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Receiving Aid
Contact Enrollment Services
- Becky Paneitz Student
Center, 2nd floor, Bentonville - Washington County,
6101 Watkins Avenue,
Springdale - (479) 986-4000
- Text: (479) 309-5532
- enrollmentsupport@nwacc.edu
- Mon-Thurs, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm;
Fri 8:00 am - 12:00 pm
Notification of Your Award
Congratulations on applying for Financial Aid! At any time, you can log in to your My NWACC account to check the status of your financial aid application. Additionally, use the information below to stay informed on the application review and award notification process.
1. The Student Aid Report
Approximately 72 hours after you submit the online FAFSA, the federal processor will send you a Student Aid Report (SAR). The SAR summarizes the information you provided on the FAFSA. Before making corrections, we recommend you speak with a Financial Aid Office representative for assistance.
2. The Application Review
Your FAFSA will then be sent electronically to NWACC, and we will review it. If you are missing any documents, we will notify you through your My NWACC. Make sure you complete and return the required document(s) to the Enrollment Support Center as soon as possible. You should submit all documents at the same time.
3. Award Notification
If your FAFSA is selected for the verification process, it typically takes three days to three weeks to complete processing depending on the time of year. It is in your best interest to complete the FAFSA and turn in all required documents prior to May for the upcoming fall semester. This gives us time to process your paperwork and let you know what you are eligible for in advance of the payment due date.. If for some reason you are not eligible, early processing allows you time to pursue other resources. Check your NWACC email account regularly. If conflicting information is presented, we will email you for clarification. Once the verification process is complete, you will be awarded and sent an award email to your NWACC email account.
You may check for required documents by logging into your My NWACC account
- Select Financial Aid in the left navigation
- Select Award Information, then Award by Aid Year
- View award information or action needed/link column and select links for required items
- Select each unsatisfied requirement to open the form or view the instructions
- Print and complete all action items as required
Students not selected for verification are typically awarded within a couple of days of registration. This is provided that all official transcripts have been received from previously attended colleges and they have been evaluated by the Student Records Office.
Financial aid awards are subject to the availability of federal and state funds, your enrollment status at NorthWest Arkansas Community College (NWACC) and your meeting all financial aid eligibility criteria. To view and accept your financial aid award, log into your My NWACC account
- Select Financial Aid in the left navigation
- Select Award Information, then Award by Aid Year
- View award information-free money does not have to be accepted. Only student loans.
4. Accepting Student Loans
Most students will be offered a Direct Student Loan. Student loans are money that has to be paid back to Department of Educations. You do not have to accept the full amount offered. We encourage students to setup a budget and only borrow the amount needed to pay for necessary educational costs.
New students have two more steps to complete before the loan acceptance process is complete:
- Complete Direct Student Loan entrance counseling
- Sign Master Promissory Note
Both items maybe completed at https://studentloans.gov/myDirectLoan/index.action The process takes about 30 minutes and your information will be sent to the college electronically.
If you have previously had a student loan at NWACC, we already have this information. If you have had a student loan at another college, you need to go to https://studentloans.gov/myDirectLoan/index.action and add our school code, 030633 to your already completed entrance counseling. The Department of Education will send the counseling information to us electronically.