How to apply for aid

• Review Types of financial aid for an overview of the aid available to graduate students.
  
• Notify Messiah University of any additional funding you may receive from employer reimbursement, private scholarships, Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, or veterans' benefits.
  
• Review our FAQs for common questions.

File the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) if you are planning to use federal unsubsidized Direct Loans, Graduate PLUS loans, and/or the TEACH grant. Students will need to create an FSA ID in order to submit the FAFSA. Messiah University's Title IV code is 003298.

Before completing the FAFSA, please review the following questions that some students have difficulty answering. Also be sure to electronically sign the FAFSA as the final step prior to submitting the application.

• What degree or certificate will you be working on when you begin the school year?
  Choose the option: Graduate or professional degree
• What will your college grade level be when you begin the school year?
  Choose either: 1st-year graduate/professional OR continuing graduate/professional or beyond
• At the beginning of the school year, will you be working on a master's or doctorate program (such as an MA, MBA, MD, JD, PhD, EdD, graduate certificate, etc.)?
  Choose the answer: YES (you will automatically be considered an independent student and will not have to provide parental information on the FAFSA)
• High School Diploma and High School Information must be included in order to use federal student aid.

Please note: Early FAFSA and the use of Prior Prior Year income were implemented in 2017. This chart illustrates the correct FAFSA to complete and appropriate tax information to use: If possible, it is preferred to have summer 2023 students file the 22/23 FAFSA, but please note the filing deadline.

Graduate students must be registered for classes BEFORE financial aid can be awarded. Federal loan eligibility is based on registration (not financial need). For unsubsidized Direct loans, students registered half-time (3-5 credits) will generally be awarded $5125 per semester, and students registered full-time (6 or more credits) will generally be awarded $10,250 per semester. Additional financial aid such as veterans' benefits, Messiah employee benefits, Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, and graduate discounts are also based on registration.

Acknowledgements

After you file the FAFSA, you will receive an acknowledgement email and a Student Aid Report (SAR). The SAR is a summary of your application data. Review this carefully for any messages about things you need to do and for information about your eligibility. Messiah will also receive this report, and we will use it to award your financial aid.

Requirements

There may be additional documentation we need in order to complete the processing of your financial aid. Some examples are verification of citizenship, copy of Social Security card, confirmation of family size, etc.

Please check your Messiah University email regularly. We will notify you if there are outstanding financial aid requirements that must be submitted.

• Financial aid is awarded per semester. Your award notification is sent to your Messiah University email account. It will include instructions on how to access the award online. It can also be accessed by searching for Financial Aid Award in FALCONlink. Work through the 6 tabs from left to right.
  
  1. General Information Tab - Review
  2. Award Overview Tab - Review
  3. Resources/Additional Information Tab - Answer all 3 questions. Answering yes provides the most flexibility.
  4. Terms and Conditions Tab -Review and click ACCEPT button at the bottom.
  5. Accept Award Offer Tab - Discounts, Veterans' Benefits, Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, Messiah Employee Benefits, and Grad PLUS Loans are already in accepted status. Unsubsidized Direct Loans are in offered status and a decision must be entered (accept full award, accept a partial amount, or decline). Accept what is needed for the current semester.
  6. Special Message - Review
  
• The loan amount offered may be considerably more than what is needed. We recommend accepting only what is needed to cover your educational expenses to keep your debt low. Interest will begin accruing when the loan disburses onto your student account. Our Student Financial Services Counselors can assist you in determining what loan amount will cover charges and any estimated additional educational expenses. The federal government charges a loan origination fee that comes off the top of unsubsidized Direct Loans and Graduate PLUS loans. Each loan will disburse slightly less than the amount that is accepted.
  
• This helpful Loan Payment Calculator computes an estimate of the size of your monthly loan payments and the annual salary required to manage them. Additional information about federal student loans is available at https://studentaid.gov.
  

When accepting an unsubsidized Direct Loan, loan entrance counseling and a Master Promissory Note must be completed. Both last for 10 years, so if you have had a recent Direct Loan, you do not need to complete these again if they are still active.

• Log in to https://studentaid.gov/ using your FSA ID. Click on Complete Entrance Counseling, under the Complete Aid Process section.
• From the same website, https://studentaid.gov/, click on Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loan MPN, under the Complete Aid Process section.
• You can review all your federal student loans after you log in with your FSA ID and password.

To apply for a Graduate PLUS Loan, an additional application and Master Promissory Note must be completed.

• Log in to https://studentaid.gov/ using your FSA ID. Click on Apply for a Grad PLUS Loan, under the Apply for Aid section.
• From the same website, https://studentaid.gov/, click on Grad PLUS MPN, under the Complete Aid Process section.

Prior to receiving a TEACH Grant, 2 items must be completed.

• Log in to https://studentaid.gov/ using your FSA ID. Click on Get a TEACH Grant, under the Complete Aid Process section. This will direct you to complete both the TEACH Grant Counseling and TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve.

Graduate financial aid typically disburses into the account 3 days after the student's first course begins each semester. This includes unsubsidized Direct Loans, Graduate PLUS Loans, graduate discounts, and Messiah employee benefits. Disbursement may delayed due to Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) review. Federal regulations require Messiah University to review student grades at the end of each semester to confirm SAP is achieved.

Please note that Veteran's benefits, scholarship checks, and Office of Vocational Rehabilitation benefits will be applied when the actual payment arrives at Messiah but not before the disbursement date.