Your Financial Aid Next Steps

Oakland University is committed to using the Principles & Standards of the College Cost Transparency Initiative in its student financial aid offer. You can view your financial aid offer and the breakdown for the estimated cost of attendance by academic year.

How to check your financial aid offer: 

1. Log into MySAIL using your NetID and password
2. Select Financial Aid
3. Select Offer tab
4. If necessary, select the dropdown menu for Award Year then select the appropriate Aid Year
   a. Review Expected Enrollment for accuracy
   b. Review Housing plans for accuracy
   c. Review Cost of Attendance: Billable and Non-Billable items total the maximum amount of
   financial aid you can receive
   d. Review Grants and Scholarships to Pay for College to be sure offers are accepted 
   e. Review Net Cost (Remaining billable and non-billable Cost of Attendance after Grants and Scholarships are subtracted)
   f. Review Options to Pay Net Cost and select a loan decision from the drop down
   g. Click the Submit button at the bottom to submit any award decisions you made
5. Click each award name under the Type column for important information and instructions

Use the Cost Estimator to determine if your financial aid will cover your estimated billable charges. If necessary, complete a Revision Form (found on our Forms page) to adjust awards, enrollment and housing plans.

The home tab of the financial aid section of your MySail account provides a space for uploading your financial aid requirements, the ability to make authorizations for your account, and provides an overview of your financial aid student requirements. Unsatisfied requirements prevent the finalization of your financial aid. Use the steps below to answer the response required questions to communicate authorizations on your account and review and complete unsatisfied requirements.  

Upload Documents:

You can securely upload your unsatisfied requirements (documents) in MySAIL:

1. Log into MySAIL using your NetID and password
2. Select Financial Aid
3. If necessary, select the dropdown menu for Award Year then select the appropriate Aid Year 
4. On the Home tab, select Upload Documents in the blue section at the top
   1. Carefully review the instructions and select the correct document type from the Select Requirement menu under Document Type
   2. Under Document select the paperclip icon and then choose the correct file and upload for Student Financial Services to review

Do not submit multiple documents as one document. Do not submit the same document under multiple requirements. 

Response Required Authorizations:

You will have the opportunity to make certain authorizations related to financial aid and billing each year. You can answer the Response Required authorization questions on MySail:

1. Log into MySAIL using your NetID and password
2. Select Financial Aid
3. If necessary, select the dropdown menu for Award Year then select the appropriate Aid Year 
4. On the Home tab you will see Response Required in a red section, if you have not yet responded to the authorization questions
5. Click the View Questions button and select your response from the drop down for each question, then click Submit

If you would like to change your answers to a previously submitted Authorizations question, contact the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships.

Review and Complete Unsatisfied Requirements:

You can review and complete your financial aid requirements in MySail:

1. Log into MySAIL using your NetID and password
2. Select Financial Aid 
3. If necessary, select the dropdown menu for Award Year then select the appropriate Aid Year 
4. On the Home tab, find the Student Requirements section and check for Unsatisfied Requirements 
   1. Under Unsatisfied Requirements select the arrow next to an unsatisfied requirement to view further details and instructions 
   2. Then click on the name of the Unsatisfied Requirement to print the document or go to the website to complete the unsatisfied requirement online
   3. Use the Upload Document button at the top of the page to submit all completed worksheets listed in the Unsatisfied Requirements section

Please complete all required documents and resubmit any incomplete documents. Processing takes two to four weeks.

Create a StudentForms Account

Some requirements will necessitate creating an account with StudentForms before students and parents, when applicable, will be able to complete, sign, and submit certain documents to Financial Aid and Scholarships. If that is the case, students will see StudentForms - Action Needed as an unsatisfied requirement in MySail. 

Students can create an account by clicking on the StudentForms-Action Needed requirement in MySail:

1. Click button labeled Create Account
2. Complete the Confirm Student Information section. Please note, the information must match the information as it is listed on your FAFSA. If it does not match, you will receive a code 1010 error message
3. Click on the Needs Action box to access the documents needed to fulfill your unsatisfied requirements

Please note, StudentForms does not contain the complete list of unsatisfied requirements on a student's account, that information is only listed in MySail. 

