There’s no doubt that the financial aid process is exhausting, but there are definitely ways to reduce the stress of paying for college and applying for aid – staying organized is one of them. If you feel like you’re drowning in tax returns, deadlines, and endless forms, follow this seamless guide to navigating ECU financial aid!
The important deadline that you really don’t want to miss is the FAFSA priority filing date, which is March 1st. Don’t procrastinate this one – it’s really important, and if you file after the priority date, you might not get as much (or any, yikes) financial aid!
The resources at the ECU Office of Student Financial Aid are awesome, especially if you’re stuck and not sure what to do next. You can e-mail them at faques@ecu.edu or give them a call at 252-328-4347 if you need a little guidance. There’s also a really detailed list of their staff here if you want to contact your financial aid counselor (assigned alphabetically) directly!
Keeping a running list will absolutely be a lifesaver during this whole tedious process. There’s so many things you need to get together and have on hand while filling out the FAFSA and you don’t want to be searching for things last-minute!
You’re going to need your 2015 tax returns as well as your parents’. You will also need to reference your parents’ income information and report your own, so it’s probably a good idea to set aside a time just for the FAFSA and go through everything with your parents!
ECU has a helpful list of the steps to complete the FAFSA here. Bookmark this page and reference it when you inevitably start to get confused – you’ll be thankful, trust me!
You’ll want to check your e-mail frequently because this is where you’ll get your financial aid notification once your FAFSA is processed. You also want to make sure you accept all of your awards on OneStop as soon as you can!
If you completed the FAFSA and finished everything on time, you should be notified about your financial aid package in April!
To secure your spot in the freshmen class, you need to send in a $100 non-refundable deposit by May 1st, 2018!
ECU’s website offers a detailed look at their different costs for attendance here.
An out-of-state and on-campus student should expect a cost of attendance of about $37,254/year. An in-state and on-campus student’s cost of attendance totals around $21,296/year, broken down like this:
About 61% of students (on average) have their ECU financial aid needs met. The average financial aid package is about $9,524.
If there’s a sudden change in income in your family or there’s a special circumstance that wasn’t accounted for originally (like one of the ones mentioned here), you always have the option to file a Special Circumstance Petition.
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