Students who are new to UW-Whitewater will receive a paper award letter, and continuing students will receive an email. All students can view their aid on WINS once the award notification has been mailed or emailed. Before that time, WINS will say the award is not available. Awards for the upcoming academic year are sent beginning February 1.
For a printable version of important Award Letter information, please review the appropriate aid year's brochure below:
Review all of the award offer carefully to understand the Cost of Attendance and types of aid offered. The deadline to accept the award is May 1. You may lose out on some funding if your award is not accepted prior to May 1. Accepted awards can be declined at a later date for students who change their mind.
We typically award your financial aid for fall and spring, assuming full-time enrollment (12 or more credits per term for undergraduate students and 9 or more credits per term for graduate students). You must email the Financial Aid Office regarding any award details which are incorrect. This includes:
Please include your ID# in all communications!
Federal financial aid (Pell Grant, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, and all Federal Direct Loan programs) will automatically pay for current tuition, fees, housing, and meal plan costs. In order for federal financial aid to pay other costs such as bookstore charges, library fines, healthcare charges, weight room pass, parking pass, etc, students can provide permission to the university. If you did not complete this while accepting your award and would like to do so, log into WINS, select the Financial Aid tile from Student Home, and click on Student Permission. If a student wishes to rescind this authorization, they must contact the Student Accounts Office at (262)472-1373. Federal financial aid cannot pay finance charges or payment plan fees even with permission.
After reviewing the award letter, if you have remaining costs, this can be met in a variety of ways. Parents may borrow the PLUS Loan or students may borrow a Private Loan with a credit-worthy cosigner. These loans require separate applications completed by the borrower.
The Financial Aid Office also encourages students to review the payment plan offered by the university. Payment plan due dates for the current semester are published by the Student Accounts Office.
Any outside assistance could affect financial aid eligibility. Students are required to report any sources of aid you will receive which are not included in your award package such as private scholarships, DVR, employer paid tuition, Resident Assistant benefits, tuition waivers, or other sources of aid. Please submit a Scholarship Form to the Financial Aid Office. If you learn of other resources at a later date, please submit a a form at that time.
If you wish to allow the Financial Aid Office to discuss your financial aid with your parents, guardian, or spouse, please authorize the Release of Information by logging in to WINS, going to Student Home, selecting the Financial Aid tile, and then clicking Release Financial Aid Info. Conditional releases, restricting the release of information to a specific individual, need to be submitted in writing to the Financial Aid Office.
When you accept your award, you agree that you understand the following important information:
If your family's financial situation has changed, you may want to discuss this with your financial aid administrator to determine if this changes your eligibility for financial aid.