated
• If you are a male, you must be registered with Selective Service as required

Educational/Enrollment Status

• You must be a U.S. citizen or national, or an eligible non-citizen (verification of eligible non-citizen status may be required)
• You must be an admitted student, enrolled in an eligible program of study for the purpose of obtaining a degree or certificate
• You must have a high school diploma or the recognized equivalent (such as a GED). In some cases, the University may need to validate the high school diploma/GED. Failure to provide documentation could result in loss of Title IV aid eligibility
• You must be enrolled at least half time to receive a Federal Student Loan. See enrollment status requirements for more information
• You may not be enrolled solely in remedial coursework
• You may not be currently enrolled in a secondary school
• You must maintain satisfactory academic progress (SAP) once approved for funding
• You must certify that federal student aid will only be used for educational purposes

The answer to this question depends on several variables. If you fully withdraw (drop all your courses), then your aid is subject to Return of Title IV aid regulations. To determine the answer for your specific circumstance, ask yourself the questions below:

• Was my financial aid based on full-time enrollment, and after I drop the class(es), will I still be considered full-time? If yes, then there is no impact on aid.

If, for example, an undergraduate whose financial aid was based on full-time enrollment was taking 15 credits and dropped a three-credit class, s/he would still be considered full-time (12 credits minimum for full-time status) and aid would not be affected.

If for example, an undergraduate whose financial aid was based on full-time enrollment was taking 12 credits and dropped six credits or two classes, s/he would not be considered half-time and aid will be impacted if you received PELL grant funds.

If you are placed on academic probation you are still eligible to receive financial aid. Please be aware that if you are not making satisfactory academic progress (SAP) your eligibility will be affected.

The answer to this question has many variables; if the student is being deployed they should contact the financial aid application team for assistance. We can be reached Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST at 877-372-3535. 

Your assigned financial aid application team specialist is available Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST. We have a financial aid customer service team that is available Monday –Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.; on Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; and on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. EST.

Your academic year is for eight consecutive months, consisting of two, four month semesters. You will need to complete a new FSA Intent Form close to the end of your academic year.

Subsequent academic year starts, students are able to put their intent form in place for their next award year after the registration period has closed for the third month of their second semester. 

Example: The second semester starts in January so students can fill out a new intent form once the registration period is over for March (which is three months after January).  March registration ends approximately one week prior to the start of March classes.

You can contact the financial aid application team at 877-372-3535 or fsahelpdesk@apus.edu. Our financial aid customer service team can be contacted at 877-468-6268 x3630 or finaid@apus.edu.

Financial aid will be disbursed directly to the school approximately 30 days after the student’s semester starts and attendance has been confirmed.  Financial aid funds will be applied to tuition first, and any remaining credit balance will be returned to the student based upon the credit balance form the student completed in the Virtual Financial Aid Office.

Financial aid refunds can be used for the following:

• Books, supplies, and miscellaneous expenses
• Computers and software
• Room and board

A refund check is issued in a paper format that is mailed to the mailing address listed in your student record.

You can locate the Virtual Financial Aid Office under the Records Menu in your e-campus. You will click on the My Financial Aid Office link which will direct you to a page where you can access the Virtual Financial Aid Office.

A deferment is a period of time during which your loan holder (the institution loaning you the money) suspends your regular loan payments.

You should contact your lending institution to determine the type of deferment that you may be eligible for.  

Depending on the type of loan you have, the government may pay the interest for you (called a federal interest subsidy) during deferment periods.

• If you do not qualify for a federal interest subsidy, your loan will increase by the amount of unpaid interest that accrues during the period you are not making payments.
• Whenever possible, try to make your interest payments, even when they are not required. Making payments toward accrued interest will minimize the growth of your loan balance.

Deferments are granted for specific situations and have certain time limitations and eligibility conditions. Common deferment situations:

• Enrollment in school
• Study in a graduate fellowship program
• Rehabilitation training program for disabled individuals
• Unemployment
• Economic hardship
• Military service

In-school deferment forms should be sent to the registrar to complete at registrar@apus.edu or fax to 304-724-3790.

You can access your student ledger through the My Student Account link under the Records Menu in your e-campus.

The student ledger is a reflection of any balance you may owe or any credits on your account. It will list the courses you are registered for, the cost of those courses, and the amount and type of funding you have or will receive.

