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All About Aid Offers

Overview

Congratulations on receiving your financial aid offer! This webpage will help guide you through accessing, understanding, accepting, and knowing the important considerations that come with your unique aid offer.

Accessing Your Aid Offer

Scholarship only and financial aid offers usually begin around mid-December for first-time freshmen who are starting in the fall semester for each upcoming aid year. Students in any other student group (currently enrolled, continuing students, transfer, graduate, professional, etc.) usually receive financial aid offers around mid-March.

Accessing Your Aid Offer as a New Student

You will need your WVU username and password to log in to your WVU Portal. Information to help you access the WVU Portal and your MIX email is provided by Admissions as part of your admission decision email and/or letter.

If you are newly admitted to WVU, please be aware that the myWVU Portal (Admissions portal) is for admission purposes only. Once admitted, all essential WVU information — like financial aid, billing, personal information, and more — is accessible via the WVU Portal platform. You can also visit the Log in to the WVU Portal website for steps to setup your access.

WVU Login accounts are for students only. Parents and guardians may not claim accounts, create passwords and security questions, or set up authentication. Students should not share their WVU Login information with anyone. However, students can provide parents and guardians with proxy access so they can easily access their information. Students can find instructions on the WVU Parent and Guest Portal website.

Aid Offer Considerations

Select a section for more details:

Estimated Financial Aid Information

Your financial aid offer is based on current information. Should your information change or notification of additional financial aid be received, your financial aid may be adjusted. Visit our Potential Cost and Aid Changes webpage for some factors that can impact estimated cost and aid.

  • For more information on your offered financial aid, click on the name of the fund when reviewing your financial aid offer online. This provides more specific information for each aid type. You can also visit our Types of Aid webpage. Acceptance of your financial aid funds indicates that you understand and agree to any terms your awards may carry.
  • Financial aid estimates are also usually based on anticipated full-time enrollment. Should you not enroll full-time, your aid may be reduced accordingly to reflect your eligibility based on your actual enrollment. Review the Enrollment for Financial Aid section for more information.
  • Your financial aid cannot exceed your estimated cost of attendance.
  • If you choose to accept all or part of your loan offer, you must also complete loan requirements for those funds to pay towards your balance due.
    • The University usually begins receiving Entrance Counseling files in late-February and Master Promissory Note (MPN) files in late-April for the upcoming academic year. These items might reflect as unsatisfied in your financial aid outstanding requirements section until files are received by WVU.
    • Once we start receiving those files for the aid year from the federal government, we are usually notified that you have completed your requirements within 3 business days of submission.

Other Funding Options

In addition to scholarships, grants, and/or loans offered by the institution, state, or federal government, there are additional ways that students can potentially reduce or fund educational expenses. You can also visit our Other Funding Options webpage for information on the options listed below.

Change in Financial Circumstances

Sometimes the information students provide on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) no longer accurately reflects their or their family's financial situation. There are certain circumstances where financial aid professionals at the University can review and update the student's FAFSA. For more information, visit our SAI Calculation Appeal webpage.

Enrollment for Financial Aid

Different aid types have different enrollment requirements that must be met before aid can disburse as payment for the semester. There are regulations that determine if the courses students take can count toward their enrollment standards for Title IV federal aid and WV state aid eligibility and disbursement. Courses must be required for a student's degree completion - for the program in which they are actively admitted and degree-seeking - in order for those courses to count toward their enrollment requirements for Title IV federal aid and WV state aid. For more information about these enrollment requirements, visit our Enrollment Standards and CPoS webpage.

For most students (except for a few select graduate programs), the estimated cost of attendance is based on anticipated full-time enrollment in degree-pursuant coursework. Should you not enroll full-time, your cost of attendance and aid may be reduced accordingly to reflect your cost and aid eligibility for your actual enrollment.

Financial Aid Renewal

The priority submission deadline for submitting the FAFSA is usually March 1.

There are a variety of criteria that can impact eligibility each year. This can include minimum overall grade point averages, earned hours, completion of attempted courses, submission of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by the March 1 priority deadline each year, continued financial need, and limitations on the number of semesters or total amounts a student can receive over time. Visit our Maintain Your Aid webpage and Renewal Requirements webpage (for institutional scholarships/grants) for more information.

