Financial Aid Updates

Our priority deadline for limited need based aid for 2009-2010 is February 14th, 2009. This is not the deadline for the FAFSA itself. The priority deadline is for certain limited need-based funding awarded on a first come first serve basis.

You may still submit your FAFSA for the 2009-2010 Adacemic Year for student loans at any time. For the current academic year (2009-2010), the FAFSA can still completed. If applying for the current academic year, be sure to choose 2009-2010 for the aid year to be processed. Award notifications for the 2009-2010 Academic Year are sent via email. Make sure you have completed any of your TO DO list items and other paperwork. Please wait to accept your financial aid on Enroll & Pay until you get the award notification email.

Scheduled dates of Reimbursements are now posted here.

ATTENTION STUDENTS! If you are considered independent according to the FAFSA, you are NOT required to submit your parent(s') information on the FAFSA. KUMC does not require that independent students supply parental information on the FAFSA.

In addition, on the FAFSA, there is an indicator that Health Profession Students may be required to complete parents' information by their colleges, but KUMC does not require parent information for Graduate and Professional Students (Including Medical Students). The only cases this is required is for the Scholarship for Disadvantaged Students Program and the Primary Care Loan Program (see Forms).

New Loan Program Update:

We would like to notify you of a change that will take place with Stafford Student Loans for the 2009-10 academic year. The University of Kansas Medical Center currently participates in the Federal Family Educational Loan Program (FFELP). Currently, the funding for your Stafford and PLUS loans comes from private lenders. A comparable loan program exists - the Federal Direct Student Loan Program - which also provides Stafford and PLUS loans, but the funding comes directly from federal government rather than from private lenders.

We recently researched and compared the FFEL Program to the Federal Direct Student Loan Program, and have made the decision to become a Federal Direct Student Loan school starting with the 2009-10 academic year. We are committed to providing a reliable source of federally guaranteed student loans, and since funding for Federal Direct Student Loans is secured by the U.S. Department of Education from the U.S. Treasury, you are assured access to federally guaranteed student loans irrespective of financial market instabilities.

We know that the decisions we make impact you, and we wanted to make sure that we chose a program that best meets your needs. During our research it became evident that there were more benefits for students with the Federal Direct Student Loan Program than with the FFEL Program. Some of these benefits are listed below:

• The Direct Loan program is funded directly by the Federal Government, which eliminates possible confusion and complication for students because there is no “middle man” (private lenders who disburse FFELP funds, guarantors, or loan servicers) involved in the process. For example, this past year many students were required to change lenders because their original lenders stopped participating in the federal loan programs, or lenders changed loan terms.

• Receipt of Direct Loan funds is faster due to fewer steps to process by the lender, student and school.

• Interest rates for Federal Direct Grad PLUS and Federal Direct Parent PLUS loans are cheaper at 7.9% with Federal Direct Lending vs. 8.5% with FFELP. That is an annual savings of $60 for every $10,000 borrowed.

• After the Direct Loan rebate of 1.5% on all Direct Loans, you will pay .5% for loan processing fees, which means for every $1000 you borrow, you will receive $995. Our current lenders charge between 1% and 2% loan fees, which means that for every $1000 you borrow, you will receive not more than $990.

• Direct Loans are never sold, so you always know who holds your loans and what the terms are, making it easier for you to track your loans with one lender instead of multiple lenders (assuming you have not previously borrowed through FFELP.)

• You should continue to receive the same or better level of customer service that you received from your FFELP lender(s).

• Many of our students are already borrowers in the Federal Direct Student Loan Program. For example, some students who attended our main campus in Lawrence may already have a Direct Student Loan.

You will need to sign a new Master Promissory Note if you have not previously borrowed through the Federal Direct Student Loan Program. Specific information for these steps will be emailed to you as part of the award notification for 2009-2010.

For more information on the Federal Direct Student Loan Program, visit the website at http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/DirectLoan/index.html

Please contact our office with any questions you have regarding our decision.

ATTENTION STUDENTS!

Regarding various media reports on government aid: There are some concerns about student aid availability brought on by media reports of a credit crunch. The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) has issued a statement to reassure students that aid will be available for the next academic year. Please read this handout if you have any concerns or doubts about aid eligibility.

 

For Students receiving an update email from the Federal Processor (FAFSA)! There is a post screening that is occuring this week from the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) and the FAFSA. You may receive an email that information has changed for you or had been updated. At this time, you (the students) do not need to do anything. If any changes occur for you, we will send you an email.