Financial Aid FAQ

A: Financial Aid disbursement (when your financial aid awards pay to your student bill) occurs 10 days before the start of the semester. Find current dates on Processing Your Aid.

It is past the disbursement date, why has my financial aid not disbursed (paid to my bill)?

A: Oftentimes, when a student’s financial aid has not disbursed it is because they have outstanding requirements in their Financial Aid Portal that are causing a disbursement hold. The first thing you should do is check that you have completed all requirements in your portal:

  1. Sign into the Howdy Portal
  2. Click on the Financial Aid Portal icon
  3. Select the 2024-2025 Award Year from the drop-down menu
  4. Navigate to the Status Page
  5. Make sure you have no outstanding requirements under the “To Do” section

General

How do I submit documents?

A: Please submit documentation to our office via fax, postal mail, or uploaded to the Financial Aid Portal with a UIN on all documents.

  1. Sign into the Howdy Portal
  2. Click on the Financial Aid Portal icon
  3. Select the 2024-2025 Award Year from the drop-down menu
  4. Navigate to the Status Page
  5. Look for the “click here to upload documents” link

A: Due to security and privacy reasons, our office does not accept any emailed documents. Any receipt of personally identifiable information (ex: SSN) to this email account is considered a data breach and will be permanently deleted.

How do I apply for Financial Aid?

A: To apply for Financial Aid you must submit a financial aid application. To determine what application is right for you, visit Apply for Aid.

How do I learn about student employment?

A: You can learn more about student employment by visiting the Jobs for Aggies website.

A: Questions about the Work Study Program and Community Service Program can be directed to workstudy@tamu.edu.

A: Questions about general student employment or the Jobs for Aggies Job Board can be directed to jobsforaggies@tamu.edu.

A: You can also check to see if you are eligible for work study opportunities on your Financial Aid Portal. Under “helpful links” navigate to the student employment box.

When will I be offered aid?

IMPORANT INFORMATION and Timeline for 2024-2025 financial offer letters

With significant changes to financial aid resulting from the FAFSA® Simplification Act, our ability to offer financial aid is dependent on (1) receiving results of FAFSA® data from the U.S. Department of Education(will not be received by institutions until mid March) and (2) the release of revised functionality to facilitate financial aid processing from our software vendor of our student information system. The timing of both determine when Texas A&M will be able to offer financial aid for academic year 2024-2025.

Below are the anticipated timelines for offering financial aid for the 2024-2025 academic year. This information is subject to change. Check this webpage for updates.

Please check the Status page of your Financial Aid Portal for the 2024-2025 academic year to make sure all requirements are complete. Incomplete items will delay financial aid offers and/or disbursement of financial aid.

What certificates are eligible for Financial Aid?

Certain certificate programs and Teacher Certifications (with other limiting factors) will be eligible for Federal Aid. Certificate programs are approved for federal aid by the Department of Education and noted below. Teacher Certification is a special program that is offered through the College of Education and has additional factors that affect student’s aid eligibility.

Courses taken for certificates (not listed below) must also count towards major or minor in the degree evaluation to be counted for Federal Financial Aid eligibility.

Texas A&M Bush School

Advanced International Affairs
Homeland Security
Nonprofit Management
Public Management

Texas A&M College of Education & Human Development

Adult Education
Interdisciplinary Studies (Aggie ACHIEVE)*

Texas A&M College of Geosciences

Texas A&M Energy Institute

Texas A&M Health Science Center

Advanced General Dentistry
Dental Public Health
Endodontics/Endodontology
Forensic Health Care
Oral Biology and Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology
Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology
Orthodontics/Orthodontology
Pediatric Dentistry, Pedodontics
Periodontics/Periodontology
Prosthodontics/ Prosthodontology

Texas A&M Mays Business School

Texas A&M School of Law

Business Law and Compliance
Energy Law-Environmental and Energy Law and Policy
Energy Law-Oil and Gas Law and Policy
Health Law, Policy and Management
International Tax Law and Policy
Risk Management and Compliance
Wealth Management

Texas Consumer Resource for Education and Workforce Statistics (Texas Crews)

Career Path Research

*Eligible for limited federal financial aid programs. Contact us for more information.

Emergency Aid

I am experiencing a financial emergency and will not be able to pay my student bill, what do I do?

A: If you are experiencing a financial emergency, you may complete an Emergency Aid Application to be considered for limited institutional funding. You can find the steps to complete the Emergency Aid Application further in this FAQ.

A: In addition to the Emergency Aid Application, Texas A&M has additional resources available for students experiencing temporary financial hardship. Short Term Loans and the Emergency Tuition and Fees Loan are available to help students pay for specific educational or educationally related expenses. Short Term Loans cannot be used to pay tuition and required fees but can be used for optional fees and other expenses, like rent, food, and books. The Emergency Tuition and Fees Loan (ETFL) is available to help students pay their Texas A&M University tuition and required fees. This loan will be applied directly to the student’s tuition and fee account. Students can apply for either loan on the application site.

