Award Letter Overview and Acceptance Process

Your award letter is based on the financial information you provided on your FAFSA.

FAFSA Information Received is the data you input on your FAFSA form. You should check this information and make sure it is correct.

State of Legal Residence: Will determine in or out-of-state tuition status

Student Level: Are you a freshman, sophomore, junior or senior

Freshman	0-25.5 accumulated credit hours
Sophomore	26-56 accumulated credit hours
Junior	56.5-89.5 accumulated credit hours
Senior	90-124 accumulated credit hours

Living Arrangements: Where you plan to live while enrolled.

Enrollment Status: Full time, 3/4 time, half time

Estimated College Expenses is an overall look at SUNY Cortland’s costs. These are estimated costs.

• The bill will consist of tuition and fees, and room and board
• If you are not living on campus, you will not be billed for a room.
• If you are not living on campus, you may still have a meal plan, in which case you will be billed for your chosen plan.
• Books, supplies, average Stafford loan fees and miscellaneous expenses are included so that you are able to plan for these expenses.

Financial Aid Available for College Expenses is the amount of aid you have been awarded.

• Additional requirements may be necessary to secure the aid offered. For instance, certain grants require additional electronic signatures. Stafford and Perkins loans require signed promissory notes before payment will occur.
• Federal Work-Study awards should be looked at as potential income. It will not be reflected as a credit against the bill.

Example

Stafford loan(s) This is a gross amount that may be less based on origination fees.	$  5,500
Pell Grant	$  2,000
SEOG	$     200
TAP	$  2,700
Federal Work Study	$  1,500
Total Aid	$11,900
Minus the Work Study, which is potential income and will not reduce your bill	($1,500)
Aid that may be credited against bill	$10,400

The billed cost of $14,800 minus $10,400 leaves $4,400 that is still needed to cover the bill.

You may be able to borrow or finance the $4,400 needed to cover the yearly bill or you can borrow up to the total cost of attendance, which allows you to borrow funds for books, supplies and miscellaneous costs.

With total estimated college expenses of $17,900 minus total aid of $11,900 that leaves $6,000 that could be financed.

Additional Financing Options

There are many options for families to finance any remaining balance after traditional financial aid. Some of these options are better than others. It is important to be an educated consumer of education loans or you could end up paying exorbitant interest rates and fees. We strongly recommend that you thoroughly research your options before borrowing and that you avoid the loan programs you may see advertised on television or the Web. 

 Additional Funding Opportunities and Private Loans

Accepting Your Financial Aid Package

Accept or Decline the Award Package. Award letters can be viewed on myRedDragon. On the award letter page, you will find options to view satisfactory academic progress requirements, eligibility requirements and frequently asked questions. You can view your estimated college expenses/budget and what financial aid is being offered.

You are required to accept or decline your award package. It is strongly suggested that you carefully read the electronic certification and award letter and print both for your records. If you have questions regarding your award package, you should contact your advisor in the Financial Advisement Office.

After completing this requirement, you should return to the Financial Aid Status page and complete any other outstanding requirements.

Students are required to accept or decline their financial aid award package each academic year.

Complete an Entrance Interview

If you have never taken out a federal student loan, you will need to complete an entrance interview to ensure that you understand your rights and responsibilities as a borrower.

From the Financial Aid Status page, simply select the “Entrance Interview” option. Then select the “Begin Interview” button, read the text and take the simple quiz to determine your understanding of student loans. The quiz provides a prompt for any question answered incorrectly and gives you another chance to correct it.

Once you have successfully completed the interview, you will automatically be taken to the “Transaction Completed” page. This confirms that your account has been updated. Return to the Financial Aid Status page to complete any other outstanding requirements.

Federal Work Study

If you have been awarded Federal Work Study (FWS) you will see further requirements on the Financial Aid Status page once you have accepted FWS as part of your award package. The Financial Aid Status page will prompt you to choose your first 3 preferences for your Work Study job assignment. Job preferences are date stamped and are assigned in the order that they were posted, so please make sure to satisfy this requirement as soon as you can. 

There is also a Work Study Rights and Responsibilities contract that must be accepted as an understanding of your rights and obligation to the job you have been assigned. 

In order to begin your assigned job, you must contact your assigned supervisor and complete the required I-9 and W-4 for payroll.  For the I-9, you are required to provide proof that you are eligible to work, which requires a photo ID and proof of citizenship. This could be a U.S. Passport or a driver’s license/ID and your original Social Security card or a certified copy of your birth certificate. Please bring the required forms of ID to the Financial Advisement Office during orientation or the first week of classes.

Perkins Loan

If you have been awarded and you accept a Perkins Loan, then you will have follow up requirements that are not immediately available to satisfy, but will be added to your Financial Aid Status page at a later time. You will be notified via myRedDragon once those requirements are available for you to satisfy.

Each year Perkins is awarded, a cumulative borrowing repayment agreement must be accepted and is called the Perkins Rights and Responsibilities Truth in Lending Statement.

Perkins Loan borrowers must complete online entrance counseling and e-sign a Perkins Loan MPN with the Student Loan Service Center.

SUNY Cortland Scholarship Requirements

If you are receiving a SUNY Cortland Scholarship, you will have an additional requirement asking you to write a thank you letter to your scholarship sponsor.  If the scholarship you are receiving is a yearly award you will be required to write a letter each year you receive the funds.

