Check Status of Financial Aid
We encourage you to follow the steps described below to check the status of your FAFSA application:
- Go to MyGCSU
- Enter your campus credentials and login.
- Select PAWS Service App from the list of Service Apps.
- Select” Financial Aid” tab
- Select “Check Financial Aid Status”
- Select the appropriate aid year
- Review the status of your financial aid
The Georgia College Office of Financial Aid will contact students via Bobcat email if verification documents are needed to complete the financial aid file.
Accept, modify or Decline your aid amount
Once GCSU Financial Aid receives student FAFSA data from the U.S. Department of Education, the FAFSA data is screened to determine if the student needs to provide additional documentation. If you have been notified that your financial aid is ready for you to accept or modify, simply follow the steps below:
- Log in to My GCSU at my.gcsu.edu
- Click on PAWS, then Student Services
- Select Financial Aid
- Go to the Offer Tab and scroll to Loans
- Click Accept by the loan to accept all, modify to decrease the loan, or decline to decline the full amount.
For first time borrowers only
Entrance Counseling Requirement
Entrance counseling is required for all first-time student Direct Loan borrowers. The student must complete the Loan Entrance Counseling on the Federal Student Aid website, by signing in with their FSA ID. For subsidized and unsubsidized loans, the Loan Entrance Counseling Session must be completed by the student.
Master Promissory Note Requirement
As a first time borrower at GCSU, you will be required to complete an electronic Master Promissory Note (MPN). The student must complete the MPN on the Federal Student Aid website, by signing in with their FSA ID. For subsidized and unsubsidized loans, the MPN must be completed by the student.
What if I want to decline or reduce the amount of loans available after I have received the funds?
If your loan disbursement has already occurred, within 30 days you will need to complete one of the following steps to finalize your request to adjust your loan:
- If you received a direct deposit, the loan funds will be removed from your GCSU account. You will then be required to submit an electronic payment to your account to settle this account and have your loan cancelled. OR
- If you received a paper refund loan check, you will need to submit the paper refund check to GCSU Financial Aid Office by the specified deadline so that the loan funds can be removed from your account and returned to the lender. If you are not cancelling the full amount of the loan and only returning part of it, you will need to deposit the check and return the amount you are cancelling either via electronic payment or personal check made out to Georgia College.
For further assistance, please contact the Financial Aid Office.