What things should I know about the federal title IV financial aid process?
The Student Finance Department cannot award federal financial aid to an eligible student until the student has been admitted to degree program and has completed required documents. The FAFSA, Trident financial aid application, and any required verification documents enables Trident to develop a financial aid package based on your eligibility for federal financial aid and expected contributions from other sources. Trident encourages students to utilize the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data retrieval tool when completing the FAFSA. The information provided on the application is compared to other documents presented to the Financial Aid Advisor. It is imperative that students submit all documentation timely and provide accurate information or corrections may need to be submitted to the Department of Education for processing and may delay the awarding and disbursement of federal financial aid funds.
Receiving an award letter verifies a student’s Title IV grant will be processed and/or Title IV loans will be certified. If you need assistance in understanding your award letter, please refer to the sample award letters below:
Note that funds will not be received until it is determined the student is meeting satisfactory academic progress and module 1 has been completed. In addition to those requirements, if a student is a first-time federal student loan borrower, the loan funds will not disburse until the student has been in attendance for 30 days. Students who are receiving federal student loan funds (not Pell Grants) will receive an Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) Notification via email from the Bursar’s Office when loan funds are received notifying them of the loan amount disbursed and other pertinent information.
