Application Process

1. Admission to UW-River Falls as a degree-seeking student

You may apply for financial aid before being accepted for admission, but must be admitted before receiving any aid.
To maintain eligibility for federal financial aid, you must make Satisfactory Academic Progress.

2. Complete FAFSA online

If you are interested in receiving federal and state financial aid, you must complete a FAFSA application. The FAFSA is available after January 1st each year. Complete your FAFSA as early as possible so that your aid is packaged in time for the start of fall semester and so that all aid types you may be eligible for are still available. You must complete a FAFSA on an annual basis.

For faster processing, apply for a PIN to electronically "sign" the FAFSA. As a result of filing the FAFSA, you will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) from the federal processor. If you provide an email address on the FAFSA, you will receive the SAR via email. Retain this document for your records. Do NOT submit the SAR to the UW-River Falls Financial Aid Office, unless specially requested to do so.

3. Submit verification forms if requested by the UW-River Falls Financial Aid Office

By federal regulations, one-third of financial aid applications are selected for verification. If your application is selected, the Financial Aid Office will send you a verfication worksheet with a request for copies of the signed tax documents in the mail. The worksheet explains what tax return copies our office will need. For directions on how to request a copy of your federal tax return, click here. Verification must be complete before your federal financial aid will be processed. You can also see if your application has been selected for verification in your To-Do List in eSIS.

Verification Worksheet -- Dependent 2009-10 (PDF Format)
Verification Worksheet -- Independent 2009-10 (PDF Format)

4. Accept or Decline Awards on eSIS

Once you have completed a FAFSA (and have verified your information, if requested), you will receive a Financial Aid Award Letter listing the financial aid you are eligible to receive. Go to Types of Aid to get detailed information on each award listed. In general, grants are gift-aid that do not need to be repaid and are accepted on your behalf, while Work Study and loans are self-help aid which you need to accept if you decide you want these awards. Your aid package is likely to include a loan. If it does, carefully consider the amount of loan you wish to accept. You can accept less than the amount listed, or you can decline the loan entirely if you can finance your education without it. Carefully review the information enclosed with your Award Letter (Understanding Your Award Letter enclosure) and complete required actions in order to receive your awards.

Accept or decline your awards:

From your eSIS home page (your Student Center), click on View Financial Aid.
Choose the correct aid year.
View your award information for the year and read through the information provided.
Click on Accept/Decline Awards. You need to accept, decrease, or decline the amount of any Work Study and/or loan awards on this page. Click on the "Accept" box next to an award if you want the full amount. To decrease an amount, click on the "Accept" box and enter your desired lesser amount. Click on the "Decline" box to fully decline the award.
Click Submit when finished. Once an award has been decreased or declined online, it cannot be changed without contacting the UW-River Falls Financial Aid Office.

5. Review your enrollment status

If you are awarded aid for a semester which you are registered for classes, your aid is based on your actual enrollment. If you are awarded aid for a semester which you are NOT YET registered for classes, your aid is based on the assumption of full-time enrollment. Review your enrollment in the “Eligiblity” section of your Award Letter. Your aid will not disburse if your acutal enrollment conflicts with what is listed. UW-River Falls evaluates your enrollment on the 5th day of class, and your financial aid will be revised if your enrollment on that day does not match the enrollment at which your financial aid was awarded. It is your responsibility to verify that your anticipated enrollment is correct by the 5th day of class each semester because your aid eligibility will not be re-evaluated after the 5th day if you add or drop a class.

6. Apply for Minnesota Tuition Reciprocity

Wisconsin and Minnesota have an agreement to provide in-state tuition to students. If you are a Minnesota resident, you can apply for reciprocity online. It can take up to 6 weeks for the Minnesota Office of Higher Education to process this application, so early submission is recommended.

7. Report all anticipated resources

Federal regulations require that we consider all outside resources you may receive to finance your education. Your federal and state financial aid eligibility may change if you receive any outside scholarships, DVR assistance, veteran’s benefits, etc. Promptly notify us of any such outside resources so any necessary adjustments can be made to your award as soon as possible. Complete the Scholarship and Outside Resource Notification Form and send it to our office.

8. Federal Stafford/Perkins Loan Processing

If you are borrowing a Federal Stafford and/or Perkins Loan for the first time at UW-River Falls, you must complete additional steps online before your loan(s) will be processed and disbursed to the UW-River Falls Accounts Receivable Office. You must complete Loan Entrance Counseling and sign the Master Promissory Note. Visit our Processing Your Loans page to complete these additional steps.

9. Apply for additional loans if needed

If additional aid is needed above and beyond federal and state financial aid, parent PLUS loans, SELF loans for Minnesota residents, and alternative loans can be considered. For information on each of these loans and instructions on applying, visit our Loans page.

10. Financial Aid Disbursements

If your financial aid file is complete, you can expect your aid to disburse on the 6th day of each semester. Financial aid awards are usually divided into two equal payments for fall and spring semesters. You need to become familiar with your eSIS account online to ensure that all funds disburse and are applied to your bill correctly. It is your responsibility to monitor your account to ensure that your bill has been paid or arrangements for payment have been made with the Accounts Receivable Office. Monitor the Pending Financial Aid and View & Pay Bill areas of your eSIS account regularly, and contact the Financial Aid Office if your aid does not disburse when anticipated.

11. Sign up for Direct Deposit for refunds

Financial aid will be disbursed directly to UW-River Falls to pay your tuition, fees, housing, dining, and other charges on your account. If your aid exceeds all eligible charges on your account, a refund will be produced. To receive your refund, you must sign up for Direct Deposit through eSIS QuikPAY after you accept your awards:

From your eSIS home page (your Student Center), click on View & Pay Bill from the Finances section.
Select Direct Deposit from the QuikPAY menu and enter your bank account information.
Parent PLUS Loan recipients will receive letters explaining PLUS Loan refunds.
Contact Accounts Receivable at 715.425.3145 for refund information if you do not have a bank account.

12. Transfer Students

Transfer students who have already completed a FAFSA for the current academic year do not need to complete it again. Instead, go to www.fafsa.ed.gov, and select the "Add or Delete a School Code" link. Add UW-River Falls’ school code: 003923. Financial aid will not automatically transfer from one school to the next.

Welcome to Financial Aid

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