2011-2012 Graduate Student Financial Aid Instructions
All incoming and returning graduate students, who wish to apply for Federal Direct Loans: The preferred date to complete the following steps was April 15, 2011; however, students may still apply after this date. *If you borrowed as a CMU graduate student last academic year, you are not required to complete step 3.
1. FAFSA - Complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid at www.fafsa.gov. Carnegie Mellon's federal code is 003242. Be sure to sign the FAFSA electronically with a PIN number provided by the Department of Education. More information on PIN numbers can be found at www.pin.ed.gov.
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Verification Selection ONLY - Once you receive your FAFSA results, please review your Student Aid Report (SAR) closely to determine if you have been selected for verification. If you have been selected for verification, you will see this message: "170=YOUR FAFSA/APP HAS BEEN SELECTED FOR VERIFICATION, YOUR SCHOOL HAS AUTHORITY TO REQUEST COPIES OF CERTAIN FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS FROM YOU." Please complete the required Federal Verification Form for Independent Students and fax the signed form, along with your signed 2010 Federal Tax Return and corresponding W-2 forms and schedules to 412-268-8084. |
2. LOAN FORM - Complete, sign, date and fax the CMU Graduate Student Loan Form to 412-268-8084.
3. MPN & ENTRANCE COUNSELING - First-time borrowers: To apply for Federal Direct Student Loans, go to www.studentloans.gov and complete the Master Promissory Note and required Entrance Counseling Session. You will need your PIN from your FAFSA to log onto this site.
4. GRAD PLUS LOAN - If you plan on utilizing a Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan, this is a two-part process and both parts must be completed in order for your Grad PLUS Loan to be originated. This can also be completed at www.studentloans.gov. If you borrowed a Grad PLUS Loan last academic year, you are only required to complete the application portion of the process. This cannot be completed before June 1, 2011.
5. ATTESTATIONS - In order to finalize the application process, students will need to complete the attestations on Student Information Online (SIO):
- Log onto SIO using your Andrew ID and password
- Hover over 'Finances' and click on 'Financial Aid Status/Award'
- Under the Miscellaneous category, click on 'Financial Aid Attestations' and complete the information