Financing Your Post-Graduate College Education Office of Scholarships & Financial Aid

Funding Your Education 2016-2017 FAFSA still open 2017-2018 FAFSA opens Oct 1

Understanding Financial Aid: Expected Cost of Attendance (COA) COA = Direct Costs + Indirect Costs Direct Costs: -- Tuition -- Fees -- Housing/Meals -- Books Indirect Costs: -- Transportation -- Personal

Sample Award Letter – page 1

Sample Award Letter – page 2 Awards are split into Fall/Spring only Summer is a separate application - explain basics of summer funding Annual loan limit is $20,500 unsub

Sample Award Letter – page 3

Federal Funding for Graduate Students Direct Unsubsidized Loan -- 5.31% interest rate -- Interest accrues while in school -- Automatic eligibility -- Capped at $20,500 per academic year (Fall/Spring) Direct Grad PLUS Loan -- 6.31% interest rate -- Credit-based -- Apply online: www.studentloans.gov -- Academic year cap based on institutional Cost of Attendance (COA) Grad PLUS – if not approved, students can seek an endorser

Private Loans Fixed vs. variable rates Typically no origination fees Interest accrues while in school Things to ask the lender: -- Repayment options -- Availability of forgiveness programs -- Refinance options -- Consolidation of multiple loans

Interest Accrual

Aid Adjustments 14-day Loan Return Form 2016-17 Cost of Attendance Appeal Form Need more in the fall semester than the spring? In many cases uneven splits between the fall and spring semesters can be arranged. Be sure leave enough for both terms! Email financial.aid@nau.edu (response time 3-5 business days) To enroll in the payment plan, log in to your LOUIE account.  Under the Finances section, select “Enroll in a Payment Plan” from the dropdown menu. Tuition is split into four due dates: August 22nd, September 15th, October 15th, & November 15th (If you’ve been offered enough aid to pay your charges, be sure to accept it in LOUIE to avoid the payment plan fee!)

Scholarship Applications NAU Foundation: www.nazufoundation.com Application deadline 1/31/2017 Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid: www.nau.academicworks.com Application deadline 3/1/2017 NAU departmental scholarships, www.nau.edu/FinAid/Scholarships/Departmental/ NAU Graduate College/Graduate Student Government Scholarships: www.nau.edu/GradCol/Financing/Scholarships-Fellowships/

External Scholarship Search Engines www.azfoundation.org/Scholarships/ScholarshipOpportunities.aspx www.fastweb.com/ www.bigfuture.collegeboard.org/scholarship-search www.petersons.com/college-search/scholarship-search.aspx www.scholarships.com/ www.scholarshipexperts.com/ Remember: Scholarship applications are FREE! Steer clear of any site that asks you for money to apply.

Disbursement and refunds Financial aid disbursed on August 20 and will continue on a regular schedule. Refunds are issued after all charges are paid in LOUIE by Student and Departmental Account Services. Reminder to sign up for direct deposit.

Understanding Your Aid: Student Responsibility Satisfactory Academic Progress -- Pace of progress minimum 67% course completion -- Cumulative GPA 2.0 undergraduate 3.0 graduate -- Maximum Timeframe 150% of credits required to earn the degree www.nau.edu/sap Max timeframe – looks at all attempted hours in graduate career, not just in current graduate program

Understanding Your Aid: Student Responsibility

Contact Information NAU Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid Gammage Building 1, room 209 Flagstaff, AZ 86011 www.nau.edu/finaid Toll Free: 1-855-628-6333 E-mail: financial.aid@nau.edu