Overawards

What is an overaward?

An overaward exists when a student's aid package exceeds their total costs or their need.

Some examples include:

  • We offer aid to you when you are ineligible for a specific program or you are ineligible for any Federal Student Aid program assistance
  • Your financial aid in an individual program exceeds the regulatory maximum, e.g., the annual or aggregate loan limits, the annual limit on Federal Supplementary Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), or a Pell Grant based on the wrong payment schedule/enrollment status
  • Your aid package exceeds your need; including when your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is revised upward after initial packaging
  • Your financial aid exceeds your cost of attendance (COA)
  • You are receiving a Pell, or Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant at multiple schools for the same period

How did I get overawarded?

While we take care not to overaward you when packaging your aid, circumstances may change your aid package that result in an overaward. For instance, you may receive a scholarship or grant from an outside organization or your EFC has increased as a result of verification.

Hold

If you are in an overaward, you will see the hold listed in your Holds section in LionPATH:

Sample Overaward from LionPATH

This hold will prevent your federal financial aid from disbursing and being credited to your student account. You are not required to take any action.

Aid Adjustment(s)

When an overaward situation arises, we may have to adjust your aid package in order to eliminate the overaward.

Once your overaward has been resolved, you will receive a communication from our office about the specific aid adjustment(s) that has been made to your financial aid.

Any charges that remain on your Student Financial Account after the aid has been adjusted are your responsibility.