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Federal Financial Aid Application Process

  Watch brief videos with answers to your questions on Financial Aid TV.

How to Apply for Federal Student Aid at American Public University System:

Begin Here: Complete Federal Student Aid (FSA) Intent Form - The FSA Intent Form is an online form available within the e-campus. It is the first step in applying for federal financial aid at APUS. This form locks you into an eight month academic year which is broken into two- 4 month semesters that run consecutively. Please note for Regulatory Purposes, that classes cannot overlap into or out of a semester.

After completing the FSA Intent Form, you will be sent an email that will explain where you need to go inside the online campus to access our Virtual Financial Application Site. During the application process, there are several components to the process, some of which are highlighted below.

PIN Number - Before you fill out a FAFSA, you must have a Personal Identification or PIN number. If you have applied for federal student aid in the past at this or another school, you should use your existing PIN. You may continue to use your PIN as your electronic signature for federal aid. Click here for the Federal Student Aid PIN Web site. If you have forgotten or misplaced your PIN number, you may retrieve that number at the same website.

FAFSA - The Free Application for Federal Student Aid is required for all federal, state, and many private financial aid programs.  Please make sure you are completing the appropriate FAFSA for the award year in which you are attending classes. Have your 1040 or W-2 tax form from the previous year on hand, when completing this form. For example, if you are completing a 2009-2010 FAFSA, you will need income and tax information from 2008. When you are planning to complete the 2010-2011 FAFSA beginning in January 2010, you will need income and tax information from 2009. The 2010-2011 FAFSA will be available on the FAFSA Web site after 1/1/10.

Student Aid Report (SAR) -
Once the FAFSA is submitted, a Student Aid Report (SAR) will be returned that will include the student’s EFC(Expected Family Contribution).
There are two ways to receive the SAR:

• If the student supplied an email address on the FAFSA, an e-mail will arrive a few days after submitting the FAFSA. It will include a secure link to access your SAR on the Web.
• If an email address is not supplied on the FAFSA, a SAR will arrive by mail a few weeks after the FAFSA is submitted.
• If more information is needed to calculate the EFC, an EFC may not appear on your SAR.

Satisfactory Academic Progress - A student must maintain a required minimum GPA and complete his/her program within a reasonable time frame.  The failure to maintain a satisfactory academic progress may result in loss of aid.  Read more information about Satisfactory Academic Progress.

The Award Process

• Student completes the FSA Intent Form 5-6 weeks prior to intended start date.
• Student accesses the Virtual Financial Aid Office and completes all the required steps and the necessary forms, which MAY include:
  
          - MPN (Master Promissory Note) required for federal loans.
          - Entrance Interview for those seeking federal loans.
          - Credit Balance Form (Balances may be refunded to student or kept on account at APUS)

Some students may have to provide additional documentation which may include W-2 forms, signed copies of a recent tax return, or other documentation. We recommend that you have these documents handy when it comes time to file your forms so that your online financial aid process goes smoothly.

FSA Help Desk Specialists will be able to assist you through this process. Click here to email the FSA Help Desk or call them at 877-372-3535.

Timeline
Students using Federal Student Aid must complete a FSA Intent form, complete the online Financial Aid Office process and receive the confirmed award letter at least 1 week prior to the start of classes. For some students the process can be completed within 7-10 days, unless they are selected for verification, or additional information is needed. To ensure the timely arrival of your books you should complete your registration for all of your classes at least 14 days prior to the start of your semester. If you are living outside the United States you will want to finalize your registrations at least a month before the semester begins. This will ensure that when you accept your financial aid award letter that you will gain access to your courses when the semester begins and will have your books in time for the beginning of class.

SAMPLE Award

So how do you know if you can receive enough financial aid to pay for your education at our university?

Let’s briefly examine an undergraduate student who takes 12 credits a semester for two typical semesters and is not eligible for a Federal Pell Grant. Twelve credits x $250/credit = $3,000. For two semesters, that’s $6,000. The following table shows how student loans could cover those costs: