Financial Aid

Wondering when your financial aid will be paid to your bill? Beginning with the fall 2026 semester, financial aid will start disbursing after the semester begins. Financial aid will be credited directly to your UWRF billing account based on your enrollment as of the Census Date, the sixth day of the semester. Changes to your enrollment can impact your financial aid, some aid may be reduced if you are enrolled less than full time. Please contact Financial Aid before dropping any classes as changes to your enrollment could result in a balance due if your financial aid is reduced. 

Please note: 

• Some funds, such as Funds for Wisconsin Scholars (FFWS) and the Academic Excellence Scholarship, do not disburse until after census to allow for third party processing and to confirm enrollment. 
• Accepted a Federal Student Loan offer for the first time? Before your loans can disburse, you must complete both Loan Entrance Counseling and Master Promissory Note (MPN) through StudentAid.Gov.
• Review your charges, pending aid and anticipated balance in eSIS under the “Billing Statement” link. You can download the statement as a PDF for full details. Regular monitoring of your billing account is strongly encouraged. The Billing Statement and Pending Aid tutorial is available to guide you.
• If your aid is not enough to pay your full balance, please review the payment plan option or you can explore other loan options.
• Processing times for private student and Parent PLUS loans are extended before the start of each semester. Please allow three weeks for the loan to be applied to your billing account. 
• Email and call volume at the beginning of each semester increases, causing longer than usual wait and response times. Please stop in our office (133 Rodli Hall) during business hours for timely assistance and allow extra time in case it’s necessary. 

Make a payment or submit an outside scholarship check: 
See Payment Information for more details. Scholarship checks can be turned in to the Student Billing Office in 226 Rodli Hall. 

Beginning July 1, 2026, there are significant changes coming with federal loan programs. Please see the following links from StudentAid.Gov to learn more.

• Announcements and Update
• Definitions

Interested in receiving federal and state financial aid? You must complete a FAFSA each year. (Be sure to use only the form at fafsa.gov.) 

New to FAFSA? If you have not filed a FAFSA before, start by creating an account (FSA ID).  

• The 2026-2027 application is now open and available through June 30, 2027.
  • The 2026-2027 FAFSA uses 2024 tax and income information.
• The 2025-2026 application is open through June 30, 2026.
  • The 2025-2026 FAFSA uses 2023 tax and income information.
• Applying for J-Term (winter) or summer semester financial aid?: You'll need to submit a FAFSA for the corresponding academic year and then submit the UWRF J-Term or Summer Aid Form AFTER you have registered for your J-Term or summer classes. Learn more at Applying For Aid.
• Check out the Federal Student Aid Estimator: Get an estimate of how much federal student aid the student may be eligible to receive. These estimates are based on the Student Aid Index (SAI), an index used to determine federal aid eligibility.
• View the Financial Aid Night Presentation. 

• Monday-Thursday: 7:45 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
• Friday: 7:45 a.m.-noon

Check out How to Avoid Student Loan Forgiveness Scams from StudentAid.Gov for important information on avoiding student aid scams. Remember, you NEVER need to pay anything to apply for financial aid. Always contact our office directly if you have any questions regarding anything you receive by mail or email.

Please note, the IRS does NOT send unsolicited emails to the public or with content that includes sensitive information. If you receive any phishing or scam emails appearing to be from "IRS Online" or containing an attachment labeled "Tax Account Transcript" or something similar, please do not open the email. Either delete it or simply forward it (without opening) to phishing@irs.gov. If using an employer's computer, the IRS asks the employee to notify his or her company of the email. For more details from the IRS, please see Report Phishing and Online Scams.