When a student has an action item that requires a parent signature, the parent will receive a notification via email.

Parents can create an account by clicking the link provided in the email notification:

1. Complete the information in the Create Parent Account section. Please note, this information must match the information as it is listed on the student's FAFSA. 
2. Once you create your account, you will receive an email to verify your email address. Click the link and log in.  

After you've logged in following the creation of your account:

1. Click Preview to see the documents that need your signature. These documents have been completed by your student and should be reviewed for accuracy. If the information on the form is incorrect, click the button on the bottom left and contact your student to cancel the signature request, make corrections, and re-submit the request for your signature.
2. If the information on the form is correct, follow the instructions to create your E-signature Pin by clicking the link in yellow. 
3. After submitting your e-signature, you will be redirected back to the page listing the documents that need your e-signature. If there are none listed, you have completed the signatures and can log out. 

If you receive an error message when trying to create your parent account:

• Check your name, date of birth, and social security number entered on StudentForms matches what is on your student's FAFSA.
• You must be listed on your student's FAFSA to use StudentForms.
• You can view and update FAFSA information at studentaid.gov. Your student has access to change information on forms and update your email address. Please contact them to make adjustments. 

You can designate another person (a proxy) to access and view academic and financial aid information on MySail. Granting access allows parents/guardians, spouses and others to stay up-to-date on financial aid awards and requirements, class schedules, grades and more. You can control exactly how much information a proxy can view. Once a proxy is added to your MySAIL account, you control the authorization settings to enable the proxy to view certain pieces of information. Their settings are "view only" meaning a proxy can never make changes to any information in MySAIL.

How to add a proxy:

Once Proxy access is submitted, your Proxy will receive an email with a one-time password and instructions to create a PIN for login.

How to log in as a Proxy:

1. Go to sail.oakland.edu
2. Select Proxy Login 
3. Enter the email address that was authorized as a proxy user, along with the PIN number established
4. Confirm your personal information is accurate once logged in
5. Click on the student's name who has given you proxy access to an account
6. Authorized pages will be listed

Students should enroll in direct deposit so any potential financial aid and student account refunds can be delivered to you in the fastest, most secure manner. Direct deposits can be sent to any banking institution you choose, in a savings or checking account.

Below is the process for how financial aid will pay your student account balance. If aid does not cover your entire balance, you are responsible for paying any remaining charges by the payment due date (view our Payments Payments & Cancellation and Cancellation page for more information). Oakland University offers OU payment plans to help divide your balance into smaller, more manageable monthly installments. You will receive a student account refund once financial aid posts to your student account and if the total aid posted exceeds your total charges. Financial aid will not be posted until all your classes have begun. 

Full Semester Classes:
Financial aid will begin paying to your eBill ten days before the first day of classes start, as long as:

• All your financial aid requirements are listed as "Satisfied" on MySAIL and
• All your classes run the entire semester, and
• Your expected enrollment (on Award Overview in MySAIL) matches your actual enrolled credits*; see enrollment chart below. Submit a Revision Form (found on our Forms page) to make any changes to the expected enrollment.

Students who are offered loans must also make a loan decision in MySail. New borrowers also need to complete Entrance Counseling and a Master Promissory Note at studentaid.gov. Please allow processing time before expecting loans to reflect on eBill after making a loan decision. 

Part of Term (Partial Semester) Classes:
Financial aid will pay to your eBill on the first day of second half semester classes as long as:

• All your financial aid requirements are listed as "Satisfied" on MySAIL, and
• The rest of your classes begin on or after the start date for the second half semester classes and
• Your expected enrollment (on Award Overview in MySAIL) matches your enrolled credits*; see enrollment chart below. Submit a Revision Form (found on our Forms page) to make any changes to the expected enrollment.

Students who are offered loans must also make a loan decision in MySail. New borrowers also need to complete Entrance Counseling and a Master Promissory Note at studentaid.gov. Please allow processing time before expecting loans to reflect on eBill after making a loan decision. 

*Please see Policies, Terms, and Conditions Section 3.

Common reasons why financial aid is not on the student account are:

• did not yet apply for financial aid
• recently applied for financial aid
• did not complete financial aid requirements
• recently submitted requested documentation