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Office of Financial Aid

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Week of April 29, 2013

May 1st Federal Student Loan Exit Counseling Workshops

All students that have applied to graduate in the spring semester, and have borrowed Federal Loans at the IIT Downtown Campus are required to complete Federal Student Loan Exit Counseling. In order to provide you with the most updated information and give you the chance to ask questions, we will be holding the following group exit counseling sessions on:

May 1st- Auditorium

Morning Session:

10:30am-12pm

Afternoon Session:

3pm-4:30pm

Late Afternoon/Evening:

5:30pm-7pm

The session will cover the information that we are required to provide at loan exit counseling, such as borrowers’ rights and responsibilities. Also, loan repayment plans, consolidation, Pay As You Earn, Income Based Repayment, and Public Service Loan Forgiveness will be addressed. 


Please RSVP to finaid@kentlaw.iit.edu and let us know if you plan to attend.


Please follow these steps after you RSVP to the session:

1. Attend the in person Exit Counseling Session: It is very important that you attend the in person loan exit counseling session. By attending the session, you may gain a more in depth understanding of your student loans, your loan repayment options, and realistic loan repayment examples and scenarios. During the session, please take the opportunity to get answers to your student loan questions. You will also obtain your personal Loan Portfolio that lists all of the federal loans that you received while attending the IIT Downtown Campus. Please bring an ID and arrive early to pick up your Loan Portfolio. This will allow the presenter to go through all the material and answer all your questions. 


2. You must complete the Online Loan Exit Counseling Session: We will take attendance during the in person loan exit session. After the in person session, all students who attended will receive an email with instructions for completing the Online Loan Exit Counseling Session. Once the online session is complete, your Federal Loan Exit Counseling requirement will be fulfilled.  


The Office of Financial Aid understands that this is a very busy time for you but we strongly recommend that you take the time to complete your loan exit counseling requirement now rather than later. We have scheduled the sessions now so that distractions from your finals, job interviews and bar exam studying are minimized. It is our goal that when you graduate you feel informed and more at ease about your loans and your repayment options. Please keep in mind that if you are unable to attend any of these sessions we will make accommodations for you to meet this requirement at a later date.

Deadlines For Spring Semester

In order to receive aid for the spring term, your FAFSA application and corresponding documentation must be submitted to the Office of Financial Aid by April 29th.

If you need financial aid for the spring term, and you have not completed your 2012-2013 FAFSA, please complete it as soon as possible. The financial aid process can take 4-6 weeks from start to finish. The process can take even longer if there are complications or if Department of Education selects your file for some form of verification.

Once you receive your financial aid award, you must use your myIIT account to accept your loans. Please be aware that if you do not accept your loans our office will not process your loans, which can delay the receipt of your refund check as well.

Once you accept your loans for 2012-2013 you will have to complete a master promissory note for the corresponding loan along with Online Entrance Counseling. These online documents can be completed at www.studentloans.gov.

Summer Financial Aid

Students who plan to take summer term courses at IIT Downtown Campus, or at an approved visiting school may be eligible for either federal or private loans. In order to be eligible you must have completed a 2012-2013 FAFSA and have completed all required documents. We encourage students who are eligible for federal loans to accept these loans before considering private loans. Please note that anticipated loans and scholarships for the fall 2013 semester cannot be used to pay summer 2013 tuition.

At Least Half -Time Status
If you are registered at least half-time for the summer term (3 credits), you will be automatically offered federal loans. Once you accept your award(s) we will automatically process the federal loans under your current federal loan promissory note, as long as we have received your 2012-2013 FAFSA information.

If you have already used your entire $20,500 Federal Stafford Loan eligibility during this past fall 2012 and spring 2013 semesters, you can only be offered the Federal Plus Loan up to the cost of attendance budget limit for the summer term. If you have remaining Stafford Loan eligibility, this will be offered to you first before a Federal Plus Loan is offered up to the cost of attendance limit. Students will be awarded based on a cost of attendance budget that equates to approximately 3 months of living expenses plus summer term tuition charges.

Approximately one week after you register for at least half-time you will be offered a summer term financial aid award package. You will receive an email award notification that will direct you to the myIIT portal to view and accept your award(s).

Less Than Half-Time Status
If you are registered less than half time for the summer term (less than 3 credits), you are ineligible for federal loans. You will not be offered an award if you are registered less than half time. You may apply for a private loan on your own if you wish or make payment arrangements with the Student Accounting Office. Some lenders offer private loans to students that are in less than half-time status during the summer term. In order to receive a private loan you must apply for the loan directly with the lender of your choice and inform our office in writing via email that it is your intention to use a private loan for summer term. Private loans are not automatically renewed. To apply for a private loan online with the lender of your choice, please visit our website for private loan information.