Where can I find information on the Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF) Texas A&M received under the CARES Act and CRRSA Act?

A: For more detailed information regarding the total amount of Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF) Texas A&M received and how those funds have been distributed, please visit our Emergency Relief Funds & COVID-19 Guidance webpage.

How do I fill out the Emergency Aid Application?

A: The Emergency Aid Application is for students requesting emergency aid.

To get access to the emergency aid application in your Financial Aid Portal, you must first speak with an Enrollment Services Advisor. If you are an International Student, please contact International Student & Scholar Services at isss@tamu.edu. Please include “Emergency Aid” in the subject line of the body of your email.

Scholarships & Financial Aid has limited institutional funding to award for emergency aid. To qualify students must have exhausted all other resources (financial aid, including loans; payment plans; assistance from family/friends; other personal resources). This funding is not intended to replace or supplement existing financial aid for regular educational expenses. Emergency aid is a one-time resource.

Eligibility Requirements

Financial Aid Refunds

How do I use financial aid to pay for other educational expenses (books, supplies, off-campus rent)?

Scholarships & Financial Aid encourages students to use their refund for educational expenses (books, supplies, off-campus rent, food, utilities, etc.)

A: If you have accepted more financial aid than you have expenses on your student bill, the remaining amount will be refunded to your bank account. For example, if you accepted $12,000 in financial aid, but your tuition and fees are only $10,000 then you will be refunded $2,000.

I have a question about my financial aid refund:

A: All refunds are processed through Student Business Services (SBS). We will attempt to answer the most common questions here, but for more specific questions about your personal account or refund issue, it is recommended that you reach out to SBS directly.

A: If you have been awarded more financial aid than you have expenses on your student bill, the remaining amount will be refunded to you. After your student bill has been paid, SBS will process the refund and send it to Flywire within 2 business days. Once the refund is sent to Flywire for disbursement, an email will be sent to your TAMU email address informing you of the refund amount and method of delivery. You must set up direct deposit through Flywire to receive your refund.

A: If you are expecting a refund and have not received it, check to make sure your financial aid has disbursed (paid to your bill). Refunds cannot be processed until your aid has paid to your bill. You can then navigate to your student bill and view your refund under “current activity”. While refunds are issued each business day it is common for there to be a 2-business day delay before you receive your refund. If it has been more than 2 business days, your aid has paid to your bill, and you have set up your direct deposit account with Flywire but you have not received your refund contact Student Business Services.

How do I set up my refund account with Flywire?

Flywire is a third-party online bill payment and e-commerce solution for student account receivables. It is the secure authorized site to pay student bills online. Student Business Services has partnered with Flywire to offer this solution for current and former students and authorized users to view statements and account activity, make payments, sign up for a payment plan and provide direct deposit information for refunds. Flywire also allows students to initiate international payments to their student account.

More information may be found at University Accounting Services E-Commerce webpage. Questions should be directed to marketplace@tamu.edu. Steps on how to active your Flywire account may be found at Student Business Services (SBS) Refunds webpage.

How do I answer the Confirm Your Enrollment Questionnaire?

A: Confirming your enrollment allows us to determine if your financial aid and cost of attendance should be adjusted based on your current enrollment. To locate the Confirm Your Enrollment Questionnaire:

  1. Sign into the Howdy Portal.
  2. Click on the Financial Aid Portal icon
  3. Select the 2024-2025 Award Year from the drop-down menu
  4. Under the Status Page, click on the Confirm Your Enrollment link
  5. Do one of the following:
Some of my courses are not “counting” for financial aid, what do I do?

A: Students may only receive federal financial aid for eligible courses that count towards their program of study. If one or more of your courses are not ‘counting’ for federal aid this might mean that these courses are not listed on your degree evaluation that is on file with the Registrar. To add a course to your degree evaluation or confirm that the course is listed there, you must contact your Academic Advisor. Your Academic Advisor can then submit changes to your degree evaluation to the Office of the Registrar. If the Registrar approves the change (which can take up to 2 weeks), the new plan will be communicated to our office, and your course(s) can begin ‘counting’.

If you’re not certain how to contact your advisor, visit the Find my Advisor page on the Office of Student Success website.

I have registered for new courses or have changed my schedule and my Confirm Your Enrollment Questionnaire is not showing these changes, what do I do?

A: If you have changed your schedule and added or removed classes, our system may need time to register those changes. Many of our processes run overnight, so it is best to return to the Confirm Your Enrollment Questionnaire the following day after you make course adjustments. If you made adjustments that result in you becoming full-time with “courses that count” then the Questionnaire will clear overnight. Do not be alarmed if you return the following day and it is no longer a requirement.