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Graduate students cannot qualify for grant aid. Even when commercial

credit sources are available, repayment generally runs concurrently with

the years the student attends college. To help these students and their

families, a Federal Stafford Loan Program is in operation.

Under this program, a student may borrow from a bank or other finan-

cial institution. A graduate student may borrow as much as $8,500 per

year. Need must be demonstrated for these loans by the completion of

the "Free Application for Federal Student Aid" form. Interest during

graduate study is paid by the federal government if need is determined.

Loan repayment, including eight percent interest, begins six months

after termination of studies. Students have up to ten years to repay the

loans with minimum payments of $50 per month.

Interested students should inquire at their local bank or financial institu-

tion for further information and application forms for the Stafford Loan

Program. Stafford Loans are available to students from all states.

In the interest of the student, it is the recommendation of the Financial

Aid Office that discretion in borrowing be recognized as a necessary

consideration. Loans made by each student should be minimized to meet

projected educational costs.

Bank loans count as financial aid, and will reduce or supplement work-

study or Perkins Loan eligibility.

Sargent Emergency Student Loan Fund

Emergency 30-day loans are available to Edinboro University graduate

students. Original funds for this program were contributed in memory of

Gray Norman and Nicholas Rock, former students, in memory of Dr.

Harry Earlley, former acting president, and Dr. L. H. Van Houten, former

president of the University, and by the Alpha Phi Omega fraternity and

by the Edinboro University Alumni Association. Three alumni donors,

Mary Alice (Noxon) Sargent, Dr. Harold R. Sargent and Millard B.

Sargent, have now commemorated the endowment. Application forms

are available at the Financial Aid Office. Awards may not exceed $150.

Applications Steps to Follow

Beyond our nominal fee for applying for admission, we do not

charge for financial aid.

Complete and submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

You will not be considered for the Pennsylvania State Grant and/or

the Federal Pell Grant. Mail the Federal Student Aid application in

the envelope provided with the application form.

All information contained in documentation and forms is filed and

held in confidence by the Financial Aid Office. Regardless of the

aid program you are applying for you MUST complete an applica-

tion by May 1st of each year. This includes those who also wish to

apply for a Federal Stafford Loan.

Financially Independent Students All graduate students receive

program consideration as a student who is financially independent

of their parent. Only student and spousal income is considered.

Students admitted to the teacher certification program only are sub-

ject to undergraduate requirements for independent status, loan lim-

its, and required six credits enrollment status.

Verification of Income One in three applications for various types

of Federal Student Financial Aid Programs is selected for verifica-

tion. Applications selected must provide family tax returns and

complete special forms to validate family size, untaxed income and

assets. Student applicants are advised to keep copies of their current

income tax forms for validation purposes.

Time Frames for Application All students are encouraged to file

the "Free Application for Federal Student Aid" form by May 1st of

each year. Students who file after this date are in jeopardy of losing

eligibility for campus-based funds due to the limitation of dollars in

the programs. All bank loan applications must be preceded by the

completion of the Free Federal Aid form which is used to demon-

strate need for interest free Stafford Loan funding.

All Applicants Follow all form instructions carefully. To avoid a

delay, answer each item accurately. If you have questions, contact

the Financial Aid Office; phone 814-732-5555 or 888-611-2680.

You may also e-mail finaid@edinboro.edu.

Return of Title IV Federal Aid

Federal regulations require the University to recalculate the eligibility

for aid when students withdraw from all courses in a given term. The

recalculation is based on the number of calendar days in attendance

divided by the number of days in the term. The resulting ratio is used to

prorate the amount of aid "earned." Aid that is not "earned" is returned

to the appropriate programs. The amount of aid "earned" has no rela-

tionship to the student's institutional charges and may not be appealed.

Graduate Assistantships

A number of graduate assistantships are available each year. Eligibility

for an assistantship includes (1) acceptance into a graduate degree pro-

gram, (2) enrollment for full-time study which is a minimum of nine

credit hours per semester and, (3) acceptance by the director of the office

where assigned.

Two types of graduate assistantships are available.

I. Graduate assistantship with tuition waiver and work stipend renew-

able with program head's approval, good academic standing, and

fulfillment of work assignment each semester.

A. Full-time graduate assistantships require enrollment of nine

credits each semester and include

Remission of course tuition

Stipend of $7.00 per hour for 275 hours of work per

semester

B. Half-time graduate assistantships require enrollment of nine

credits each semester and include

Remission of one-half of course tuition

Stipend of $7.00 per hour for 137.5 hours of work per

semester

II. Graduate assistantship with one-half tuition waiver and federal

work study renewable with program head's approval, good aca-

demic standing, continued eligibility for federal work study fund-

ing, and fulfillment of a minimum of 100 hours of work per semes-

ter payable through federal work study award. Requires enrollment

of nine credits each semester.

NOTE: This assistantship will be withdrawn if the student becomes

ineligible for federal work study funding as determined by federal

regulations.

Assistantships in residential life also include a waiver of charges for a

private room in the residence hall.

A limited number of pro-rated Assistantships are available for the sum-

mer.

If a graduate assistant drops below nine graduate hours in a semester, the

assistantship award will be revoked and the student will have to remit to

the University the tuition and fees balance for that term. A graduate

assistant who drops below nine graduate credit hours will also be respon-

sible for paying FICA taxes on stipend earnings already paid for that

term.

Graduate assistantships do not cover the tuition and fees for the intern-

ship term. Graduate assistantships cannot be granted or continued during

the internship term or student teaching term.

28/Additional Information