I need to make a payment.
Any questions regarding making a payment on your student account should be directed to the Cashier’s Office. The best way to contact the Bursar’s Office is to email bursar@uwm.edu or call (414) 225-4601.
For more information on how to make payments, please visit this link:
Why didn’t I get any grants?
A student’s eligibility for grant funding is based on their Expected Family Contribution (EFC). Your EFC it is a number that is generated using a standardized formula to compute a families’ financial strength. The formula uses information on the FAFSA (such as taxed and untaxed income, family size, assets, etc.) to calculate this number. The higher the EFC, the more financial strength the family is considered to have, which makes them less eligible for grants. If you did not receive grants, it is because your EFC was too high to be eligible for grants.
To determine a student’s eligibility for need-based types of aid, such as grants, work study and subsidized loans, a formula is followed. That formula is:
Cost of Attendance (COA) – Expected Family Contribution (EFC) = Need
The more “need” that a student has, the more likely it is that they will be eligible for grants.
Why is my EFC so high? I cannot possibly pay that much!
Foremost, it is helpful to remember that a student’s EFC (Expected Family Contribution) is not the amount of money that the family will have to pay for college, but instead an index number that is used by the University to determine how much financial aid the student is eligible to receive. The formula is established by law and uses information on the FAFSA (such as taxed and untaxed income, family size, assets, etc.) to calculate this number.
For more information on how this process works, please visit the student aid website.
I have two different loans on my account. What is the difference between Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans?
The subsidized and unsubsidized loans that are offered on your PAWS account are both federal loans that were offered to you as a result of completing your FAFSA. The interest rates for undergraduate subsidized and unsubsidized loans are the same (2.75% for the 2020-2021 academic year). The difference is that a subsidized loan does not start to accrue interest until after you begin repayment (repayment is due beginning 6 months after graduation, or dropping below ½ time enrollment), an unsubsidized loan begins accruing interest as soon as it is disbursed.
Graduate students are not eligible to receive subsidized loans, the interest rate for graduate unsubsidized loans for 2020-2021 is 4.30%.
You may have only been offered one unsubsidized loan on your account. This is likely because your EFC (Expected Family Contribution) was too high to be eligible for a subsidized loan. The Department of Education considers subsidized loans to be need-based aid, and thus a student must have need remaining in their cost of attendance to receive subsidized loan offers.
To determine a student’s eligibility for need-based types of aid, such as grants, work study and subsidized loans, a formula is followed. That formula is:
Cost of Attendance (COA) – Expected Family Contribution (EFC) = Need
A student’s EFC must be lower than the COA in order for them to be eligible to receive subsidized loans.
I accepted my aid, why hasn’t it disbursed?
Per federal regulation, the soonest that we are able to disburse aid is 10 days before the start of the semester. If you accepted your aid during the semester, please know that our office runs the disbursement process on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; therefore, it may take a day or two for your aid to disburse. If you accepted your loans, and it is the first time you are taking out student loans, be sure to complete Entrance Loan Counselling and the Master Promissory Note if you have not done so already. If you need to complete either of these, they will show up on your PAWS Account under To-Do List items.
Did you get my FAFSA?
After you submit your FAFSA, it usually takes a couple of days before it is loaded into our system. If your FAFSA was selected for verification or if it included conflicting information, we need to resolve before offering aid. You will usually see these requests on your PAWS to-do list within 1 to 2 weeks of submitting your FAFSA. If your FAFSA was not selected for verification, we are usually able to post a financial aid offer within 2 to 3 weeks of receiving your FAFSA, depending on the time of year. **Please make sure to include UWM’s school code on your FAFSA (003896)
Can I use financial aid for off-campus housing?
If your financial aid is greater than the direct charges you owe to the university, the excess will be sent to you as a check. You can use these funds to help cover the indirect costs of attending school, which include off-campus housing.
Why are there items on my to do list even though my FAFSA was submitted successfully?
About 30% of all FAFSAs are selected for a process called verification. If your FAFSA is selected, it does not necessarily mean you made an error in submitting your FAFSA; it simply means that our office is required to collect documentation to verify your FAFSA responses. The quicker you can submit the requested documents, the sooner we will be able to complete verification and post an aid offer.
Why do you need my 2018 taxes? Can I submit my 2019 taxes instead?
The FAFSA looks at “prior-prior year” tax information, or tax information from two years ago. (i.e., the 2020-2021 FAFSA looks at tax information from 2018.) This allows students to complete their application much earlier—you will be able to complete your FAFSA for 2021-2022 starting in October 2020.
In most cases, prior-prior year tax information is still representative of a household’s financial situation—but not always. For information on special circumstances, see below.
I don’t know my campus ID number.
It is very helpful if you include your campus ID number in your communications with our office; it helps us to pull up your records more quickly and accurately.
If you don’t know or have forgotten your campus ID number, you can use the Help Desk’s campus ID finder tool.
Am I still eligible for financial aid if I enroll part-time?
All financial aid offers are calculated assuming a student will be attending full-time . This is what we use to calculate your estimated Cost of Attendance/budget. We understand that not all students attend full-time, and that’s ok! Because enrollment level and financial aid budgets must match in PAWS in order for financial aid to disburse, just notify our office if:
Undergraduate students: you are taking less than 12 credits in a semester.In most cases, a minimum of 6 undergraduate level credits are required to receive any financial aid.
Graduate students: you are taking less than 8 graduate level credits in a semester.In most cases, a minimum of 4 graduate level credits are required to receive any financial aid.
