What to Expect After Completing your FREE APPLICATION FOR FEDERAL STUDENT AID (FAFSA)

Student Aid Report (SAR)

After your FAFSA is processed, you will receive an output document called the Student Aid Report (SAR). The SAR provides you with processed application information and includes comments explaining your financial aid eligibility. Make sure you review your SAR for accuracy and make corrections or updates if necessary.

Document Notification

Once the result of your FAFSA is received by Charter Oak, you will begin to receive document notifications regarding the status of your financial aid. These notifications will include documents needed to complete your financial aid file and documents already received by the Office of Financial Aid.

Document notifications are emailed to students via their Charter Oak student email. If you do not have a Charter Oak email, correspondence will be sent to the email that you provided on your FAFSA.

To facilitate the processing of your financial aid, we encourage you to submit all required forms and documentation as quickly as possible. When submitting paperwork, please reference your name and student id on each form or document that you are submitting.

Verification

If your FAFSA is selected for verification by the U.S. Department of Education, or institutionally by Charter Oak, you will be required to submit documentation to validate the data reported on your FAFSA.  Please respond promptly to all requests for information so that we may process your financial aid in a timely manner.

Notification of Financial Aid Packages

Once your file is complete our office will determine your financial aid eligibility and email you. Please read the terms and conditions of your financial aid package carefully and contact us if you have any questions. Also, make sure to follow all funding instructions that may be included with your offer of financial aid (i.e., entrance loan counseling).

Please note that our office reserves the right to change, update or modify your financial aid package if circumstances warrant. Listed below are factors that often result in a modification of financial aid:

  • Verification, updates or corrections to information reported on your FAFSA.
  • Conflicting information from any source.
  • Post-screening and transfer monitoring alerts from the U.S. Department of Education.
  • Changes in enrollment status (i.e., full-time to part-time, withdrawing or dropping classes).
  • Satisfactory academic progress deficiencies.
  • Receipt of outside sources of financial assistance (i.e., scholarships or tuition assistance benefits).

Disbursement of Funds

Students enrolled for the entire academic year will have their financial aid disbursed in two installments - one disbursement will be made in the fall term and one disbursement will be made in the spring term. Summer is an optional term. 

Financial aid funds are credited to your student account against your semester institutional charges for tuition or fees. If the amount of financial aid exceeds your semester bill, the Bursar's Office will generate a refund for the excess amount. Financial aid funds will not be released until all fund requirements are met and attendance is verified by Charter Oak.  

NOTE: Students who withdraw, stop attending, or drop classes may be required to return all or a portion of their disbursed financial aid dollars. This is true even if a student has received a financial aid refund check or EFT. This is because students earn financial aid through attendance. The percentage of aid earned is equal to the percentage of the payment period that a student completes.

Semester disbursement dates are published under the Financial Aid Announcements page of the student portal, "MyCharterOak."  Since the College has multiple start dates within a semester, disbursements dates are always based on individual student semester start dates.

What Happens After you Accept your Federal Direct Loan

First time Federal Direct Loan borrowers will receive instructions with their financial aid packaging notification requesting completion of Entrance Loan Counseling and a Direct Loan Master Promissory Note (MPN), so that loan funds can be disbursed.

The MPN is a legal document that details your rights and responsibilities as a Federal Direct Loan borrower.  By signing, you promise to repay your loan(s) and any accured interest and fees. 

Entrance Counseling must be completed for all first time borrowers before loan funds can be credited, per federal regulations.

We recommend all student and parent borrowers review how much they owe in federal student loan debt and to acknowledge the amount borrowed on a yearly basis.