Financial aid - including federal, institutional, and state aid - is awarded to UW students who meet certain eligibility requirements and/or complete certain applications.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is an application that determines if you are eligible for any federal aid or federal need-based aid. It also helps determine if you qualify for any institutional- or state-funded need-based aid.
Applying for aid - both federal and institutional - can help decrease the cost of tuition and other charges.
After you have applied for aid, there are a few important things to address before your financial will be ready to disburse.
Students can access a summary of the estimated costs for an academic year, as well as the financial aid you are eligible to receive during that time.
Most types of financial aid the University of Wyoming (UW) offers have some common eligibility rules. To qualify for aid, you must do and/or meet the following requirements:
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the form that allows our office to determine a student’s eligibility for several types of financial aid. The FAFSA determines your eligibility for need-based aid, including Work-Study options and the Pell Grant, but completing the FAFSA also gives you access to federal student and parent loans, which usually offer lower interest rates and sometimes better repayment terms than a private loan. All students should consider completing and submitting the FAFSA each year, even if you think you won’t qualify for financial aid, otherwise you could also miss out on institutional or state need-based aid. Completing the FAFSA does not lock anyone into enrolling in college or taking on student debt, but it does ensure that you make a major life decision with full knowledge of the money you're entitled to.
The basic assumption the federal government makes, when determining federal student aid eligibility, is that parents of dependent students - as well as the student, themselves - have the primary responsibility to pay for their education. Submitting the FAFSA does not obligate parents to pay for college, but it does require a parent to provide financial information in order to fully determine the student's eligibility for financial aid. Dependent students who do not qualify for federal, state, or institutional scholarships or grants are usually eligible to borrow educational loans to help pay for college.
The FAFSA needs to be completed each year, because it uses a new tax year each time. The form is open for 21 months, so it uses the prior-prior tax year. The FAFSA normally opens on October 1 each year, and students must submit it by the earlier of June 30 of that academic year, or the student's last day of enrollment for that academic year.
After your FAFSA has been submitted and processed, a FAFSA Submission Summary (FSS) will be created. If you provided a valid email address when completing the FAFSA, you will receive an email with instructions to access the FSS online. If your FAFSA didn’t have a valid email address, you will receive a paper FSS in the mail.
The FSS will indicate if there are actions required or if the FAFSA is complete. Additionally, it will:
If you find a mistake when reviewing your FSS, you will need to login to studentaid.gov and correct/update your FAFSA form. To learn more about the FSS, visit the Federal Student Aid website.
At the University of Wyoming, we try to keep it simple for our students! They will be evaluated for merit scholarships (Commitments and Hathaway, if applicable) through the application process to the university. If you want to be considered for federal financial aid, as well as any need-based aid (federal, state, or institutional), you will need to complete the FAFSA (Steps 1 and 2 below).
Create a Federal Student Aid ID (FSA ID) on studentaid.gov if you haven’t already; also have your FAFSA contributor(s) create their FSA ID(s). A contributor could be a spouse, a parent, a stepparent, or a parent's spouse. It will take a few days for new IDs to be approved and created.
Complete and submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online at studentaid.gov. UW's school code is 003932. Since the FAFSA uses a new tax year each year, you and your FAFSA contributors must submit the FAFSA annually for each academic year.
Students complete the Student Section of the FAFSA and invite contributors to complete their section(s). The student and contributors will be required to provide consent to have their federal tax information released from the IRS, even if a tax return was not filed. After all contributors have consented and signed the form, it will be submitted for processing. For online FAFSA submissions, a confirmation email will be received at that time confirming successful submission. It will normally take between 3-5 business days for our office to receive your FAFSA results to determine what aid you are eligible to receive.
Complete the General Application in WyoScholarships. This will finalize your eligibility to receive a renewing scholarship or Commitment if you originally qualified for one, as well as the actual scholarships that will fulfill that Commitment amount.
After completing the General Application in WyoScholarships, you can review any recommended scholarships requiring applications if you meet the criteria. If you have been awarded a Commitment, any scholarship that you apply for, and receive, will usually be used to fulfill the Commitment amount.
