How Your Aid Is Awarded

The Financial Aid Award process

Before the Financial Aid Office can calculate your aid, it must first figure your budget (Also known as your Cost of Attendance  COA).   The COA covers all your costs per year, from tuition and fees to books to food, transportation and any other costs you could have during the year.  This helps determine the maximum amount of aid you can receive for the academic year.

Calculating Your Budget (Cost of Attendance)

Your budget is based on several factors, including how many classes you're taking, if you're enrolled full year or half year, etc.  Each year, we survey current students on their costs for the current academic year. The results are averaged,  adjusted for inflation and then used to calculate a student's financial need for the academic year.

You won't be billed for the items on your Cost of Attendance, except for your tuition and fees and, if you live on campus, housing. The other categories on your COA helps the financial aid office account for other costs you will have during the year and how much financial aid you may need to cover those costs.

Your Cost of Attendance is broken down into five categories:

• Tuition and Fees
  • Tuition and fees are an estimate, based on your expected enrollment (as entered on your FAFSA) for Fall and Spring semesters.
• Room & Board
  • The cost for housing, whether on campus, off campus, or with parents.  This is an estimate based your expected living arrangements (as indicated on your FAFSA).  Students who will live with parents can expect that their Room & Board costs will be lower than students who will live on campus or off campus.
• Books & Supplies
  • The estimated costs for books and other supplies.  This category is for typical supplies that students expect to have; such as notebooks, pens, computer paper, etc.  Students can also request a one-time adjustment to their Cost of Attendance if they need to purchase a computer. 
• Travel
  • Your cost for travel between your residence and school.  If you live on campus, your travel is based on the distance between your permanent residence and school. Also, if you are enrolled only in Distance Ed (internet) courses, your Cost of Attendance will not include travel expenses.
• Miscellaneous Expenses
  • This includes items such as clothing, laundry, entertainment, etc, that you will have to pay, but are not covered in the other categories. 

Below you will find an example of a COA breakdown as it is seen on myIPFW. Once you are awarded, you will be able to view yours on myIPFW.

Using the above example, the student's budget is $24,725. That is the maximum amount that the student can receive in financial aid for the academic year.

Once your Cost of Attendance is figured, we award your financial aid, using the Cost of Attendance figure as the maximum amount of financial aid (grants, loans, and scholarships combined) that you can receive during an academic period.

For more information, you can view full Cost of Attendance figures for undergraduate students and graduate students.

Accepting Your Awards

All students must read and accept the Financial Aid Terms and Conditions on myIPFW each year before any financial aid awards can be accepted.  

Note: This webpage is not myIPFW.  To reach myIPFW, you will have to open another browser and enter the myIPFW address in the address bar, or click on the yellow myIPFW in the upper right hand corner of this page to access myIPFW. 

It is recommended that you print out these instructions and have them close by while you complete these steps.

Step 1: myIPFW

1. Log in to http://my.ipfw.edu
2. In the Username field, type your myIPFW user name
3. In the Password field, type your password. 
4. Click the Sign On Button.

Step 2: Accept Or Decline Terms & Conditions

1. Once you have logged in, click on the Enrollment tab
2. In the Financial Aid box in the center of the page, click “View and Accept My Financial Aid Award"
3. Choose the academic year from the drop down box and click the submit button
4. Click on the Terms and Conditions tab
5. Click the link that says "Click here to read the Terms & Conditions" (opens in a new window)
6. Once you have read the Terms and Conditions, close the Terms and Conditions page and return to the myIPFW page.
7. Click the Accept or Decline Button. If you decline the Terms and Conditions, you will not receive any federal or state financial aid.

Step 3: Accept your Financial Aid Awards

1. Click the Accept Award Offer tab
2. Use the drop down boxes to accept or decline your loans
3. If you only need part of your loan, enter the amount in the Partial Amount box.  Note: The amount you enter in the Partial Amount box will be split between Fall and Spring semesters.  Therefore, if you need $2000 for Fall, enter $4000 in the Partial Amount box.
4. Click the submit button.

View an illustrated tutorial to help you accept the Terms and Conditions and your financial aid awards.