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Awarded Financial Aid

Your next steps after being awarded financial aid

You can begin filling out the FAFSA on October 1

New + Continuing Students

When you are offered federal financial aid, you will receive an email with the subject line “Your (aid year) financial offer is now available!” Follow the steps provided below to take any necessary actions on the aid offer.

Important Information Regarding Early Awarding

Please note that while applying for federal aid through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as soon as possible on or after October 1 is highly encouraged, decisions for institutional and other aid programs administered by Emporia State University may not have taken place yet. Your award may not reflect potential scholarships or grant programs you are eligible for at this time. Once the Office of Financial Aid, Scholarships, & Veterans Services has been made aware of, or has awarded, a scholarship or grant program that applies to you, they will revise your aid offer and will send an email to your g.emporia.edu email account notifying you of the change.

1. Access Hornet 365

Hornet 365 is the name given to our online campus system that provides you access to numerous available resources, such as your email, transcript information, class schedules, tuition and housing billing, library resources, and financial aid information. To access Hornet 365, you will need to be familiar with your username and password. Your username was provided to you upon admission and your password will be as follows:

  • “Esu” followed by the last 6 digits of your E# and an exclamation point (!). To find your E#, go to the Academic Life page and follow the instructions.

If you have not logged in to Hornet 365 yet, you'll need to start at the First Time Users page. If you do not know your E-Number or your username, or if you have any problems logging in, please contact the IT HelpDesk in Cremer Hall, Room 149. Their local number is 620-341-5555 or toll-free at 877-341-5555. You may also email them at helpdesk@emporia.edu.

2. Accept, Reduce, or Decline your Financial Aid

To access your award information in Hornet 365:

  • Go to the Financial Center page
  • Click on My Financial Aid and sign in
  • Make sure to select the correct aid year in the upper right corner of the page
  • Click the Award Offer tab

The Award Offer tab will provide your most recent award information at the very bottom. Not all funds are required to be accepted (grants and scholarships are automatically accepted). When your awards are revised, information on the awards prior to the revision will display above the current awarding.

Alternative Financing Options on Award Offer

This is intended to provide you information on additional resources if you need them. Below are options that may be available to you.

3. Report Additional Aid

If you are receiving any aid from an outside resource (high school, church, charitable organization, etc.), you must report this to the Office of Financial Aid, Scholarships, & Veterans Services. You can report these resources by clicking on Add/View Resource at the bottom of the Award Offer tab.

4. Report Planned Changes in Enrollment or Graduation

Your financial aid is based in part on your expected enrollment and expected graduation date. If you are planning to graduate within the aid year, please notify our office at finaid@emporia.edu. Also, with the exception of the summer term, your financial aid is based on being enrolled at least full-time. If you do not plan to enroll full-time, please notify our office. Note that if you are awarded a Federal Pell grant, it will fluctuate with your enrollment.

5. If You Are Accepting a Direct Loan

Before accepting any loans, we recommend using this budget worksheet.pdf to plan out your income (job, financial aid, etc) and expenses (housing, food, books, etc) to determine the amount of loans you need to borrow.

You have the right to refuse (decline) the loan offered to you, or accept a lesser amount than what has been offered.

If you are accepting a Direct loan, please note that you must be enrolled at least half-time and if you are accepting for the first time, you must also complete the following requirements on the Federal Student Loan website.

  • Direct Loan Master Promissory Note
  • Direct Loan Entrance Counseling

If the Direct Loan is a Direct Parent PLUS loan, the parent must complete a Parent PLUS application in addition to a PLUS loan master promissory note, both of which are available at the Federal Student Loan website. When completing the PLUS application and PLUS loan master promissory note, the parent borrower should log in to the website using their FSA ID and password. Please note that a credit check is performed at the time of applying and is good for 180 days. If no disbursement is made under the credit check, a new application and credit check will need to be completed. Therefore, PLUS loan applicants are encouraged to wait at least 180 days before the funds are needed to complete a PLUS loan application.

  • Loan Repayment - Should you decide to take a loan, it is important that you understand the cost of borrowing the loan. A student loan repayment calculator can give you an estimate of the number of payments you might make, the total interest cost, and the total loan cost.
  • Sharing Information with the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) - If you accept a federal loan, your information will be shared with the appropriate agencies. The loan will be submitted to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), and will be accessible by guaranty agencies, lenders, and other institutions determined to be authorized users of NSLDS.

6. Subsequent Changes to Your Financial Aid Package

You will be notified via your Student Email account of any subsequent changes to your initial award package. You can access your Student Email account from Hornet 365 Students under "Gmail."

Disbursement of Financial Aid

Financial aid will typically disburse to the Cashier's Office the week before your first class of the semester starts to be applied toward your semester charges, as long as all requirements are complete. The amount that you accept for your financial aid in Hornet 365 is the anticipated amount that will be disbursed.

Other Important Information

  • Corky's Wallet - Emporia State University students will have access to Corky's Wallet through Canvas. This free course was created specifically for ESU and contains 8 modules for financial education. These modules include: Budgeting, Credit & Debt Management, Employment, Income, & Careers, Money Management, Saving & Investing, Student Loans, Student Loan Repayment, and Taxes.
  • College Financing Plan - Students have the option of using this consumer tool. It is a standardized form developed by the U.S. Department of Education that is designed to simplify the information that prospective students receive about costs and financial aid. To view your plan, select the College Financing Plan tab.
  • Federal Pell Grant Lifetime Eligibility - please note that the Consolidate Appropriations Acts of 2012 has changed the duration of eligibility for the Federal Pell Grant to 12 semesters, or its equivalent (600%). Your Federal Pell grant may change as updated information is received from the National Student Loan Data System.
  • Course Attendance - If you are a recipient of federal Title IV financial aid, particularly the Federal Pell Grant, federal regulations state that you must begin attendance in all courses for which the Pell grant was calculated and disbursed for. If the institution is unable to determine that a student has begun attendance in all their courses, recalculation of the Pell grant, and possibly other aid, may be necessary due to a change in attending enrollment. Since financial aid is disbursed based on course enrollment and attendance, dropping courses or not attending may require you to repay all or a portion of financial aid received.
  • Title IV Authorization - Federal student financial aid can only cover “institutional charges” as defined by the U.S. Department of Education. This definition includes current year charges for tuition and fees, and on-campus room and board. It also includes other fees, such as: lab fees, workshops, university registration fees, facilities usage fees, and other specialized departmental or college fees associated directly with taking a class. Unless authorization is received, federal financial aid cannot be used to cover non-institutional charges such as: parking fines, library fines, breakage fees, returned check fees, application fees for short-term installment plans or any charges not directly tied to taking a class. Federal student aid funds can only be used to pay for “non-institutional charges” with written authorization from the student to pay those charges.
  • Federal TEACH Grant - Some students may be eligible for this federal grant program. To be considered for eligibility, please complete our institutional application at our forms and publications page.
  • State Grant Programs - Students at Emporia State University may be eligible for grant programs offered by their state of legal residence. Eligibility requirements vary by state and by program. Please visit the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrator's (NASFAA) website on State Financial Aid Programs for more information.
Related Topics
  1. Scholarships
  2. Cost of attendance