Aid Offer Process

After You've Submitted Your Financial Aid Application

UW will receive your application from the FAFSA/WASFA processor.  If you are admitted to the university, you will be sent an email notifying you that we received your FAFSA/WASFA information and it is being reviewed.

Check for Errors

Be sure to check for errors in your address, social security number or other personal information. Read the assumptions (state residency, enrollment status, number of quarters you plan to attend this year).  Please contact our office if any of the assumptions are incorrect.  If you are not a Washington state resident but pay resident tuition because of a departmental appointment or Armed Services status, note the tuition benefit in the Resources Review/Update section in Financial Aid Status on MyUW. If you see in your Cost of Attendance that your initial residency is listed as non-resident and you believe this to be an error, contact the UW Tacoma Office of the Registrar at reguwt@uw.edu. 

Notice of Aid Offer

Once your aid offer has been created, you will receive either a:

1. “Notice of Preliminary Aid Offer” (an estimate of your eligibility for aid) you may accept this initial aid offer; however, we will complete the review of information you provided on your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) before your aid offer can be confirmed or 
2. “Notice of Aid Offer,” then your application has been reviewed and your eligibility confirmed. However, you must accept your aid offer online at MyUW by the date indicated to reserve your aid. Please follow the instructions below to ensure your aid will be ready for you when you start the school year.

If you receive a message other than these or have questions about and messages you receive, you may email us to inquire on the status of your aid offer.

Accept or Reject Aid in Your Offer

Accept your award in MyUW Financial Aid Status before the ‘reply by date’. You must either accept or reject each form of aid listed in your award. You are under no obligation until the aid is disbursed; you may accept an award now and change your mind later.  You may also accept or reject aid from any fund without losing the other aid offered in your award.  If you reject an award or don’t accept it by the ‘reply by date’ then the award will be canceled.  As we have limited funds, awards that are canceled may not be able to be restored if you later decide that you need them.  Federal Direct Stafford Loans, Federal Direct PLUS Loans, and Federal Pell Grants can usually be reinstated.  If you would like us to replace Work-Study with a federal loan then contact our office after you accept your award.  However, we cannot replace loans with grants and scholarships. Once you respond, we will continue processing your application and you may receive revised award notice e-mails reflecting changes in your contribution and your award.  Review these revisions on MyUW and accept or reject any new aid that has been offered to you.  Remember, accepting your financial aid offer is not the same as accepting your admissions offer. 

MyUW - Financial Aid Status Portal & How to Accept your Aid Offer Tutorial 

Report Any Outside Awards or Resources

Make sure your award correctly reflects any benefits, scholarships, outside awards and other resources you will receive or think you may receive, even if it comes from another UW office. You must report any information about your resources  that you have not already formally reported to our office.  It is imperative that our office has current and complete information on your resources throughout the year; otherwise, you risk being over-awarded and having to repay aid.

Submit Required Documents & Complete Your File 

You must respond to any requests we make for certification statements, tax returns, or any other documentation needed to finalize your aid offer. Since we cannot disburse any funds until all required information is submitted and reviewed, please reply promptly to any correspondence from us. Our requests for required documents are sent to your UW email. You may check on the status of your documents in the "Required Documents" section of your Financial Aid Status page. We post our document processing timelines here.

Understand Your Obligation as a Financial Aid Recipient

• Enroll full-time each quarter and attend all your classes (12 credits for undergraduate students; 10 credits for graduate students).
• Pass sufficient credits to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress.
• Report new sources of support and changes in personal circumstances (e.g., changing from non-resident to resident status, divorce, moving to parents’ home) as soon as you learn of them.

Accept Your Aid Offer on MyUW before the Reply Date

Accept your aid offer in MyUW Financial Aid Status before the reply date. If you do not accept it by this date, your aid may be cancelled. you may request your aid to be reinstated, however, certain types of aid may not be available for reinstatement. You may receive revised aid offer notice emails reflecting changes in your contribution and your aid offer. Review these revisions on MyUW and accept or reject any new aid that has been offered to you. Remember, accepting our aid offer is not the same as accepting your admissions offer.

If Needed, Give a Third Party Permission to Discuss Your Financial Aid

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protects the privacy of your education records. As a general rule the University will not release your records to a third party without your written consent. To allow staff in Student Financial Aid to discuss the status of your financial aid offer with your parents, spouse, or another person, a release of information form must be completed. You can complete the form online.

• Even with a permission to release information on file, we cannot release any Federal Tax Information from the student aid application.

Receive Your Award

Learn about aid disbursement.

After we receive your application for financial aid and you are admitted to the University of Washington Tacoma, we will send students an email regarding your eligibility for aid, referring you to your Financial Aid Status page in your MyUW where you can review the details of your financial aid offer.  We start awarding in the spring/summer before the next academic year.

Your Notice of Aid Offer email may be one of the two below: