Hey Ospreys! Guess what time it is! You’ve got that right! It’s financial aid time!
We know, we’ve been asking you to apply for financial aid and complete your requirements for the 2023-2024 academic year for a while, but now it’s crunch time!
As the summer approaches, we’re entering our peak financial aid processing period for 2023-2024 financial aid, specifically preparing students files for the Fall 2023 billing cycle. With that being said, we wanted to provide you with a timeline of you can expect in regards to financial aid from now up through the start of the Fall 2023 semester.
First, if you haven’t applied for financial aid yet, do it! U.S. Citizens and Eligible Non-Citizens will file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at fafsa.gov.
New Jersey Dreamers will file the New Jersey Alternative Application for Financial Aid at hesaa.org.
To be considered for federal, state and institutional financial aid programs, students need to apply for financial aid each year. Institutional scholarship recipients need to file the FAFSA or NJ Alternative Application each year in order to receive their scholarship.
While we’re on the topic of scholarships, remember that first-year merit-based scholarships are offered for up to 8 consecutive semesters or graduation, whichever comes first. Transfer scholarships are offered for up to 6 consecutive semesters or graduation, whichever comes first. All students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher and consecutive full-time enrollment to receive their scholarship each semester. Some scholarships also require that students reside in on-campus housing. Learn more about institutional scholarship eligibility criteria at stockton.edu/scholarships.
Any student who applied for 2023-2024 foundation scholarships will receive a decision letter no later than June 15, 2023. Those who are awarded a scholarship will see the funds on their bill before bills are due in August.
Anyone who applied for a Pepsi Scholarship (deadline to apply was May 1) or an OceanFirst Scholarship (deadline to apply is July 1) will receive a decision by email. If you applied, please monitor your email for updates.
Okay, so we’ve gone over applying for aid and scholarship eligibility criteria. Let’s talk about what comes next. For incoming students and new students, this is a little different.
After an incoming student applies for financial aid, they are sent a preliminary aid offer; however, we will not process their aid until all financial aid and enrollment requirements are met. For continuing students, once you apply, you must complete all outstanding requirements before you receive your financial aid offer. Aid offers for continuing students are sent via email (and available in the goStockton portal) beginning in late June/early July as long as all requirements are complete.
Students can view and complete requirements within the “Financial Aid” tab of the goStockton portal. NJ residents will need to complete all items on their NJFAMS “To Do List” by logging into their account at njfams.hesaa.org.
As mentioned above, the summer is a peak financial aid processing time. We cannot guarantee aid will be processed in time for the fall bill due date for any student who does not submit all outstanding requirements by June 15, 2023. Make sure you complete all requirements asap and monitor your goStockton email regularly. Just because you submit documents, does not mean that your file is complete. We may ask for additional documentation after documents are initially submitted. Learn more at stockton.edu/verification.
Once you’ve completed your requirements and have been offered aid, it’s time to review your offer.
Grants and scholarships are free money and therefore, do not need to be accepted. You will need to take action on any loan or work study funding that you are offered. You can either accept or decline these funds in the “Financial Aid” tab of the goStockton portal.
If you choose to accept Federal Direct Loans and you have never utilized these types of loans before, you will need to complete Entrance Counseling and a Master Promissory Note (MPN). The loans will not pay to your bill if these requirements are not complete.
If you choose to accept Federal Work Study funds, you will receive correspondence related to any additional requirements you must complete. If you have not previously received Federal Work Study or you have, but you want to find a new employer, you can view employment opportunities on our Federal Work Study webpage or by logging into Handshake, Stockton’s student employment search portal with your goStockton portal credentials. There, you can apply for employment.
Fall 2023 bills become viewable in the goStockton portal on Wednesday, July 5 and are due in full on Tuesday, August 1. Please note that any new student whose orientation date is after July 5 may not have a bill until after their orientation. Anyone whose orientation is after the billing due date will have a different bill due date. Learn more here.
Once your aid is applied to your bill, you can determine if you need additional funding to cover any remaining balance. Your bill (tuition & fees and housing & a meal plan (if applicable) minus any financial aid (grants, scholarships and loans) equals your remaining balance.
If after your aid is applied to your bill, you have a balance with the Bursar’s Office, there are a few different ways to cover this balance.
The Bursar’s Office offers payment plan options for each billing cycle. If you enroll in the 5 payment plan, your first payment will be due mid-July, and then subsequent payments are due at the beginning of each month, through November. The first payment installment for the 4 and three payment plans are due August 1 and subsequent payments are due at the beginning of each month through November.
Students can sign up for a payment plan within the Bursar tab of the goStockton portal beginning July 5.There is a one-time $60 fee for registering.
You can also look into additional loans to help cover the remainder of your balance. Parents of dependent undergraduate students are eligible to apply for the Parent Direct PLUS Loan. Graduate students are eligible to apply for the Graduate PLUS Loan. These loans are federal loans, but they do require a credit check.
Students can also look into private loans to help cover any remaining balance. Students without established credits will most times need a credit-worthy co-signer to utilize private loans. Private loans typically come with a high fixed interest rate, so it is important that you understand interest rates as well as the terms and conditions of each loan before borrowing. In general, students want to select a loan that has the lowest interest rate with the best terms for them. Terms can include repayment periods/types of repayment plans, etc.
Stockton University does not have a preferred lender list. We provide students with a historic list of lenders used by Stockton students within the last three years. Click here to view this list.
Remember, that when borrowing loans, it’s important not to overborrow; however, some lenders take origination fees from their loans. This is just a fancy way of saying they charge you an upfront fee (usually a small percentage) to borrow from them. When calculating how much you need to borrow, you need to account for these fees. As a general rule, remember that we can always reduce a loan if you borrow too much, but we can never increase a loan over the amount for which you were approved.
To make any changes to a loan, complete our Loan Change form within the “Financial Aid” tab of the goStockton portal. For any adjustments to Parent Direct PLUS loans, the borrower must send an email to finaid@stockton.edu detailing the request.
We know, this process can see a bit overwhelming, but we promise, it’s not so bad! Let’s recap below:
- Apply for aid at fafsa.gov (hesaa.org for NJ Dreamers)
- Complete all financial aid requirements in the goStockton portal (and at njfams.hesaa.org for NJ Residents)
- Accept/decline your aid offer at go.stockton.edu
- View your bill at go.stockton.edu beginning July 5, 2023 (New Students: if your orientation date is after this date, your bill may not be viewable until after your orientation.)
- Determine your gap (bill minus aid)
- Fill the gap (sign up for payment plans/apply for loans/apply for scholarships)
You’ve got this, Ospreys! And, we’re here every step of the way if you have questions or need assistance! Visit stockton.edu/contactfinaid to email us or schedule a phone appointment!
See you soon, Ospreys!