You have filed the FAFSA and Online EVMS Financial Aid Application, but what happens now? Based on your program and cohort, we review the financial aid application materials, checking for completeness and accuracy. You will receive an email confirming receipt of any document received by EVMS Financial Aid. A more careful review follows, which might generate another email if there is anything missing or needing clarification.
If you receive an email from us, it is important that you respond as quickly as possible with the needed information.
Financial Aid Award Notice
Approximately 30 days before the beginning of your program/cohort’s academic year, an award notice will be posted to your EVMS Online Financial Aid System. Financial Aid will email you through your FAFSA and EVMS email advising you to go online to review and accept, reduce or decline each award. Please review your email and awards tab carefully, calculate how much funding you will need for the year and submit your response. Your award notice contains:
- the program/cohort cost of attendance on which your award was based,
- your expected family contribution as determined by your FAFSA,
- a breakdown of the types of available aid,
- an opportunity to accept, reduce or decline one or more of your loans,
- instructions on how to complete the loan process and
- dates by which the loan process must be completed.
Once you have submitted your response online, if you wish to make further changes, you must do so with a federal direct loan change form. You may visit your disbursements tab to see scheduled and actual disbursement dates (when funds are released). Contact EVMS Financial Aid with any questions by phone at 757.446.5804 or by email at finaid@evms.edu.
Calculating How Much You Need
Your award notice lists your financial aid up to your cost of attendance, including maximum education loans available. Can you reduce this amount? Of course. You should always reduce your loans as much as possible.
- Review the direct costs for your program (those actually paid to EVMS).
- Add living expenses, including books and supplies. Create a monthly budget. How much can you trim? Consider what you will need versus what you want.
- Deduct your other resources (not just financial aid): family support, savings, employer contribution. Include those in your calculation.
- Deduct financial aid, most favorable first. Remember all aid is disbursed equally by number of terms in the academic year.
- Grants or scholarships, if offered
- You are required by federal regulation to notify EVMS Financial Aid of all outside scholarships.
- Institutional loans, if offered and accepted
- Remember to allow for origination fees of 1.059% for Unsubsidized Loans and 4.236% for Graduate Plus Loans for loans first disbursed after October 1, 2019.
- Before the beginning of the academic year, you must visit your EVMS Online Financial Aid System to accept, reduce or decline aid prior to the beginning of the term. After your initial online action, to change your loan you must use a loan decrease or increase form.
If your calculation is greater than the Grad PLUS listed, you need to revisit your budget and trim expenses. Your educational funds are to pay for:
- direct costs (tuition and fees)
- basic room and board expenses for the student
- transportation expenses for the student’s educational purposes
- books and supplies
Education funds will not cover all your expenses (i.e., expenses for other members of your household, car loans, credit card payments, etc.) If you are still short of funds, explore guidelines for a budget increase or adjustment to your cost of attendance. You may qualify for an increase for an authorized expense (i.e., computer purchase, dependent child care expenses while enrolled, etc.)
If you need assistance, email finaid@evms.edu for assistance.
Completing the Loan Process
Review your award notice online, plan your budget for the year, calculate how much funding you need and return to the EVMS Online Financial Aid System to accept, reduce or decline your loan(s). If accepting loans, you must complete the loan process.
Some steps you will do once for each type of loan, others must be repeated every year.
For federal Direct Unsubsidized or Direct Grad PLUS loans, go online using your FAFSA FSA ID.
- Complete entrance loan counseling* for each type of loan.
- Complete a Grad PLUS Loan Request (performs credit check) annually.
- Be sure to request the maximum on the request and control actual disbursement by the award acceptance process.
- Complete the master promissory note* for each type loan.
- Review loan disclosures provided on each loan by the federal processor.
- Take advantage of financial awareness counseling at studentaid.gov or at AAMC FIRST.
*These tasks only need to be completed once for each type of loan.
If you have completed the loan process, federal direct loans will be released by EVMS Financial Aid on the first day of the term for origination and disbursement with the federal processor. Prior to disbursement, your enrollment status and satisfactory academic standing must be confirmed. Financial Services pulls the funds from the federal processor and disburses to your student account.
For Private EVMS Loans
- University Accounting Services (Sign My Loan) will notify you when your loan record has been prepared.
- Complete entrance counseling for each loan.
- Complete a master promissory note for each loan.
- Complete a self-certification form for each private loan.
- Review all loan disclosure forms.
- Notify Financial Aid in writing if you wish to decline a private EVMS loan after your initial online submission.
Private EVMS loans and Title VII (HRSA) must originate and be held for the right of rescission period (time in which you could cancel) prior to disbursement to your student account.
Learn more about completing the financial aid process through Studentaid.gov or through University Accounting Service (Sign My Loan).
Disbursement Process and Dates
EVMS Financial Aid releases funds to Financial Services on or after the first day of each term. Dates vary by program delivery mode.
