Award Procedures

The Financial Aid office will review the student files for accuracy and completeness.  A complete file consists of the following:  a signed FAFSA or Electronic SAR, admittance to university as an undergraduate or graduate student, and all other documents (tax return transcript, birth certificates, etc.) requested by the Office of Student Financial Aid.Please be sure to complete all documents requested for your file. Download and complete ONLY the form you need for your file. You may upload the form in your financial aid portal, email to financialaid@allenuniversity.edu, or fax the form to the Office of Student Financial Aid at 803-799-3042.  Students who must submit additional information for corrections will be sent an updated awarded letter.

Students whose files are accurate and complete will be sent an Award Letter explaining the types and amounts of aid they are eligible to receive, as well as directions concerning how the aid will be distributed. 

All students must complete a FAFSA form in order to receive federal aid, including Federal Stafford Student Loan and or Federal PLUS loan, state aid, and institutional aid. The FAFSA is not required private loans.

Loans are electronically transmitted to the lender; the "Master Promissory Note" (MPN) can be completed online. Please electronically complete and sign the MPN. The student and PLUS loan MPN must be completed at least once during the student's four-year matriculation.

Students and/or parents obtaining loans from an outside lending agency must contact those agencies for applications, school certification forms, and promissory notes. 

Loan funds from private lenders are sent to the school, via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) to the student's account. The lender will not disburse any loan funds without a complete and signed MPN or Entrance Counseling. 

If additional scholarship funds come in after award/disbursement of funds, those awards may be adjusted (i.e. reduced or taken away) to prevent an over-award situation.

Award notifications are emailed weekly for students to view the award information in the financial aid portal..

Disbursement Procedures

All financial aid disbursements made to students by Allen University will occur only after the anticipated enrollment information contained on your award letter has been verified with the Registrar's Office. If the enrollment status has changed, the disbursement of financial aid will be delayed. For example, if your award is based on full-time enrollment and you are enrolled part-time, your aid will not be disbursed immediately, and you should notify our office of the change.

You must be enrolled at least part-time in order to receive a Direct Federal Student Loan. Part-time is considered 3- 8 hours for graduates and 6-8 hours for undergraduates. Satisfactory Academic Progress must also be verified for each award year before aid is disbursed. Year-based financial aid is typically disbursed to the student in two equal installments, one disbursement in fall and the other in the spring semester. The period of enrollment (Full Year/Fall Only/Spring Only) will determine when the disbursements are made to the student account. Aid is typically posted to student accounts the second week of classes.

Most financial aid awards credit to students' accounts. These awards include, but are not limited to, funds from the following sources: 

• Pell

• SEOG

• CAP

• SCTG

• Life Scholarship

• Hope Scholarship

• Allen scholarships

• PLUS loans

• Direct Student loans

Financial aid will credit to your account if you have accepted the aid and an accurate record of your enrollment status is in the system. You must sign a promissory note for Direct Student Loans and PLUS loans. Direct Student loans also require completion of one-time entrance counseling in order to disburse. Some financial aid awards do not credit to student accounts. Federal work-study awards are issued to the student unless otherwise requested.

Institutional scholarships and grants may only be used to pay Allen tuition, fees, room and board expenses. You are responsible for paying the balance due by the due date after financial aid has been disbursed. Any financial aid resulting in a credit balance will be distributed to you by the Office of Student Accounts within 14 days. You will receive information regarding the due date of your bill with your statement of account each semester.

Financial aid is not automatically renewable. A FAFSA must be filled out each academic year. Reapplication for financial aid should be made as soon as possible after October 1st.