Freshman FAQs

Upon receipt of award letter you can access your online student account to accept awards that are at “offered” status.

1. Sign in to Banner Self-Service using your Banner ID and Banner Password
2. Select Financial Aid
3. Select Award
4. Select Award for Aid Year (and choose Current Semester)
5. Click on Accept your Award Offer.

*Contact the IT help desk if you need instructions on how to access your online student account. They can be reached at 256-372-4357.Back to Top

There could be a number of reasons for having not received an award letter. i.e. your FAFSA could have been selected for verification or you could have neglected to include our school code (001002) on your FAFSA. Keep in mind that after completing your FAFSA, it takes 3-5 business days for our office to receive it. Also note that the name spelling, date of birth, and social security number submitted on your FAFSA must match your application to AAMU. Email us for further info sfainfo@aamu.edu.Back to Top

Acceptance of the loans is not mandatory; however you can use them as a resource if needed. *Please note the instructions that were included with your award letter.Back to Top

No, those charges are Out-of-Pocket expenses.

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Tuition

• Room and Board (Housing and Meal Plan)
• Mandatory fees

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Your financial obligations will vary depending upon your class enrollment, if you reside in campus housing etc. However, as a general rule of thumb, please note the following:

Sample Cost Analysis

(Annual amounts based on 2018/19 fee schedule and are subject to change depending upon fee increases etc.)

	Resident (In-State)	Non-Resident (Out-State)
Tuition	$8,610.00	$17,220.00
Room	$3,682.00	$3,682.00
Board	$3,620.00	$3,620.00
Fees	$1,596.00	$1,596.00
Total Cost	$17,508.00	$26,118.00

*To get a general idea of your remaining obligations, you may subtract your total award amount from the totals above. Keep in mind that the totals may vary depending on choice of housing assignment etc.

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Book charges are not usually covered by general financial aid proceeds. However, if the total financial aid for the semester exceeds the total charges, the excess can be used to purchase books during the book voucher availability period. *Book voucher awards are also included with some scholarship awards. (This will be indicated on your award letter)Back to Top

We recommend that you pursue outside scholarships and other forms of non-university funding. You can also touch base with the department in which you plan to major; sometimes they have funding to offer. Lastly, payment plans can be setup to cover remaining balances. The payment plan option is done by contacting The Office of Student Accounts. Typically, payment plans can be setup after you have completed your SOAR session.Back to Top

Financial aid awards are system generated based on your FAFSA information as well as your academic performance. We won’t be able to increase your award until funding availability is confirmed. This typically takes place after departmental budgets are confirmed in June of each year. You can also touch base with us during your SOAR session. (No awards will be increased prior to this timeframe)Back to Top

Scholarship award offers are made after successful completion of the Admissions process to include the submission of your high school transcript and ACT/SAT test scores. Heritage Scholarship Award offers are indicated on the student’s financial aid award letter. The Merit and Presidential Scholarship Awards are offered with a scholarship contract. The Normalite Opportunity Scholarship will post to the student’s account after enrollment verification.

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AAMU Academic Scholarships

AAMU scholarship offerings begin with a minimum high school GPA of 2.7 and a minimum ACT score of 17/SAT score of 900. 

Scholarship Award	Criteria	Value
Heritage Bronze Award *In-State students only	HS GPA 2.7-2.99 ACT 17-22/SAT score of 900	Total value of $1,000 per year plus a $250 book voucher per semester
Heritage Silver Award	HS GPA 2.99-3.24 ACT 17-22/SAT score of 900	Total value of $3,000 per year plus a $250 book voucher per semester
Heritage Gold Award	HS GPA 3.25 or above ACT 17-22/SAT score of 900	Total value of $4,500 per year plus a $250 book voucher per semester
Merit Scholarship	HS GPA 3.25 or above ACT 23 or above/SAT score of 1130	Covers the cost of tuition for enrollment up to 18 hours
Presidential Scholarship	HS GPA 3.75 or above ACT 28 or above SAT score of 1310	Covers the cost of tuition for enrollment up to 18 hours, room, board and fees. Also includes a $2,000 book allowance per year
Normalite Scholarship *Out-of-State students only	Composite Index Score of 20 or above HS GPA + ACT/SAT score = 20 or above	Currently $4,305.00 per semester

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Neither the Merit nor the Presidential Scholarships can be combined with other scholarship awards. However, you can receive the Normalite Scholarship award in combination with a Heritage award.

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All scholarship awards are contingent upon funding availability. The Presidential and Merit Scholarship offerings require a signed contract. Be sure that you have signed and returned the contract to our office. If you do meet the qualifications for one of the scholarships indicated above and have not received a scholarship offer, please contact us at scholarships@aamu.edu or sfainfo@aamu.edu.

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No, the parent loan is offered as an option to help you meet your financial obligations. Acceptance of this loan is not required.

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In order to receive the parent loan, the parent must apply for it using the directions included on your award letter. The parent must be approved in order for you to receive the loan. There is credit criteria involved.

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No, the amount of the parent loan represents the difference between the total aid offer that the student is receiving and the total maximum allowable aid that can be received for the year.

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The parent of the student (preferably the parent that is on the FAFSA) must go to www.studentloans.gov, and sign in under their profile using their FSA ID to complete the Parent plus loan. Once the parent signs in they will choose the “Request Plus Loan” option, and then choose the “Parent Plus Loan” option, then proceed to fill out the application. At the end of the application the parent will submit the application, and at that point the parent’s credit will checked.

