Â鶹´«Ã½¸ßÇå

Aid Steps Deadlines

Please complete the Part 1 steps within two weeks of Your Award Notification.  Because the Part 1 steps could change your aid offers, complete them now so we can notify you about changes faster. Completing Part 1 does not obligate you to attend TU.

Complete Part 2 (Accepting Aid) within two weeks of submitting your TU Enrollment Contract.

---

Part 1 (Steps 1 - 9)

1. Review Your Financial Aid Notification

When your Award Notification is ready, Admissions will notify you. Login to your to view it. It is a three-page document. To view all pages, use the navigation arrows in the letter viewer or download it as a PDF.

We release additional award notifications every week.

2. Read Your Award Guide

All students are required to read the entire Award Guide because it explains your award requirements and aid responsibilities.

3. Release of Financial Information Form

If you want to authorize TU to discuss your aid data with your parents (or others), you must complete our Release of Financial Information Form. Visit Forms & Online Services.  Federal law prohibits us from discussing your aid without your authorization.

4. Respond promptly to document requests

Some students or parents will need to complete additional aid documents or steps that are not listed below.

• If we need additional documents, we will email the student.
• If you need your parents help with any requests, forward those requests to your parents.
• We will also post all requests to the To Dos list on your .

To access this dashboard, you must activate your TU Net ID and email account. If you have technical issues, contact the OTS Technology Support Desk at techsupport AT_TOWSON or 410-704-5151.

5. FAFSA Data Verification

If your To Dos list includes any requests for verification documents, please follow the instructions on those requests.

6. Additional Resources/Aid Form

If you will receive any other aid or educational benefits that are not listed on your TU award notification, you must submit a TU Notice of Additional Resources Form. Go to Forms & Online Services.  (Examples of other aid include private scholarships, tuition waivers, and vocational rehabilitation benefits.)

7. Will You Enroll Part-time?

If at any time you decide to enroll part-time (less than 12 units) for the fall or spring semesters, you must submit a Course Load Change Form to prevent aid payment and rebate delays.

Review the Minimum Credit requirements to see how your aid will change.  Federal loans require at least half-time status. 

If you plan to enroll full-time, please do not submit this form. We already assume that most students will enroll full-time.

Form instructions:

• Login to the .
• From the Main Navigation menu, choose Financials.
• Choose Financial Aid Forms.
• Choose the 2025-2026 Aid Year.
• Choose the Course Load Change Form.

8. Review/Update Your Housing Status

We award aid based on the two different housing choices listed below

• On Campus or Off Campus (not living with parents)

• Living with Parents

Review the housing status we listed on your Award Notification. If the status on your notification does not match your housing plans, then you must submit a TU Housing Verification Form.

If the housing status on your TU Award Notification is already correct, please do not submit it.

Form Instructions:

• Login to the .
• From the Main Navigation menu, choose Financials.
• Choose Financial Aid Forms.
• Choose the 2025-2026 Aid Year.
• Choose the Housing Verification Form.

If the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) offers you any , you must login to their system to accept their aid offers and to report your housing status to them.

9. Financial Need Adjustments?

If you have experienced any financial changes that you couldn't report on your FAFSA form, please review our Special Financial Conditions process to determine if you are eligible to request financial need adjustments that might increase your eligibility for aid.

---

Part 2 (Accept Your Aid)

Complete these steps after you enroll at TU.

Before you can access your TU email and the , you must activate your TU Net ID and email account. If you have technical issues, contact the OTS Technology Support Desk at techsupport AT_TOWSON or 410-704-5151.

10. Check Your TU Email Weekly

• After you enroll at TU, we will start sending all financial aid communications to your TU student email account.
• Please check it regularly and respond promptly to all financial aid requests. 
• If you need your parents help with any requests, please notify them.
• If you want to forward all of your TU email to a different email account, follow these  email forwarding instructions.

If you do not check your email and To Dos list regularly and fail to complete required aid tasks by the deadlines, your aid will be canceled or delayed, and you may receive a $150 late payment fine.