Federal Stafford and Federal Graduate Plus Loan Procedures
Once you have accepted your loan(s) via the myIIT portal, we will automatically process the loan(s) using your current promissory note(s) from the previous Fall and Spring semesters. If you have not borrowed a Federal Stafford Loan at IIT Downtown Campus, you will need to complete the loan requirements listed on our website. Even though you may not be required to complete a new promissory note, the Department of Education may be required complete a new credit check for the Federal Plus Loan, if your initial loan was approved more than 90 days ago. Also, if your initial Federal Plus Loan has an endorser, you will have to complete a new Master Promissory Note (MPN) and your endorser will need to complete the endorser application in order to receive the loan funds. See our website for Plus Loan credit information.


Summer Disbursement Schedule
Summer Loans will disburse according to the following schedule:

  • May 20th: Students with completed files for the summer term will receive their funds disbursed to their student accounts.
  • Refunds: Please contact the Student Accounting Office for refund estimation times. Their contact information is email: sa@iit.edu and phone: 312-567-3794 option 5.

Summer Full Scholarships

Full Time Scholarship recipients have been awarded their scholarship based on the number of credits as April 25th. Our office will be adjusting scholarships again after the add/drop period is over. You will receive a revised award notification email once it is updated to match your updated enrollment.

2013-2014 Continuing Student Scholarhips

If you received a Chicago-Kent scholarship during the 2012-2013 academic year and you expect to receive one again in the 2013-2014 academic year, please be aware that all scholarships for continuing students will not be included in financial aid awards until late July. The Office of Admissions reviews grades and class ranks from the Spring term and determines which students are eligible for scholarship renewal. You will receive a revised award letter in August if your scholarship is renewed. For questions about your scholarship eligibility, please contact the Office of Admissions.

2013-2014 FAFSA Reminder

In order to qualify for financial aid for the 2013-2014 academic year, you must complete the 2013-2014 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

You can complete your FAFSA online at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov. In order to apply you will need your Personal Identification Number (PIN). Please remember to include our school code, E00773, when completing your FAFSA and keep in mind that the school name will be listed as Chicago-Kent College of Law.

If you will not be attending Illinois Institute of Technology Downtown Campus for the 2013-2014 academic year, or you are not interested in applying for federal financial aid, please disregard this reminder.

If you have any questions please call the Office of Financial Aid at (312) 906-5180, or send an email to finaid@kentlaw.iit.edu.

 

Reminder: Financial Aid Contact Information

The Office of Financial Aid is dedicated to assisting students in financing their education and making financially informed and responsible decisions. Please feel free to contact our office at any time during the office hours listed below.

Office Hours - Suite #230

Monday, Wednesday, Thursday ~ 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Tuesday 8:30a.m.-7p.m.

Friday ~ 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m

Phone: (312) 906-5180 - Fax: (312) 906-5274

Law 135 Annoucements:

Students that take Law course 135 during the spring semester should be mindful of the following consequences of dropping the class after they have already received their financial aid disbursements and tuition refund.

  • If you drop below the 6 credit hours, you will become ineligible for federal financial aid and all your aid will have to be cancelled. Sicne you will be considered below half-time, the grace period on your outstanding loans will begin. This may result in your first student loan payment being due as early as May.
  • Your financial aid may have to be adjusted which may result in a tuition balance that is immediatley due to the school.
  • Your scholarship may be cancelled or adjusted if you drop below 12 credits (full-time students) or 8 creidts ( part-time students).

Planning to Study Abroad in Summer 2013?

If you plan to participate in one of Chicago-Kent's Study Abroad Programs during the Summer 2013 semester and require financial aid, please email the Office of Financial Aid and let us know as soon as possible. The financial aid process for the study abroad program can take 4 to 6 weeks. Please list the study abroad program name when you send your email.

Planning to Visit Another Law School in Summer 2013?

If you have been granted permission to study at another law school for credit toward your Chicago-Kent law degree and are borrowing educational loans to meet your educational costs, you must notify the Financial Aid Office as soon as possible. You must complete the Financial Aid Request Form to Visit Another Law School, if you wish to use federal student loans.

We will process financial aid if you will receive your degree from us while you are studying at another law school. The host school will be asked to provide us with information regarding your dates of attendance, cost of attendance, and enrollment status.

A Note For 3L Students

Q: Are you a full-time graduating JD student that is planning to take less than 12 credits in either fall 2012 or spring 2013?  If yes, please read the information below and follow the instructions to ensure that your financial aid disbursements for 2012-2013 are not delayed.

