|
 The Office of
Undergraduate Admissions and Student Aid notifies you of your
federal financial aid award package by email. You can view and
accept your award package on
PAWS. Any federal grants that you are awarded are automatically
accepted for you. The federal work-study program and federal
loans require you to accept the award on your PAWS account.
Before accepting any federal aid, make sure that you will be
enrolled for all the semesters for which you are accepting aid.
If an award amount is offered for a semester that you will not
be enrolled, contact the
Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Student Aid.
DO NOT accept your award before this is corrected. You are not
able to make this correction yourself on PAWS.
When viewing your financial aid award package, descriptions of
each award may be found at the bottom of the screen. If you
plan on accepting loans, only accept what you need. If you need
help determining what you need, visit our
Budget Calculator. Also, be aware of the debt you will incur by borrowing loans.
Use the repayment calculators provided below to estimate your
monthly repayment amounts, or visit the
Financial Aid
Library
for a variety of debt management
resources.
You should accept your awards in the following order based on
the program benefits:
-
Accepting Federal Work-Study
Accept your work-study allocation by choosing ‘Accept’ from the
drop-down menu next to the award. You will be given the option
to list your job type preferences. The
Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Student Aid
will use your preferences to assign you to a job.
You will receive email notification once you have been
assigned. You may also view your job assignment on
PAWS by clicking
Financial Services, Financial Aid, Work-Study. For more
information, visit
Student Employment
or
Employment FAQ’s.
or
-
Accepting a Federal Perkins Loan
In the boxes provided, indicate the amount you wish to borrow.
If accepting the loan for the academic year, it must be split
equally between the semesters. Accept the loan by choosing
‘Accept’ from the drop-down menu next to the loan amount, then
click ‘Process Update.’ The loan will show as accepted at the
top of the PAWS screen. If
you are a first-time Perkins Loan borrower, after you accept
your loan on PAWS, the Perkins loan office will mail you a
Master Promissory Note. You must complete and return this form
to the Perkins Loan Office in 204 Thomas Boyd Hall. No funds
will be disbursed without an MPN on file.
Click here
for sample repayment chart.
-
Accepting a Subsidized Stafford Loan
-
Accepting an Unsubsidized Stafford Loan
The process is the same for both loans. If you have been
awarded both subsidized and unsubsidized loans, and want to
accept both, you may do so at the same time.
-
First-time Stafford Loan borrowers:
In the boxes provided, indicate the amount(s) you wish to
borrow. If accepting the loan(s) for the academic year, the
loan(s) must be split equally between the semesters. Choose
‘Accept’ in the drop-down menu next to the loan amount, then
click ‘Process Update.’ At this point you will be prompted
to complete
Entrance Counseling. After completing
Entrance Counseling,
choose a lender
from the link provided. Enter the lender code on PAWS and
re-accept the loan from the drop-down menu. The loan(s)
will show as accepted at the top of the PAWS screen.
In 2-3 business days, you will
receive an e-mail via your PAWS account from SallieMae,
which will be a link to your Master Promissory Note (MPN).
Your lender must have an MPN on file in order to
disburse your funds. By clicking the clicking the link in
the email, you will be directed to
SallieMae’s OpenNet website. If you are a
new OpenNet user, you will create a unique user ID and
password. You should retain this information with your
financial aid records. After you have logged in, click on
‘Loans in Process’ to complete and electronically sign your
MPN. If you experience technical difficulties on OpenNet,
contact SallieMae at (888)272-5543.
Your funds will not
disburse if you do not complete Entrance Counseling or the
MPN.
-
Returning Stafford loan borrowers:
In the boxes provided, indicate the amount(s) you wish to
borrow. If accepting the loan(s) for the academic year, the
loan(s) must be split equally between the semesters. Choose
‘Accept’ in the drop-down menu next to the loan amount, then
click ‘Process Update.’ The loan(s) will show as accepted
at the top of the PAWS screen.
Click here
to use a loan repayment calculator.
Note to Unsubsidized Stafford loan borrowers:
You may, if you wish, defer paying the interest that accrues on
your unsubsidized loan while you are in school by capitalizing
it. Capitalization adds the interest to the principal of the
loan, thereby increasing the size of the loan. Use this
Cost of Interest Capitalization Calculator to
compute an estimate of the accrued interest and the new loan
balance at the end of the deferment period. It also presents the
impact of capitalization on the total amount paid over the
lifetime of the loan. If possible, it is recommended that you
make interest payments while you are in school. You may request
your lender to send interest statements to you on your MPN or by
contacting them.
-
Federal PLUS loan
In the boxes provided, indicate the amount(s) the PLUS borrower
wishes to accept. If accepting the loan for the academic year,
it must be split equally between the semesters. Choose ‘Accept’
in the drop-down menu next to the loan amount, then click
‘Process Update.’ (If prompted to choose a lender: Select a
lender from the link provided, enter the lender code on PAWS,
and re-accept the loan from the drop-down menu.) The loan will
show as accepted at the top of the PAWS screen.
Accepting the PLUS loan on PAWS is
not the final step in the PLUS loan Process!!
Accepting the PLUS loan on PAWS informs LSU that the borrower
intends to complete the process and allows an anticipated credit
in the amount of the accepted loan to appear on the student’s
fee bill. Next, the borrower will complete a credit-preapproval
and sign a Master Promissory Note with a lender of his or her
choice on SallieMae’s OpenNet website.
Click here
for instructions and/or to apply.
Please be aware of the following deadlines for accepting loans:
For information on disbursement of funds and disbursement dates,
click here. |
