When I began the process of creating this blog I really did not have a clear and defined picture of what all this blog could accomplish. I knew what the goal was, to provide financial aid information to you, our students, and provide an interactive community where financial aid questions and topics are discussed, but I did not realize how much impact it could have. The overwhelming response of comments and feedback from this blog have encouraged and empowered me to do more. With that said, I would like to take an opportunity to give a quick display of all of the features on this blog, and explain how you can use this blog in the most effective manner possible!!
First: Read the Posts! The goal is to update this blog with new and current information via a post 1-2 times per week. Within these posts I will cover a wide spectrum of financial aid topics. I also will be sure to include a post for any new or pressing information within financial aid that you need to know.
Second: Search the Blog! With over 16 posts, and constantly growing, there is a mountain of information at your fingertips. Simply put in your keyword search on the search bar at the top of the blog, and you will be directed to any posts that contain the keywords you are interested in. If you do not feel like reading through all of the posts this is a great tool for you.
Third: Search the Topics! If you have a question about a specific topic check out the "Most Popular Topics" links on the right hand column. If you see your topic listed there, simply click on that link and you will be directed to all of the posts which contain information regarding that topic. This is great as a reference tool.
Fourth: Subscribe!!! If you are like me, you have way too many things to do in one day and sometimes they all run together. Wouldn't it be nice to be notified every time that this blog is updated....sort of like your own personal assistant. Well you can accomplish this by simply clicking on the "Stay Connected" links on the right hand column and subscribing to this blog. Any new posts will be automatically directed to your viewer of choice. How easy is that!?!
Fifth and Final: Comment!! This is the most effective and therefore most popular feature on this blog: the ability to interact with financial aid officers as well as fellow students. If you read through a post and have a question about a financial aid topic, simply leave a comment with your question and a financial aid officer will respond via a follow-up comment. You can have personal access to the financial aid office without leaving the comfort of your living room... You can also find previous comments left by financial aid officers very useful for answering your questions.
I hope this has given you a small taste of the impact this blog can have.
We are always searching for ways to improve and become better, so please feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you would like to see in this blog!
Posts
Hello, I have a question concerning the LIFE scholarship. I was a LIFE recipient for the 2008-2009 year, but when I received my award letter for 2009-2010 year in the mail earlier this summer, I noticed that I had not received the LIFE. I figured the reason for that was because I was 3 credit hours short of maintaining eligibility for the LIFE scholarship when my FAFSA was processed. However, I was taking one summer semester course to give me the required 30 credit hours for the academic year, which would make me eligible for LIFE this upcoming 2009-2010 year. I had e-mailed the Financial Aid office about this matter and they said they would review previous LIFE recipients and would mail a new reward letter after the grades were posted for the summer semester, if you maintained eligibility.
ReplyDeleteI recently finished the summer course and should have 30 credit hours completed, but I haven't received an updated award letter yet.
So, what should I do about book vouchers next week? Will my information be up to date and will I be able to pick up books by then?
Also, I never signed and returned the first award letter I received (which only had a Pell Grant reward).
I have signed up for 12 credit hours & have received a Pell Grant that will cover all the tuition and *most* of the books.
ReplyDeleteBecause of my situation, it seems like I won't be able to get *all* my books, so I am thinking about withdrawing from one of my classes.
If I do this, I will have 9 hours... will the amount of my financial aid change?
Thank you for your question.
ReplyDeleteConcerning the LIFE scholarship, we actually have to wait to award the LIFE scholarship until August 10th, which is the last day for grades to be posted. Once all of the grades are in we can officially award LIFE to eligible students. If your LIFE scholarship has not been awarded when you are ready to purchase your textbooks, you can come into our office and we can issue you an estimated award letter and then issue a book voucher based on that estimate.
