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Cost & Financial Aid

Your Award Offer

Your Award Offer

Accepting Your Award

Grants and Scholarships: No action needed. It is assumed that all students who are offered this award desire them.

Federal and Private Loans - Accept or Decline: Follow the Loan Steps instructions here for offered loans. Please note that, in most cases, you only need to complete the steps one time only for Federal Direct Stafford loans at SAIC. You must reapply each year for Federal Direct PLUS and Private loans. New students MUST Accept (one time only) or Decline (each year that you submit a FAFSA) Federal Direct Stafford loan offers.

Declining or Reducing Awards

Students who want to reduce or decline some or all of their Federal Direct Stafford loan(s) and/or Federal Work-Study should email their request to Student Financial Services at saic.sfs@saic.edu from their SAIC email with instructions to reduce or decline the specific Federal Direct Stafford loan (subsidized and/or unsubsidized) and/or Federal Work-Study.

Reducing or declining a Federal Direct Stafford Loan or Federal Work-Study could allow for an increase in the amount of eligibility in another type of award such as Federal Direct Subsidized Stafford Loans, Federal Direct PLUS, Private Loans or Federal Work-Study. If the request is being done with the intent of increasing another type of award, please specify which loan type or Federal Work-Study. See your award offer and the annual financial aid award guide for more information.

You may wish to discuss this with your Student Financial Services Advisor for details before doing so. Student Financial Services does not mail award offers by post; only an automated email will be sent to all eligible continuing students to view their award in Self-Service. SAIC awards need-based aid, student loan and work-study offers to those students: 

New Students

Student Financial Services mails award offer packets to all new students who have:

  • Been admitted to SAIC
  • Completed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

Initial award offer packets are, generally, mailed eight to 10 business days after completion of the above items.

Continuing Students

Beginning with the 2019–20 award year, Student Financial Services will no longer mail award offers; only an automated email will be sent to all eligible continuing students. SAIC awards need-based aid, student loan and work-study offers to those students:

  • With a completed Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on file for the award year
  • If chosen for verification according to their FAFSA results, once the verification process has been completed

Previous borrowers of Federal Direct Stafford Loans who have been offered one of these loans again, as listed on their award offer, do not need to complete any additional steps to secure these loans; they are processed automatically.

Graduate students and parent borrowers of Federal Direct PLUS Loans must submit a new request at StudentAid.gov for each award year and for each Direct PLUS Loan desired.