Financial Aid Policies Governing the Administration of Awards

•Applicants must be accepted for regular admission to Middle Georgia State University before financial aid funds can be awarded.  
Applicants for financial aid must be enrolled at the University before financial aid funds can be applied to institutional charges. Applicants must take courses applicable to their program of study. 
Enrollment hours at the university are locked at a designated census date each semester to ensure proper reporting of enrollment and accuracy of aid awarded. Students must register for all courses in that semester before the census date to have pro-rated aid adjusted. Coursework added after this date will not be eligible for an adjustment/increase of the student’s award.  
Federal Student Loan recipients in graduate programs must enroll and maintain an enrollment of at least 4.5 or more semester hours to be considered half-time. Full time has been designated as 9 semester hours. 

Students enrolled in Graduate Certificate programs which require less than one academic year to complete are not eligible to receive federal student loans. 

Payment of Awards: Eligible financial aid awards are authorized to the student's Middle Georgia State University account each semester after registering. Students may use these funds to pay institutional charges, i.e. tuition, fees, housing, food and book charges. Student financial aid funds which remain after all MGA obligations have been satisfied are disbursed through Bank Mobile or whichever method the student has chosen.  Generally, funds are disbursed three weeks after the end of drop-add and weekly thereafter. The initial refund date will be published each semester.  
Federal Financial Aid regulations require students to begin attendance to be eligible. Therefore, students reported as "no shows" will have their aid adjusted accordingly.  
Ordinarily, financial assistance is awarded for two semesters of the regular academic year. Summer semester will be treated separately from the regular academic year. 
Financial Aid awards are made for Fall and Spring semesters. If a student intends to begin in Spring or Summer semesters, they should notify the Office of Financial Aid so that their award may be adjusted to complement their enrollment.  
Students in default or overpayment on Federal or State Student aid Programs or a Scholarship program will not be considered for any financial aid program at Middle Georgia State University unless the default or overpayment has been satisfied.