Financial Aid

The M.Ac.O.M. program and the M.Ac program are approved for financial aid through the federal loan programs. Acceptance in the program is required for school processing of financial aid. Graduate students may borrow up to $20,500 for each academic year in Stafford loans. Up to $8,500 of that amount can be borrowed as a subsidized Stafford Loan, with the rest in an unsubsidized Stafford loan. Any remaining need, up to the Cost-of-Education Budget (CEB), can be met with a Graduate PLUS loan.

For the subsidized loan, the federal government pays the interest on the loan while the borrower is in school and for six months afterward. The government also pays the interest during certain kinds of approved deferment periods. An unsubsidized Stafford Loan can range from $12,000 (if the borrower qualified for $8,500 in subsidized loan) to $20,500 (if the borrower is not eligible for any subsidized loan money). On unsubsidized loans, borrowers are always responsible for loan interest. Borrowers may opt to pay the interest each quarter or may ask the lender to capitalize the interest, which means the interest is added to the amount borrowed at the time of repayment.  There is a six-month grace period after leaving school for all Stafford loans, subsidized and unsubsidized.

Subsidized/Unsubsidized Stafford Loans have some advantages over PLUS Loans. Stafford Loans have a lower fixed interest rate (6.8%) than PLUS Loans (7.9%), and no interest is charged on Subsidized Stafford Loans while you are in school at least half-time or during grace and deferment periods. Interest is charged on PLUS Loans during all periods. Like the unsubsidized Stafford loans, the interest in PLUS loans can either be paid during school or capitalized. In addition, all Stafford Loans have a 6-month grace period after you leave school during which you are not required to make payments. There is no grace period for PLUS Loans.

Loan Determination:

Financial aid eligibility is determined using two figures: the Cost of Education Budget (CEB) and the Expected Family Contribution (EFC). The first is a calculation of the amount of money needed by a student, including tuition, fees, and books, to attend the institution for one year. The second is an eligibility index created by the federal government to determine a given student's need for financial assistance. The CEB minus the EFC determines the student's eligibility for need-based financial aid (subsidized Stafford Loans). For example, if the CEB is $25,000 and the EFC is $5000, the student would have an eligibility of $20,000. In a given school year, a student may only receive $8500 in subsidized Stafford Loans; the student in this example would get that full amount. The student would also be eligible for a maximum of $12,000 in unsubsidized Stafford Loans. Finally, the remaining $1500 could be met with an Graduate PLUS Loan.

Sources of Funds:

SIOM administers financial aid funds on behalf of the federal government. The school participates in the Stafford Loan program (SLP) and Graduate PLUS (PLP).

Loan Guarantor:

Our loan guarantor is the Northwest Education Loan Association (www.nela.net).