The Financial Aid Cycle

1. Create or Retrieve your Federal Student Aid Username and Password

The FSA ID username and password must be created in order to access the Federal Student Aid’s online system and electronically sign the FAFSA.

2. Complete the FAFSA

Submit the FAFSA at studentaid.gov by the Butler Priority Deadline each academic year.

3. Become Financial Aid Eligible

In some cases, families may be notified by Butler, the FAFSA Submission Summary, or by email that they have been selected for a process called verification. Verification is a federal requirement which requires Butler University to obtain documentation that supports information provided on the FAFSA.

4. Identify Special or Unusual Circumstances

If a student or family anticipates a significant loss of income after filing the FAFSA, the Office of Financial Aid can review the situation and determine if a formal review of financial aid is warranted.

5. Review and Accept the Financial Aid Offer

The Financial Aid Offer is a complete overview of the financial aid offered to students eligible to receive financial aid based on merit or need. Once review of the financial aid file is complete, students will be notified via their Butler email when the Financial Aid Offer is available to view online at my.butler.edu. Paper notifications are also sent to new incoming students.

6. Determine Cost

Once students receive their Financial Aid Offers they can begin to determine three key elements:
1. How much does my education cost?
2. How much financial aid can I receive?
3. Do I need any additional money to cover the costs?
There are additional financing options to help supplement the aid offered on the financial aid offer.

7. Financial Aid Disbursement

Financial aid will credit the Office of Student Account’s bill five days after the beginning of that semester’s classes. A payment plan is available for the fall and spring semesters, allowing students to make monthly payments each semester.

8. Maintain Your Financial Aid

Federal regulations require that all student financial aid recipients make satisfactory academic progress toward achieving a certificate or degree. Satisfactory Academic Process is measured by a minimum number of classes completed, a minimum GPA, and a maximum amount of time or credit hours to complete a degree.
In addition, many gift aid programs will require students to complete the FAFSA or maintain other renewal criteria. Please refer to your scholarship award letter to determine its specific renewal criteria.