Resources: Know Before You Go

Know Before You Go

Looking for some help? We’ve gathered the most common topics and resources for this time of year all in one place. 

Please review the below tables to determine when you will receive your financial aid offer based on your cohort and program. Current students can view their financial aid offer in UAccess Student Center. Incoming students can find their financial aid offer in the Next Steps Center. 

SPRING 2024 FINANCIAL AID OFFER TIMELINE  
Spring 2024 First Year, Readmits, Transfer New Admits Beginning in late November, then on a rolling basis 2-3 weeks after submitting FAFSA and time of admission
Graduate/Professional Students Beginning in early December, then on a rolling basis 2-3 weeks after submitting FAFSA and time of admission
Law, Med, and VetMed Students Check with your respective school offices for your aid offer timeline
2024-2025 ACADEMIC YEAR FINANCIAL AID OFFER TIMELINE  
Fall 2024 First Year, Readmits, Transfer New Admits Beginning Spring 2024, then on a rolling basis 2-3 weeks after submitting FAFSA and time of admission
Continuing Undergraduates Beginning late Spring/early Summer, then on a rolling basis 2-3 weeks after submitting FAFSA
Graduate/Professional Students Beginning in early July, then on a rolling basis 2-3 weeks after submitting FAFSA and time of admission
Continuing Undergraduates/Grad/Professional Students Enrolled in the Fall Only with a Fall or Winter Graduation Check-Out on File  Early August
Law, Med, and VetMed Students Check with your respective school offices for your aid offer timeline

 

Wondering what you should do to prepare for the spring semester? By now you have likely completed lots of steps including filing your FAFSA, signing up for orientation, and reviewing your financial aid offer. There are a number of resources to help you plan your financial future at the University of Arizona: 

You can learn more about how to be considered for merit scholarships and the terms and conditions for maintaining your scholarship on our merit scholarships page. Connect with your Admissions recruiter for any questions about your award. 

As always, our AskAid team is here to help. Get in touch with us phone, email, or come by in person to the Administration building.

 

Wondering what you should do to prepare for the fall semester? Follow these steps to get started:

  • Apply for admission by May 1st (or July 1st for transfer students) to be considered for some of the largest scholarship opportunities you may receive in your career! To ensure your application links with your financial aid record, be sure to include your social security number.
  • To apply for federal student aid and institutional need-based financial aid, file your 2024-2025 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA is a free application that gives you access to lots of types of financial aid to help pay for college. In order to sign your FAFSA, make sure you and your parent(s), if you are a dependent student, create your FSA ID ahead of time.  The 2024-2025 FAFSA will be available by January 1, 2024. To be considered for the maximum amount of institutional need-based grant opportunities, apply to the university and file your FAFSA by our priority filing date, April 1, 2024.
  • We anticipate financial aid offers for newly admitted Fall 2024 students will be sent out beginning in Spring 2024. After you receive your financial aid offer, visit our Understanding Your Financial Aid Offer page to learn more about the types of financial aid you might have been offered. 
  • Once admitted, create UA NetID+ to start applying for scholarships on Scholarship Universe, our unique scholarship matching database for Wildcats like you! Start applying for additional scholarships now and attend our Perfecting Your Scholarship Search Workshop to learn how to maximize your search.
  • As we get closer to summer, sign up for orientation and attend our presentation for a general overview of financial aid, the payment process, and what to expect for your scholarship and financial aid disbursements. 

You can learn more about how to be considered for merit scholarships and the terms and conditions for maintaining your scholarship on our merit scholarships page. Connect with your Admissions recruiter for any questions about your award. 

As always, our AskAid team is here to help. Get in touch with us by phone, email, or come by in person to the Administration building.

There are a variety of reasons that can cause financial aid to be delayed: 

  • Visit this page to see how to check your Financial Aid Status to see what may be preventing the release of your aid.
  • Incomplete To Do List Items - These items delay financial aid from releasing and need your attention as soon as possible. Learn how to review To Do List items in your Student Center here.
  • Holds - Similar to incomplete To Do List items, a hold can also prevent the release of your financial aid. Learn how to review Holds in your Student Center here.
  • Enrollment - Some aid requires you to be enrolled in a certain number of units. Learn how enrollment impacts financial aid on our website here.

If you have already acted on your pending To Do List items or Holds and are waiting on documentation to be processed by our office, you may also see a delay in the release of financial aid. Processing timelines for the start of the semester are typically three to four weeks. Please know we are working diligently to complete these pending items so financial aid can be released as soon as possible. 

