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Applying for Aid

FINANCIAL AID

Financial aid plays a vital role at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley where a large percentage of students receive some type of financial assistance.

Tuition and fees at UTRGV are significantly lower than private colleges and equal to, or lower than, most public colleges. This, together with the availability of financial aid funds, makes UTRGV an outstanding educational value.

There are several sources of student aid, including federal, state, institutional and private funds. Financial assistance comes in the form of grants, scholarships, student loans, and work-study.

APPLICATION PROCESS

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is an equal opportunity institution in the administration of its financial aid programs. In keeping with this policy, financial aid is extended to students without regard to race, creed, sex, national origin, veteran status, religion, age, or disability.

To qualify for federal financial assistance, an applicant must meet the following criteria:

  1. Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen or be eligible to be classified as a Texas resident under Senate Bill Law 1528.
  2. Be registered with Selective Service (Students subject to selective service registration will be required to file a statement that the student has registered or is exempt from selective service registration in order to be eligible to apply for financial aid.)
  3. Be enrolled as a regular student working toward a degree in an eligible program.
  4. Have signed a statement of educational purpose certifying that any federal or state aid received will be used for educational purposes.
  5. Be enrolled as a regular student working toward a degree in an eligible degree program.
  6. Have not defaulted on any federal, state, or institutional loan, and not owe a refund to any federal or state grant program.
  7. Demonstrate financial need, except when applying for funds from a program that does not require financial need.
  8. Be in satisfactory academic standing and making Satisfactory Academic Progress (as defined by the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy described on UCentral) at the university.
  9. Have completed a financial aid application and all required documentation is on file by the appropriate deadline.
  10. Be enrolled in courses that are required towards the completion of current degree plan.

Students must be to a degree-seeking program (undergraduate or graduate) to be eligible for financial aid.

Graduate degree-seeking Students with conditional admission (i.e., conditions that have been specified by the graduate program), participating in a certification program, or participating in continuing education or professional improvement are not eligible to receive financial aid.

HOW TO APPLY FOR FINANCIAL AID

To apply for financial aid, a student must submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). To initiate the application, the user must create an FSFA ID and password. The UTRGV School Code for the FAFSA is 003599.

Students may visit us either the Edinburg or Brownsville locations for one-on-one electronic FAFSA submittal assistance. All required documents must be submitted before any aid can be offered. Some applications are selected for verification of information submitted on the application.

To find out if the federal student financial aid application has been processed, or to see the information on the application, a student can call 1-800-433-3243 or visit the website.

If you are classified as a Texas Resident under Senate Bill 1528 law, you must complete the Texas Application for State Financial Aid TASFA application. The TASFA application can be obtained online under the Financial Aid site. and selecting the ‘Forms’ tab on the left side of the page and then selecting the aid year for which your are applying.

In order to apply for summer institutional grants, students must submit a summer notification to the Financial Aid Office, in addition to a FAFSA or TASFA. The summer notification is available yearly on December 15.

INFORMATION ON THE FEDERAL VERIFICATION PROCESS

Some FAFSA applicants are selected for verification. Verification is the process in which the school’s financial aid office requests documentation from students based on the information provided on the FAFSA application submitted to Department of Education. If an applicant has been selected for verification, we will notify them by email and via their ASSIST account. In most cases the documents used to verify information are the prior year’s federal tax return transcript and a Verification Worksheet; additional documents may be requested depending upon the information to be verified. Applicants are asked to submit the requested information within two weeks. The financial aid application is considered incomplete until verification is completed; that is, no aid offer will be made until verification is complete. To expedite the processing of financial aid prior to the beginning of the fall semester, students are highly encouraged to contact the Financial Aid office.

If corrections must be made as a result of verification, corrections to the ISIR will be submitted to the federal processor. If an aid offer must be adjusted because of information submitted as part of the verification process, the applicant will be notified via email through a revised Financial Aid Notification.

APPLICATION DEADLINES

Fall Awards:  January 15
Spring Awards: Sept. 15
Summer Awards:  Feb. 15

Final deadline to apply for financial aid is June 30 of the end of the award year. To offer aid for an application submitted after the end of the spring semester, the student must be currently enrolled in a summer term. Aid is offered on a funds-available basis, and priority is given to students that file by the March 15 priority deadline.

Students that did not apply for financial aid or submit required documents by the recommended priority dates may not have their aid offered at the time payment is due. Arrangements will then need to be made by the student for an alternative method of payment.

BENEFITS OF APPLYING EARLY

By applying early, you:

  • You increase your chance of receiving some of the state and/or local aid, which is limited in funding.
  • You get an offer letter prior to the payment of tuition and fees.
  • If your file needs corrections, these can be completed before the payment date of tuition and fees.