Viewing Financial Aid Information Online

To view financial aid information online, students should log in to the Galaxy online portal (utdallas.edu/galaxy) to access their Orion Student Center. Financial aid offers, status, and related communications are available within the following tiles:

Financial Aid

Up-to-date detailed award offers appear in this tile. Students are able to accept or decline aid, view scheduled disbursements, and link to the Office of Financial Aid website.

Tasks

If the Office of Financial Aid requests additional information or completion of an action item, students can see it under this tile in their To Do List. Examples include documentation needed for an aid application or an acceptance form required for a scholarship.

View My UTD Communications

In this tile students can view copies of communications sent to them regarding their financial aid status and award offers. First time communications are sent via the U.S. Postal Service. Subsequent communications are sent via secure email to students’ UTD email accounts.

More Information

For more information about Satisfactory Academic Progress and to review the entire policy, please visit the Office of Financial Aid SAP website, utdallas.edu/finaid/maintaining-aid/satisfactory-academic-progress/.

College Financing Plan Insert

The College Financing Plan has been adopted by many colleges and universities across the country to be used as part of the financial aid award offer to students. The College Financing Plan provides financial aid applicants a standardized form allowing them to easily compare financial aid offers and make better-informed decisions regarding where to attend college. The costs listed on the accompanying insert are estimates, based on averages, to assist with the budgeting of college related expenses.

Accepting or Declining Financial Aid

See utd.edu/t/5324 for directions and screenshots regarding how students may accept their financial aid offer via their Orion Student Center in Galaxy (utdallas.edu/galaxy).

Please note – accepting Federal Direct Loans is a multi-step process:

1. Accept, Reduce or Decline Aid

   Students may accept, reduce, or decline their federal loan offer via utdallas.edu/galaxy. If they wish to borrow less than the amount offered, students are able to enter the amount they wish to borrow before accepting their loan. When making this decision students should keep in mind that loans offered for the academic year (i.e. fall and spring semesters) are credited equally between semesters.

2. Complete Entrance Counseling

   Entrance counseling must be completed before students’ Federal Direct Loan funds can be credited to their student account. Entrance counseling teaches borrowers about a variety of topics including their rights and responsibilities, the terms of their loan, and their repayment options. Entrance counseling can be completed at studentloans.gov.

3. Sign a Master Promissory Note (MPN)

   Students borrowing Direct Subsidized, Direct Unsubsidized, or Direct Graduate PLUS Loan funds, can complete their MPN at studentloans.gov.

4. Complete Informed Borrowing Confirmation

   Beginning April 2020, all Direct Loan borrowers are required to complete the Informed Borrowing Confirmation process by logging in to studentaid.gov. This process requires student and parent borrowers to view how much they currently owe in federal student loans, and to acknowledge that they have seen this amount before a school can make a first disbursement of the first Direct Loan that a student or parent borrower receives for each new award year.

Parents interested in information regarding the Direct Parent PLUS Loan program should contact the Office of Financial Aid at [email protected].

Receiving Financial Aid

Accepted financial aid is scheduled to begin crediting to enrolled students’ accounts around the first day of class each semester. We recommend completing all acceptance steps as soon as possible before the first day of class.

Please note that only courses required to complete a student’s degree program are eligible for financial aid.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

All students must meet Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements as listed below to remain eligible for financial aid. Academic progress will be reviewed at the end of each semester, including those for which financial aid was not received.

Grade Point Average (GPA)

• The minimum requirement for undergraduate students is a 2.0 cumulative grade point average.
• The minimum requirement for graduate students is a 3.0 cumulative grade point average.

Maximum Time Frame

• The undergraduate student maximum time frame for degree completion is 125 percent of the hours required to complete the degree program.
• The graduate student maximum time frame for degree completion is 150 percent of the hours required to complete the degree program.

Pace

Students must maintain a completion rate each semester in line with the maximum time frame of their degree program.

Complete information regarding our Satisfactory Academic Progress policy is available at utd.edu/t/5339.

Career Center

The UT Dallas Career Center offers career-related resources including assistance with searching for employment opportunities, internships, resume writing, interviewing skills, and on-campus job placement. Students interested in a campus job may apply via the Career Center. Students who have been offered Federal Work-Study may apply for both “on-campus” and “work-study” positions. Placement in an on-campus or work-study position is not guaranteed. Student workers are paid semi-monthly based on hours worked. Information regarding job opportunities and the application process can be found at career.utdallas.edu.

Withdrawal and Repayment Information

Dropping, withdrawing, or failing to participate in courses may result in the reduction or cancellation of aid. Please carefully review the following page: utd.edu/t/5341.

Please view the Bursar’s Office Payment and Refund Calendar on page two of each semester’s Academic Calendar for tuition and refund policies: utdallas.edu/academiccalendar/.

Financial Aid Website

We welcome you to visit the Office of Financial Aid website (utdallas.edu/finaid/) where you will find additional information regarding the various UTD financial aid programs, scholarships, deadlines, and more.

Other Helpful Links