How to Check NSFAS Application Status and Requirements in 2020

How to Check NSFAS Application Status and Requirements in 2020.
I know how sad it feels when you dream of attending college but has no funds to make your dream come through. I also know how painful it is starting college but unable to finish because of the inability to raise enough funds.
NSFAS has come to the rescue of students like this who have the passion to attend college but are unable to raise funds. National Student Financial Aid Scheme is a financial assistance scheme that aims at providing loans and bursary to students who are qualified for public universities and after their high schools.

Fundings of NSFAS is received from the Department of Higher Education and Training. If you don’t know the requirement to obtain this loan or you don’t know how to check your eligibility status for the application, you can rely on this article. This content is going to lead you on how to go about checking your NSFAS Application Status. Let’s Begin!

NSFAS: What they Offer

For those who are academically deserving and financially needy, National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) offers a unique opportunity:

• NSFAS provide financial aid to eligible students at TVET colleges and public universities,
• Identifies eligible students, provides bursaries and collects past student loan repayments to replenish the funds available for future generations of students; and,
• Supports access to, and success in, higher education and training for students from poor and working-class families who would otherwise not be able to afford to study.

Requirements for NSFAS Application

Although the National Student Financial Aid Scheme is open to everybody, there are certain documents that you will need once you are assured that you qualify to apply for the fund. These include the following:

• Your South African identification document/card or an unabridged birth certificate. The only time that you can use your birth certificate is if you do not possess a smart ID card or a green bar-coded ID.
• Your parents and/or your guardian’s identification document/card. However, if your parents are dead, you may present a death certificate.
• Pay advice/letter of employment/pension advice that explicitly states your income. Note that this should not be more than three months old.

NB: You need to have the electronic and certified copies of the documents that have been mentioned above while you are applying for the NSFAS.

Qualification for applying for NSFAS

NSFAS is not a scheme that just anyone can apply for; there are certain criteria that one must meet before he or she can consider applying. So, if you want to know if you actually qualified to apply for the fund or not, then check out the following requirements.

• You must be a citizen of South Africa.
• The combined annual income of your household must not be more than R350 000 per annum.
• You must also be a grant recipient of SASSA.
• As a first-time applicant, it must be that you are registering for an undergraduate qualification at a public university.  Alternatively, you are expected to be registered at a public TVET College for any of the National Certificate Vocational or report 191 programs.
• As an applicant, it must be that you are applying to study at a public university or TVET College.
• If you are an already-registered student of a university, it is expected that your annual household income is less than R122,000 in a year.
• If you are studying at a TVET College, then you must have passed Grade 9 & 10 if you want to receive the funding.
• Also, if you are studying at any of the universities, you must have passed Grade 12 to receive the funding.

However, for postgraduate students who want to apply for the NSFAS fund, the following are the qualifications:

• Have a B-Tech degree in Architecture/Architectural Technology.
• Have a B Tech degree in Biokinetics/Biomedical Technology/Biotechnology.
• You should possess a Postgraduate Certificate in Education.
• If you have a Postgraduate Diploma in Accounting, you can apply.
• If you possess a Bachelor of Laws degree, then you can also apply.

How to Check NSFAS Application Status

If you want to check the status of your NSFAS application for 2019, the steps documented here will make it a lot easy for you to achieve that.
1. Visit the official website of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).
2. Once you are there, the next thing to do is to click on MyNSFAS account under For “Students & Learners:” option at the upper left side of your computer. From there, you will need to log in using your ID and password that you created when you applied.
3. Once you are on your dashboard, if you see something like “Provisionally Funded” as the status of your application, then you may have to contact Unisa’s Division: Student Funding (DSF).
Depending on the outcome, you may also have to contact the National Student Financial Aid Scheme. This is because they are the ones responsible for the application process of everyone.

4. However, if you find out that the status of your application reads declined or unsuccessful, a number of reasons could be adduced to that. But then, if you are not comfortable with the rejection, there is always permission to appeal the decision.
In this case, you will be required to file an appeal form, which is available on the official website of NSFAS for review by the appeals committee.
Having seen the steps to check your NSFAS application status, I believe that you are finally excited that you can further your higher education with the assistance of NSFAS. But while schooling, you need to always have it at the back of your mind that you’re schooling on loan. 
To avoid any form of embarrassment that may occur when your loan time expires, I will advise that you make some savings while schooling just to get the money ready before time. However, don’t fail to take your studies seriously as that’s the most important.