How to Understand Your Financial Aid Award Letter

You could have received your Financial Aid Award Notification Letter in the mail or through email. To better understand any of the terms on this letter, see NASFAA's Glossary of Terms for Award Notifications.

  1. The first section states your name and the load you have signed up for. The amount of financial aid you receive is dependent on the number of hours you have enrolled in, so make sure this is correct. The student in this example has enrolled as a full-time student for both 2018 Fall and 2019 Spring. To find out how many hours full-time, 3/4-time, and 1/2-time represent, see Enrollment and Attendance.

    Student: Enrollment By Term:
    Jane Doe
    Term FA Load
    2018 Fall Full-Time
    2019 Spring Full-Time

  2. This section shows the estimated cost of enrollment according to what you submitted on your FAFSA. For example, this student has an estimated total cost of $25,600. This cost is broken down into several parts showing a more detailed explanation of what your money is going to. Please note this is an estimate and could vary based on how much money you spend on miscellaneous and personal, transportation, and housing. For an explanation of each cost, see the Cost of Attendance Definitions.

    Estimate of Costs:
    Budget Item Amount
    Books and Supplies $1,000.00
    Tuition State $1,500.00
    Miscellaneous and Personal $2,000.00
    Transportation $2,500.00
    Fees $3,000.00
    Tuition Board and Designate $7,000.00
    Loan Fees $100.00
    Housing $8,500.00
    Total $25,600.00

  3. This section shows the financial aid UNT is offering you based on any scholarships you have applied for and/or your FAFSA. The offers are broken down into each semester*. Loans must be repaid while scholarships, grants, and work-study do not. To learn more about grants, loans, and work-study, see our Financial Aid Types page. To learn more about scholarships, see our Scholarship Types page.

    *You will receive a separate Financial Aid Award Notification Letter for summer semesters. This section will only show the financial aid offer for summer.

    Financial Aid Offer:
    2018 Fall
    Award Award Amount
    Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan $3,750.00
    Federal Work Study $2,500.00
    Federal Parent Loan Offer $3,550.00
    UNT Excellence Scholarship $3,000.00
    Total $12,800.00
    2019 Spring
    Award Award Amount
    Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan $3,750.00
    Federal Work Study $2,500.00
    Federal Parent Loan Offer $3,550.00
    UNT Excellence Scholarship $3,000.00
    Total $12,800.00

  4. This final section gives instructions on how to accept, decline, or learn more about your awards. If you do not accept your awards, you will not receive them.

    Instructions:
    • Review Terms and Conditions of your financial aid awards at financialaid.unt.edu/terms
    • Login to my.unt.edu.
    • Click on the Accept/Decline Awards link.
    • Click on each award name listed for detailed information and eligibility requirements.
    • Accept or Decline each award.
    • When done, click Submit.
    • Review financialaid.unt.edu frequently for important information regarding financial aid and scholarships.
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