Office and Services
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Update Your Address and Phone Numbers
Students are responsible for keeping their mailing addresses and phone numbers current in the UF Directory at all times. We cannot stress this enough. Important UF and SFA business correspondence is normally mailed to the local mailing address. Although most financial aid awards can be transacted using Direct Deposit, some awards must be mailed in their original paper form, requiring a valid local address. Please check your Directory profile to ensure that your addresses are correct and current. Go to my.ufl.edu and sign in with your GatorLink ID and password, choose “My Account,” then “Update My Directory Profile.” For assistance with address problems, contact the UF Computing Help Desk: (352) 392-HELP (392-4357).
Watch for Electronic Aid Announcements
The UF financial aid office uses e-mail as the primary mode of communication with financial aid applicants and recipients. Student Financial Affairs (SFA) sends important financial aid business mail, including critical documents such as financial aid award notices, follow-up letters, notifications of selection for verification, newsletters, and requests for additional documentation directly to students' GatorLink e-mail addresses.
Students should verify that their GatorLink e-mail address is correctly configured for receiving UF business correspondence. Students who do not check GatorLink e-mail daily may not get important financial aid correspondence. To check GatorLink configurations, go to: www.gatorlink.ufl.edu.
You Can Still Apply for 2006-07 Financial Aid/Apply Online
Financial aid applications and Gator Aid Application Guides for the 2006-07 academic year are available at SFA in our lobby and at most Florida high school guidance offices and community college financial aid offices. March 15, 2006, was UF's on-time 2006-07 Financial Aid Application Deadline. Student applying now will be considered for aid that is still available.
SFA strongly encourages students to apply online using FAFSA on the Web. Applying online is usually faster, and the application has built-in edits that helps prevent application errors. This online application, with complete instructions, is available at: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/.
Your Federal PIN
Your federal PIN is your identifier for various U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) systems. You can request a PIN, request a replacement PIN, or update your PIN mailing address at the USDOE's PIN Site at: www.pin.ed.gov/ Use your PIN:
- to gain access to FAFSA/ Renewal FAFSA on the Web;
- as an electronic signature to sign the FAFSA or obtain a copy of your FAFSA
- to make online corrections to your FAFSA; and/or
- review your online grant and loan history on the National Student Loan Data System.
Because your PIN serves as your electronic signature, you should not give it to anyone.
Report Outside Resources Early
Notify us immediately of all assistance you receive from other sources (such as, fellowships, fee waivers, and outside scholarships) so that we can factor in these funds early. Certain programs require repayment of aid funds if you receive more than the amount of your demonstrated eligibility for financial aid. Notifying us late of these awards may put you in the situation of having to repay aid when you can't afford it. Report this kind of aid on ISIS at www.isis.ufl.edu. Under “My Online Services” under “Financial Aid,” select “Additional Aid Reporting.”
Fall Short-Term "Emergency" Loan Repayment Deadline is December 1st.
SFA offers an emergency short-term loan. UF students can borrow up to $1,000 or the amount of in-state tuition to pay emergency educational expenses if they are enrolled at least half time and have a verifiable repayment source.
Approval takes two to three days. Applications are available at SFA’s Customer Service counter. Disbursement begins after the first day of classes.
Fall 2006 Short-Term Loans must be repayed by December 1, 2006.
Student Employment
Students who plan to work through Federal Work-Study or the Other Personnel Services program must go to SFA’s Student Employment counter in S-107 Criser Hall to obtain a work permit, or call 392-0296 to request one, before they may begin working. To find a job, check the online job lists at: http://www.sfa.ufl.edu/job.html.
How To Find and Apply for a Job
Start Early
Jobs are available throughout the year, but the best time to find one is at the beginning of semesters.
Check for Jobs
- On the UF Job Lists. Jobs at http://jobs.ufl.edu include all on-campus Federal Work-Study and OPS positions.
- On SFA Off-Campus Job Board. The job board at www.sfa.ufl.edu/job.html lists non-need-based jobs posted by off-campus community agencies. For jobs that interest you, call the contact person for an interview.