Log into WyoRecords (the “Students” link) and review the Checklist for the current financial aid year requirements.
Monitor your @UWYO email and Checklist in WyoRecords regularly for communications from our office. There may be requirements you need to satisfy, or documents you need to submit to our office to verify data, before we can provide your financial aid package. That includes any students who have been selected for FAFSA verification.
Documents can be uploaded by using our Secure File Upload.
Once you have been packaged with financial aid offers, you will receive an email from our office. Log into WyoRecords (the “Students” link) and review the Checklist for the current financial aid year awards. Each May you will be able to accept or decline the aid offers you have received.
Banner is the student information system used by the University of Wyoming, and we call it WyoWeb. WyoRecords is the portal within WyoWeb where students can:
If selected for FAFSA verification, be sure to submit all requested documentation as soon as possible so there are no issues with awarding your financial aid or your aid disbursement after the semester has begun.
Each summer, scholarships will be awarded to fulfill a student’s Commitment for the upcoming academic year. At that time, you will receive an email notifying you something changed with your financial aid, and you can review that in WyoWeb>WyoRecords.
Students will need to accept or decline federal student loan offers and Work-Study awards (if eligible) in WyoWeb>WyoRecords. This functionality normally opens up each May for the next academic year. Note: Federal Pell Grants and SEOG Grants are loaded as "accepted", so no further action is required.
The College Financing Plan (CFP) is a snapshot of your estimated costs and the financial aid you are eligible to receive at the time you review it. Sometimes this snapshot might adjust if you complete your FAFSA after that time, if your living situation changes, if your residency status changes, or if you receive additional financial aid.
To access your CFP, log into WyoWeb, then go to WyoRecords to navigate to the checklist for the current financial aid year awards, and then navigate to the College Financing Plan tab along the top menu.
This is a sample CFP. Explanations on each sections are provided below.
This is an estimate of the costs that will be billed by the University of Wyoming for one academic year with full-time enrollment. Charges from UW are considered Direct Expenses and include Tuition and Fees, and Housing and Food (if living in residence halls). The StartRight+ expenses (half of the Books and Supplies component) are also considered Direct Expenses. Beyond paying for classes, housing, and food, we also estimate other costs related to college attendance you may need to cover. These Indirect Expenses are not billed by the university, and a student’s situation may be different than our estimates.
This is a number calculated by the Department of Education based upon your FAFSA components, and it is intended to represent your family’s financial strength and the ability to pay for college. A smaller, or negative, SAI indicates you have a higher financial need.
This type of aid does not need to be repaid. Most scholarships have specific eligibility requirements, like academic achievement, financial need, or special criteria/characteristics. Some scholarships can be renewed each year, but specific requirements must be met, including maintaining a certain GPA and completing a certain number of hours each fall/spring semester.
Grants (if offered)This type of aid also does not need to be repaid. Eligibility for federal, state, and institutional grants is based upon FAFSA results each year.
This figure takes the estimated Cost of Attendance less any scholarships and grants that you may qualify for. This is an estimate of actual out-of-pocket costs you would need to cover for your educational expenses unless you qualify for, and choose to accept, Loan or Work Options, as well as accessing Other Options.
*Noted as “College Costs You Will Be Required to Pay” on the CFP
Annual completion of the FAFSA is required to determine what federal student loans you are eligible to receive. These are a useful tool to pay for college, but we encourage you to borrow only enough to cover your necessary education-related expenses. Loans must be repaid with interest, even if you do not graduate.
Work-Study positions are part-time employment opportunities for students who are paid a salary based upon the needs of the hiring department. Each student has a maximum amount of Work-Study funds that they can earn each semester when eligible and when hired in a Work-Study position. Eligibility for Work-Study is determined from FAFSA results.
There are other sources of aid that students can use to help pay the Net Price (see above definition). Interest rates and terms vary between lenders, including the Department of Education for Parent PLUS loans or private lenders for non-federal loans.