In the event that the credit is approved the parent will notify a financial aid counselor. The counselor will accept the loan for the parent, and make any needed adjustments to the loan. In the event that the parent’s credit is denied, then they have the choice to either choose “I do not wish to pursue the Parent Plus Loan any further” (counselor will increase the student’s unsubsidized loan) or “I wish to use an endorser for the Parent Plus Loan” (cosigner).

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Each year the U.S. Department of Education randomly selects a certain percentage of FAFSAs for verification; this means that the school must collect certain documentation prior to being able to award federal financial aid to the students selected for verification.

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If you are selected for verification, please submit the required documentation to IDOC. The required documentation is indicated on the verification correspondence you received from our office and/or from IDOC.

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The College Board Institutional Documentation Service is a third party vender that Alabama A&M’s Financial Aid Office uses to collect and process all verification documentation that is submitted. IDOC will place the student’s documentation onto a secure sever allowing the AAMU Financial Aid Office to retrieve and examine the information to complete the verification process.

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There are two options in which you may submit required documentation. The required documentation maybe submitted online or by mail.

If you are submitting online:

• Sign in to collegeboard.org with the student’s Social Security Number and Date of Birth. You should see the “Document Management Dashboard” after you’ve signed in. *Note if the student is logging into IDOC for the first time they will need to add a primary parent onto the IDOC account under Primary Parent household.
• View documents to be uploaded under section “Required Documents”.
• Make sure documents are saved in an accessible place on your computer or device.
• Click “Upload Documents” (Check to see if Parent Info or Family Info is correct)
• Click “Next” if all parent and family info is correct.
• Navigate to “File”. Browse Desktop for your file.
• Once you have found the file click on “Upload Files”.
• Click “Submit” and add “More files”.
• When you have finished uploading files, your files will appear under “My Uploads”. (Uploaded documents may still appear as “Required Documents”, it takes 2-3 business days for the validation process to be completed)

If you are submitting by mail:

• Sign in to idoc.collegeboard.org with the student’s Social Security Number and Date of Birth. You should see the “Document Management Dashboard” after you have signed in. *Note if the student is logging into IDOC for the first time they will need to add a primary parent onto the IDOC account under Primary Parent household.
• View documents to be mailed under section “Required Documents”.
• To access and print cover sheet, scroll over to “What do I need to Do” click on “Through the Mail” and click on “IDOC Cover Sheet”.

• Print Cover Sheet. (Materials mailed without a Cover Sheet will not be processed)
• Gather required documents.
• Mail Required Documentation to

College Board Processing Center P.O. Box 8570Portsmouth, NH 03802Back to Top

We typically ask that you will allow 7-10 business days for your file to be updated after successful submission of verification documents. Keep in mind that it takes 2-3 business days for IDOC to validate your submitted documents. Please do contact us if you do not receive additional correspondence after this timeframe.Back to Top

If the student did not work:

• Indicate this on the standard verification worksheet. The student Tax Transcript requirement will be waived during the verification process.

If the student did work but did not file taxes:

• Report earnings on the 2019-2020 AAMU Verification Worksheet.

• Submit a copy of all 2017 W-2s or a 2017 Wage and Earnings Statement from the IRS.

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The federal government requires that all students meet and maintain certain academic progress standards in order to receive financial aid funding. A minimum GPA must be obtained and you must complete a certain percentage of the hours you attempt.

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The federal government requires that all students meet and maintain certain academic progress standards in order to receive financial aid funding. A minimum GPA must be obtained and you must complete a certain percentage of the hours you attempt.

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• You must complete 67% of the total hours you attempt each semester.
• You must achieve and maintain a minimum Grade Point Average (GPA). [For example; a minimum 1.50 GPA is required for students with 24-30 attempted hours.]
• You must finish your program of study within 150% of the timeframe allowed to do so. (Example, most programs require 4 years to complete, in this case you would need to complete the program within 150% of 4 years [6 years].

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If you do not meet these minimum requirements, your eligibility for financial aid funding will be rescinded.

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All students are initially reviewed for SAP compliance after the completion of 24 credit hours. You will then be reviewed at the end of each spring semester thereafter.Back to Top

You can appeal to explain why you didn’t meet the minimum requirements. Or you can pay for your education using personal resources. Your appeal will be reviewed by a committee, and a decision rendered.Back to Top

You may view additional information regarding the SAP policy on our website. SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS (SAP) POLICYBack to Top

• Go to www.aamu.edu, and look for “myAAMU” on the right hand side of the home page.
• Click on “Banner”
• Click on “Look-up Banner-ID and PIN”
• Fill in the last four digits of your SSN#, your Date of Birth, and your last name.
• Press “Show me my Banner ID/PIN number”.

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Be sure to complete your FAFSA each year. The FAFSA is made available online beginning October 1 of each year. Returning students will select the “renewal” option. AAMU’s Priority processing date is February 1 of each year. Submit your FAFSA prior to this date to insure that you are considered for the maximum financial package you qualify for.Back to Top

Students and Parents can apply for a FSA ID and Password at www.studentloans.gov under FSA ID (first option).Back to Top

The best way to reach us is by email. Email us at sfainfo@aamu.edu or financialaid@aamu.edu. The sfainfo@aamu.edu email address has been setup to specifically expedite the questions and concerns of our new students. We do encourage you to you utilize this email address for your questions. For scholarship specific questions, email us at scholarships@aamu.edu. You may also contact us by phone at 256-372-5400.Back to Top

Financial Aid Counselors may be emailed directly.Back to Top