Scholarships and Financial Aid



 


IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING SEQUESTRATION

You may be hearing a variety of news reports regarding Sequestration and wondering how it will affect you. While we anticipate that Sequestration will affect student financial aid at CMU, we are still awaiting guidance from the Department of Education. Here's what we know so far for 2013-2014:
  • Federal Pell Grant - no impact

  • Federal Work-Study and SEOG - no impact

  • Teach Grant - New TEACH grant awards disbursed after March 1, 2013 will see a 6.0% reduction.  This means the maximum TEACH award cannot exceed $3760. 

  • Direct Loans - Sequestration will increase loan fees for loans with first disbursement made after March 1, 2013. We anticipate the rate on Subsidized and Unsubsidized Direct Loans  will increase to approximately 1.05 percent. With such an increase, the fee on a loan for $5,500 would increase from $55.00 to $57.75, an increase of $2.75.  Loan fees for Direct PLUS Loans for both parent and graduate will increase from 4 per cent to approximately 4.20 percent. With such an increase, the fee on a $10,000 Direct PLUS loan would increase from $400.00 to $420.00, an increase of $20.00. Per guidance from the Department of Education, the CMU Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid will not take action to implement the effects of Sequestration on Direct Loans until further direction is provided by the Department of Federal Student Aid. All students affected by Sequestration will be notified by the Department of Federal Student Aid. Continue to monitor our website for updates on this important issue.

FINANCIAL AID FOR SUMMER ATTENDANCE

You must complete a CMU Summer Financial Aid Application or a Summer Study Abroad Application to apply for financial aid to cover your expenses associated with attending CMU, on-campus, summer school courses. Additional information regarding SUMMER may be found by clicking this sentence.


NET PRICE CALCULATOR

Based on the information you provide, this calculator will estimate your total out of pocket expenses as well as provide you with resources to help finance your education. For the calculator - Click Here


ACTIVATING STUDENT LOANS

How to activate a Student Loan - A video tutorial may be found by clicking on the following link: http://podcast.cmich.edu:8171/2012-07-02/Loan+Activation+Vid.m4v 

GRAND RAPIDS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

Grand Rapids Community Foundation awards hundreds of scholarships annually primarily to Kent County students bound for or in college, or those pursuing a technical career. The online application is available between January 2 and April 1. For more information - Click Here: http://www.grfoundation.org/scholarships 
 

CMU ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIPS

Privately funded endowments provide supplemental funding to students based on need, academic focus, career aspirations or other criteria. Scholarships are generally awarded in the spring and summer for the next academic year. Most scholarships require the student be a returning undergraduate student, enrolled full-time in a degree-granting program on campus. Preference may be given to juniors and seniors of high academic standing with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher and demonstrating financial need. No application is required as recipients will be selected by the OSFA Scholarship Committee based on scholarship-specific criteria. 


GRADUATE FEDERAL DIRECT LOANS SUBSIDY ELIMINATED EFFECTIVE FALL 2012

There has been an important change to the Federal Direct Loan program that will affect graduate students. This change is a result of the Budget Control Act of 2011 that was passed by Congress on August 2, 2011.

Beginning with the fall semester of 2012, graduate/doctoral students will only be eligible to borrow Unsubsidized Federal Direct Loans. This means that Subsidized Federal Direct Loans, which don't accrue interest while in a deferment status, will only be available to graduate/doctoral students through the summer 2012 semester.

Please note that this change will not affect the annual and aggregate borrowing limits. The maximum amount a student can borrow is the lesser of $20,500 per academic year or the annual cost of attendance. Keep in mind that you must be enrolled at least half-time (5 credits) in order to receive a Federal Direct Loan.

If you have any questions about this or other topics, campus students please contact the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid at (989) 774-3674 or through email at cmuosfa@cmich.edu.


 

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