What is your Title IV School Code?
Our six-digit Title IV Code is: 003033.

My dad lost his job and won’t have as much income as he had in 2007. What do I do?
After you file the 2008-09 FAFSA, you will need to complete the Special Circumstance Form. It enables you to describe your situation and provide documentation.

What are Federal Stafford Loans?
Federal Stafford Loans are a special type of loan made by lending institutions to college students. They can be subsidized or unsubsidized based on your financial need. You must have demonstrated financial need to qualify for a subsidized loan which has the interest paid by the federal government while you are enrolled in school at least half time and during your six month grace period. You are awarded an unsubsidized loan (interest accrues on this loan while you’re in college) if you don’t qualify for a subsidized loan. Some students are actually awarded both – a portion of a loan might be subsidized and the balance unsubsidized.

What other loans are available?
Your parents may take a Federal PLUS loan to cover your remaining balance. Sixty days after the final disbursement of the loan amount (each year’s loan is considered a separate loan), parents are required to begin the repayment process. Parents have ten years to repay a PLUS loan. In addition, alternative loans are available to students to cover any remaining balance.

How much time do I have to repay my student loans?
You have up to ten years to repay principle and interest for both of the Federal student loan programs we administer – Stafford and Perkins Loans.

Does the Mount have a payment plan?
The Mount works with Tuition Management System (TMS) to offer you an option to budget yearly tuition over eight, nine or ten months with no interest. For more information or an application, go to www.afford.com or call (800) 356-8329.

When does the repayment begin?
Repayment terms vary. You will have a grace period of six months after graduation before you must begin making payments on your Stafford Loan. With the Perkins Loan, you will have a nine-month grace period.

We’re not going to fill out the FAFSA because people have told us that we probably won’t qualify for any financial aid. What do you suggest?
Complete the form anyway. The FAFSA takes many things into consideration. Also, keep in mind that every student is eligible for a Federal Stafford Loan.

After I send in my FAFSA, how long will it be before I receive an award letter?
If you have been accepted to the Mount, it will take approximately two weeks to receive notification.

If I have financial aid at the school I’m currently attending, can I (or how do I) transfer it to the Mount?
You don’t actually transfer your financial aid, although it may seem like it. You have the results of your FAFSA sent to the Mount by adding our code to your FAFSA record. Once you’ve been admitted as a transfer student, we put together a financial aid package based on our awarding policy and available funding. You may receive some of the same types of financial aid and even the same amounts – but packages can vary.

I play a sport. What scholarships or grants do you offer to athletes?
As an NCAA Division III school, the Mount is not allowed to offer any kind of special assistance to student athletes.

My dad makes over $100,000 per year, but we have six kids in the family. Would our family’s size increase our chances of receiving financial aid?
The needs analysis makes an adjustment to your income called the “income protection allowance” based on your family size and the number attending college. The larger your family, the higher the income protection allowance will be. It protects a portion of your income for the living expenses of your family.

I filled out the FAFSA and have received my financial aid award letter. I’ve already been awarded my academic and other scholarships from the Mount. I still need more financial aid in order to attend. What else can I do?
This would be a good time to schedule an appointment to speak with someone from Student Administrative Services. We’ll want to make sure that you have applied for any local scholarships and that you have accurate figures for your estimated costs. We’ll talk with you about the available options, such as the Federal PLUS Loan, the alternative loans and the TMS payment plan.

Will the amount of need-based financial aid I’ve been awarded decrease as a result of receiving an academic scholarship from the Mount?
Typically we know about academic scholarships before we package need-based aid. We do adjust scholarship amounts as we get new ACT and/or SAT scores, transcripts come in with recalculated grade point averages, or final grades are received from previous college work. In addition, we have some scholarships – like our Leadership Scholarships that are awarded after the need-based process. These increases in scholarship amounts can result in a reduction in need-based funding.

What if I receive a scholarship from an organization other than the Mount?
We still need to take a look at your need-based financial aid package to see if any adjustment is necessary. If we have to make any changes, we always make adjustments to the self-help aid such as student loans or work study before we adjust any grant or scholarship funding.

What if I’m receiving assistance from my employer or from a scholarship organization? Do I need to pay this amount up front?
Provide us with documentation of the assistance the third party has agreed to pay by the payment confirmation due date and we will not expect you to pay it up front. We will bill outside parties as long as we receive original authorization from the provider. You will continue to receive monthly statements for this amount until it is paid in full.

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