Hello, Pointers! With spring semester wrapping up and summer on its way, it’s easy to get lost in finances. In my last blog post of the semester, I put together an overview of everything financial aid-related that new first-year and transfer students need to know.
1. Your Financial Aid Award
Our Financial Aid Office has begun notifying students of their financial aid awards. Log in to the UWSP student information system, accesSPoint, for details and instructions. Under the “Financial Aid” tab, you can view your financial aid award, see disbursements, and complete private loan certification. For more information on how to use accesSPoint, check out my blog post here.
2. Your Bill
You can find your bill and any outstanding payments due under the “Financial Account” tab in accesSPoint. Not only can you see your account balance and activity, but you can make a payment on your bill and see due dates and deadlines. If you do not pay your bill on time, it will result in a finance charge. Your first fall bill will be due in September. If you would like to learn more about your bill and payment deadlines, see the Accounts Receivable webpage.
3. Scholarships
If you receive any outside scholarships, be sure to let the Financial Aid Office know through the Scholarship Reporting Form. This may affect the amount of aid you receive from the university, but they are typically considered as a replacement for the least desirable form of assistance. To discover first-year and transfer scholarships or department specific scholarships at UW-Stevens Point, check out the Financial Aid Office’s Scholarships webpage and the guide I wrote detailing scholarships.
4. Free Application for Federal Student Aid
The FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid, will open for the 2019-2020 school year on Oct. 1, 2018. Remember: you will need to use tax information from 2017 for the 2019-2020 FAFSA.
Be sure to list UW-Stevens Point’s school code, 003924, as a recipient of your information. Complete the application here.
Read 5 Tips on the FAFSA to learn more about the process. (Note: College Goal Wisconsin dates have passed, but you should keep them in mind when filling out the FAFSA in the fall.)
With all this information, you can be prepared for the fall semester. Here at UW-Stevens Point, we want you to succeed! If you have any questions, please feel free to stop by UW-Stevens Point’s Financial Aid Office, located in room 106 of the Student Services Center. We are happy to help students and Pointer parents!
Thank you for following me along this past academic year. It has been a pleasure to write about financial literacy topics. I look forward to seeing you in the fall!
