Langston University

Yes, Langston University’s policy requires all students to complete a current year FAFSA prior to enrolling in school.

We encourage all students to complete the FAFSA to maximize their access to resources available to cover their cost of attendance. In addition, most scholarship agencies use the FAFSA data to assist with need determination for the scholarship.

We no longer have an official FAFSA Waiver form. However, students choosing not to complete the FAFSA should contact the Office of Financial aid & Scholarships to have the FAFSA hold removed and will be expected to pay their charges as they become due. We recommend if not able to pay the full amount when due that the student sign up for the University payment plan.

If you list school code 003157 on your FAFSA application, the Langston University Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships will receive the electronic results of your application. Your application will then be reviewed and you will receive a request for more information or a detailed Award Notification, which will be emailed to your Langston University email address.

New Students priority processing dates
• FAFSA process date November 1
• File completion November 15
• Award Notices begin 12/15

Continuing student priority processing dates
• FAFSA process date 1/1
• File completion is January 31
• Continuing Scholarship deadline Feb 1

FAFSA’s and files completed outside of the priority dates may have an extended processing time depending on the volume of applications coming in. We encourage students to provide the requested information as soon as possible.

Your Student Aid Index (SAI) formerly referred to as the Expected Family Contribution (EFC), which calculated through the FAFSA process, is what your family should expect to contribute to the cost of your education over the course of the year. It is also used to determine eligibility for Federal Student Aid. This number is calculated using the information provided on your FAFSA application such as income, family size, and number in college.

The federal government requires schools to set up a Cost of Attendance (COA) used to estimate the cost to attend college. The COA is calculated using several components such as your projected enrollment status, where you will live (on or off campus) while in school, an allowance for books & supplies, transportation and an allowance for basic personal needs.

Financial Need is the difference between your Cost of Attendance and your Expected Family Contribution/Student Aid Index minus other non-federal aid. (COA – EFC/SAI = Financial Need)

Financial aid is a group of resources, federal, institutional and private combined to assist with meeting the budget or cost of attendance.

The Cost Of Attendance (COA) will determine the maximum federal aid a student can receive. We will review all eligible programs and award the maximum for each up to the COA. If Federal aid, with the exception of the Pell Grant, is included in the package, generally the total aid cannot be more than the COA. We subtract the EFC/SAI that was calculated using the FAFSA data, minus any Nonfederal scholarships to be applied., The Office of Financial Aid will then determine what sources of federal aid can be used in the financial aid package to meet the need.

Your financial aid package is a number of resources, Federal and Non- federal grouped together for the purpose of meeting educational cost. The goal of the Office of Financial Aid is to offer enough aid with the combined resources to cover the Cost of Attendance.

The cost of attendance can be met by using a combination of Federal, State, Institutional and private sources (Scholarships from agencies outside of the university such as churches, civic organizations, parents, etc.). However, if the sources are not enough, we recommend you seek assistance through the Federal Direct Parent Loan if you are a dependent student or the Alternative Loan program (creditworthy loan) if independent and/or contact the Business Office to set up a payment plan for the balance.

If total awards received (including the new ones) exceeds the COA or the financial need, federal aid (generally Loans) may have to be reduced or canceled to prevent an over-award.

Federal guidelines dictate that the total aid in an award package that includes certain types of federal aid cannot exceed the financial need. When this happens, it is considered an over-award and must be addressed by the financial aid office. In some cases, when the total aid received exceeds the COA, funds may have to be adjusted.

If you have been offered loan funds, you should have received by email an Award Notification detailing action to be taken concerning those loans. That action includes accepting/declining loans.

If you accept them and you are a first-time borrower, you will need to complete Loan Counseling and sign a Master Promissory note. Both of these must be done before loan funds can be disbursed to your student account.

In addition, first-time borrowers will have to wait until they have attended classes for 30 days before funds will be disbursed to their student account.

Disbursement occurs once per semester for each type of funds awarded, with the exception of Work-Study, which is disbursed as the funds are earned. As a result, we encourage students to manage their funding wisely, for the funding is designed to cover and last the full semester. There will not be another disbursement of funds until the next eligible semester.

Funds for outside scholarships are generally sent to the office of Student and Employee services where they are deposited and a receipt is forwarded to the Office of Financial Aid, who will then post it to the student account within 2 weeks of that receipt. University scholarships are also forwarded to financial aid for posting; however, if received after the term has begun, you should allow up to 2 weeks for posting to the student account.

Parents of dependent students who are eligible for the parent loan (creditworthy loan) are generally eligible to apply for the amount needed up to the cost of the budget/cost of attendance. If your parents are not eligible and ineligibility has been confirmed, the student is eligible for additional funding between $4000 & $5000, depending on your classification, under the Unsubsidized Loan program. If this amount still does not meet the budget/cost of attendance, we recommend you seek assistance through the Alternative Loan programs (creditworthy loan) and/or contact the Business Office to set up a payment plan for the balance.

An alternative/private loan is a creditworthy non-federal loan made by an agency such as a bank or credit union. Generally, students can borrow up to the Cost of attendance minus all other aid awarded. In addition, Alternative/Private loans can generally be used to pay charges up to a year prior.

A credit balance (negative) occurs when the total financial aid/resources on your student account exceed the amount of your charges.

Funds delivered to you as a result of a credit balance. A refund occurs when there is a credit balance. The refund is designed to assist students with their personal and miscellaneous needs associated with attending school.

The refund (release of credit balances) process generally begins about 2 weeks after the end of the drop and add period

Check your student account for a credit balance.

Possibly. Most federal aid has an academic year limit, which is generally applied to fall & spring. Students interested in reserving funds for summer school attendance should speak with a Financial Aid Counselor for advice on how to manage awards.

Maintain requirements set in the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy, which indicates you must complete at least 67% of all hours attempted and a 2.00 GPA if undergrad or a 3.00 if a graduate student.

Students not meeting SAP policy requirements are initially placed on Probation and given one semester to meet requirements. Students are eligible during the probation period.

Meet SAP requirements.

February of each year

Because of the limited funding, priority for Federal Work-Study assignments goes to continuing students who previously worked on the program. Once enrollment has ended, if funds have been awarded to students who will not be returning or are no longer interested in being on the program, funds are reallocated.

New applicants have one opportunity to apply for the reallocated funds, generally after the close of enrollment. Students will be notified by email if funds are available and how to apply.