Applying for Financial Aid

Financial aid is awarded on an annual basis. Students must reapply each year by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at https://studentaid.gov/. Once the FAFSA data is received and processed, aid eligibility will be determined.  This typically happens in early April of each year.  If additional information is needed, you will be notified and processing will continue once the required documentation is provided.

Requirements for students who are applying for any financial aid:

• Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the 2020-2021 academic year
• Complete the FAFSA online at https://studentaid.gov/.
• The 2020-2021 FAFSA application became available on October 1, 2019 and will utilize 2018 Tax Return Information.  Apply as early as possible, and applicants/entering students should apply whether admitted, on the alternate list or awaiting an admissions decision.
• The School Code for FAU is 001481.
• Additional documents should NOT be submitted unless requested. These items may include:
• Federal Verification Worksheet
• A copy of the Student’s 2018 Tax Transcript and W‐2 Forms

Documentation of special circumstances the student and/or student’s family may be experiencing (such as loss of employment, divorce, etc.) may be submitted at any time.

Additional Requirements to Apply for College of Medicine Scholarships:

• Parent Data must be included on the student’s FAFSA. Do not assume you will not be funded based on parents’ income, as the college of medicine offers both merit and financial need based awards.
• Applicants must meet both the application and essay requirements.

Additional Requirements to receive Federal Student Loan funds:

Go to the “Graduate/Professional Students” tab at https://studentaid.gov/, and:

For Unsubsidized Direct Student Loan

• Select “Complete Loan Agreement for A Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loan (MPN)” and complete the Master Promissory Note.
• Select “Complete Entrance Counseling” and complete entrance counseling for the Unsubsidized Direct Loan. This requirement is completed once and must be done prior to your first loan disbursement at the College of Medicine

For Graduate PLUS Loan (if you need to borrow through this program)

• Select “Apply for a PLUS Loan” and complete the application. You will need to apply for a new Graduate PLUS Loan each year.
• Select “Complete PLUS Credit Counseling” once your application is approved. 
• Select “Complete Loan Agreement for a PLUS Loan (MPN)”, and complete the Master Promissory Note.
• Submit the Graduate PLUS Loan Addendum Form to the Office of Medial Student Financial Aid.  

Federal Loan Defaults and/or Federal Grant Repayments

• If you are/were in repayment on your Federal Student Loans and have not made payments for 270 days, your Federal Loans may be in default. If you are in default on any Federal Student Loan or you owe an overpayment on a Federal Grant, you will not be eligible for Federal Financial Aid until the default is cleared or the Grant overpayment has been repaid.
• Review your Federal Student Financial Aid History at  https://nslds.ed.gov/nslds/nslds_SA/  .

Other Requirements

Every first year medical student with any educational debt will be required to schedule an appointment with the Office of Medical Student Financial Aid to discuss: the cost of attendance; how to construct and live within a budget; estimate of debt at graduation and repayment options; and any other financial matters of interest or concern.  This one-on-one meeting must be completed before the student may receive financial aid funds for the second half of the year (January of the academic year).  A budget worksheet must be completed and emailed to the Office of Medical Student Financial Aid prior to the meeting.  The worksheets are available on our “Forms” website. 2^nd Year students will also be required to attend individual meetings to review current student loan debt and repayment plans.

You must be able to meet your costs with a combination of grants, scholarships, student loans, and/or funding available to you. Please be aware that if you are not able to use the Graduate PLUS Loan program due to your credit history, you will have to identify other funding sources to meet your costs, as College of Medicine scholarships are not used for this purpose. If you have adverse credit, you will want to take steps to address that matter before you start medical school. 

Every fourth year student with any educational debt will be required to schedule an appointment with the Office of Medical Student Financial Aid to review debt management strategies prior to graduation.

Aid Disbursements

Half of your funding is disbursed at the beginning of the academic year and the other half is disbursed at the mid-pint of the year. Please refer to the “Important Dates” webpage for these dates.

You are strongly encouraged to complete the steps necessary to allow Direct Deposit of your financial aid disbursements.  This is done through your My FAU account. Otherwise, any financial aid disbursement will have to be mailed to you at the address you have on file with the University, which could cause delays in receipt of funds.