Borrowing Responsibly

You are not required to take the full amount. You may accept all, none, or a portion of the offer.

However, we encourage students to only borrow what they need to cover necessary educational and living expenses. Use budgeting apps or worksheets to help determine what you may need to borrow. You can also use repayment calculators to estimate your future monthly loan payment based on the loans you borrow. This can help you remain prepared for and cognizant of loan repayment.

It is your choice if you want to borrow loans to help fund educational expenses. However, we encourage students to only borrow what they need to cover educational expenses. Watch the Federal Student Aid video on responsible borrowing below to learn about your responsibilities as a borrower and what you should consider when taking out loans for college.


Taxable Financial Aid

Any gift aid (scholarship, grants, etc.) received in excess of tuition, fees, and required books and supplies is taxable. Questions should be directed to an accountant or the Internal Revenue Service. Students are provided this information with their Form 1098-T (accessible online and mailed to their permanent address on file). More information can be found on the WVU Tax Services 1098-T webpage.

Comparing Financial Aid Offers

If you are comparing financial aid offers from multiple schools, take your time reviewing each one. Determine your estimated cost for each institution and subtract your grants, scholarships, and waivers to determine your out-of-pocket for each to compare apples to apples. You can use a cost comparison tool - like this one from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau - to carefully determine your cost for each institution.

Donors

Donors and sponsors of financial aid and scholarship programs may, at their discretion, obtain demographic information and recipients. If you do not want this information released, notify us.

Disbursement

Financial aid will disburse as payment toward your balance due approximately one week prior to the start of each semester (fall/spring) as long as the financial aid is accepted, you are enrolled in enough hours for the aid to disburse, and you do not have any unsatisfied requirements for the aid.

Accepting Your Aid Offer

Now that you have your offer, what do you need to do? Here are steps you can take NOW to get ready!

  1. Make a decision on your offered financial aid: Log into your WVU Portal to review and accept or decline your offered aid. Accepting aid is not a commitment to attend WVU, but it is important to accept your offered aid as early as possible to help ensure your aid is ready to pay on time for the semester if you do attend. If you accept or decline aid and later change your mind, notify us! We are happy to help you make adjustments. For step-by-step instructions on accessing your aid offer, visit our View, Accept or Decline Aid webpage.

  2. Stay up-to-date on important deadlines and notifications:
    1. Most scholarship, financial aid, and billing updates are sent from the WVU Hub to your MIX email via your WVU Portal (not your personal email). It's important to monitor MIX for updates! Students can set it up on their mobile devices.
    2. Follow the WVU Hub on X, Facebook, and Instagram.
    3. Monitor the WVU Hub announcements for important updates and information.

  3. Other Funding Options: Explore our Other Funding Options webpage for information on applying for external scholarships, the tuition payment plan, and other potential ways to help you fund educational expenses.

  4. Make sure your aid is ready! Use our Checklists to make sure your aid is ready to go before the first payment deadline each semester (usually beginning of August for fall and beginning of January for spring).

Additional Resources

Refer to the resources for more information about what can change your financial aid offer, understanding your cost of attendance, and scholarship offers.

Potential Cost and Aid Changes

Details on what factors impact a student's cost and financial aid offer before or after accepting aid.

Possible Changes: Potential Cost and Aid Changes

Estimate Costs and Aid

Plan for WVU costs, understanding billable and non billable costs, and learn how your financial aid will be applied to those charges.

Estimate Your Costs & Aid: Estimate Costs and Aid

All About WVU Scholarship Offers

Learn more about receiving scholarships, renewal criteria, and additional details about your offer.

About Scholarship Offers: All About WVU Scholarship Offers

Parent and Guest Access Setup

Specific account information cannot be released to parents, spouses, other family members, friends, or other third parties unless you give them access.

For first-time students, this begins when you either move into on-campus housing or attend your first day of classes as a student on one of WVU's campuses - whichever comes first. This is due to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

You can find instructions on how to grant access on the WVU Parent and Guest Portal website. In addition, please note that even with your permission your financial aid and FAFSA-related information cannot be released to third-party organizations unless they are a scholarship provider, tribal organization, or private lender. For access to billing details, students would also need to set up Authorized User access for anyone who may be making payments or accessing billing information on their account.