11. Accept Your Aid / Choose Loan Amounts

You must accept/decline each aid offer and must decide how much you want to borrow. See step 12 for more loan guidance.

• Log in to the .
• From the main Navigation Menu, choose Financials, and Accept/Decline Awards.
• Choose the Aid Year, and the accept aid offers you want.
• To accept loan offers, first accept the loan, then accept the maximum amount or enter a lower amount.
• If you're not sure if you need loans, please leave them in offer status. (Don't accept them or decline them.)

Maryland Residents

If the offered you any aid, you must also login in to their system to accept their offer and tell them which school you will attend. Then they will notify our office. After we confirm that you meet their eligibility requirements, we will add their awards to your aid record.

12. Calculate How Much to Borrow for This Aid Year

If you will borrow loans, you must decide how much to borrow and which loans to borrow.

First, calculate how much you want to borrow for this academic year (Fall & Spring).  You can borrow loans to pay your TU charges and for your other living and personal expenses. To calculate your remaining costs, subtract your total grants and scholarships from your estimated Cost of Attendance Budget.

Next, decide how much you want to borrow from each loan program. You can reduce your borrowing by accepting smaller loan amounts and by accepting one loan program and declining others. Borrow the loans with the lowest interest rates first (1st Subsidized Direct Loans, 2nd Unsubsidized Direct Loans, and 3rd PLUS Loans).  Review the federal loan interest rates table here. Private loan rates vary based on your credit history, but they usually have higher rates. For more information about each loan program, use the links below.

Your Award Notification lists the maximum amounts you can borrow from Federal Direct Subsidized & Unsubsidized Student Loans and your maximum Federal PLUS Loans or Private/Alternative Loans. You can also use TU’s monthly Payment Plan.

The following loan origination fees will be deducted from federal loans with first disbursements between 10/1/2020 and 9/30/2025.

• 1.057% for Federal Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized loans
• 4.228% for Federal Parent PLUS Loans

13. Borrowing Federal Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loans

Every year, you must accept/decline your loan offers and choose your loan amounts at .

The first time you borrow loans at TU, you must also:

• Complete a session
• Complete a (MPN)

If you need to change your loan amount after you accept it, submit a TU Loan Change Form. Go to Forms & Online Services.

14. Borrowing Federal Parent (PLUS) Loans

If your parent wants to borrow a PLUS Loan, they must follow our PLUS Loan Instructions.

15. Earning Federal Work-study (FWS) Funds

If your Award Notification includes a Federal Work-study (FWS) award, review the Federal Work-Study Program information. If you might want a FWS job, accept the award in step 10 above. When you are ready, follow the FWS job search instructions.

Because FWS funding is limited, if too many FWS students pursue FWS jobs, we reserve the right to freeze hiring for students who haven't started FWS jobs yet.

If your Award Notification did not offer you FWS funds, then you can’t earn FWS funds, but you can still pursue many other part-time jobs on and off-campus.  Visit the Career Center’s Student Employment page.

16. Bill Payment, Aid Disbursements and Aid Refunds

The Student & University Billing Office will bill you for one semester/term at a time. Your online eBill will include tuition, fees, and other miscellaneous charges for each term. If you live on campus, it will also include room and board charges.

If you met all aid deadlines, your eBill should list all of your pending financial aid disbursements.

• If your eBill does not list enough authorized aid to pay all of your charges, you must make other arrangements to pay your full bill balance by your bill due date.
• If your total term aid exceeds your term charges, the Student & University Billing Office will send you a refund.

To grant your parent(s) or others access to your bill data, please visit eBill & Online Payment for instructions on How to Set Up an Authorized User and How To add an Alternative Email for eBill Notifications. 

For more information about billing and payments, visit the Student & University Billing Office.

17. OPTIONAL - Use of Funds Form

When we disburse your aid, we will automatically use it to pay all your TU charges for this term unless you choose to restrict which charges we can pay with your aid funds by submitting the optional TU Use of Funds form.  Visit Forms & Online Services.