TEACH Grant/Loan Requirements

Be aware that TEACH awards are estimates and not actual funding until your award is authorized.  Authorization takes place in August when we have received final transcripts.  Incoming freshmen are required to have a 87.5 high school GPA and an 1180 SAT score.  Incoming transfer students are required to have a cumulative 3.25 GPA combined from all their previous colleges.  Continuing students are required to have a 3.25 cumulative gpa.  If you meet the qualification and are authorized for a TEACH Grant/Loan, the Financial Aid Status Page will prompt you to complete two additional requirements once your award moves from “estimated” to “actual” (the TEACH Grant/Loan counseling and a TEACH Grant/Loan Agreement to Serve).  These requirements notify the student of the policies, procedures and obligations that they are agreeing to by accepting a TEACH Grant/Loan. 

Completing a Master Promissory Note

If you have never borrowed under the student loan program at SUNY Cortland, you will need to complete and electronically sign a Master Promissory Note (MPN.)  Completing and e-signing your Stafford Loan Master Promissory Note is a quick and easy online process utilizing the American Student Assistance  (SUNY Cortland’s loan guarantee agency) Web site. American Student Assistance (ASA) offers a “borrower (student) initiated” process that allows you to not only chose your student loan lender but also complete and legally sign your Stafford Loan MPN online.

After you navigate to the American Student Assistance Web site at www.amsa.com/, you should register/log in as a new student. You will need your four-digit FAFSA Federal PIN number in order to complete this process. Remember you are assigning a userID and password to this site, so you should copy it down and keep it in a safe place just in case you need to log back in for any reason. As you navigate through the MPN process, you will be asked to select a student loan lender. A lender is a bank or other financial institution that provides the money for your student loan. You are not receiving your funds from American Student Assistance. There are more than 30 lenders available to choose from on the list at ASA. However, if you wish to choose a lender that is not already listed on the ASA Web site or if you have questions concerning the process, please contact the Financial Advisement Office at (607) 753-4717 or e-mail finaid@cortland.edu and we will assist you.

Acceptance Certificate

This is a form that you sign and agree to on your myRedDragon account that covers policies and regulations.  When you sign the form you are certifying that you have read and understand your financial aid package and the rules and regulations governing the types of aid you have received. 

Sample Acceptance Certificate 

By electronically accepting this certificate, I certify that:

I have read my Financial Aid Award Letter and certify that all of the information in the first paragraph is accurate, or I have notified the Financial Advisement Office of any inaccuracies.

I also understand that the award letter is an estimate and may be adjusted if any other funds are received or if any updated information is received in regards to my eligibility for grants, loans, scholarships and/or other aid. If such changes occur, I will be able to view them immediately through myRedDragon account.

I understand that any amount listed for the New York State TAP Program is an estimate provided by the College for my convenience. To receive TAP, I must complete an Express TAP Application from New York State Higher Education Services Corporation (NYSHESC). NYSHESC will determine actual TAP awards and send me a separate award notice.

I also understand that I must be taking at least 12 credit hours of new classes each semester in order to receive TAP.

I understand that in order to receive most financial aid, including student loans, I must be accepted into and pursue a bachelor's or master's degree program or an approved post-master's program (C.A.S.).

I understand that I must attend at least six credit hours each semester in order to be eligible to receive financial aid, including loans.

I understand that I must declare a major by the end of my sophomore year, prior to 56.5 cumulative credit hours, to continue to receive state and federal Aid, including loans.

I understand that the courses I take must be required for my degree program.

I understand that I must continue to make satisfactory academic progress as defined in the SUNY Cortland academic catalog in order to maintain financial aid eligibility.

I also understand that if I am a first-time borrower under the student loan program, I am required to complete an online entrance interview before loan proceeds can be disbursed. I can complete this function from the Financial Aid Status page in myRedDragon.

I understand that in order to receive a student loan I am required to complete a Master Promissory Note (MPN). If I received a Stafford Student Loan at SUNY Cortland in prior years, I may have already filled out an MPN and will not get a new one this year. The loan amounts listed on my award letter will be processed automatically on my behalf unless I decline my loans or request a reduction by contacting the Financial Advisement Office.

I also understand that I must complete all outstanding requirements listed under the financial aid status section of myRedDragon account before any financial aid proceeds can be disbursed or used as a memo/credit on my billing statement.

I understand that if my parents are interested in taking out a Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS), they can apply online by visiting the Financial Advisement Web site at www.cortland.edu/finadv  and selecting “Funding Opportunities”, “Federal Loans”, “Federal Parent Plus Loans”, or by calling ASA at (800) 999-9080.

I also understand that if I drop or withdraw from any courses during the semester part or all of my financial aid, including loans, may need to be canceled.

If my financial aid package includes Federal Title IV Student Aid, including Pell Grants, Academic Competitiveness Grants, SMART Grants, SEOG, Perkins Loans, TEACH Grant/Loan, Stafford Student Loans, Graduate Plus or Federal PLUS Loans, I authorize SUNY Cortland’s Student Accounts Office to use the proceeds from those programs to pay any institutional or non-institutional charges applied to my student account. I have the right to rescind this authorization at any time by filing a written request with the Director of Student Accounting.

I understand that SUNY Cortland recommends that I print this page and save a copy for my records.