1.  I am a U.S. Citizen/Permanent Resident.  What types of aid do I qualify for?

You may be qualified for a Federal Stafford Loan (subsidized or unsubsidized), a Federal Perkins Loan, a Federal Graduate PLUS Loan, Federal Work-Study, and/or a private loan.  If you are a veteran or the spouse or child of a veteran, you may be eligible for education benefits offered through the Department of Veterans Affairs.  A full description of federal and private loans as well as veterans benefits can be found here.

2.  I’m an international student and need a loan.  What do I do?

As an international student, you are not eligible for U.S. federal loans.  You may be eligible for a private loan with a creditworthy U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident cosigner.

3.  How do I apply for loans?

·        Review the information available on the Student Financial Services website (hyperlink to SFS graduate financial aid page)

·        Submit FAFSA

·        Submit CU Application for Loans and Work-study

·        Submit Promissory Notes directly to lender by visiting your lender’s website

·        Complete your Entrance Interview on SSOL

4.  Which lender should I choose?

The Office of Student Financial Services provides a list of suggested lenders and other lenders on the Student Financial Services website.  Please read the disclosure information on these pages carefully.

5.  Has Columbia received my FAFSA?

You may log into Student Services On-Line and determine if GSAS has received your FAFSA.  This information can be found under “Document Tracking”.

6.  How do I receive the loan funds?

Once you have registered for six or more points, have been charged tuition and fees, have had your loan approved by your lender and processed by the financial aid office and you have completed all requirements (see FAQ#4), your lender will disburse your loan funds to Columbia’s Office of Student Financial Services (SFS).  Your student account will be credited with your loan proceeds.  After charges have been paid, you will be eligible to receive any remaining positive balance as a refund.

7.  How do I get a refund?

Student Financial Services automatically generates refunds from federal loan proceeds after 9 business days of disbursement to the University.  You can expedite the process by making a formal request for the refund via the SSOL Automatic Refund Option link.

8.  What is maximum loan I can borrow?

Borrowing limits are affected by borrowing caps as set by individual federal and private loan programs, the official cost of attendance (COA), and your federal financial need as determined by the FAFSA.  Students generally can borrow from various loan programs that together provide enough loan proceeds to cover the entire COA.  Federal and Private loans, or a combination thereof, can not exceed the COA.  Generally, Federal Stafford and Federal Perkins Loans are supplemented with credit-based loans like the Federal Graduate Plus or Private Collegiate loans.  Please visit the Student Financial Services website to obtain detailed summaries of the various loan programs.

9.  Is there a deadline for submitting my loan request?

Newly admitted and continuing students matriculating in the Fall should submit their Financial Aid documents by June 1 to receive priority processing.  We ask that students anticipate between 4 to 6 weeks of processing time for their loan requests.  Application requests received in August may have longer processing times because of the increased volume of financial aid applications during this period.  We ask that you provide the Financial Aid Office a minimum of 45 days to fully process your loan request.  Loan funds generally arrive shortly after this initial processing period.  Incomplete request will obviously require additional processing time.  You may log onto SSOL to determine if you are missing financial aid documents.  Also, please see FAQ #1 to determine what forms are required.  Complete loan application request received with less 45 days of the Fee Payment Deadline can not be guaranteed to arrive on time.

Summer-term financial aid applicants must submit their application materials to the Financial Aid Office by April 15th to ensure timely disbursement of their loan proceeds by the Summer Fee Deadline.