Contact our office via email (finaid@uwm.edu) or use our online contact form; providing our office with the total number of credits you will be enrolled for that semester-make sure to include your student ID number, and we can update your budget and financial aid offer according to your enrollment level.
Why is the amount of my loan that disbursed less than the total amount of the loan?
Origination Fees:
An origination fee is a percentage of your loan amount charged by the lender to process your loan. Although all federal loans have an origination fee while some private loans do not, federal loans generally have a lower interest rate. Your lender retains this fee, not the university.
Current origination fees can be found here: https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/loans/interest-rates
Can you explain my Cost of Attendance/Financial Aid Budget?
Cost of attendance is the estimated academic year (typically fall and spring semesters) cost of attending a particular college or university. It includes tuition, room and meals, books and supplies, transportation expenses, loan fees, and miscellaneous expenses. Schools use their cost of attendance in determining a student’s financial aid eligibility for grants and loans. Some scholarships may require this information as well. Typically, Cost of Attendance is reflective of the Fall and Spring Semesters.
Why is the cost of attendance different for each College or University?
Each school is unique! Even if they are part of the same educational system, like the University of Wisconsin system. Tuition, housing and meal plans, and book costs are just a few examples of how charges can vary by school. All Colleges and Universities are required to publish their cost of attendance, please review their published costs. UWM’s can be found on our website here.
How does a school’s cost of attendance impact my financial aid eligibility?
School’s cost of attendance is use in determining two things: Financial Need, and limiting the total amount of financial aid a student can receive.
Financial Need: The FAFSA uses a Federal formula to calculate the Expected Family Contribution (EFC). That figure is subtracted from UWM’s Estimated Cost of Attendance (COA) to determine a student’s financial need. A student must have financial need in order to qualify for most grants and Federal Direct Subsidized loans. Scholarships may also require financial need.
COA-EFC=Financial Need
Financial Aid Limits: Federal regulations state that the total amount of aid that a student receives may not exceed the student’s Cost of Attendance. There are some exceptions to this rule, please contact the financial aid office to discuss your funding sources and how they may be impacted.
Why is my Cost of Attendance only for nine months?
Federal Regulations state that financial aid may only be used while a student is actively enrolled in classes. Therefore, your COA is reflected for your costs during those periods of enrollment. If you are not enrolled in classes, we cannot offer financial aid.
What about Summer or Winterim?
Our office will calculate your Cost of Attendance and your financial aid eligibility separately for those terms.
Is the Cost of Attendance my bill?
No, it is not your bill. Cost of Attendance is designed to help students and their families understand expected costs. Please visit our Cost Estimator to review what direct and indirect charges are and build an estimate of what those might look like for you.
What are the FAFSA & FSA ID?
FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Theinformation collected calculates the student’s Expected Family Contribution (EFC) which is used to determine what and how much financial aid a student is eligible to receive. State financial aid and scholarships may also use your FAFSA data in determine eligibility. See our Financial Aid Process page for more information!
FSA ID stands for Federal Student Aid ID. This is the username and password that gives a student access to the Federal Student Aid’s websites and can serve as a legal signature for students and parents.
To create your FSA ID, go to: https://fsaid.ed.gov/npas/index.htm
For Dependent Students and their parent, each one must have their own unique FSA ID. Creating an FSA ID requires an email address. Parents and students MUST use SEPARATE email addresses when creating their FSA ID. Do not use high school email addresses as these will eventually expire.
What if my family’s financial situation looks a lot different now, from what was reported on the FAFSA?
Professional Judgment/Special Circumstances:
Life Happens; and it can have a significant impact a student and their family’s financial status. If you/your family have special circumstances that you believe should be taken into consideration (e.g. changes in income, separation/divorce, loss of a parent or spouse, etc.), please contact the Financial Aid Office. We are happy to discuss and review the documentation required to see if your circumstances would result in a change of financial aid eligibility. Special circumstance does not always result in increased funding. Please make an appointment with our office to discuss your circumstances and documentation required.
Why do I have to include my parent’s information on my FAFSA? I am financially independent.
The FAFSA has a series of questions used to determine whether a student is considered “dependent” or “independent” for financial aid purposes. A dependent student includes parent information on their FAFSA, and an independent student does not include parent information.
The questions vary a bit from year to year, for 2020-2021 they are as follows:
- Will you be 24 or older by Jan. 1 of the school year for which you are applying for financial aid? For example, if you plan to start school in August 2020 for the 2020–21 school year, will you be 24 by Jan. 1, 2020 (i.e., were you born before Jan. 1, 1997)?
- Are you married or separated but not divorced?
- Will you be working toward a master’s or doctorate degree (such as M.A., MBA, M.D., J.D., Ph.D., Ed.D., etc.)?
- Do you have children who receive more than half of their support from you?
- Do you have dependents (other than children or a spouse) who live with you and receive more than half of their support from you?
- Are you currently serving on active duty in the U.S. armed forces for purposes other than training?
- Are you a veteran of the U.S. armed forces?
- At any time since you turned age 13, were both of your parents deceased, were you in foster care, or were you a ward or dependent of the court?
- Are you an emancipated minoror are you in a legal guardianship as determined by a court?
- Are you an unaccompanied youth who is homelessor self-supporting and at risk of being homeless?
If you answer “yes” to any of these questions, then you might be considered an independent student. Living alone, not having your parents claim you on their taxes, and not having financial support from your parents, does not make a student independent for financial aid purposes.
If you have no contact with your parents, or are in a situation of being from an abusive household, please complete the FAFSA and then make an appointment with a financial aid advisor as soon as possible to discuss your options: https://go.oncehub.com/uwmfinaid