2009-2010 Bulletin – PDF - SEAS Bulletin - Columbia University

FINANCIAL AID FOR GRADUATE STUDY
41
FINANCING GRADUATE
EDUCATION
The academic departments of The Fu
Foundation School of Engineering and
Applied Science and the Office of
Financial Aid and Educational Financing
seek to ensure that all academically qualified
students have enough financial support
to enable them to work toward their
degree. Possible forms of support for
tuition, fees, books, and living expenses
are: institutional grants, fellowships,
teaching and research assistantships,
readerships, preceptorships, on- or offcampus
employment, and student loans.
The Office of Financial Aid and Educational
Financing works closely with students to
develop reasonable financial plans for
completing a degree.
Columbia University graduate funds
are administered by two separate
branches of the University, and the
application materials required by the
two branches differ slightly. Institutional
grants, fellowships, teaching and
research assistantships, readerships,
and preceptorships are all departmentally
administered funds. Questions and
problems regarding these awards should
be directed to your academic department.
Federal Stafford loans, federal
unsubsidized Stafford loans, federal
Perkins loans, and New York State TAP
grants are administered by the Office of
Financial Aid and Educational Financing.
Questions and problems with regard to
awards should be directed to your financial
aid adviser.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR
FINANCIAL AID APPLICANTS
Forms
Prospective and continuing graduate
students of The Fu Foundation School
of Engineering and Applied Science
must do the following to be considered
for all forms of graduate financing (both
departmentally administered and financial
aid–administered funds):
1a. Prospective Students—complete
an application for admission and submit
it to The Fu Foundation School of
Engineering and Applied Science’s
Office of Graduate Student Services;
1b. Continuing Students—preregister for
classes during the preregistration
period;
2. complete a Free Application for
Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form and
submit it to the U.S. Department of
Education (only U.S. citizens or permanent
residents must complete the
FAFSA; if you are a noncitizen, you do
not need to submit this form);
3. complete an Express TAP application
and submit it to the New York
State Higher Education Services
Corporation (only U.S. citizens or
permanent residents who reside in
New York State must complete the
Express TAP application; if you are
not a New York State resident, you
do not need to submit this form);
4. file a Columbia University Enrollment
Status Sheet. Complete the form
and submit it to the Office of Financial
Aid and Educational Financing.
Application Process
Before you can complete the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid
(FAFSA) form, you must obtain a personal
identification number (PIN) from
the U.S. Department of Education. The
PIN serves as your identifier and your
personal electronic signature on the
FAFSA. It will also allow you to access
your personal information in various
U.S. Department of Education systems.
Apply for your PIN at www.pin.ed.gov.
Approximately three business days after
you request your PIN, you will receive an
e-mail with instructions on how to
retrieve it electronically. If you ask to be
notified of your PIN by mail, it will arrive
in seven to ten business days via the
U.S. Postal Service.
Once you have your PIN, you must
complete a FAFSA-on-the-Web application
at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Columbia
University prefers that you apply for
financial aid online. Information collected
on the FAFSA will help Columbia to
determine your need for financial aid.
You must give permission for the application
data to be sent to Columbia
University by entering the Fu Foundation
School of Engineering and Applied
Science Title IV school code (E00120)
on the FAFSA form.
Once your FAFSA-on-the-Web
application is complete, your online confirmation
page will give you a link to the
TAP-on-the-Web application. New York
State uses the information provided on
your TAP application to determine your
eligibility for a Tuition Assistance Program
(TAP) grant. The TAP-on-the-Web online
SEAS 2009–2010