Financial Aid Application Process

LOAN LIMITS:

FEDERAL DIRECT LOAN ANNUAL MAXIMUMS Graduate and Professional Students
Subsidized	Unsubsidized	Total
$8,500	$12,000	$20,500

FEDERAL DIRECT LOAN AGGREGATE MAXIMUMS Graduate and Professional Students
Subsidized	Unsubsidized	Total
$65,500	$138,500	$138,500

A LOOK AT HOW YOUR LOAN ELIGIBILITY IS DETERMINED

How to calculate your subsidized eligibility:

*Budget
Less student’s **EFC number
Less ***other aid
=TOTAL

$20,500
- EFC
- other aid

=SUBSIDIZED ELIGIBILITY

Example:

$20,500 -9,000 -2,599	(budget) (EFC) (other aid)
= $ 8,500	(Maximum sub. annual loan limit set by Depart. Of Ed)

How to calculate your unsubsidized eligibility:

*Budget
Less sub. amount
Less ***other aid
=TOTAL

$20,500
- sub loan
- other aid

=UNSUBSIDIZED ELIGIBILITY

Example:

$20,500 -8,500 -1,200	(budget) (Subsidized Direct Loan) (other aid)
= 10,800	(Although Department’s limit is $12,000, student can only have the maximum amount you are eligible to receive.)

*The budget includes allowances for tuition (27 credit hours between 2008 summer and 2009 spring), fees, books, transportation, and miscellaneous.

**Student’s EFC is the Expected Family Contribution dollar amount. This is the dollar amount that, based upon the information you put on your FAFSA, you are expected to be able to put toward your college education. It is not the actual cost, but only what you, as a student, are capable of putting toward your education. Your information was put into a formula used by the Department of Education to calculate your EFC dollar amount.
***Other aid might include employer reimbursement, outside monetary gifts, as well as other forms of aid sent to the University on your behalf.

PLEASE NOTE THAT LOANS WILL BE CERTIFIED FOR WHICHEVER IS LESS, YOUR REQUESTED LOAN AMOUNT OR YOUR LOAN ELIGIBILITY.

If you will not be enrolled in at least 27 credit hours between the 2008 summer and 2009 spring, your budget will be calculated using only the hours in which you are enrolled. Your loan funds may be less, because your eligibility will be less.

APPLYING FOR DIRECT LOANS

Students must complete all of the following steps to apply for Direct Loans. These loans are administered by the U.S. Department of Education.

STEP 1. Complete the 2008-2009 Free Application for Federal Student Aid. You can complete this form on-line or by contacting the Department of Education to request a paper application. Students can request a *PIN number (personal identification number) from the Department to sign their application electronically, or students can print out a signature page, sign it and mail it to the Department. Instructions are available on the Departments’s website.

Once your FAFSA is processed the school will receive your processed information in an electronic report referred to as an ISIR. Your ISIR could be selected by the Dept. Of Ed. for a process called verification. If it is, the school will request documentation from you to verify your report before you can have financial aid.

If your ISIR is not selected for verification, you will receive an “Award Letter” from the Financial Aid Office showing the type and amounts of financial aid you are eligible to receive.

*Note: Your PIN number serves as your personal identifier. KEEP IT PRIVATE - KEEP IT SAFE. Do not share your PIN number with another individual, do not give your PIN to the Financial Aid Office, or to any other Administrative Office. Guard against identity theft.

Identity theft is a widespread and growing national problem for everyone. This crime involves the theft of your personal information such as your name, address, telephone number and Social Security number. Identity thieves steal your personal information and ruin your credit. These thieves often run up thousands of dollars in credit card debt, just to name one problem, and the bills are sent to you for payment. Your credit rating can be ruined. Even though it’s not your fault, you’re the one who has to clean up the damage, which can take months or even years to correct.

STEP 2. Complete the Federal Direct Loan Entrance Counseling. This session takes only 20-30 minutes to complete. You will complete the session by taking a short quiz, afterwards which you must print out your Rights and Responsibilities. The Rights and Responsibilities page will have your name and the time you took your session. SIGN AND DATE THIS PAGE AND SUBMIT IT TO THE FINANCIAL AID OFFICE AS PROOF THAT YOU TOOK THE SESSION. We cannot accept this page without your signature and date on the lower portion of the page. DO NOT USE YOUR PIN NUMBER TO LOG ON, instead log on with your name, SSN and DOB. All students borrowing Direct Loans for the first time at Oakland City University are required to complete this counseling session. Students who do not have access to the internet should contact the Financial Aid Office.

STEP 3. Complete the OCU Direct Loan Request Form. This application must be completed in full. Incomplete forms will be returned to the student, and could mean missing the Direct Loan deadline (August 29, 2008). Please return your completed Request Form to the following address:

Oakland City University
Attn: Direct Loan Processing
138 North Lucretia Street
Oakland City, IN 47660-1038
or
FAX: 812-749-1438

STEP 4. Complete the Federal Direct Loan Master Promissory Note (MPN). You can go online to complete and sign the eMPN, or you can request a paper MPN to be sent to you. To complete the eMPN online, go to www.dlenote.ed.gov.

To complete and sign the eMPN, you will need your PIN (issued from the U.S. Department of Education) to begin the process.

To complete the paper MPN, you will need to contact the Financial Aid Office to request a paper MPN.

It is important that you follow these guidelines when completing the paper MPN:

Use blue or black ink.
The MPN must be original; no copies will be accepted by the Department.
Hand-written data on MPNs must be legible.
Do not use white-out on the MPN.
Corrections can be made with one line through the incorrect information and initials beside the correct information.
No alterations are permitted on the borrowers signature. Signatures must be in blue or black ink.

Please return your completed MPN to:

Oakland City University
Attn: Direct Loan Processing
138 North Lucretia Street
Oakland City, IN 47660-1038
or
FAX: 812-749-1438

STEP 5. Submit a copy of the courses required to successfully complete your degree. Contact JoAnn Layman, MAT Director, to request this course list. Be sure it is signed by Jo Ann before you submit it to the Financial Aid Office.

STEP 6. DIRECT LOAN EXIT COUNSELING
Prior to graduating or leaving college, borrowers are required to complete an exit counseling session. This online exit counseling session has been created to make sure that you understand your rights and responsibilities as a Direct Loan borrower. This online exit counseling session will take about 30-40 minutes to complete.

Please note that transcripts will be held until we have received confirmation of yor completed session.

It is your responsibility to make sure the Financial Aid Office has all of your completed forms by the deadline. The deadline is August 29, 2008. There will be no exceptions to this deadline.

If your financial aid file is incomplete on September 1, 2008, you will be considered a self-pay student. (Contact Debbie Vinnedge, Loan/Collection Officer, in the Business Office to find out how you will be expected to pay for your classes. You can reach Debbie by calling 812-749-1244 or email her at dvinnedge@oak.edu.)

Students are charged per semester. It is the policy of OCU that accounts must be paid in full before the student can register for their next semester.