The University of Texas at El Paso

Students must submit the FAFSA form to be considered for financial aid opportunities at UTEP. Financial aid can come in many forms including scholarships, grants, student loans, and federal work study.

Grants including federal (the Pell, FSEOG, and TEACH), state grants (the TEXAS grant and the TPEG grant), and a university grant called the UTEP Promise Grant. The UTEP Promise Grant is available for lower income students with a family income of $30,000 or less where students are pursuing their first bachelor’s degree. Scholarships that are need-based are plentiful, too. State scholarships like the Texas high school Valedictorian Scholarship , the Good Neighbor Scholarship, and the McDonald's El Paso Scholarships are available as potential awards for incoming freshman and transfer students. There are international student scholarships as well. Students can look for privately funded outside scholarships to help subsidize their award packages. Financial aid opportunities exist for students seeking summer financial aid and aid for international students.

Student loans can also be part of the financial aid award that students receive. These include federal student and parent loans and alternative or private loans. Students may also be eligible for a Federal Work Study (FWS) award. Those awarded FWS must fill out their FWS student application as an additional application requirement.

UTEP helps guide potential students with answers to Frequently Asked Questions, a glossary of helpful terms, a consumer information page, and a net price calculator. To help students subsidize and plan for their education, UTEP offers incoming students the option of participating in the Guaranteed Tuition Plan. In order to take advantage of this, students must opt in to lock in the current tuition prices for up to 12 consecutive semesters.

There are several other programs that UTEP offers to help students organize and manage their finances. The Miner Gold Card is a student debit card that partners with Wells Fargo Bank. Students can make purchases on campus with the card as well as use it to organize themselves financially. The Student Business Services offers book and emergency loans to help students through tough times in between loan disbursements. The Paydirt Emergency Loans are short-term loans to help you stay in school and pursue your education during hardships. These are provided to eligible students for a maximum of $500. They must be paid within 90 days of promissory note signature and are offered by the Division of Student Affairs and provided by the Office of Student Financial Aid. The university offers convenient payment plans for students and their families to ease the burden of their tuition bill.

Financial Literacy at UTEP

UTEP cares about financial literacy. Students can visit the school’s financial literacy page and learn about many different financially-related topics. These include: paying for college, tips for budgeting and saving that include budgeting tips, moving checklists, want vs. needs templates, a section about credit, student loans,, protecting identity and information, and modules where students can learn even more. On the module page there is a link that accesses On Your Own, a website containing a wealth of information on personal finances and managing your money. The module page also features an interactive section containing quizzes and coursework.

About Smart About Money

UTEP’s financial literacy program, Smart About Money, helps students learn all about how to manage their money. Complete with tools, courses, and common money questions, this comprehensive program guides students into learning more about their money. It is self-paced and students can access it anytime. Tools include a variety of calculators, worksheets, quizzes, and a budget wizard. Courses include everything from financial well-being, to planning your income, housing topics, saving for an emergency fund, and important life events. The blog on the Smart About Money page is huge! It contains hundreds of articles on nearly any money-related topic. These are arranged by areas including retirement, saving, investing, taxes, insurance, housing, holidays, fraud topics, etc. Students can sign up for free, access the app and receive a regular newsletter providing continuous learning opportunities.