After Applying - Office Of Scholarships And Student Aid

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skip to main Skip to main content Search Understanding & Receiving Aid Understanding & Receiving Aid

Financial aid offer notifications typically begin in April and will be posted in your Connect Carolina Student Service Center. Once aid eligibility is posted, we will send notification of your financial aid offer to your UNC email.

Understanding Aid Offers & Billing

How is aid awarded?
  • To be awarded aid, you must meet aid eligibility requirements.
  • Your total aid, including outside scholarships or departmental funding, cannot exceed the cost of attendance for your program.
    • You can review cost of attendance estimates below:
      • UNC School of Law
      • UNC School of Medicine
    • For information about program-specific budget costs, contact our graduate and professional aid offices.
What is the Cost of Attendance (COA)?

The Cost of Attendance (COA) will serve as your estimated budget as a student. Schools are required to establish a cost of attendance based on average student costs to determine the threshold for total aid a student can receive. We are unable to offer aid over the COA total. The COA includes estimates for tuition, fees, housing, food, books/supplies, travel, miscellaneous expenses and loan fees. There is a COA for resident and non-residents given the difference in costs. A summary of the items in COA can be found below:

  • Tuition: Based on the average tuition rate for either resident or non-resident students. Actual tuition charges may vary slightly from the budgeted amount. You can find actual tuition rates on the cashier’s website.
  • Fees: Learn more about the types of fees, how and why they are assessed on the cashier’s website.
  • Housing: Your housing budget will vary based on your housing plan. Housing categories include:
    • On-Campus Housing:
      • If you live on-campus you will be billed by the university at the start of the semester
    • Off-Campus Housing:
      • If you live off-campus you will pay charges directly based your rent/lease agreement
    • Living With Family
    • With Dependents and/or Children
      • If you live on-campus you will be billed by the university at the start of the semester
      • If you live off-campus you will pay charges directly based your rent/lease agreement
  • Food: The budgeted amount you may expect to spend on food, the value of this budget item is based on if you will be living on/off-campus or with family. Food categories include:
    • On/Off-Campus
    • Living With Family
  • Books & Supplies: The average amount you can expect to spend, this will not be on your bill unless you ask to bill books through student stores.
  • Travel: An amount that you may expect to spend to travel to and from school during breaks and in-between semesters.
  • Miscellaneous: A catch all for the other expenses you may have while in school, this could be anywhere from a toiletries to required certifications/equipment.
  • Loan Fees: Included in the budget whether you borrow loans or not. Because loan fees are taken out of borrowed loans, this is here to account for that for student borrowers.
Are there conditions I need to meet to receive my aid offer?
  • You must enroll for at least half-time status (4.5 credit hours), unless you are enrolling in a thesis or dissertation course (#992, #993, #994)
    • A change in enrollment after funds are disbursed and before the end of the tuition refund period will require repayment of all, or a portion of, your student aid
  • A reduction of your course load at any time during the semester may affect your progress toward completion of a degree and your eligibility for financial aid
  • If your enrollment status changes, it may affect your aid package. Contact our graduate and professional offices to discuss any planned changes in enrollment
How and when will I be notified of my financial aid offer?

We begin to process financial aid for graduate students in mid-April.

  • If we need additional documentation, you will receive an email notifying you of items on your ‘To Do’ list in your ConnectCarolina Student Center. On the right side in Student Center click ‘Financial Aid Items’ for additional information
  • If we do not need any additional information you will receive an email to your UNC issued email letting you know you can view your aid offer in your ConnectCarolina Student Center
  • Please keep in mind that it can take up to three weeks to process and review documentation. Your ‘To Do’ list will show a received status when we receive the document, and a complete status when it has been reviewed

Receiving Offered Aid

When and where will I get my financial aid money?

Financial aid is generally disbursed 7 to 10 days before the first day of the semester. You can find estimated dates of disbursement on our receiving aid page. Once aid is disbursed, it will go directly to your student account with the University Cashier and be applied to your charges.

Once aid is applied, any aid in excess of charges will be refunded to you; refunds will be processed around the first day of classes. The quickest way to receive your refund is to set up direct deposit with the University cashier.  If you have not selected direct deposit you must email or go in person to the cashier to request and collect your refund check.

What if my bill is due before my financial aid is disbursed?

You can defer your bill and extend your due date with the University Cashier in ConnectCarolina. Please note: Campus Health charges, library fines and charges from a prior semester cannot be deferred.

Deferments requests must be submitted before the due date on the first bill of each semester.

What if my aid didn't disburse when it was supposed to?

If you notice that your aid has not been applied to your account within a week before classes begin for the university, there may be additional action required on your part. Common reasons for not receiving disbursement include:

  • You are not meeting the half-time enrollment requirement to receive loans (4.5 credit hours)
  • You are taking an approved underload but haven’t completed the Underload Adjustment Request Form with our office
  • You haven’t completed the loan requirements on your ‘To-Do’ list for your loans
  • You have additional holds that need addressing. Any holds will be displayed in your Connect Carolina Student Center

Resources & Tools

Budgeting Calculator

Built to mimic a per semester bill, a great way to find out if you will owe a bill or receive a refund:

Use Budgeting Calculator

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Resources

A tool built to help:

  • Understand your financial aid offer
  • Plan to cover the remaining costs
  • Estimate how much you’ll owe and if you can afford that debt
  • Compare offers from different schools
  • Decide what to do next

Learn more on the CFPB website

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