- At Specific Departments. Check for open positions in your department or other areas that interest you.
Get a UF Work Permit to take to all interviews.
Students are required to have a UF Work Permit to work on campus. For FWS students, the work permit indicates the number of hours they are authorized to work for the academic year. Students awarded FWS for fall are mailed a UF Work Permit about two weeks before the term begins. If you don’t get a work permit by mail, you must get one from Student Employment (bring a picture ID). You can also request a work permit by calling (352) 392-0296 (you must provide your department’s Post Office Box).
SFA Resource Center
(apply online • look up jobs • scholarship searches)
SFA’s Student Resource Center in S-107 Criser Hall provides resources for students to research and apply for financial aid, including scholarships and part-time jobs. Resource Center staff are available to help with the computers, as well as to help students with processes such as completing the federal Master Promissory Note and Direct Loan Confirmation. Hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Attention - Grants for Loans Scam
Be wary of any free money offered you by telephone, or any other way. A scam has recently been identified in which students are contacted by someone who claims to be from the U.S. Department of Education (ED). Students are offered $8,000 grants to replace their student loans and asked for their bank account numbers so a processing fee can be charged. No ED program exists to replace loans with grants, nor are processing fees ever charged for any Title IV grants. Students should never provide bank account or credit card information over the phone unless they initiated the call and trust the company they are calling.
If you are a victim of this or a similar scam:
- Immediately contact your bank, explain the situation, and request that the bank monitor or close the compromised account.
- Report the fraud to ED's Office of Inspector General hotline at 1-800-MIS-USED (1-800-647-8733) or oig.hotline@ed.gov.
- Report the fraud to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC has an online complaint form at www.ftc.gov/scholarshipscams and a hotline at 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357; teletype for the hearing impaired: 1-866-653-4261).
- Notify the police about the incident. Impersonating a federal officer is a crime, as is identity theft.
For information about identity theft prevention, visit www.ed.gov/misused.
Enrollment Requirements to Receive Financial Aid
At UF, students must enroll at least half time to receive most types of financial aid, although to receive funds through some State-of-Florida programs students must enroll full-time.
During fall and spring terms, undergraduates are considered full-time if enrolled for at least twelve credit hours, half-time if enrolled for at least six credit hours. Graduate students are considered full-time if enrolled for at least nine credit hours, half-time if enrolled for at least five credit hours. Full-time enrollment for law students is twelve credit hours, and half-time is five credit hours.
For summer enrollment requirements to receive financial aid see Enrollment Requirements.
Students who enroll less than full time may have their aid adjusted after the drop/add period. Federal Pell Grant awards are prorated according to enrollment status.
(Please note: Students who are unable to enroll in a twelve-hour course load due to a disability, may qualify for financial aid with part-time enrollment at a prorated award amount.)
SFA Withdrawal Policy
Do you Know UF's Policy on Withdrawal from UF When Receiving Financial Aid?
If you are receiving financial aid and officially withdraw, or stop attending all courses for a term, you may have to repay all or part of the financial aid disbursed to you in that term. Students receiving financial aid through SFA who withdraw from UF must follow UF’s official withdrawal policy and procedures provided at: http://www.sfa.ufl.edu/receiving/withdrawalrefund.html.
The Dean of Students Office in P-202 Peabody Hall coordinates official withdrawal from UF.
Students! Protect Your Information at Credit Bureaus!
Federal law requires the federal government to report student loan information and subsequent monthly payment information to credit bureaus (currently all three major credit bureaus). As a student borrower, it is in your interest to understand what credit bureaus legally can do with information in your credit record. You have the right to prohibit a credit bureau from using information in your credit record in connection with any credit or insurance transaction not initiated by you. As a borrower, you may exercise this right by calling 888/567-8688 and selecting Option 2. In the future, the Direct Loan Servicing Center will include information to this effect in their welcome letter to new borrowers. If you have additional questions, please contact Direct Loan Borrower Services at 1-800/848-0979.