Annual Renewal Process & Processing Timeline

You need to complete a FAFSA each year. You can start as early as January 1 of the current calendar year to complete the FAFSA for the upcoming academic year.  That means that as early as January 1, 2011, you can complete the FAFSA for the 2011/2012 academic year.

Once you submit your FAFSA the Department of Education will process your application.  They will send you a Student Aid Report (SAR) containing a summary of the information you provided when you completed the FAFSA.

• This process typically takes 48-72 hours.
• If you provide an e-mail address on your FAFSA this information will be sent electronically.
• The information is released to the school(s) you listed on your FAFSA at the same time.

Based on the data you have submitted, we will determine what your financial aid eligibility will be. If we are not required to collect additional information from you at that time, we will then generate a financial aid award letter that will specify the amount and types of financial aid you have been awarded.

If the Department of Education has selected you for verification (see Verification process [1]) you will be notified of the required documents we will need to collect from you prior to determining your eligibility for aid. It is important that you respond to such requests in a timely manner.

If you are unsure of where you are in the process or have questions, feel free to contact your Advisor.

• Returning students -- award information can be viewed by logging into Davenportal [2]
• [2]New students will receive a paper award letter.

Remember, you will need to reapply for financial aid every year. The FAFSA becomes available each year on January 1st for the following academic year. We recommend that you complete your FAFSA as soon as possible after this date to be considered for grants, scholarships, etc. To learn more about the type of aid that may be available to you, view the Types of Aid Heading below. Below we have listed important dates to remember with regard to your financial aid for 2011/2012:

• January 1: First day FAFSA is available to complete for the following academic year.
• March 1: Priority deadline for State Scholarships (Michigan Competitive Scholarship and the Michigan Tuition Grant); you must have your FAFSA submitted by this date to determine your eligibility.
• March 15: Awards for Spring/Summer are available to view on Davenportal.
• August 15: Priority deadline for fall awarding of Davenport Foundation Scholarships. FAFSA and all outstanding documents must be received by our office on this date to guarantee awarding for fall semester.