A student’s ledger may show a zero balance because pending funds may not have been applied to the balance. When viewing a student ledger the student should go to the account detail for the term in question. There it will detail the courses, their cost, and if there is an outstanding balance. If you click on view details once inside the account detail for that term, students will see what funds were applied specifically to each course.

The account detail also shows disbursed aid, payments received, refunds, and anticipated funding.

If the student is waiting to receive financial aid, the financial aid will show as pending until the aid is received; once received, it will then show up under disbursed federal financial aid.

If the student has any questions with regards to their financial aid and how it is applied to their ledger they should contact our funding team at finaidrefunds@apus.edu. 

The current programs that are not eligible for financial aid are:

• Courses being taking as “audit”
• Undergraduate courses for transfer to another institution
• Associate of Arts (A.A.) and Bachelor’s of Arts (B.A.) in General Studies

Your financial aid will not cover graduation fees; however, you can use any refund that you receive to help cover the cost of your graduation fee.

As a graduate student you are responsible for the upfront cost of your books. Additional financial aid funding is factored in (based on eligibility) to help cover the cost of the books through reimbursement by way of your financial aid refund check. You can use your refund to cover the cost of books.

When using financial aid you will need to select federal student aid as your payment type. Many of our students make the mistake of choosing loan as their payment type because they are receiving a Federal Stafford Loans. The loan payment type should only be used if you are receiving a private outside loan.

If you are using financial aid you will need to choose Federal Student Aid as your payment type when registering for your courses. All of your courses must fall within your 16 week semester format determined by your Federal Student Aid Intent Form.

All of your registrations for your semester should be in place before your semester begins. This will ensure that you are packaged correctly and your enrollment status is reported correctly. Your enrollment status can affect the amount of your Pell Grant.

A Federal Pell Grant, unlike a loan, does not have to be repaid. Pell Grants are awarded usually only to undergraduate students who have not earned a bachelor's or a professional degree. (In some cases, however, a student enrolled in a post-baccalaureate teacher certification program might receive a Pell Grant.) Pell Grants are considered a foundation of federal financial aid, to which aid from other federal and non-federal sources might be added.

Financial Aid Application Fax: 877-372-3292; email: fsahelpdesk@apus.edu.
Financial Aid Customer Service Fax: 304-724-3710; email: finaid@apus.edu.

If your FAFSA was selected for verification, we will request your hand signed federal tax return. We use this information to compare it to the information you listed on your FAFSA. You are required to comply with this request within the stated period of time in order to receive your aid.

Satisfactory academic progress (SAP) is the term used to denote a student’s successful completion of coursework toward a certificate or degree. Scholarships and financial aid must require the monitoring of progress for each student toward the completion of a certificate or degree in order to meet federal and state guidelines governing the administration of student financial assistance. Students who fall behind in their coursework or fail to achieve minimum standards for grade point average and completion of classes may lose their eligibility for all types of financial aid.

Students must maintain satisfactory academic progress (SAP) to receive Federal Student Aid.

• According to federal regulations, students who fail to make satisfactory progress towards their degree or certificate will lose their ability to receive Federal Student Aid.
• This regulation applies to all students, including those that have not previously received financial aid.
• Students who lose their aid may appeal the loss provided there are mitigating circumstances that inhibited their academic progress.
• If mitigating circumstances do not exist, you may take classes at your own expense to demonstrate improvement for a future appeal.
• To otherwise restore eligibility students, must achieve the GPA and hours target as defined in the policy.

The University evaluates SAP at the beginning of each semester, defined as a 16-week period of academic study, and prior to the student receiving FSA for the first time at our University.

• APUS may grant administrative waivers or probationary terms (i.e., grades are not posted before the start of the next term in consecutive terms).

The requirements of each criterion must be met and are described in detail below:

• Cumulative grade point average (qualitative)
• Credit hour completion (quantitative)
• Program deadline
  

If you have questions regarding your SAP appeal you will need to contact our financial services department at finaid@apus.edu or 877-468-6268 x3610.

If you are not receiving any emails from the financial aid department, please make sure to check your “spam” or folder. You can adjust your settings in your email to accept emails from senders “@apus.edu”.  To ensure the university receives your email, please be sure to use your campus mailbox in the e-campus.

Undergraduate students:

• Full-time: 12+ credits per 16 week semester
• ¾ time: 9 credits per 16 week semester
• Part-time: 6 credits per 16 week semester
• Less than half time: 3 credits per semester

Graduate students:

• Full-time: 6 credits per 16 week semester
• Part-time: 3 credits per 16 week semester