Graduate Assistant Information
Federal regulations require us to count any type of aid (such as scholarships, grants, loans, assistantships, matriculation, tuition and fee waivers) as a financial resource when calculating your eligibility for federal student aid (including Federal Direct and Perkins Loans). Historically, waivers of Matriculation and/or out-of-state Tuition resulted in our changing your Cost of Attendance from that of an out-of-state student to that of an in-state student.
Effective with the 2009-10 Award Year, out-of-state graduate students who are given a waiver of their out-of-state Tuition by the Graduate School will be assigned an out-of-state Cost of Attendance. The monetary equivalent of the waived Matriculation, Tuition and fees will ultimately be reflected on your financial aid Award as a financial resource.
The Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA) neither awards nor enters Matriculation, Tuition and fee waivers into the University computer system. Very often these waivers are entered by other departments after we have awarded graduate students their federal student loans. Therefore, when we learn of a waiver of out-of-state tuition, in-state matriculation or mandatory fees after we have awarded your federal student loans, your financial aid Award will be revised. This revision will usually result in a reduction in the amount of your student loans and you will be required to repay any loan funds disbursed to you which exceed your Cost of Attendance.
If you have been notified by the Graduate School that you are receiving an assistantship and your financial aid Award does not reflect an in-state Matriculation waiver and/or out-of-state Tuition waiver, please notify our office immediately so we can adjust your Award accordingly.
We wish you to be aware of how these Matriculation, Tuition and fee waivers impact the amount of federal student loans for which you can qualify. If you have any questions, please call this office at (706) 542-6147, press 1 and ask for one of our counselors.