Disbursement of Financial Aid
 

General Information Student must be enrolled before funds may be disbursed. Student eligibility must be confirmed by the Financial Aid Office before funds are disbursed. Students are expected to have sufficient funds for miscellaneous expenses when they arrive on campus. Students who are eligible for Federal financial aid must have submitted a valid Student Aid Report in electronic form to the Financial Aid Office before funds are disbursed. Students must be fully accepted for admission to ABAC before funds may be disbursed. Specific questions on individual cases should be addressed to the Financial Aid Office at (229) 391-4910.  Student must meet Satisfactory Academic Progress standards to receive fund disbursements.  Loans (Students must be enrolled at least half-time.) Federal Perkins Loan - Students awarded this loan must sign a promissory note in the Business Office in Tift Hall before funds may be disbursed.  Federal Stafford Loans - Under Federal Law: Students must complete a Loan Entrance Counseling session and sign a completed Master Promissory Note in the Financial Aid Office before funds may be disbursed. Federal  PLUS Loan - Parents who are awarded this loan must receive an approved credit decision from the U.S. Department of Education and return a completed promissory note to the Financial Aid Office before funds may be disbursed. Federal Perkins, Federal Stafford, Federal PLUS Loans - Borrowers who use these funds to finalize Business Office bills may elect to cancel their loans and use another form of payment within 14 days of disbursement.  The Financial Aid Office must be notified in writing of the cancellation with 14 days of disbursement.   Alternative Loans are private loans made through lending institutions which allow you to borrow additional funds after have reached your Federal Stafford Loan limit. These types of student Loans are designed to help you meet the total cost of higher education. research all possibilities for scholarships, grants, work study, and federal loan programs before borrowing from an Alternative Loan program, After approval, the lender may request school certification. The Financial Aid Office will not certify loans for students who are not maintaining satisfactory academic progress.  Disbursement Procedures    Once all requirements have been met: Funds awarded from the following may be applied directly to the student's Business Office account: Grants Loans Federal Pell Federal Perkins Federal SEOG Federal Family Education Stafford HOPE Scholarship Federal  PLUS HOPE Grant Service-Cancelable Stafford LEAP These awards will be authorized to the student's Business Office account once classes have been reserved. Any remaining balance to the student's account must be paid to the ABAC Business Office prior to the published deadline in order to reserve classes. Eligibility is reviewed again at the end of the drop/add period  and appropriate funds are disbursed to the student's Business Office account. Once the Business Office bill has been settled, remaining aid  may be used toward the purchase of books at the ABAC Bookstore beginning approximately 2 weeks prior to the first day of classes through the end of the drop/add period. If the amount of financial aid awarded exceeds tuition and fees due at registration, the difference will be disbursed in the form of a check by the ABAC Business Office approximately 3 weeks after the end of the drop/add period.   Subsequent excess aid  checks will be cut in  the regular scheduled check runs.  Financial aid awards made after the student's bill is satisfied will be disbursed within 3 weeks after awards are made.