8 Steps to Financial Aid (2008-2009) — Revised March 2008
This page has been written to help you understand the financial aid process, beginning with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and culminating in the delivery of financial aid awards. In most instances a law student will be eligible for aid to cover his/her total cost of attendance. For academic year 2007-08, the cost of attendance was set at $33,831 for resident students and $47,191 for nonresident students. Financial aid includes Federal Direct Stafford Loans (maximum $20,500), grants, scholarships, work-study and/or Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loans. No credit check is required in order to receive Stafford loans, but students must be “credit-worthy” to receive Grad PLUS loans.
The cost of attendance (budget) includes tuition and fees, books and supplies, rent and utilities, food, medical, transportation, and personal expenses. Please note that car expenses (payments, insurance, repairs), credit card payments, and rent/utilities over $577 per month are not included. It is very important to keep your expenses within the budget.
If you need additional assistance, you may call 303-492-5091 to speak to a financial aid advisor. If you would like to speak with Natalie High personally, please call 303-492-3825 to make a telephone or office appointment, or to be transferred to her office telephone.
1. FAFSA
You are urged to apply for financial aid on the internet at www.fafsa.ed.gov. A worksheet to help you apply on the web is available at www.fafsa.ed.gov/worksheet.htm. You will also need a PIN number, obtainable at www.pin.ed.gov. The PIN number will be sent by email or U.S mail within a week. When you apply be sure to enter the University of Colorado at Boulder (UCB) and the Title IV school code (001370) near the end of the online or paper FAFSA. Paper FAFSAs are available from the financial aid office at CU Boulder , the Admissions Office at the CU Law School, or any college or high school.
2. FEDERAL TAXES
If you are interested in aid for the 2008-2009 year, fax or send a signed copy of your 2007 federal tax return, if you are an incoming first-year student, please wait and submit your taxes once you have been offered admission to CU Law. Please be sure to sign the form- leaving the signature field blank will delay processing.
The fax number is 303-492-0838, and the mailing address is:
Office of Financial Aid
University of Colorado
556 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309-0556
3. SAR (STUDENT AID REPORT)
Within 3-5 weeks from the time you complete the FAFSA you will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) from the Department of Education. This SAR will reflect the information you supplied on the FAFSA. If you do not receive an SAR within 5 weeks, call the processor at 1-800-4FEDAID. When you receive the SAR make sure all the information is correct. If you need to make corrections, follow the instructions on the SAR. You can make changes on the web, or mail the corrected section (part 2) to the processor. Do not send the SAR to the University of Colorado. Keep it for your records.
4. AWARD OFFER
When the financial aid office has received the necessary documents (your tax forms and the FAFSA information from the processor), a financial aid award offer will be mailed to you. This letter will arrive 4-6 weeks after all documents have been received and verified as accurate. Review the award offer, and follow the enclosed instructions to accept or decline aid.
5. GRANTS AND SCHOLARSHIPS
Scholarships are awarded on an ongoing basis, so if you have been notified of a scholarship award from the Office of Law Admissions but don’t see it on your initial financial aid award letter, don’t worry. The Admissions office and Financial Aid office will be in touch and all awards will be credited by the time of billing. If you are awarded a grant and/or scholarship, this money will be credited to your student account directly at the time of billing. If you have questions about scholarship awards, please contact Law Admissions.
6. FEDERAL DIRECT STAFFORD LOANS
If you need a Federal Direct Stafford Loan, the U.S. Department of Education (Direct Loans) will act as the lender. You may not borrow these loans from any other lender, and you must accept the loan offer by using the CuConnect system to accept online, calling 303-492-5091 and accepting over the phone, or by mailing or faxing the Award Adjust Form to the Office of Financial Aid. Your Federal Direct Stafford Loan promissory note can be completed online at dlenote.ed.gov using your FAFSA PIN number to sign the document electronically.
7. FEDERAL DIRECT GRADUATE PLUS LOANS
Graduate PLUS loans are part of your financial aid package. You may not borrow more than your cost of attendance. If you wish to accept these loans, you must complete an additional form to do so, located at http://www.colorado.edu/finaid/forms.html
Graduate and professional students will be able to borrow PLUS loan funds through the Federal Direct Loan Program, above the subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford Loan limits up to the full cost of attendance. These loans are deferrable while in school but DO NOT have a grace period. Borrowers will pay a fixed interest rate for 2007-2008. These loans will require an approved credit check for each new borrowing term (generally speaking, this is once a year, before Fall semester begins).
PLEASE NOTE: You must have good credit to receive these loans. You may want to request a credit report now. Call Equifax at 1-800-685-1111, Experian at 1-800-682-7654, and/or Trans-Union at 1-800-888-4213. If there are mistakes on your report, do what is necessary to get them corrected.
8. ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS
Additional questions? Call the Law School Admissions Office or email Natalie High, the law school financial aid liaison at natalie.high@colorado.edu. Financial aid appointments are available (by phone or at the Law School) by calling 303-492-3825. The Law School Financial Aid Counselor, keeps office hours Monday through Thursday 9-12 in the Admissions office of Wolf Law, priority is given to appointments but walk-ins are welcome.
SPECIAL NOTES:
Make copies of all forms that you mail (FAFSA, Tax Forms, Misc. Forms). On your copies, record the date on which you mailed the forms and to whom the copies were mailed.
You must apply early and correctly to avoid delays in receiving your aid. It is best to keep in touch via email or by phone to ensure all forms are received and processed.
This information is subject to change without notice.
It is intended as a general source of information about
financial aid and is no way intended to state contractual terms.
