How to Apply for Financial Aid

Yes, every student should complete the FAFSA! Filling out the FAFSA is the starting point for our Financial Aid Team to determine what grants and loans you qualify for.

The rare cases in which you may not wish to complete the FAFSA include if you are an international student, you are unable to contact your parents for financial information, or if you have sufficient financial resources that you don’t believe you will qualify for any aid. In these cases, please fill out the Waive FAFSA form in your custom enrollment portal.

The FAFSA collects your basic demographic information as well as financial information regarding yourself and your parents. This will include:

• Social Security Number
• Federal income tax returns for you and/or your parents
• W-2 forms for you and/or your parents
• Total current balance of cash, savings, and checking accounts for you and your parents

We recommend you complete the FAFSA as soon as possible in the admissions process. Ideally, we recommend completing the FAFSA right after you have applied to Southern Virginia University.

The earlier you complete the FAFSA:

• The earlier you can receive your financial package and know what your actual costs for the year will be
• The more months you will have available to spread out your tuition payments through an interest-free payment plan
• The greater chances you can receive grants that are on a first-come, first-served basis

The earliest you can complete the FAFSA is when the department of education launches the newest year’s FAFSA, which is usually around October. The latest you can complete the FAFSA and still receive a financial package for your current semester is before the Add/Drop date.

No; any information shared through the FAFSA will not affect your candidacy for university scholarships.

Yes! In addition to determining whether you qualify for federal loans, the FAFSA ascertains if you qualify for federal and institutional grants. These grants, similar to scholarships, are like a gift and do not need to be paid back.

Furthermore, filling out the FAFSA does not commit you to any loans. The application with only show you which loans you qualify for, after which you will indicate if you want to accept or decline those loan opportunities.

There are few circumstances where you may not be able to complete the FAFSA or need to waive it as a financial aid prerequisite. These circumstances include:

• If you are an international student
• If your family dynamic is undergoing change, such as divorce
• If you cannot access your parent information
• If you have sufficient financial resources and do not believe you will qualify for aid

To waive your FAFSA requirement, please fill out the Waive FAFSA form in your enrollment portal and a member of our Financial Aid team will reach out to discuss your next steps.

Yes. To receive financial aid every year you are a student, you will need to resubmit the FAFSA annually.