Spring 2024 disbursements will begin to post to students' Bursar accounts the week of January 8th.

Disbursements will begin to post to students' Bursar accounts four days prior to the start of your earliest summer class provided you are meeting eligibility requirements to receive financial aid.

Visit this page to see how to check your Financial Aid Status to see what may be preventing the release of your aid.

A Financial Aid Notice will be automatically placed on accounts if your accepted fall financial aid will cover your Bursar student account balance owed. This notice will prevent the Late Payment Charge and the Unpaid Tuition Charge. If the balance owed is more than the accepted pending aid, we recommend paying the remaining balance by the tuition payment deadline to avoid late fees. Visit the Bursar deadline page for more information on due dates and corresponding late fee charges.

In order for financial aid to be released, you must meet all enrollment and disbursement conditions. For additional information, visit our General Disbursement Policy page.

Find payment plan optionsdue datesbilling detailstuition cost estimates and more through the Bursar's Office website.

Check for items that may prevent aid from releasing to your Bursar student account. Log into UAccess Student Center to check your Notice/Hold sections & To Do List section. If you have any financial aid items listed, read the message carefully and take any action being requested. Normal processing time for items turned into our office is 2-3 weeks for review. During the beginning of each semester, this timeframe may increase due to the volume our office receives.

Did you transfer your federal aid from another school, are you working on a SAP Appeal, or do you have other To Do List items you need help with? If so, this may prevent your accepted financial aid from releasing to your Bursar student account. Visit our FAQs or contact us to get the help you need in completing your To Do List item. You can also view recordings of past workshops, such as the Federal FAFSA Verification Workshop, on our events page.

To view the status of your financial aid in your Student Center:

  • Login at uaccess.arizona.edu.
  • Click the Financial Aid header on the top of the Student Center home page and select Financial Aid Summary from the list.
  • Scroll down to the middle of the page and click the Financial Aid Status section. This page will show you a breakdown of the financial aid offered and whether it has been released/disbursed to your student account or not. 

Due to the high volume of items at the beginning of each semester, you can expect to hear from us approximately 2-4 weeks from the date you submit a complete file for: Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Appeals, Federal Verification, General Aid Appeals, Over award to do list item processing, Cost Of Attendance (COA) Appeals, Consortium Agreements, or Additional Loan Requests.

If you were offered loans and/or federal work study, you need to accept your aid in order to receive it. Here's how:

You can accept your loans or Federal Work Study in your UAccess Student Center.

Find the steps for accepting student and parent loans on our loans webpageParents (via the Guest Center) will also be able to accept the Parent PLUS loan to help with expenses for the semester once it is viewable in UAccess. 

Have you already accepted your aid, but it still has not been released to your Bursar student account? Check out our FAQs to find common scenarios that may be holding up your aid. 

You do not need to accept any gift aid such as grants and scholarships, as they are automatically accepted for you.

Are you wondering if you are on track to renew your scholarship? Visit the Terms and Conditions page for your incoming year here at the university. There, you will be able to view examples of how many units you need to complete in addition to the cumulative GPA requirement.

Visit our FAQs for all things Scholarships like Renewals, the one-time grace period, Reinstatements, and Appeals.

Expecting a refund (you have more pending aid than your account balance)? Set Up Web Refund (direct deposit) in your UAccess student center. This is the quickest way to receive your refund. Students who have not enrolled in Web Refund through UAccess will receive a check sent to their mailing address listed in UAccess. Please contact the Bursar’s Office for more information about the status of your refund.

Spring 2024 financial aid offers are sent to new undergraduate students via text message and/or email on a rolling basis 2-3 weeks after submitting FAFSA and time of admission. 

Reasons you might not have received your offer yet: 

  • Reviewing a new FAFSA and creating your financial aid offer can take at least three weeks from the date our office loads your FAFSA into our system and you have been admitted to the university. 
  • Be sure you have filed the correct year FAFSA and have added the University of Arizona school code, 001083. 
  • Not including the social security number on the admissions application can also delay this process. You can add your social security number to your University of Arizona records by submitting the Change of Personal Information form to the Office of the Registrar.

 

Do you have other questions? That’s okay too! Check out our FAQs and policy pages to find answers to topics such as Qualified Tuition Reduction (QTR), Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Appeal help, loans, verification, and more. 

Important Information

The following informational links will help you prepare for your college career at The University of Arizona.

Other Helpful Websites to Visit