For programs delivered entirely via classroom, funds are released beginning on the first class day of each term. Funds are released based on students’ completing initial matriculation requirements and continuing eligibility for aid, including enrollment level and satisfactory academic progress. Some funds may not release as of the first day.
For programs which may be delivered entirely via distance or a hybrid of distance and classroom, aid will be released on the eighth day of the term (or on the next business day). Funds are released based on students’ completing initial matriculation requirements and continuing eligibility for aid, including enrollment level and satisfactory academic progress. Some funds may not release on the same day.
All aid is released initially in as close to equal amounts as possible over the academic year to your student tuition account.
All students may review their financial aid disbursement schedule and actual status on the disbursements tab of their EVMS Online Financial Aid System.
Once Financial Services applies any payments or financial aid funds to a student’s account, a refund process is run within 24 to 48 hours. If the student has signed up for direct deposit with Financial Services, any excess funds will usually be in their personal bank account within 48 to 72 hours of that process. Note that the insurance waiver process is completed at the end of the waiver period. If the student waives health insurance, that charge will not be removed by Financial Services until that date. A subsequent refund may occur to the student after that date.
Your Right to Cancel
You have the right to cancel your loans in whole or in part. EVMS requires active acceptance of your loans via the EVMS Online Financial Aid System. You may accept, reduce or decline your loans there. Once you have initially submitted your response to your awards notice, you must take other steps to reduce or cancel your aid.
William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Programs include both Direct Unsubsidized and Direct Graduate PLUS Loans.
Canceling Your Direct Unsubsidized Loan
Before your loan money is disbursed, you may cancel all or part of your loan at any time by notifying EVMS Financial Aid in writing using a loan reduction form.
After your loan money is disbursed, there are two ways to cancel all or part of your loan:
- If your school obtains your written confirmation of the types and amounts of Title IV loans that you want to receive for an award year before crediting loan money to your account at the school, you may tell the school that you want to cancel all or part of that loan within 14 days after the date the school notifies you of your right to cancel all or part of the loan, or by the first day of your school’s payment period, whichever is later (your school can tell you the first day of the payment period). If the school does not obtain your written confirmation of the types and amounts of loans you want to receive before crediting the loan money to your account, you may cancel all or part of that loan by informing the school within 30 days of the date the school notifies you of your right to cancel all or part of the loan. In either case, your school will return the cancelled loan amount to the lender. You do not have to pay interest or the loan fee on the part of your loan that you tell your school to cancel within these timeframes. If you received an up-front interest rebate on your loan, the rebate does not apply to the part of your loan that you tell your school to cancel. Your loan will be adjusted to eliminate any interest, loan fee, and rebate amount that applies to the amount of the loan that was cancelled. If you ask your school to cancel all or part of your loan outside the timeframes described above, your school may process your cancellation request, but it is not required to do so.
- Within 120 days of the date your school disbursed your loan money (by crediting the loan money to your account at the school, by paying it directly to you, or both), you may return all or part of your loan to the lender. Contact the Direct Loan Servicing Center for guidance on how and where to return your loan money. You do not have to pay interest or the loan fee on the part of your loan that you return within 120 days of the date that part of your loan is disbursed. If you received an up-front interest rebate on your loan, the rebate does not apply to the part of your loan that you return. Your loan will be adjusted to eliminate any interest, loan fee and rebate amount that applies to the amount of the loan that you return.
This information was obtained from the William D. Ford Direct Loan Program Direct Unsubsidized Loan Borrower’s Rights and Responsibility Statement. For additional information regarding your Federal Student Loans please refer to your Borrower’s Rights and Responsibility Statement and your Master Promissory Note.
Canceling Your Direct Graduate Plus Loan
Before your loan money is disbursed, you may cancel all or part of your loan at any time by notifying EVMS Financial Aid in writing using a Loan Reduction Form.
After your loan money is disbursed, you may cancel all or part of your loan within certain timeframes. For details, refer to the Grad PLUS Borrower’s Rights and Responsibilities Statement that accompanies your PLUS Master Promissory Note (MPN).
From the PLUS MPN: Loan cancellation
I may pay back all or part of a disbursement within the timeframes set by the Act, as explained in the Borrower’s Rights and Responsibilities Statement and in a disclosure statement that I will receive. If I return the full loan amount within those timeframes, I will not incur any loan fee or interest charges. If I return part of a disbursement within those timeframes, the loan fee and interest charges will be reduced in proportion to the amount returned.
EVMS Institutional Loans
After your initial response, if you change your mind about accepting your federal Perkins or EVMS institutional loan(s), you must notify Financial Aid in writing via your EVMS email account of your wishes to reduce or decline. You may be contacted for additional information at that time. You will be directed to your EVMS Online Financial Aid System to review any changes once they have been completed.
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