Financial Aid FAQs, Forms, and Resources

From StudentAid.gov:

If you have a Social Security number (SSN), you must provide it when creating your account.

If you don’t have an SSN, you can create an account if one of the following statements is true for you:

• I am a parent or spouse of a student who is applying for aid, and I don’t have an SSN.
• I am a citizen of the Freely Associated States and need to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA^®) form online.

While creating your account, you’ll need to answer a few knowledge-based questions to verify your identity. If you answer these questions correctly, you’ll be able to use your account immediately.

Note that accounts created without SSNs have limited functionality.

To apply for an SSN, or to get a replacement Social Security card, you must contact your local Social Security office. For more information, you can visit the Social Security Administration or call at 1-800-722-1213.

Yes! You can use the Federal Student Aid Estimator to help get an idea what aid you may be eligible for. The Estimator can be found on the Federal Student Aid website. Please note that this tool provides estimates of federal student aid programs; it cannot predict financial aid offered by Brenau University or through Georgia state aid programs. Your Brenau financial aid offer will pull all sources of financial aid together in order to help you and your family make an informed decision.

Federal Pell Grants are need-based financial aid that is awarded to undergraduate students who demonstrate exceptional financial need. This award is money given by the government to students and does not need to be repaid. As a result of the changes to the FAFSA and the new SAI, more students are expected to qualify for a Pell Grant. The maximum annual Pell Grant is currently $7,395 for full-time enrollment.

The SAI has changed the way that eligibility for need-based aid is calculated:

• The number of family members in college is no longer factored into the calculation, but still reported on your FAFSA
• An SAI may be as low as $ -1,500, while the floor for the EFC was $0
• The SAI will help determine Pell Grant Eligibility for families who do not qualify based solely on family income
• Child support received and family farms and small businesses will now be considered assets

The Student Aid Index (SAI) is a measure of you and your family’s ability to pay for college, and helps to determine the amount of need-based financial aid you may be eligible to receive. The SAI replaces the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) from previous versions of the FAFSA.

If you create your FSA ID with a Social Security Number, it will take a few days to verify. Once the 2024-25 FAFSA is available to file, you should be able to start your FAFSA about 1-3 days after creating your FSA ID. To get a head start, you and your contributors can create your FSA IDs now using the Federal Student Aid website as long as you have a Social Security Number. If you go ahead and create your FSA IDs, you will be able to start the FAFSA as soon as it opens.

Since contributors without a social security number must undergo a verification process to create their FSA IDs, those created without a Social Security number will be verified instantly and can start entering information on the FAFSA immediately.

No, you can use your existing FSA ID. If you forgot your username and/or password, you can retrieve your FSA ID on the studentaid.gov username retrieval page.

As of right now, no. The federal government is developing a new FSA ID process that will launch in late 2023. Once this takes place, you will be able to verify your identity without a Social Security Number and make an FSA ID.

An FSA ID is required for all students and contributors to access the 2024-2025 FAFSA.

All students and contributors who have a Social Security Number can create their FSA ID now on the Federal Student Aid website.

If your contributors do not have a Social Security number, they will be able to create their FSA ID once the new FSA ID process launches in late 2023.

The FSA ID is your account to access the FAFSA. All students and contributors need to have their own FSA ID.

First, the student will need to invite the contributor, then:

1. The contributor will receive an email stating that they have been invited by their student
2. The contributor will create an FSA ID if they don’t have one already and then log into their account
3. The contributor reviews the FAFSA questions associated with them, and enters accurate responses.

The following flowchart will help you understand which of your parents needs to be a contributor on your FAFSA, or if both of your parents need to be contributors.

It is likely that you will need to have a contributor if you are a traditional undergraduate student. The contributor will likely be one or both of your parents or stepparents, depending on your specific circumstances. Your spouse will be a contributor if you are married.

A contributor is the term the federal government uses for anyone who needs to submit information on your 2024-2025 FAFSA. You’ll need to invite them to fill out information on your FAFSA. Your contributors will also need to make their own FSA ID.

The most likely contributors are:

• Student
• Spouse (if student is married)
• Parents (biological or adoptive)
• Stepparents

Once your loan has been applied to your student account, the Accounting Office will issue a refund check if the loan amount exceeds the amount of your bill. Contact the Accounting Office at 770-534-6150 or businessoffice@brenau.edu for more information regarding your refund check.

Brenau offers four interest-free payment options to help families choose the best option.

One payment option

• Tuition charges are due on or before the first day of each academic term semester during the academic year. Tuition may be paid through CampusWEB, by mail or in person at the Brenau Accounting Office or the North Atlanta location. 

Three payment option

• You can sign a Deferred Payment Contract to pay one-third of tuition on the first day of the academic term. The other two-thirds of the tuition will be paid in equal payments 30 days and 60 days from the first day of the academic term for a one-time fee of $35..