Hi Dr. L.B. Paint,
ReplyDeleteThe Pell grant does award based on how many credit hours you are taking. So, if you reduce your credit hours from 12 to 9 , we would reduce the amount of your Pell award. If you look at it from a percentage standpoint, you will receive the same percentage of money for your textbooks whether you take 6, 9, or 12 credit hours.
Thank you for your question!
How long does it take for financial aid to finish the certification process for Stafford loans. It has been about 3 weeks since I finished up my part of the loan process including the award letter, the loan counseling, the application, and the MPN. I haven't heard anything yet and just want to know if everything is fine or if there is something else I need to do with the school. Just so you know I chose Sallie Mae as my lender if that makes a difference.
ReplyDeleteThe loan certification process takes between 4-6 weeks after you have turned in your award letter. As long as you have completed your entrance loan counseling as well as a master promissory note, your loan will be processed within this time frame.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your question!
My acceptance letter was sent in at the beginning of July and it has been almost eight weeks now and I still haven't received anything from my lender and no one seems to be able to tell me when my certification will be complete when I contact the financial aid office. My MPN and entrance counseling have been done for some time now. Can you please give me a rough idea of how much longer it will take to complete my certification?
ReplyDeleteHi kristen,
ReplyDeleteWe are currently finishing up award letters that were turned in during the month of July. We should have those finished by the end of the week.
Thank you for your comment!
When do financial aid refund checks go out? I had lottery tuition financial aid, but I went ahead and paid the bill myself since I was going to be out of town for a while and didn't want to take the chance of something happening and not being available.
ReplyDeleteWhen do we get our financial aid refunds? My account still shows a balance due, because the funds have not posted. I can't get a straight answer from anyone. BTW, I have been approved for the awards, and it is showing on Campus Cruiser that they have all been accepted.
ReplyDeleteRefund checks should be mailed out beginning September 18th. We have just finished the process of applying all federal grants and scholarships to student accounts. If you received a grant or scholarship and these awards have not been applied to your account, please contact our office at financialaid@gvltec.edu. If you took out student loans and those loans have been certified the money should also be in your account. Once again, please contact us at financialaid@gvltec.edu if you have any additional questions or concerns.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment!
Hey, I went into the office several weeks ago, because I have the life scholarship and it was showing i only had 63 dollars for books. I knew that in the past i had around 150. The guy told me that because i was in some sort of labs or something that some fees were cut out. That was that. Well now, my balance is showing greenville tech owes me 85.00. And my book balance is now 85.00. So, my question is, will they send me that money? Or will that money at least carry over until next semester? Thanks so much.
ReplyDeleteIf your Account Summary does show a negative balance, then yes, you will receive that amount in a refund check.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment!
Hellom
ReplyDeleteI just recieved an e-mail from Financial Aid that said they were only just now processing loans docs for the beginning of August, it took over a month for my verification to be processed and another two weeks to recieve my awards letter for me to sign. The financial aid officer went on to say that they have no idea how long it will take to process refund checks and they can only apologize for the delay. According to your posts some grants have already been processed and applied so I don't understand what the additional delay is. The FA officer also said that they have way more students this year and they all applied for loans. Some of us that attend the college are parents of college students ourselves and are not that easily bamboozled with these types of answers. I don't think this is acceptable when some of us need these loans to live off campus while we attend school. Can you tell me what the additional hold up is on the processing of refunds?
I feel that I can best answer your question in person rather than through a blog post. please contact me at 864-250-8987 and I will address all of your concerns.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment!
I have recieved an financial aid award but isnt for sure of the total amount due back to me! I am aware that the funds are divided into the two semesters.but wen I divide the funds it don't equal up to what I got.
ReplyDeleteTo calculate your refund, simply add up all of the financial aid awards that you have received, subtract your tuition charges, bookstore charges and/or housing charges and that will give you your refund amount. Please keep in mind, that if you are not a full time student, than your Pell and/or Lottery Tuition Assistance will reduce to reflect the number of credit hours you are taking.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment!