Maintaining Aid
Terms and Conditions
All financial aid awards are made contingent upon your fulfillment of the following terms and conditions. By accepting your award offer and/or by obtaining the financial aid funds, you accept the responsibility to comply with these terms and conditions.
Classifications
Financial aid is available only to students classified as degree seeking (certificate programs are not eligible). If you receive financial aid funds for which you are not eligible because your classification has not changed at the time of disbursement, immediate repayment of any aid for which you were ineligible will be required. You will lose your eligibility to receive further financial aid funds and will not be allowed to register for subsequent terms until all funds are repaid. In addition, academic transcripts will be withheld until full repayment is made.
Residency
If your residency status changes, you must provide written notification to the Office of Student Financial Aid.
Eligible Course Work
Courses that do not count when determining eligibility for financial aid are:
- courses taken on an audit basis
- courses which are repeated more than 3 times
- courses that are non-academic
Undergraduate students taking graduate course work or graduate students taking undergraduate course work must provide a statement from their academic advisor certifying that the courses are required for graduation.
Additional Assistance
Should assistance be made available to you from sources not listed on your award notification, you are required to notify the Office of Financial Aid. This includes scholarships, loans and grants. On-campus employment includes graduate assistantships, student assistantships and any other jobs on campus not awarded through the Office of Financial Aid.
Federal Direct Loans
If you are scheduled to receive a Direct Loan, you must be enrolled at least half-time (6 - 8 hours) at the time the check is disbursed. In addition, you must attend an Entrance Interview before you can receive your first disbursement at Georgia State (does not apply to Federal Direct PLUS). Properly executed promissory notes are required for each loan type and each loan period.
Please note: If you borrow your maximum annual loan limit during the fall and spring semesters, you will not have any remaining eligibility for the summer terms.
Federal Perkins Loan
A properly executed promissory note is required before the loan can be disbursed. The promissory note will be mailed to you if you accept the Perkins Loan offer. The signed promissory note should be returned to the Office of Student Accounts, Room 100, Sparks Hall, 1st floor.
Federal Work Study
If you accept a work-study position, you may work no more than 20 hours per week and you may only work during hours that you are not scheduled for classes. Once you accept your work-study position, you will receive additional information concerning job placement.
HOPE Teacher Scholarship Program
Loan Forgiveness: Recipients of the HOPE Teacher Scholarship are granted a grace period of one year after completing their approved program. After the grace period, recipients are obligated to teach in their critical shortage field of study in a Georgia public school classroom at the preschool, elementary, middle, or secondary level one academic year for each $2,500 awarded through the scholarship, with a maximum of four years to repay.
If you are unable to complete your program or meet your teaching obligation, you must repay any outstanding loan amounts, plus interest, to the State of Georgia.
Note: Once you have fulfilled your loan obligation, you may reapply for the HOPE Teacher Scholarship if you continue to meet the eligibility requirements.
Exit Interview
If you receive loan funds, you must attend an Exit Interview upon graduation. Student's withdrawing/transferring before graduation will have Exit Interview information mailed to them by Student Accounts.
Return of Funds
Georgia State Policy: Federal regulations require each educational institution to have a written policy for the return of financial aid received by students who withdraw during a term for which payment has been received. These policies are effective only if you completely terminate enrollment (i.e. cancel your registration, withdraw or are dismissed). The Georgia State University Return of Funds (PDF) Policy is online. (In order to view the document, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader.)
Satisfactory Progress
You are required to meet the Georgia State Standard of Satisfactory Academic Progress for financial aid recipients. The Georgia State University Satisfactory Progress Policy is online:
- Satisfactory Academic Progress
You must make academic progress toward your degree while taking classes at Georgia State University.
