Financial Aid

• Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
  • Go to https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsaYou will need an FSA Account to electronically sign your FAFSA and give consent to have your federal tax information (FTI) imported into your FAFSA form.
  • If you are a dependent student, your parent or guardian will also have to create an FSA account to electronically sign your FAFSA and give consent to have their FTI imported into your FAFSA.
• Complete the NEO Scholarship Application
  • NEO offers many academic scholarships to help students pay the cost of attending NEO. Click here to apply for scholarships.
  • NEO also offers athletic and activity scholarships.  Contact the departments directly to try out or audition.

When should I apply?

• The FAFSA usually opens October 1 each year for the following academic year. 
• The 2024-2025 FAFSA will not be available until late December 2023 because of major changes to the form.
• The NEO Scholarship Application is usually available beginning in December for the following academic year. 
• The deadline to apply for academic and foundation scholarships is April 1.

What happens after I apply?

• You will receive a confirmation email from the US Department of Education after you have completed the FAFSA form.
• Once NEO receives your FAFSA application, we will email information to your NEO email address about your next steps.
• Some students may be required to turn in other documents for NEO to determine their eligibility for federal aid.
• All required documents needed are listed on the Home tab of financial aid self-service under Student Requirements.
• To access Self-Service, go to https://my.neo.edu and sign in with your GoldKey username and password.
  • Click on Self-Service,
  • Click on Financial Aid

Once NEO has processed your FAFSA application, we will send an Award Notification email to your NEO email address. This email will direct you to the student portal to view your Award Offer.

• To view your Award Offer, go to https://my.neo.edu and sign in
• Click on Self-Service
• Click on Financial Aid
• Click on Award Offer

The Award Offer page will show your offered awards for the year as well as other information about your financial aid.

• The aid on the Award Offer page reflects the best offer of aid from NEO at the time the aid was awarded.

Changes in eligibility and new aid received may affect your initial awards.

• Grants and scholarships are automatically accepted for you.
  • Oklahoma’s Promise scholarship and Oklahoma Tuition Aid Grant (OTAG) will show Estimated until the state of Oklahoma sends the funds to NEO.
  • Once NEO has received the funds, we will automatically accept the awards for you.
• If you have been offered federal student loans, you must accept or decline them using the drop-down menu under Take Action.

• You may accept a partial amount of your student loans by selecting Modify under the Take Action menu.
• If the student loan is offered for both fall and spring, the amount you accept will be divided equally between both semesters.
• You must accept all of a Subsidized student loan before you can accept an Unsubsidized loan.
• First-time student loan borrowers must complete Loan Entrance Counseling and sign an electronic Master Promissory Note (MPN) on studentaid.gov before NEO can disburse their loans.
  • Sign in to your FSA account at https://studentaid.govClick on Loans and Grants
    • Click on Master Promissory NoteClick on Loan Entrance Counseling
    First-time borrowers must also wait 30 days before the first disbursement of their student loans.
  • Failure to complete an MPN or Loan Entrance Counseling will delay the disbursement of your loans.
• Once you have accepted, declined, or modified your loans, scroll to the bottom of the page and click Submit.
• The Terms and Conditions of your aid will pop up once you click the Submit button.
  • Carefully review the information in the Terms and Conditions pop-up. It contains important information about your financial aid.
  • Click Accept Award after you have reviewed the Terms and Conditions.

Financial aid is paid, or disbursed, every Monday beginning the fourth week of the 16-week fall and spring semesters.

Aid for eight-week semesters is usually paid the third week of class.

Disbursement pays your bill, not your bank account

• If your financial aid is more than your charges for the semester, you will receive a refund.
• Refunds are processed by the NEO Business Office, not the Financial Aid Office.
• Disbursement and refunds are a multi-step process and take more than one day to complete.
• Financial aid is disbursed based on the hours you are attending at the time the aid is disbursed.
• Aid for second eight-week classes will show as pending until those classes have started.

For more information about billing and refunds, click here.

Many different circumstances may require NEO to adjust your financial aid after the initial offer.

• Enrollment changes before the semester begins
• Enrollment changes during the drop/add period
• Receiving other aid
• Being reported by an instructor as a no-show
• Withdrawing from all your classes after the drop/add period

All financial aid from all sources cannot exceed a student’s Cost of Attendance (COA), especially federal student loans.

• 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 or semester, 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)
    • dependent care expenses (indirect)

• Your COA is used to determine your eligibility for need-based financial aid, such as federal and state grants and subsidized student loans.
  • Very few students pay the full COA because most receive some type of financial aid.COA is an estimate. Your actual cost may be different.
  • Your COA is adjusted each semester depending on your enrolled hours.