FINANCIAL AID SYLLABUS
In all your courses, an instructor will give you a syllabus on the first day of class. It will tell you what is required in the course, when assignments are due, and when tests will be given. If you turn in your assignments on time and do well on the tests, you should get a decent grade in the course.
If you do not read the course syllabus, you will not know when assignments are due or when tests will be given. If you never turn in any assignments or take any tests, you will fail the course.
This information is just like a syllabus. It outlines what you need to do and when you need to do it to successfully complete the financial aid process.
DATES AND DEADLINES
When should I fill out the FAFSA?
The FAFSA application is available on October 1 every year
You can fill out the 2023-2024 FAFSA any time between October 1, 2022, and June 30, 2024
| For student loans, the 23-24 FAFSA covers: | For student loans the 24-25 FAFSA covers: |
| Fall 2023 | Fall 2024 |
| Spring 2024 | Spring 2025 |
| Summer 2024 | Summer 2025* |
*If you borrow the maximum loans in the fall and spring, you will not be eligible for more loans in summer unless you have changed grade level from freshman to sophomore.
If you want your financial aid to help pay for any semester, you need to have everything completed BEFORE the semester begins.
If you miss any of the deadlines below, you may still submit a FAFSA, but payment of your aid may be delayed.
To avoid problems and delays, make sure your FAFSA and all required documents are submitted by the following dates:
Fall Semester – July 1
Spring Semester – November 1
Summer Semester – April 1
What happens after I fill out a FAFSA?
NEO should receive an electronic copy of your FAFSA application about a week after it is submitted.
Once we receive your application, we will send an email to your NEO EMAIL ADDRESS.
- The email will have instructions on what you should do next.
- If you do not receive an email from the NEO Office of Financial Aid within two weeks of submitting your FAFSA, call the office at 918-540-6235.
- Check your NEO EMAIL ADDRESS regularly, or you will miss vital information.
It is a digital world,
All communication from the Office of Financial Aid will be sent to your NEO EMAIL ADDRESS
STUDENT PORTAL
The student portal is located at https://my.neo.edu
Get familiar with the Student Portal as soon as you have been notified by the admissions office that you have been admitted to NEO. It contains valuable information you will need to know.
FINANCIAL AID SELF SERVICE
Financial aid self-service is where you can find all the information about your financial aid, including required documents, award amounts and more.
To access financial aid self-service, sign on to the student portal at https://my.neo.edu.
Click on SELF-SERVICE and then on FINANCIAL AID
Financial Aid Self-service is where you can view all the information about your financial aid, including:
Student Requirements
Award Offer
Financial Aid History
Resources
Notifications
Satisfactory Academic Progress
College Financing Plan
MISSING INFORMATION
Once NEO receives your FAFSA application it is reviewed. Some applicants will have to turn in additional documents to have their aid processed. All required documents are listed on the Home page of Financial Aid Self-Service under Student Requirements. You will receive an email to your NEO EMAIL ADDRESS with instructions on how to view and download any required documents.
Your aid cannot be processed until all required documents have been received and reviewed.
Turn in all required documents as soon as possible to avoid delays in processing your aid. You can securely upload required documents through Financial Aid Self-Service on the Student Portal. For a brief video demonstration of how to upload documents click HERE. You can also mail, fax or hand deliver documents.
AWARD NOTIFICATION
Once NEO has received and reviewed all required documents, we will send an Award Notification email to your NEO EMAIL ADDRESS.
Your Award Notification email will tell you to sign on to Financial Aid Self-Service on the Student Portal. To view your awards, click on the Award Offer tab. The Award Offer tab also lists your Cost of Attendance (COA).
The COA is NOT what you will be charged to attend NEO.
The cost of attendance is the average estimated cost for a full-time student to attend school for a full year.
It includes direct costs, (items you will be billed for) and indirect costs (items you will NOT be billed for). Your actual cost may be different. It is just an estimate.
All grants and scholarships will automatically be accepted for you.
If you have been offered student loans you can accept or decline them on the Award Offer tab.
Loans not accepted after the last day of class in a semester will be canceled and cannot be re-offered for that semester.
First-time borrowers must wait thirty (30) days before their student loans can be disbursed.
First-time borrowers must complete Loan Entrance Counseling and sign a Master Promissory Note before their loans can be disbursed.
Loan Entrance Counseling and the Master Promissory Note are completed electronically at https://studentaid.gov
BUYING YOUR BOOKS
You can charge your books to your financial aid before a semester begins and during the drop/add period. After the drop/add period, books can no longer be charged and must be purchased. If you are an online student, contact the NEO Bookstore before the semester begins about the process to receive your books.
DISBURSEMENT OF AID
Financial aid is credited to your student account, or disbursed, approximately one week after the end of the drop/add period each semester if all requirements for disbursement are complete.
Disbursement pays your bill, not your bank account
If your aid is more than your charges, the NEO Business office will issue a refund either through direct deposit (if you have set it up online) or by mailing you a paper check.
Refunding a credit balance is a process, so your refund will not be issued on the same day as your disbursement.
A refund is generally available two or three days after the funds have been credited to your student account, however, it may take longer during peak processing times.
Contact the NEO Business Office about refunds.
The Financial Aid Office does not process refunds.
If there is an outstanding balance after your aid has been disbursed, you are responsible for paying that balance before the end of the semester. If you fail to pay your balance in full, you will not be able to enroll in the next semester. The NEO Business Office offers a payment plan. Click HERE for more information about the payment plan.
You can view your student account information on the Student Portal under My Online Billing.
A paper bill is not mailed to your home address. You will receive an email to your NEO EMAIL ADDRESS from the NEO Business Office that will tell you to look up your billing information on My Online Billing.
HOW AID IS DISBURSED
Financial aid is awarded based on your enrolled hours but disbursed based on your attending hours. For example:
In this example, a student is enrolled in 12 total hours, but only 6 hours begin the first 8 weeks. On the date of the first disbursement, this student is only attending 6 hours, so only $1000 of her $2000 Pell Grant can be paid.
Once the second 8 weeks begin, the student is now attending 12 hours and the remaining $1000 can be disbursed.
Student loans are a little different. To receive a loan disbursement a student must be attending six hours on the date of disbursement.
In the example above this student would receive her loan disbursement at the same time as the first half of her Pell disbursement because she is attending 6 hours.
If the student above was only attending 3 hours at the beginning of the semester, her loans would not pay because she is not attending at least 6 hours.
AWARD ADJUSTMENTS
Your student loans may have to be reduced if you receive additional financial aid from NEO or another source after your loans have been offered or accepted.
Federal regulations do not allow student loans to exceed your Cost of Attendance (COA).
- Your COA is listed on the Award Offer page on Financial Aid Self-Service.
- COA is not what you will be charged to attend NEO.COA is an estimate of the average student’s direct and indirect costs for one year including:
- tuition and fees (direct)housing and food (direct, if you live on campus, otherwise indirect)books and supplies (direct)transportation (indirect)loan fees (direct if you accept loans)miscellaneous personal expenses (indirect)
- COA is an estimate. Your actual cost may be different.
- COA is not what you will be charged to attend NEO.COA is an estimate of the average student’s direct and indirect costs for one year including: