Please Note: 

You will need your UW NetID in order to access your online financial aid award. All financial aid notifications will be sent via email to your official University of Washington email account.

Important Information

Complete Your File

You must respond to any requests we make for documents, forms or any other items needed to finalize your award.  Since we cannot disburse any funds until all required information is submitted and reviewed, please reply promptly to any correspondence from us.

Check for Errors

Be sure to check for errors in your address, social security number or other personal information. Read the assumptions (state residency, enrollment status, number of quarters you plan to attend this year).  Please contact our office if any of the assumptions are incorrect.  If you are not a Washington state resident but pay resident tuition because of a departmental appointment or Armed Services status, note the tuition benefit in the Resources Review/Update section in Financial Aid Status on MyUW.

Accept or Reject Your Aid

You must either accept or reject each form of aid listed in your award. You are under no obligation until the aid is disbursed; you may accept an award now and change your mind later.  You may also accept or reject aid from any fund without losing the other aid offered in your award.  If you reject an award or don’t accept it by the ‘reply by date’ then the award will be canceled.  As we have limited funds, awards that are canceled may not be able to be restored if you later decide that you need them.  Federal Direct Stafford Loans, Federal Direct PLUS Loans, and Federal Pell Grants can usually be reinstated.  If you would like us to replace Work-Study with a federal loan then contact our office after you accept your award.  However, we cannot replace loans with grants and scholarships.

Report Any Outside Awards or Resources

Make sure your award correctly reflects any benefits, scholarships, outside awards and other resources you will receive or think you may receive, even if it comes from another UW office. You must report any information about your resources  that you have not already formally reported to our office.  It is imperative that our office has current and complete information on your resources throughout the year; otherwise, you risk being over-awarded and having to repay aid.

Understand Your Obligation as a Financial Aid Recipient

  • Enroll full-time each quarter and attend all your classes (12 credits for undergraduate students; 10 credits for graduate students).
  • Pass sufficient credits to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress.
  • Report new sources of support and changes in personal circumstances (e.g., changing from non-resident to resident status, divorce, moving to parents’ home) as soon as you learn of them.

Accept Your Award

Accept your award in MyUW Financial Aid Status before the ‘reply by date’.  If you do not accept it by this date, your offer may be cancelled for non-acceptance.  Once you respond, we will continue processing your application and you may receive revised award notice e-mails reflecting changes in your contribution and your award.  Review these revisions on MyUW and accept or reject any new aid that has been offered to you.  Remember, accepting your financial aid offer is not the same as accepting your admissions offer. 

Receive Your Award

Learn about aid disbursement.

After we receive your application for financial aid and you are admitted to the University of Washington Tacoma, we will send students an email regarding your eligibility for aid, referring you to MyUW where you can review the details of your financial aid award (the types and amounts of aid for which you qualify).  We start awarding in the spring/summer before the next academic year begins.

The University of Washington is a "Summer Header" school meaning our academic year starts Summer quarter and ends with the Spring quarter.

Example Academic Year: Summer ► Autumn ► Winter ► Spring
(Note: Most students begin attending in Autumn quarter, while some, depending on their programs, may begin in the Summer quarter.)