Accepting and Declining

Your Financial Aid Notification gives you options. You are not required to accept everything offered, and you do not have to make all-or-nothing decisions. You can accept your full award, accept only part of it, or decline specific types of aid entirely. This page walks you through exactly how to do that for each type of aid, what happens after you accept, and what to do if you change your mind. Take your time reviewing your package and reach out if you have questions before making decisions, especially about loans.

Contact Financial Aid
[email protected]
[email protected]

All aid acceptance and adjustment actions are completed through the Student Gateway. Log in and navigate to the Financial Aid section to review your award and take action on each component.
Log In to Student Gateway

A few important reminders before you begin:

• Review your award letter carefully. It outlines the types and amounts of aid available, renewal requirements, and next steps.
• Return your award letter to the Financial Aid office or via the Student Gateway with your decision indicated for each aid type.
• You are never required to accept the full amount of any aid offered. Accepting less, particularly loans, means less to repay after graduation.
• Aid that is not acted on may not be available for that semester.

Contact Financial Aid
[email protected]
[email protected]

IMPORTANT: From disbursement date, students have 14 days to notify the school to cancel and/or return any funds.

You can accept or decline your full Federal Work-Study (FWS) award directly in the Student Gateway.

If you would like to accept a reduced amount rather than the full award, you can indicate your preferred amount for the year on the Aid Change Request Form.

Once you've accepted Work-Study, your next step is finding a position. Your award is not automatically earned; it is a maximum amount you are eligible to earn through part-time employment. Funds are paid to you via paycheck as you work and are not applied to your student account. Visit the Federal Work-Study page for details on finding a position and managing your award.

Learn More About Federal Work-Study
Access the Aid Change Request Form

Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan

You can accept, decline, or reduce your Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan in the Student Gateway. We encourage you to think carefully about how much you need before accepting. You can always accept a reduced amount and request more later if your circumstances change but borrowing less from the start reduces your total repayment obligation.

Important: Once you have accepted your loan in the Student Gateway, you cannot make further changes online. If you need to adjust your loan after accepting it, contact our financial aid office directly.

Your loan will not be disbursed until you complete all required steps. After accepting your loan, you must complete the following at studentaid.gov:

• Master Promissory Note (MPN) — your legal agreement to repay the loan, along with accrued interest and fees. Required for all first-time federal loan borrowers.
• Entrance Counseling — a required online session that explains your rights and responsibilities as a borrower. Takes approximately 30 minutes and is required only once per institution.

When completing these steps, make sure to select Pacific Oaks College as your institution so the completion information is transmitted to our office. Funds cannot be released until both steps are confirmed.

Pacific Oaks College determines the amount you can borrow, which may not exceed your demonstrated financial need as calculated by your FAFSA. If eligible, this is always the better loan to accept first — the government covers your interest while you are enrolled.

Complete Your MPN at studentaid.gov
Complete Entrance Counseling at studentaid.gov

Federal Direct Subsidized Loan (Undergraduate Students)

Pacific Oaks College offers Direct Subsidized Loans to eligible undergraduate students with financial need. The U.S. Department of Education pays the interest while you are in school at least half-time, during the first six months after dropping below half-time (grace period), and during deferment. This section does not apply to graduate students.

Pacific Oaks College determines the amount you can borrow, which may not exceed your demonstrated financial need as calculated by your FAFSA. If eligible, this is always the better loan to accept first — the government covers your interest while you are enrolled.

Important update as of July 1, 2026: Graduate PLUS Loans are no longer available to new borrowers under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). If you are a continuing student who borrowed a federal direct loan before July 1, 2026 while enrolled in your current program, you may qualify for the legacy provision allowing continued access for up to three years. Repayment begins 60 days from the date the loan is fully disbursed but will be placed in deferment while you are enrolled at least half-time. Please contact our financial aid office to confirm your eligibility before proceeding.

For eligible continuing borrowers:
You must accept the full amount of your Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan before you can access any Graduate PLUS Loan eligibility. Graduate PLUS Loans cannot be accepted directly in the Student Gateway. You will need to submit a request through our financial aid office.

You do have the right to decline your Graduate PLUS eligibility if you choose not to borrow. A loan that has not yet disbursed will not incur any interest charges or fees. There is no cost to declining.

To request a Graduate PLUS Loan, contact our financial aid office or submit the Aid Change Request Form.
Contact Financial Aid About Grad PLUS Eligibility

If institutional scholarships or grants from Pacific Oaks College are included in your Financial Aid Notification, no additional acceptance steps are required on your part. These funds will be applied directly to your student account automatically at the start of each applicable term, provided you meet the eligibility conditions associated with the award.

If you receive a scholarship or grant from an outside source that is not listed on your notification, you are required to report it to our financial aid office. Outside awards can affect your overall aid package. Specifically, total aid cannot exceed your Cost of Attendance. See the Reporting Additional Aid page for details.
Learn About Reporting Additional Aid

Your circumstances may change after you've made your initial acceptance decisions. There are options available to you. Here's what to know:
Reducing your loan after acceptance, but before disbursement: Contact our financial aid office directly. Changes after initial acceptance cannot be made in the Student Gateway. We will process the adjustment on our end.
Cancelling a loan after it has already disbursed: You may cancel all or part of a federal student loan even after it has been disbursed, but there are important conditions:

• From the date of disbursement, students have 14 days to notify Pacific Oaks College to cancel and/or return any funds. After that period, cancellation may still be possible, but interest or fees that have accrued are your responsibility.
• Our financial aid office cannot be responsible for any interest or fees that accrued on the funds between disbursement and cancellation. This is why we strongly encourage you to make loan decisions carefully before accepting, rather than cancelling after the fact.
• If your loan funds were issued to you as a refund, you are responsible for returning those funds to Pacific Oaks College:
  • If the refund was deposited via direct deposit (EFT/ACH), you will need to repay your student account directly.
  • If the funds were issued by paper check, you may destroy the check if it has not been cashed or return it to the Business Office.

To request a loan cancellation or adjustment after disbursement, contact the Office of Student Accounts:
Contact the Office of Student Accounts

Declining aid is always your right. It is worth understanding the implications before you do:

• Declining a loan means you are choosing not to borrow those funds for the current year. If you change your mind later in the year, you may be able to reinstate declined aid depending on availability and timing. Contact our financial aid office to ask.
• Declining Work-Study means you will not be eligible for a Work-Study position for that award period. If you decline and later wish to convert your Work-Study eligibility to a loan, you may be able to do so using the Aid Change Request Form.
• Declining a scholarship or grant is rarely in your best interest, as these are free money that does not require repayment. If you have concerns about a scholarship, such as whether it affects other aid, please contact us before declining.

We want to make sure every student who takes out loans has a clear understanding of what they're committing to. A few reminders before you finalize your decisions:

• Interest on Direct Unsubsidized Loans begins accruing from the date of disbursement, even while you're in school.
• The total amount you borrow, across all years and all loan types, directly affects your monthly payment after graduation. Our Loan Repayment page and the Federal Loan Simulator can help you model what repayment will look like.
• You are never required to borrow the maximum amount offered. Accepting less is always an option.

Use the Federal Loan Simulator
Learn About Loan Repayment

Questions About Your Aid Package?
If you're unsure about any component of your award, have a situation that doesn't fit the standard process, or need help making decisions about your aid, please reach out before you act. It is much easier to get it right the first time than to undo a decision after the fact.
Contact Financial Aid
Log In to Student Gateway