A:Your financial aid award and cost of attendance are based on your registration in the minimum credits required for your program and enrollment status. As a full-time day student, your initial cost of attendance is based on your enrollment in 12 credits per semester. We are aware that many full-time students take less than 12 credits in their last 2 semesters.  For this reason, if you are taking less than 12 credits please be aware of the following:

  1. In order to be eligible for federal loans you must be enrolled at least half time. Half-time for JD students is 6 credits. Unfortunately, if you plan to take less than 6 credits you are ineligible for federal loans and you must make alternative arrangements to pay your tuition balance.
  2. Generally, in order to be eligible for your scholarship you must be enrolled in at least 12 credits. In some cases, the Office of Admissions allows graduating students to receive their scholarship when taking less than 12 credits. Please contact the Office of Admissions for further confirmation.
  3. If you plan to take between 6 and 11 credits, it is best to send your enrollment intentions, for both the fall and spring semesters, to our office via email to prevent delays of your disbursement and refunds.  Once we receive your enrollment intentions, we will customize your cost of attendance budget to reflect your projected enrollment. It is best to let us know your enrollment intentions at least 3 weeks before classes start to ensure that your financial aid is not delayed.
  4. The Office of Financial Aid cautions students against borrowing up to the Cost of Attendance limit. Be advised that if you do not register for the credits that you have stated your financial aid may be reduced, resulting in a tuition balance due to the school immediately.
  5. If your registration for the fall and spring terms are not for the same number of credit hours, your financial aid refund will not be for the same amount each term.  Therefore, we ask that you budget accordingly.

Missing Required Documentation

To avoid delays, please submit any requested documentation as soon as possible.
Please follow the steps below to see if you still have missing requirements:

  1. Log into the Illinois Institute of Technology's myIIT portal at the following link: https://my.iit.edu/.
  2. Select the 'Finances' tab from the menu.
  3. Required documents are listed in the Financial Aid Requirements channel.

Please note that completing the Financial Aid Awareness Counseling does not satisfy the Loan Entrance Counseling Requirement. It is an optional counseling session that covers the basics of financial literacy. The required counseling session is called Loan Entrance Counseling. Please see our website for more information: Financial Aid Required Documents

Once you complete your Master Promissory Notes (not loan application) and Loan Entrance Counseling via the Department of Education's website, it may take up to 2 weeks for your required document status on the myIIT portal to reflect this. If it has been over 2 weeks since your completion of a Promissory Note or Loan Entrance Counseling and your documents status on myIIT is still showing not received, please contact our office.

If you were awarded the Perkins Loan this academic year 2012-2013, please check your Kent email (or your IIT e-mail address on the welcome screen of your myIIT portal, as communications could be sent there), for information from the IIT Perkins Loan servicer, ECSI, on completing the Promissory Note and Entrance Counseling. Students that competed this requirement last academic year (2011-2012) are not required to complete this requirement again. This maybe marked as spam in your mailbox, but it is not. You will not be able to complete the promissory note online if ECSI does not have your information on file that is why we ask that you wait until you receive an email notification. However, if mid-August has passed and you have not completed this requirement, please contact ECSI directly at 1-888-549-3274 and state that you are attending the IIT Downtown Campus. Also, for more information see the Student Account's (formerly Bursar's Office) website at:

http://www.iit.edu/bursar/institutional_and_perkins_loans.shtml

Reminder: Direct Deposit Available

Please be aware that the university allows students the option of having their financial aid refunds direct deposited into their checking or savings account. The university encourages all students to sign up for direct deposit. Click here for more information on the new TouchNet service.

Bar study loan information

Bar Examination loans are intended to assist students in paying for bar preparation courses and meeting other financial needs while studying for the Bar Exam.

Students may submit the application for the Bar Exam Loan funds during their last year before graduation. The terms, conditions, and credit criteria for Bar Examination Loans are similar to those for alternative loan programs. Unfortunately, students with negative credit ratings are generally not eligible for Bar Exam loans.

To apply for a Bar Examination Loan, review the Bar Loan Information, on our website. Once your are approved, the lender will contact our office to certify your loan. The funds will be disbursed directly to you from the lender.

Free Credit Report

Did you know that you are now able to receive a free credit report once every 12 months? We encourage students to review their credit reports annually to check for inaccuracies and identify any suspicious activity.

To receive your free credit report, please visit the following link: http://www.annualcreditreport.com. This central site allows you to request a free credit file disclosure, commonly called a credit report, once every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

Please be aware that other sites may advertise free credit reports, but this is the only site that is sponsored by the federal government and the three nationwide credit reporting agencies. Other sites may charge fees.



 

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