Financial Aid FAQ

The number of credits required for financial aid eligibility depends on your student level and the type of aid you receive.

Undergraduate Students

• Undergraduate students must be enrolled in at least 3 credit hours to qualify for federal Pell Grants (if eligible), and 6 credit hours to be eligible for federal student aid and Bright Futures.

Graduate Students

• ABA Online graduate students must be enrolled in at least 3 credit hours to qualify for federal student loans.
• Main Campus graduate students must be enrolled in at least 5 credit hours to qualify for federal student loans.
  • Main Campus graduate students enrolled in a 3-credit-hour course that is considered a full load course may still qualify for federal student loans.
• Online (8-week term) graduate students must be enrolled in at least 3 credit hours to qualify for student loans.

Contact the financial aid office for more information about graduate aid eligibility.

To accept your financial aid offer, log in to PAWS and review your aid package. Grants and scholarships are automatically accepted and require no action. If you have been offered a federal student loan and would like to use it, you must accept the loan in PAWS and complete Entrance Counseling and a Master Promissory Note at studentaid.gov.

Review and respond to your financial aid offer in PAWS

1. Login to PAWS
2. Select Financial Aid
3. Select your Aid Year on the top right
4. Select Offer

The offer page will display financial aid from all sources. Any gift aid, such as grants and scholarships, is automatically accepted on your behalf and does not require any action.

Action is required to accept federal loans

If you have been offered a Federal Student Loan (available to eligible FAFSA filers only), and plan to use the loan to help with your educational costs, you must accept your Federal Student Loan offer and complete Entrance Counseling and a Master Promissory note:

• Use drop-downs to accept the loan.
• If you only wish to accept some of the loan, you may enter the amount in the box provided.
• Once you have made your selections, click submit on the bottom of the page.
• Login to studentaid.gov to complete Entrance Counseling and a Master Promissory Note.

Entrance Counseling helps students understand the responsibilities of borrowing federal student loans. The Master Promissory Note (MPN) is the legal agreement to repay the loan.

No. Accepting your financial aid offer does not commit you to attending Florida Tech. Accepting aid simply reserves the offer for your use if you enroll.

There are several reasons your financial aid may not appear in full in your account.

For returning students, a complete financial aid package may not be available until spring grades have been posted.

For new students, financial aid may be delayed because of:

• Outstanding financial aid requirements
• A missing FAFSA
• An incomplete admissions application

All applicants are automatically considered for Florida Tech academic scholarships when they apply for admission. A separate scholarship application is not required.

Yes, some types of financial aid may be available for summer classes.

Florida Tech merit scholarships, Florida Tech grants and endowed scholarships are not available for summer classes. However, eligible students may qualify for:

• Federal student loans
• Bright Futures
• Pell Grants

Federal Work-Study is a federal financial aid program that sponsors eligible students for part-time employment on campus.

Students who qualify for work-study may apply for campus jobs. To be eligible, students must have unmet financial need as determined by the FAFSA.

Once hired, students work scheduled hours up to a maximum of 20 hours per week and receive a biweekly paycheck.

Students cannot earn more than the total work-study amount offered in their financial aid offer for the academic year.

Financial aid verification is a process used to confirm that the information submitted on the FAFSA is accurate. Each year, the Department of Education selects some FAFSA applications for verification. Schools must collect required documents before federal financial aid can be disbursed.

Required documents may include:

• Tax information
• Signed statements
• Verification worksheets
• Other income information

You must complete verification if you want to receive federal financial aid, need-based aid or certain Florida state grants. If you are not using federal loans and are not receiving need-based aid, you may choose not to complete verification by contacting the financial aid office.

You should complete verification before the end of the term in which you are enrolled to avoid delays or loss of eligibility for federal financial aid.

Florida Tech can still complete verification for students who are no longer enrolled or who skip a term and disburse all aid to which you are entitled. However, once you are no longer enrolled, you may no longer qualify for all the federal aid included in your original financial aid estimate because of federal late-disbursement rules.

The financial aid office may request tax information to:

• Complete the verification process
• Resolve FAFSA errors or conflicting information
• Confirm a retirement account rollover
• Resolve discrepancies or conflicting income information on the FAFSA

If you are unsure why documents were requested, contact the financial aid office for clarification.

Unusual Enrollment History is a federal financial aid review process designed to help prevent fraud and misuse of Title IV financial aid programs. 

Students who have received Federal Pell Grants or Federal Direct Student Loans at multiple institutions during the past three or four academic years may be selected for the review process.

Some students have valid reasons for enrolling at multiple institutions. However, the financial aid office is required to review the student’s record and may request additional documentation before determining eligibility for financial aid.

You will receive a financial aid refund if your total financial aid is greater than your billed charges.

For example:

• If your billed charges are $21,623 and your aid is $22,000, you will receive a refund of $377.
• If your billed charges are $21,623 and your aid is $21,000, you will have a remaining balance due of $623.

For more information about refunds, visit the Account Refunds page.

Financial aid refunds are released after the last day to register, add a class or drop a class with a full tuition refund.

The date varies by term. Refer to the academic calendar for the current term deadlines to register, add classes or drop classes with a full tuition refund.

For more information about refunds, visit the Account Refunds page.

Yes. If you have excess financial aid remaining on your student account after eligible educational charges are paid (excluding work-study funds), you may use those funds to purchase books and supplies.

Panther Ready and Financial Aid

Panther Ready, our course materials program that provides required textbooks and digital materials for a flat per-credit-hour fee, is charged to your student account as part of your overall bill. Financial aid applies to eligible textbook charges the same way it applies to other eligible educational expenses.

Using Excess Financial Aid for Books and Supplies

If you opt out of Panther Ready, or if you otherwise have excess financial aid on your account, you may use those funds to purchase books and supplies at the Florida Tech Bookstore. To do this, transfer the funds to your Panther Card by completing a request at the Cashier window in L3Harris Commons.

Federal Title IV Authorization Requirements

If you receive federal Title IV financial aid, you must first authorize Florida Tech to apply funds to non-tuition expenses, such as books and supplies. In PAWS, select Financial Aid and then Financial Aid Authorization.

Dropping a class may affect your financial aid eligibility and could result in an outstanding balance on your student account or an aid reduction in a future term.

Before dropping a course, contact the financial aid office to find out how the change may affect your aid.

Withdrawing from the university completely (dropping all of your classes) may affect your financial aid and could result in an outstanding balance on your account.

Two policies may apply when a student withdraws:

• University Refund Policy
• Federal Return of Title IV Funds Policy

Because withdrawing can significantly affect your financial aid eligibility and account balance, contact the financial aid office before withdrawing to understand how your aid may be impacted.