To be eligible for the Federal Student Aid (FSA), you must:

• Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form every year you are in school.
• Be a U.S. Citizen or an Eligible Non-citizen (see below).
• Have a valid Social Security Number (SSN).
• Register (if you have not already) with Selective Service if you are a male between the ages of 18 and 25 (with very few exceptions).
• Have a high school diploma/ General Educational Development (GED) certificate/ completing a high school education in a homeschool setting approved under state law.
• Be enrolled in a degree-seeking program.
• Not be in default on any federal educational loans or owe a refund on a federal grant.
• Make Satisfactory Academic Process.
• Be enrolled at least half-time, i.e. for at least 15 ECTS during one semester (30 ECTS during academic year) if you are a student in BA or MA program.

To meet the Citizen or Eligible Non-citizen criterion, you must be:

• A U.S. Citizen (or U.S. National).
• A permanent U.S. resident with a Permanent Resident Card.
• The holder of an I-94 from the Department of Homeland Security with one of the following designations:
  • Refugee
  • Asylum Granted
  • Parolee – for a minimum of one year and status has not expired
  • Victim of Human Trafficking
  • T-Visa Holder: (T1, T2, T3, etc.)
  • Cuban-Haitian entrant

In addition to the eligibility criteria outlined on this page, each program may have additional requirements such as Expected Family Contribution (EFC), financial need, etc. Please refer to each program for specific information about eligibility for new students and continued eligibility for returning students.

FAFSA

To apply for the Federal Student Aid (FSA), you need to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form every year you are in school. The deadline to list Jagiellonian Univeristy (JU) on your FAFSA for each upcoming school year is June 30.

PIN

A Federal Student Aid Personal Identification Number (PIN) is no longer required in order to be able to sign your electronic FAFSA. 

FSA ID

The FSA ID removed the need for the personal identification number (PIN) and the use of personal identifiers such as name, birthdate, and Social Security number. Students (and parents) use the FSA ID to log on to FAFSA online and other FSA websites—the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), StudentLoans.gov, Studentaid.gov, and the TEACH Grant website—with a username and password they create.

When you first log on to one of the above sites, you will be asked to create a username and password. If you have a PIN, you will have the option to link it to your new FSA ID, which will allow you to immediately use the ID on the above websites rather than wait 1–3 days while your identifying information is confirmed.

Click here to create an FSA ID.

Renewal FAFSA

If you have received an FSA ID and had the year before a successful match on Social Security number (SSN), name, and date of birth with the Social Security Administration (SSA), you are eligible for a renewal FAFSA. When you log on to FOTW, you will be asked if you want to pre-fill some of the application with data from the prior year. By choosing this option, you can review each pre-filled item, correct any that has changed, and provide new information as needed.

Jagiellonian Univeristy School Code: 035973

You must list JU school code on the FAFSA. Otherwise, we will not receive your FAFSA information and cannot award you financial aid. JU school code is 035973. Please note that there is also a separate code for the Medical School of Jagiellonian University (012224).

Student Status

Students are considered dependent or independent based on information provided on the FAFSA. Most undergraduate students are considered dependent. All graduate and professional students are considered independent. Dependent students must report parental income information on the FAFSA. Dependency is not a status of choice.

An independent student is one of the following: at least 24 years old, married, a graduate or professional student, a veteran, a member of the armed forces, an orphan, a ward of the court, someone with legal dependents other than a spouse, an emancipated minor or someone who is homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. A student who does not meet any of the criteria for an independent student is considered a dependent student.

SAR

After submitting the FAFSA, you will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) which is a summary of the FAFSA data you submitted. You will get your SAR within 3 days to 3 weeks after you submit your FAFSA, depending on the method of delivery you selected. Review your SAR and, if necessary, make changes or corrections following the instructions in it. 

Other Required Documentation

You also need to complete US Financial Aid Declaration and Bank Details form and submit these documents to the Financial Aid Administrator. Sometimes you might be required to submit additional documentation. If so, the FAA will send you a request via email. It is important that you submit any required documentation in a timely manner. You cannot be awarded aid until all required documentation is received and processed. The FAA will review the documentation you submit and make any necessary corrections to your FAFSA information.

Please submit all required documents via email to financialaid@uj.edu.pl 

Once your financial aid application and all requested information has been received and processed, you will be notified via E-mail that you have an Award Letter. The Award Letter provides a summary of your financial aid: it contains your Cost of Attendance, and financial need calculation based upon the information you submitted on your FAFSA, finally it provides information on the awards that you have been offered and/or are receiving. The Award Letter also provides information on additional steps that must be completed if you want to decline your award. Failure to respond is considered an acceptance of the award.

The delivery of Title IV funds must be carried out by organizationally independent individuals in accordance with cash management rules. While the FAA awards aid and authorizes payment to eligible students, the Financial Department actually disburses and delivers the funds.

