When Nsfas is checking on your ‘Funding Eligibility’ it means that the National Student Financial Aid Scheme is verifying the applicant’s household financial status which is declared on the application.
Funding Eligible
If the status you see reads Funding Eligible this means simply that they have checked your household income and you are eligible for funding i.e. you will receive funding from NSFAS. However the way that NSFAS works is that the tuition fees (school fees) are not paid to you, they are paid to the university or TVET College directly.
If the status show Funding Eligible it means specifically that you are eligible for funding but a university or TVET college has not approved you for admission yet. This will normally be the case when you first apply at the start of the application season. If you haven't received your Matric results yet it is too soon for the university or TVET College to formally accept your application even though you are one of the eligible students.
So if you see the status Funding Eligible you can relax about paying for your degree or diploma studies - and turn all your attention to doing as well as possible in your exams as you don't have to worry about Nsfas funding. Once you get an admission offer from the college or university the financial aid scheme will approve your study funding.
Some people will be asked to submit supporting documentation along with a certified copy of their ID document if NSFAS doesn't have all the information you need. If you an submit the supporting documents as soon as possible they will be able to finalise the financial assistance a soon as possible.
Funding Eligible Without Admission
If your NSFAS application status reads 'Funding Eligible Without Admission', it means that your funding application has been approved but NSFAS is still waiting on confirmation from the University or College you applied to.
Your NSFAS application status will change to 'Funding With Admission Offer', which means that you have been funded and received admission confirmation. This could take a bit of time as there could be communication issues between NSFAS and the University or College.
The next step would be for NSFAS to pay the tuition fees directly to the university or TVET College.
Unfortunately, there is no time frame when it comes to when the NSFAS application status changes and how long it will take for the application to be processed, so applicants are requested to be patient.
However, students are encouraged to continue to monitor their application status on the myNSFAS portal.
How Do I Check my NSFAS Status?
- Click here to visit the myNSFAS portal.
- Log in to your myNSFAS account.
- Select ‘Track Funding Progress’.
Students who hope to further their education by studying at a public university or TVET College are eligible for NSFAS funding if they meet the requirements.
NSFAS recipients receive the following in addition to tuition fees:
- Accommodation
- Transport
- Book allowance
- Registration fees
- Living expense allowances
Click here to visit the NSFAS website.
Related article: How To Check Your Sassa SRD Status
