Frequently Asked Questions
Application Process
Receiving Your Money
The Office of Student Accounting handles all refunding of financial aid to students. Refunds are processed within 14 business days of disbursement. You can contact the Office of Student Accounting at (251) 460-6195 or studentaccounting@southalabama.edu.
Please check to see of any of these items apply:
Check PAWS for the following:
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Is your address correct?
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If you enrolled in direct deposit, is your bank account information accurate?
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Do you have outstanding requirements for your financial aid file?
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Did you complete the Entrance Counseling and MPN online at studentaid.gov?
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Are you registered?
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Is your financial aid disbursement more than your tuition, fees, and other institutional charges?
Loans
Go to studentaid.gov for more information regarding loan programs.
Typically, M1 and M2 students are eligible for $40,500 in an unsubsidized loan. M3 and M4 students are normally eligible for $47,167 in an unsubsidized loan.
For an unsubsidized loan to disburse, a student must complete the Entrance Counseling and MPN online at studentaid.gov. A student must complete the Graduate PLUS loan application and Graduate PLUS loan MPN at the same website if the student wants the Graduate PLUS loan to disburse.
Please email Stephanie Roote, the Associate Director of Financial Aid in the College of Medicine, at sroote@southalabama.edu in order to decline one or all of your loans.
Problems
All financial aid students at USA must be accepted for admission before your financial aid award will be processed. If you haven't applied to USA, visit College of Medicine Admissions. If you have been admitted or readmitted to USA but haven't heard from the Financial Aid Office, please email Stephanie Roote at sroote@southalabama.edu.
A valid FAFSA has to be on file in order to review a student’s eligibility and process aid. We continually receive FAFSAs throughout the academic year. However, the priority deadline for FAFSA completion is May 1st. If a student submits their FAFSA after May 1st, the student’s award may not be processed by the time school starts.
Please view the Office of Financial Aid’s policy on Return to Title IV here: https://www.southalabama.edu/departments/finaid/r2t4.html.
Viewing Financial Aid on PAWS
The following questions and answers include instructions requiring the user to access the PAWS system.
Follow these steps to access PAWS:
- Go to https://www.southalabama.edu/services/logins/students
- Click on "PAWS" (log in using your JAG Number and JagNet password)
- Click on Student Services and Financial Aid
- Click on Financial Aid
- Click on My Eligibility
- Click on Student Requirements
- Select Aid Year
Follow the steps below to view your offer in PAWS:
- Go to https://www.southalabama.edu/services/logins/students/ and select 'PAWS'
- Log in (if prompted) using your JagNet credentials
- Click on 'Student Services and Financial Aid'
- Click on 'Financial Aid'
- Click on 'My Award Information'
- Click on 'Award By Aid Year'
- Select Aid Year
Graduate PLUS Loans will remain in an offered status until the application has been received from https://studentaid.gov.
If you have federal aid in an offered status other than PLUS Loans, you must accept both the offer and Terms and Conditions (if applicable) by continuing with the steps listed below:
- Select the 'Terms and Conditions' tab. Read all sections carefully and choose to accept or not. If you do not accept, your federal aid WILL NOT DISBURSE.
- Click on the 'Accept Award Offer' tab.
- Federal financial aid funds other than Graduate PLUS Loans must be accepted or declined. You may accept a partial amount by selecting 'Accept' and indicating the amount.
- Click 'Submit Decision' at the bottom of the page.
After you accept your offer(s), be sure to scroll down the page to see if you have any remaining 'Unsatisfied Disbursement Requirements'.
To see what is incomplete, you will use USA's Personalized Access Web System for students (PAWS):
- Go to https://www.southalabama.edu/services/logins/students/
- Click on 'PAWS' and log in using your JagNet credentials
- Click on 'Student Services and Financial Aid'
- Click on 'Financial Aid'
- Click on 'My Eligibility'
- Select Aid Year
* If you have not been admitted to USA, click on the JagNet hyperlink listed in the first bullet point. From there, click 'Student Account Activate' and enter the requested information.
Read the directions for each student requirement. You must complete all of the unsatisfied requirements.
PLEASE NOTE: It is important to review any active messages listed in your PAWS account. Active messages can be viewed under 'My Overall Status of Financial Aid' on the Financial Aid menu in PAWS.
Follow these steps to access PAWS:
- Go to https://www.southalabama.edu/services/logins/students
- Click on "PAWS" (log in using your JAG Number and JagNet password)
- Click on Personal Information
- Select Update Address(es) and Phone(s) to verify current address or to make changes