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Office of Financial Aid

Office of Financial Aid home page

Week of July 22 & July 29, 2013

A Note For 2L Students

Q: It looks like my 2013-2014 financial aid package is a lot smaller than the financial aid package that I received as a first year law student, is this correct?

A: Yes, for most students this is correct and here are the reasons why:

  • A one-time lap top allowance is included in your first year Cost of Attendance (COA) budget. This line item is not included in the COA for continuing students.
  • As a first year JD student, your COA is based on a flat rate tuition charge. As a continuing student your initial COA is based on a per credit tuition charge. The tuition component of the COA is based on a minimum of 12 credits per term for full time and 6 credits for part time students.
  • If your current cost of attendance does not meet your financial requirements please send your fall and spring enrollment intentions via email to the Office of Financial Aid. In your email, please specify the exact dollar amount that you need and the number of credits that you intend to take in both semesters. The Office of Financial Aid cautions students against borrowing up to the Cost of Attendance limit.

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 2013 or spring 2014?  If yes, please read the information below and follow the instructions to ensure that your financial aid disbursements for 2013-2014 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 is 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.

Loan Origination Fee Increase

On August 2, 2011, Congress passed the Budget Control Act of 2011. This Act stated that federal budget cuts, known as a “sequester” would automatically take effect if Congress failed to enact legislation to reduce the Federal deficit by March 1, 2013. Because Congress did not act, budget cuts are now in effect. As a result, Congress has decided to increase the loan origination fees on the Direct Stafford Unsubsidized and Direct Plus Loans.

For Direct Stafford Unsubsidized Loans where the first disbursement of the loan was on/after March 1, 2013, the loan fee of 1% of the principal amount of the loan disbursement was increased to 1.05%. For example, the fee on a Direct Stafford Unsubsidized loan for $20,500 will be increased by $10.25 from $205 to $215.25.

For Direct Plus Loans where the first disbursement of the loan was on/after March 1, 2013, the loan fee of 4% of the principal amount of the loan disbursement was increased to 4.204%. For example, the fee on a $30,000 Direct PLUS Loan will increase by $61.20 from $1,200 to $1,261.20.

Even though the “sequester” went into effect on March 1st, the origination fee increase in handled differently depending on the first disbursement date of your loan.

  • First disbursements made from 3/1/13 to 6/30/13 will have the origination fee increase added to the loan balance at repayment.
  • First disbursements made 7/1/13 or later will have the new increased origination fee taken out of the loan when funds are released to the school.

The Department of Education will be notifying borrowers individually of these fee increases and providing them with additional information.

2013-2014 Continuing Student Scholarships

NEW UPDATE: All guaranteed partial Chicago-Kent scholarships have been posted to student accounts as of June 21st. An award notification email has been sent to students Kent email. You can view your scholarship on your myIIT portal. If you do not see your scholarship appear in the myIIT portal, please email us at finaid@kentlaw.iit.edu.

If you received a merit based or full 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 merit based 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.

Need help completing the FAFSA? The Department of Education provides several helpful resources with complete instructions, including videos, and phone numbers if you need more help.

Planning to Study Abroad?

If you have been granted permission to study abroad through Chicago-Kent College of Law and are borrowing educational student loans to meet your educational costs, please complete the Chicago-Kent Study Abroad Application Form with the Office of International Law and Policy, and obtain the Office of Financial Aid signature, or submit a copy of the form. Please be sure to list the program name, semester of study, and credit hours. The financial aid process for the study abroad program can take 4 to 6 weeks.

If credit is approved by home school (Chicago-Kent), student may be considered enrolled at home school for financial aid purposes. You must still follow the same eligibility criteria as if you were taking classes at Chicago-Kent. You must complete a FAFSA, be enrolled at least half time, and be degree seeking. Please be aware that your Cost of Attendance during your study abroad term will be based on the living expenses and tuition charges of the program, not the standard Chicago-Kent budget.

The Office of Financial Aid does not determine the Cost of Attendance for host schools. For this reason, it is very crucial for each student to thoroughly research the host school's charges and costs of living prior to their departure. It is the students responsibility to budget themselves until their financial aid is processed.

Planning to Visit Another Law School?

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 ask the host school's Financial Aid Office to complete a Consortium Agreement with cost of attendance amounts, and their Registar's Office to provide enrollment verificaion with dates of attendance, and credit hours.

Once we receive all the required documentation from the visiting school, we will finalize your financial aid award, and you can accept the loans you wish to borrow on the myIIT portal. The funds will be scheduled to disburse to your student account according to your enrollment period at the visiting school. If you are expecting a refund, the Student Accounting Office will process it. It is the students responsibility to pay tuition at the visiting school. Please be sure that you have set up direct deposit of your refund.

The Office of Financial Aid does not determine the Cost of Attendance for host schools. For this reason, it is very crucial for each student to thoroughly research the host school's charges and costs of living prior to their departure. It is the students responsibility to budget themselves until their financial aid is processed.

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 sections entitled "Loan Requirements" and Forms and Worksheets."

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 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 as of the 2011-2012 academic year 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.

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-Thursday ~ 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

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

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

Email: finaid@kentlaw.iit.edu

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 you 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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