Welcome to East Carolina University Fall 2014 Open House

Office of University Scholarships

East Carolina University has many scholarships that have been made available through the generous donations of alumni and friends of the University.

The goal of the Office of University Scholarships is to provide students and their families with information on both internal and external scholarship opportunities.

Scholarships do not require repayment.

Eligibility Requirements

• The student must be….– Enrolled or accepted for enrollment– Typically enrolled in at least 12 hours of

classes (minimum hours for undergraduate full-time enrollment)

• The scholarship may be….–Merit based–Need based–Or a combination of the two

Application Process

• Most of our scholarships for incoming freshmen are awarded based on either….

– Student files an application via our scholarship management system @ https://ecu.academicworks.com. This system uses information from your admissions application and student completed data. Log on is via your ECU credentials contained in your acceptance letter

OR– By invitation to apply for consideration through a competitive

application process (Ex: Honors College / ECU Scholars)

Application Process, cont’d.

• Scholarship opportunities are available throughout a student’s college career….whether an incoming freshman or a continuing student.– College and Departmental Scholarships– ECU Alumni Association Scholarships– Division of Student Affairs Scholarships

• Annual competitive application process is held each year – typically in the spring semester. However, there are a variety of deadlines so make sure to learn the requirements and deadlines.

Application Process, cont’d.

• There are a number of different application processes. Each college has flexibility in how it operates its scholarship process:– Some will have paper applications– Some will have on-line applications– Some offerings will be listed on the scholarship

management system @ https://ecu.academicworks.com– Make sure you check all avenues and know how to apply –

when in doubt – ASK!

Scholarship Tips

• Incoming students should apply for admissions as early as possible

• Incoming and continuing students should complete the FAFSA each year as early as possible (www.fafsa.gov)

• Treat applying for a scholarship as a job – complete the application completely and neatly – you have one opportunity to make a first impression.

Scholarship Resources

• ECU Office of University Scholarships – www.ecu.edu/universityscholarships

• ECU Scholarship Management System – https://ecu.academicworks.com

• College Foundation of North Carolina (CFNC) – www.cfnc.org

• North Carolina Education Assistance Authority - www.ncseaa.edu• FastWEB (free scholarship search engine) –

www.fastweb.com

Office of University Scholarships

Melonie Bryan – Director201-A Whichard Building

Phone: 252-328-5816Fax: 252-737-4816

Email: bryanm@ecu.edu

Welcome to East Carolina University Office of Student

Financial Aid

Goal of Office of Student Financial Aid

• Our primary goal is to assist students in paying for their education and is achieved by:– Evaluating the family’s ability to pay for

educational costs– Distributing resources in an equitable and

consistent manner– Assisting students/families in situations where

special circumstances may affect their ability to pay

Eligibility Requirements for Financial Aid

• The student must be….– Enrolled or accepted for enrollment– Enrolled in at least 6 hours of classes– Pursuing a degree or teacher certificate– A U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen– Registered with the Selective Service (if you are a male aged 18 – 25)

• Must have a valid Social Security Number• Must make Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) as defined

by the University

Application Process

• Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on the web at www.fafsa.gov as soon after January 1st as possible. (Complete taxes as soon as possible)

• When the Central Processing System receives your FAFSA, your data will go through a calculation to determine your Expected Family Contribution (EFC).

IMPORTANT

If you complete the FAFSA online AND provide an email address, you will receive the results of your FAFSA which is called a Student Aid Report (SAR) via email. Make sure to use a valid email address and check that account regularly.

You may check the processing of your FAFSA atwww.fafsa.gov

What Happens Next?

• The schools that you list on the FAFSA will electronically receive your data. Be sure to use ECU’s Federal Student Code – 002923 – so that we will receive your processed information.

• Review the data on Student Aid Report for accuracy. Keep the report for your records. If you detect any errors, you may log back into the FAFSA website and make corrections.

Verification Process

• You may be selected for the “verification” process by the US Department of Education CPS.

• The process of verification requires schools to verify the data provided on the FAFSA. The Office of Financial Aid will request copies of various forms… Processing of the application will not continue until these documents are submitted.

IRS Data Retrieval

• When completing the FAFSA you will be given the opportunity to transfer your IRS tax information to the FAFSA by using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (This is the preferred method)

• If you are selected for verification and did not use the Data Retrieval tool, we will request a copy of your 2014 IRS Tax Return Transcript

• We are NOT able to accept copies of the Tax Return that was filed – we must have the Transcript or the Data Retrieval Match

Are you Independent?

• 24• Married• Active Military• Veteran• Dependent Children• Emancipated Minor/Legal Guardianship• Homeless/Unaccompanied Minor

Cost of Attendance

• Each school develops a “Cost of Attendance” for the different types of students. Cost of attendance may also be called “Student Budget”. It is an estimate of what the student will spend to attend school for an academic period.

• The Cost of Attendance or Budget represents the maximum amount of aid a student may receive from all sources.

Sources of Aid• Federal Pell Grant• Federal Supplemental

Educational Opportunity Grant

• Federal Work Study• Federal Perkins Loan• Federal Direct Stafford

Loans• Federal Direct Parent

Loan

• UNC Grant• NC Educational Lottery

Scholarship• ECU Grant• Institutional

Scholarships

Important Tips

Students MUST complete the FAFSA every year!!!

• ECU’s priority deadline is March 1st• Applications received after the deadline may take

longer to process and are not guaranteed to be completed prior to fall semester

• Students must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) to remain eligible for student financial aid

Awarding Process

• A student’s financial aid award package is determined according to the student’s financial need, grade level, merit, residency and other factors.

• If a student is eligible for grants, they will be included in the award package

• ECU financial aid awards generally include the Federal Direct Stafford Loans

• Federal Direct Parent Loans are not included in the package and must be requested separately, information can be found at www.ecu.edu/financial

Student Award Letter

• When the award package has been completed, an award notice will be sent to the student’s ECU email address. The initial award letter will also be mailed to the student’s permanent home address

• The initial award letter will include everything the student is eligible for at the time of the award.

• Students should log into their One Stop account and review the award notice and requirements they may need to complete

Financial Aid Resources

• ECU Office of Financial Aid – www.ecu.edu/financial

• CFNC – www.cfnc.org• US Department of Education –

http://studentaid.ed.gov• Student Loans – www.studentloans.gov• FASTWEB – www.fastweb.com

Office of Student Financial AidSchool Code - 002923

• Old Cafeteria Complex – Second FloorOffice Hours

Monday – Friday8:00 – 5:00

Phone: 252-328-6610Fax: 252-328-4347

Email: faques@ecu.edu