Financial Aid

 

Disbursement

Financial aid processed by the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid (OSFA) will be applied directly to the student's account in the Bursar's Office. If a credit balance exists after all charges have been posted, the student will be refunded via direct deposit. To avoid delays in processing your refund, sign up for a direct deposit.

If your aid is issued as a check from an outside source (National Merit, R.C. Byrd), you must endorse the check to GA TECH or pay any remaining amounts due, prior to the release of your Financial Aid by the Bursar's Office. (It is the student's responsibility to verify that all aid has been applied to the account prior to the payment deadline).

Many financial aid programs (including the Hope Scholarship, Federal Pell Grant, and Stafford Loan) do not require that the student be enrolled full-time in order for disbursement to occur. However, because some scholarships and grants do require full- time study, and some aid programs require at least 6 hours for disbursement, the student who is planning to enroll for less than 12 hours, and who is unsure of the requirements, is advised to seek clarification from the Financial Aid Office.

Fee Payment

Using Financial Aid Funds from financial aid programs that are used to pay expenses owed the Institution must be on deposit in the student's account by the fee payment deadline. Any expenses owed by the student that are not covered by the financial aid programs must be paid by the fee payment deadline as well. Pending financial aid such as Stafford loans that are not deposited in the student's account are not considered a valid source of payment since there is no guarantee the funds will receive final approval by the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid or other approving agencies. If you wish to use pending financial aid or financial aid funds not yet received by the Institution to assist with fee payment, you must secure a Deferment from the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid prior to the fee payment deadline.

Other Credits

Credit balances on your invoice that are not related to financial aid will result in a refund check from the Bursar's Office. If you prefer these credits be applied to future terms, please contact the Bursar's Office and we will process your request.

 

Title IV Financial Aid Authorizations

Federal Regulations require that Title IV (federal financial aid) funds be automatically applied to "institutional charges" such as tuition, mandatory fees, and room and board. Your Title IV funds will NOT automatically pay "non-institutional" charges on your student accounts such as parking permits, health insurance, and other misc. fees, etc. without your prior authorization.

Title IV funds include federal financial aid funds you may receive from the Institute, including:

  • Federal Pell Grant Program
  • Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
  • Federal Perkins Loan Program (FPLP)
  • Federal Direct Loan Program
    • Federal Direct Stafford Loan Program - Subsidized and Unsubsidized
    • Federal Direct Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS)
    • Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan (Grad PLUS)

With your authorization, Title IV funds would be applied to all outstanding charges owed to the Institute and then a refund issued for any remaining excess funds. This authorization is the easiest way to meet your financial obligations to the Institute and ensure all refunds are processed in a timely manner. Once your authorization is given, it will be valid for future academic years but can be rescinded.

Without your authorization, all Title IV funds will only pay current tuition, mandatory fees, and room and board. Other related fees such as parking permits, student health insurance, bookstore charges will remain unpaid which may create an outstanding balance on your student account and could result in class cancellation and/or the assessment of late fees and services being restricted until you pay the outstanding balance with personal funds. The Institute requires that all balances be paid by the fee deadline in accordance with the University System of Georgia policy.

To provide your authorization, please go to Buzzport and click on the Secure Access Login icon in the Registration/SIS box. Once you log into OSCAR and if you are receiving Title IV funds, you will automatically be prompted to provide the authorization.