{"id":2031,"date":"2016-06-02T13:41:12","date_gmt":"2016-06-02T20:41:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wou.edu\/finaid\/?page_id=2031"},"modified":"2026-03-26T16:37:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T23:37:16","slug":"common-financial-aid-pitfalls","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/finaid\/glossary-terms-2\/common-financial-aid-pitfalls\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 10 Ways to Make Financial Aid Work for You"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.27.5″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

Top 10 Ways to Make Financial Aid Work for You<\/strong><\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. \n
    Apply for FAFSA\u00ae as close to the opening date (Oct. 1) as possible.\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n
  2. \n
    Accept your aid promptly through your\u00a0<\/span>WOU portal.<\/a><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n
  3. \n
    Be sure to tell us if you will be a less-than-full-time student. Your aid will not disburse until you notify us of your enrollment level.<\/h5>\n<\/li>\n
  4. \n
    Student Loan Borrowers: Complete both your Loan Entrance Counseling and your Master Promissory Note at https:\/\/studentaid.gov.<\/a><\/span><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n
  5. \n
    Parent Loan Borrowers: Apply for the PLUS loan online at\u00a0https:\/\/studentaid.gov<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>and complete the Master Promissory Note.<\/h5>\n<\/li>\n
  6. \n
    If you’ve been awarded Federal Work Study, find a job using Handshake<\/a><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n
  7. \n
    Be sure to adhere to ourSatisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy.<\/a><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n
  8. \n
    Financial Aid communicates with students via their WOU email, so be sure to check it regularly.<\/h5>\n<\/li>\n
  9. \n
    The financial aid checklist is your friend! Follow it closely.<\/h5>\n<\/li>\n
  10. \n
    Don’t wait until the last minute to check on the status of your financial aid.<\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Top 10 Ways to Make Financial Aid Work for You Apply…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":900,"featured_media":0,"parent":1963,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"

    Top 10 Ways to Make Financial Aid Work for You<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n
      \r\n \t
    1. \r\n
      Apply for FAFSA as close to the opening date (Oct. 1) as possible.\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t
    2. \r\n
      Accept your aid promptly through your\u00a0<\/span>WOU portal<\/a>)<\/h5>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t
    3. \r\n
      Be sure to tell us if you will be a less-than-full-time student.Your aid will not disburse until you notify us of your enrollment level.<\/h5>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t
    4. \r\n
      Student Loan Borrowers: Complete both your Loan Entrance Counseling and your Master Promissory Note at <\/span>www.studentloans.gov.<\/a><\/h5>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t
    5. \r\n
      Parent Loan Borrowers: Apply for the PLUS loan online at\u00a0<\/span>www.studentloans.gov<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>and complete the Master Promissory Note.<\/h5>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t
    6. \r\n
      If you've been awarded Federal Work Study, find a job using Handshake on\u00a0<\/span>Wolf Link<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>in your portal.<\/h5>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t
    7. \r\n
      Be sure to adhere to our\u00a0<\/span>Satisfactory Academic Progress policy.<\/a><\/h5>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t
    8. \r\n
      Financial Aid communicates with students via their WOU email, so be sure to check it regularly.<\/h5>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t
    9. \r\n
      The financial aid checklist is your friend! Follow it closely.<\/h5>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t
    10. \r\n
      Don't wait until the last minute to check on the status of your financial aid.<\/h5>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-2031","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/finaid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/finaid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/finaid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/finaid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/900"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/finaid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2031"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/finaid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2031\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26321,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/finaid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2031\/revisions\/26321"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/finaid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/finaid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}