Four payment option

• You can sign a Deferred Payment Contract to pay one-quarter of tuition on the first day of the academic term. The remaining three-fourths of the semester’s tuition will be paid in equal payments 30 days, 60 days and 90 days from the first day of the semester for a one-time fee of $50.

Full year payment option

• You can sign a Deferred Payment Contract to pay tuition over 10-monthly payments based on an estimate of the full academic year’s tuition/fees, The first payment is due on the first day of the semester. The remaining balance will be paid in nine equal payments due each month for a one-time fee of $75. . You must be an undergraduate or graduate student enrolled in Brenau’s day programs to qualify for the full-year payment option.

Contact Brenau’s Accounting Office at 770-534-6150 or businessoffice@brenau.edu to receive information about your balance, billing, payment plans and refund checks. You may also view your balance online using Campus Web.

Once you have been accepted and your financial aid file is complete you will receive a notification of your financial aid offer via mail and email. This notification will direct you to Campus Web to view and accept your financial aid offer.

In order to continue receiving financial aid, you must make satisfactory academic progress. This means you need to meet the minimum GPA requirements and complete the required credit hours within the determined timeframe. Read more about Brenau’s satisfactory academic progress requirements. 

Yes. Each year you must re-file your FAFSA. (Applications open on Oct.1 for the academic year that begins the following August.

You should contact the financial aid office to determine if funding is available for the summer. You’ll need to submit the Summer Financial Aid Request form that will be made available in early spring of each academic year.

If your application is selected for verification, you must complete the verification process before need-based financial aid can be awarded to you. If your FAFSA is selected for verification, the Financial Aid Office will provide instructions via email. View and submit the items needed at brenau.verifymyfafsa.com.

Verification is the process a school follows to check the accuracy of certain information reported by a student on the FAFSA. This is done by collecting additional responses and documents from the student and parent(s), if applicable.

Yes. Pell Grants have a lifetime eligibility limit of the equivalent 6 full-time academic years.

Alternative or private education loans are credit-based loans offered by banks and other lenders to assist students who need additional funds to cover education-related expenses not covered by other financial aid programs. Approval for these loans requires the student borrower to undergo a credit check.. Alternative or private education loans are typically considered a last resort type of educational funding. For additional information about these loan options and Brenau’s historical lender list, visit choice.fastproducts.org/FastChoice/home/155600/1

Students borrowing Federal Direct Loans, subsidized and/or unsubsidized, are subject to maximum allowable loan limits over their college career. To view your federal loan history, log in at https://studentaid.gov/h/manage-loans.

If you are an undergraduate student, you must take six or more credit hours to be eligible for student loans. 

If you are a graduate student, you must take three or more credit hours to be eligible for student loans.

Undergraduate and graduate students may qualify for unsubsidized federal loans. 

Financial need is not a requirement for an unsubsidized loan.

Subsidized loans are available to undergraduate students with financial need. If you qualify for a subsidized loan, the federal government will pay the loan interest while you’re attending college at least half-time, and continue to pay the loan interest during a six-month grace period after you leave school. The government will also pay your loan interest during a period of deferment, which involves not paying your loan for a specified period of time.  A student is eligible for an in-school deferment when enrolled as at least a half-time student.

A federal direct loan is a federal student loan made directly by the U.S. Department of Education. There are four types of federal direct loans: direct subsidized loans, direct unsubsidized loans, direct parent PLUS loans and direct consolidation loans.

Your enrollment status indicates if you are a half-time or full-time student.

An undergraduate student enrolled for at least six semester hours, but fewer than 12 semester hours, is considered a half-time student. 

An undergraduate student enrolled for 12 semester hours or more is considered full-time.

Cost of Attendance (COA) is the estimated total cost of attending college for one year. It includes the tuition and fees associated with your academic program, room and board (for students residing on campus), living allowance (for students residing off campus or with one or both parents), books, personal expenses and transportation expenses. A student cannot receive more than the Cost of Attendance from any combination of institutional, federal, state or private funding source.
For more information on Brenau’s Tuition and Fees, contact the Accounting Office at 770-534-6150 or businessoffice@brenau.edu.

Contact the Financial Aid Office or go to brenau.verifymyfafsa.com.

Report the information of the parent you’ve lived with the most during the 12 months before you completed your FAFSA. It doesn’t make a difference which parent claims you as a dependent for tax purposes. If you did not live with either parent or lived equally with each parent, the parental information must be provided for the parent who gave you the most financial support during the preceding 12 months, or the parent who provided you with the most support the last time support was given.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is available each year starting Oct. 1, for those who intend to be enrolled in the fall of the following year. It should be completed as early as possible after you have applied to the university. You must be accepted to the university before you can be awarded financial aid. Apply at studentaid.gov. 

Brenau University’s federal school code is 001556.

To qualify you must:

• Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen
• Have a valid Social Security number
• Be enrolled at least half-time (6 or more credit hours for undergraduate; 3 or more credit hours for graduate) in a degree or certificate program
• Demonstrate financial need by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid  (FAFSA)
• Not owe a refund on a federal grant and not be in default on any federal educational loan