Financial aid is disbursed first to your University student account to pay your tuition, and other university fees. If the amount of your aid is greater than the charges on your student account, the difference will be sent to your bank account via direct deposit. The loan will be disbursed to your account no earlier than 10 days prior to the start of the semester. However, per federal regulations, all first-time Direct Loans borrowers' funds are subject to a 30-day delay. As such, their loan funds will be disbursed approximately 30 days after the start of the semester.

Please note, that loans cannot be disbursed until all required documents are received. A valid Promissory Note (agreement to repay the loan) must be submitted each year. In addition, first-year borrowers (undergraduate / graduate) must complete online entrance counseling for the specific loan program on the Department's website at studentloans.gov.

Budget Adjustment

The FAA assigns each aid applicant a budget, or estimated cost of attendance (COA), before awarding aid. The COA is a good faith estimate of expenses a student will encounter in an academic year and it includes tuition and estimated costs for books and supplies, longdistance travel, utilities/internet, rent, food, local travel and miscellaneous/personal expenses. A budget adjustment may be requested to cover certain additional costs above the standard budget. The deadline for submitting budget adjustment requests is two weeks prior to the end of each semester. Documented rare and special circumstance requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Please allow at least ten business days from receipt of completed form with supporting documentation for your request to be reviewed and processed. Additional documentation may be required upon review of your initial request. Requests will not be processed until all required documentation is complete and submitted in an organized fashion.

Federal regulations give the Financial Aid Administrators the ability to adjust a student’s Cost of Attendance (COA), on a case-by-case basis, for the purchase of a computer for educational use. The maximum COA increase for the purchase of a computer is 1,500 USD. This expense will be allowed only once during student’s enrollment at JU. If expenses exceed 1,500 USD, you must provide verification from your department certifying that the specific system requirements are necessary. No additional funds will be disbursed until you submit a copy of a receipt  of purchase for the computer.

FAA decision on budget adjustment is final and cannot be appealed. 

Change of financial situation

If you experience a change in financial situation due to unusual circumstances, you should contact the FAA about the possibility of a Change of Financial Situation request. Unusual circumstances could include, but are not limited to, unusually high medical expenses paid (not covered by insurance or claimed as deductions on federal taxes), recent unemployment, divorce/separation or death of an immediate family member. Your financial aid could potentially be recalculated based on such changes, but they must be documented with supporting documentation. Keep in mind, submitting paperwork is not a guarantee a change to your financial aid will occur. 

FAA decision on budget adjustment is final and cannot be appealed.

The financial aid identified on your Award Letter is offered to you with the following conditions:

• You must be enrolled as a degree-seeking student.
• You must be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen.
• You must be enrolled at least half-time.
• You must notify the FAA of the sources and amounts of any financial assistance that you receive from all other sources, including but not limited to scholarships, loans, assistantships, fellowships and educational benefits that do not appear on your Award Letter.
• The FAA reserves the right to adjust or cancel any award at any time because of the notification of awards not previously included on your Award Letter, changes in a student's financial status, academic status or due to an awarding error. Changes reflected in your awards will result in an e-mail to the student which serves as notification of the change.
• You will be responsible for repaying any funds you receive that exceed your financial need, or if for any reason, you become ineligible for the financial aid.
• If you drop classes, withdraw or make other academic changes, your financial aid awards may be adjusted and repayment may be required.
• If you stop attending classes without officially withdrawing, your financial aid awards may be adjusted and repayment may be required.
• You must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress.
• You will receive financial aid in two installments (one half is disbursed for winter semester; the second half for summer semester), unless otherwise noted.

When the student withdraws during the payment period the FAA shall apply a specific formula to determine the amount of Title IV assistance earned up to that point. If the student did not receive all of the funds earned, there may be due a Post-withdrawal disbursement, however the University must get the student's permission before it can disburse them. The student may choose to decline some or all of the loan funds so that additional debt is not incurred.

If more assistance is received than earned, the unearned funds must be returned by the University and/or student to the appropriate federal program(s).

The amount of assistance that a student has earned is determined on a prorata basis. For example, if the student completed 30% of the payment period or period of enrollment, the student earns 30% of the assistance originally scheduled to be received. Once the student has completed more than 60% of the payment period or period of enrollment, the student earns all the assistance scheduled to be received for that period.

Unless a student completes 60% of the term in which federal aid was disbursed, the University and/or the student will be required to return all or part of the financial aid disbursed in the term. This applies to students who have officially, or unofficially withdrawn. The repayment calculation is performed utilizing the federal government's repayment worksheet: "Treatment of Title IV Funds When a Student Withdraws from a Credit-Hour Program".

The University is required to return the lesser of the unearned aid percentage applied to institutional charges or the unearned aid percentage applied to the total Title IV aid received within 45 days of the date of determination of the withdrawal. Unearned aid will be returned to the aid programs in the following order: Unsubsidized Stafford Federal Loans, Subsidized Stafford Federal Loans.

The student is required to pay the difference between the amount of unearned aid and the amount returned by the University. The student's share of loan funds to be returned may be repaid in accordance with the terms of the master promissory note.