Financial Aid FAQs (Undergraduate Students)

Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) electronically at https://studentaid.gov.

If the FAFSA is electronically filed, it takes approximately 3–5 days.

Students are randomly selected by the Department of Education for a process called verification. The Financial aid administrators (FAAs) are responsible for collecting documents and reviewing the data reported on the financial aid application. If there are discrepancies, the FAA must resubmit the data. If your FAFSA is selected for verification and you did not use the IRS data retrieval option or you changed the IRS data, you will be required to request a tax transcript from IRS and submit it to the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid. Personal paper copies of tax returns can no longer be accepted.

Students may apply for financial aid beginning on October 1 for the upcoming academic year. The information from the prior year’s tax return is reported on the financial aid application.

Yes, our priority date is March 1. Applications of students who have valid student aid reports by the priority date awards are processed by July 1.

No. We ask that you do not make any changes to the FAFSA. This can delay your financial aid award letter. If you are selected for verification and changes will need to be made, we will make any changes accordingly.

Verification ensures that eligible students receive all the federal financial aid to which they are entitled by collecting additional documentation to confirm that the information provided on the FAFSA is correct. The verification process can take 7–14 business days provided all documentation is submitted. The best action you can take to help finish verification is to use the IRS data retrieval process to automatically populate your and your parents’ tax information directly from the IRS into your FAFSA!

The U.S. Department of Education has indicated that financial aid administrators are “obligated to know” what a student’s parent or parents' correct filing status should be. In general, the parent's filing status depends on whether he/she is considered married or unmarried. For federal tax purposes, a marriage means only a legal union between a man and a woman as husband and wife. If a couple is married, they can file one of two ways: married filing jointly or married filing separately.

A Stafford Loan is a student loan that enters repayment six (6) months after the student graduates. There are two types of Stafford Loans: subsidized and unsubsidized. The subsidized Stafford loan is a loan for which the federal government pays the interest while a student is in school. A credit check is not required for the unsubsidized loan. The student has the option to pay the interest on the unsubsidized loan while enrolled. If the student chooses not to pay the interest, it will be capitalized.

Every undergraduate student can borrow loan money based on their grade level.

• Freshmen: Subsidized, $3,500; Unsubsidized, $2,000
• Sophomores: Subsidized, $4,500; Unsubsidized, $2,000
• Juniors and seniors: Subsidized, $5,500; Unsubsidized, $2,000

If the federal Plus loan is not approved through the credit check process, students may qualify for additional loans. Freshmen and sophomores can borrow an additional $4,000 unsubsidized loan. Juniors and seniors can borrow an additional $5,000 unsubsidized loan.

The interest rates are as follows:

• Direct Subsidized Loan: 4.99%
• Direct Unsubsidized Loan: 4.99%.
• Direct Parent PLUS Loan: 7.54%

Parent Plus loans are credit-based loans. Parents must be in good credit standing in order to receive the parent plus loan. Parents will be notified from Direct Loans if the Parent Plus loan is approved or denied. If a Parent Plus loan is denied, parents have the option of seeking a co-signer/endorser at www.studentaid.gov. The parent may also contact Student Loan Support Center at 1-800-557-7394 to be reconsidered of the initial Plus loan denial. Out-of-state students are strongly encouraged to have a parent contact the Student Loan Support Center to be reconsidered for the initial Plus Loan denial.

A parent must complete the Consent to Obtain Credit Report/Loan Confirmation for the current academic year. Only one parent can complete the credit check form for the student. The parent must be listed on the FAFSA. The parent who completes the credit check form must include a copy of their driver’s license and social security card.

You must be admitted to NCCU before you are able to access the Banner SSB site.

• Go to myEOL: https://myeol.nccu.edu/.
• Click on “Login to myEOL” and enter your NCCU username and password.
• Select "Sign In."
• Select the Banner SSB button.
• Under Main Menu, select “Student & Financial Aid."
• Select “Financial Aid."
• Select “My Award Information.”
• Select “Award For Aid Year.”
• Select Aid Year at bottom of page (i.e., 2021–2022) and hit “Submit."
• Select “Resources/Additional Information” and answer “yes” to receiving electronic communications.
• Select the the tab labeled “Accept Award Offer.”
• If you would like to accept the full amount of all awards, you may go to the end of the page and click on “Accept Full Amount All Awards”; otherwise, in the accept award column, click on the arrow to drop down the options and select one of the following: "Undecided," "Accept," or "Decline."
• Click “Submit Decision.”

A subsidized, unsubsidized or Parent plus loan will not pay if the student does not accept it. Students and parents have the option of accepting the full value or a partial amount of the loans.

Entrance counseling is completed to help students understand what it means to take out a federal student loan. A master promissory note includes important language about rights and responsibilities as a borrower and applies to unsubsidized loans. It is also an agreement and good for ten years. If a parent accepts the Parent Plus loan, the parent will also need to complete the master promissory note at www.studentaid.gov. Both the entrance counseling and master promissory note must be completed at www.studentaid.gov.

SAP stands for "satisfactory academic progress." Federal regulations require that schools monitor the academic progress of each applicant for financial assistance and that the school certify that the applicant is making satisfactory academic progress towards earning his/her degree or certificate. Financial aid recipients must maintain satisfactory progress in the three areas listed below:

• Cumulative grade point average
• Hours earned
• Maximum time limit

Students must maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average indicated for satisfactory progress toward graduation requirements. These standards are consistent with academic standards required for graduation. The total hours earned at NCCU plus the accepted hours transferred from other institutions for undergraduate students who have attempted 65 or more semester hours must have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0.

There is a refund schedule that Student Accounting provides all students that is available online to view. Refunds are generated through the Student Accounting office. Refunds are sent out based on Student Accounting’s refund schedule. If you have set up direct deposit, your refund will be deposited into your account. If direct deposit is not set up, your refund will be mailed to the address on file. For further information about refunds and/or direct deposit, contact the Student Accounting office at 919-530-5071.

A student can get a book voucher if they have a credit on their account. A credit will be reflected on the account if after all financial aid has been posted, the student has excess funds available. The credit will show up with a negative sign (-) in front of a number. Book vouchers are done on myEOL.

• On a computer, please go to the NCCU website (www.nccu.edu).
• Select "myEOL" from the top-right corner.
• Log in using your email and password.
• The myEOL front page will load. Under "Academic & Administrative Services," select "Banner SSB 9."  Next select “Student Self-Service”
• Select “Student Profile.”
• Scroll down the left column and click “Request Educational Supplies.”
• The next screen will look very similar to your bill. There is a statement near the top that will tell you if you have enough money to request an allowance. If you do have enough money, scroll to the bottom and select "Yes" if you would like to get an Educational Supplies Allowance.
• Enter the amount you are requesting (maximum of $1000) and click "Submit."

Important: The request must be a whole number ending in 5 or 0. Remember that your refund will be reduced to the amount of the allowance.

Questions? Please contact the Eagle Card Office at 919-530-5010.

An insurance waiver is a waiver that a student can complete to waive the school’s insurance fee from the account. A student must have their own insurance or be under a parent’s insurance plan. A link will be provided for the student to waive their insurance. For further information, please contact Student Health at 919-530-7337.