HOW YOUR AID ELIGIBILITY IS DETERMINED
1. When you apply for federal student aid by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the information that you report (income, assets, number of family members, number in college, etc.) is applied to a formula established by the U.S. Congress. The formula calculates your family’s ability to pay for your educational expenses, and produces a figure that is referred to as your Expected Family Contribution (EFC).
2. Your financial need is the difference between your cost of attendance, as calculated by the institution, and your Expected Family Contribution. This calculation is often expressed as follows:
Cost of Attendance - Expected Family Contribution = Financial Need
If you apply for aid by the March 1 priority filing date by submitting the FAFSA for the upcoming year, the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid will attempt to meet your full demonstrated financial need. Your aid package may include a combination of scholarships, grants, loans, and campus employment. This package must include all resources available to you from other sources, such as federal grants, private scholarships, state scholarships and grants, other institutional scholarships awarded from departmental funds, and funds awarded by other agencies such as Vocational Rehabilitation.
If you submit your FAFSA after March 1, the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid will meet as much of your demonstrated need as possible. Because institutional scholarship and grant resources are limited, it is unlikely there will be sufficient funding to meet the full needs of late applicants.
Our priority is to award institutional grant funds first to full-time undergraduates working toward their first bachelor's degree. Because our funds are limited, there is little gift aid available for second degree students, graduate students, and part-time students. Changes to your enrollment status, whether or not you are making Satisfactory Academic Progress, and other outside assistance that you receive can have a significant impact on the amount of institutional grant funding for which you may be considered.
Note: Applying for financial aid is an annual process. You must
complete a FAFSA each year for which you are requesting financial aid. Your Expected
Family Contribution and your costs will be reevaluated each year, and as a result your
financial aid package may change. Meeting the NC State financial aid application
priority date of March 1 is critical to ensuring that your financial aid package is the
most favorable NC State can offer.
What if your/your family’s circumstances change after your FAFSA has been filed?
If your/your parents’ financial situation changes, please contact the OSFA. We may be able to reevaluate your need for funding based on your changed circumstances. Changes to be reported include the following:
Loss of employment
Death or disability of a parent
Divorce or separation
Loss of untaxed income (such as child support)