Undergraduate - UMUC Europe

Financial Aid
weekend seminars, Distance Education courses, and other
nontraditional classes, Federal Pell students must consult with
the Financial Aid Office before enrolling in these courses.
For Term 5, students must call the Financial Aid Office to
determine the amount of available Pell funds.
The Pell Grant is adjusted for your actual enrollment on the third
Friday of the eight-week term and the second Friday of the distance
education term - which is referred to as the Pell census date. Any
courses for which you are registered or which you drop or
withdraw from before the Pell census date are taken into
consideration in the finalization of your Pell award. In other words,
if you withdraw from a course before the Pell census date that
class will not be counted as enrolled and will not be eligible for
Pell grant or FSEOG. Any courses in which you register for AFTER
the Pell census date will NOT result in an increase of your Pell
Grant award.
Federal Supplemental Educational
Opportunity Grant (Federal SEOG)
Federal SEOG Grants, which do not have to be repaid, provide
up to $200 per term to eligible students with the greatest financial
need. Students must be eligible for and already awarded a Federal
Pell Grant. Eligibility for the Federal SEOG is determined by
Maryland’s Financial Aid Office in compliance with strict federal
requirements. Funding for the Federal SEOG program is very
limited. Students do not formally apply for the Federal SEOG,
but are notified of the Federal SEOG award during the academic
year by the Financial Aid Office.
Federal Direct Stafford/Ford Student
Loans
This subsidized loan program allows eligible students to borrow
directly from the Department of Education. Interest does not
begin to accrue on this loan until the student goes into repayment.
Freshmen may borrow up to $2,625; sophomores, $3,500; and
juniors and seniors up to $5,500 per academic year and per grade
level. Aggregate loan limits may also apply. Transfer students must
have an official academic evaluation before sophomore-, junior-,
or senior-year grade levels can be confirmed.
Students seeking a Federal Direct Stafford/Ford Student Loan
must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, submit
a completed Financial Aid Data Form to the Maryland Financial
Aid Office in Heidelberg, and take all steps necessary to apply for
financial aid through Maryland in Europe. First-time borrowers
must also complete entrance loan counseling.
Following federal guidelines, the Maryland Financial Aid Office
determines eligibility for a Federal Direct Stafford/Ford Loan.
Students will be awarded maximum eligibility based upon grade
level, loan period, and need. Students can accept all or part of
their awards.
Students select their own loan period within the 2003/2004
academic year and must successfully complete a minimum of
half-time enrollment each term during the loan period. Students
must be continuously enrolled at least half time during the
designated loan period or the loan will be cancelled, either in part
or in full. Loan periods are calculated based on enrollment in
6
either regular 8-week terms or 16-week Distance Education terms.
Enrollment in both types of terms cannot be combined for the
purpose of the half-time enrollment necessary for a student loan.
The annual interest accrued is assumed by the federal government
while the student is enrolled at least half-time and until the
repayment period begins. The interest is variable annually but
capped at 8.25 percent interest. There is a 3 percent origination
fee that is subject to reduction by the Department of Education.
Deadlines for a student loan require that it be initiated with the
federal processor, via the Maryland Financial Aid Office, no later
than the last day of the eligible enrollment period. Please see the
Maryland Guide to Financial Aid for additional application
deadlines.
Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford/
Ford Loans
This student loan program has the same terms, conditions,
deadlines, and interest rates as the subsidized Federal Direct
Stafford Loan/Ford program, except the student borrower assumes
responsibility for payment of the accrued interest while in school
and during the loan period. The unsubsidized program is available
to students who do not qualify, or qualify only in part, for the
subsidized loan. It is also aimed at students whose financial need
exceeds the subsidized loan limits. For dependent students
supported by their parents, the combined total of a subsidized
and unsubsidized loan may not exceed the Federal Direct
Stafford/Ford Loan limits noted previously. Independent adult
students are eligible for amounts equal to the Federal Direct
Stafford/Ford Loan limits plus $4,000 per academic year as
freshmen and sophomores and $5,000 per academic year as
juniors and seniors.
Federal Direct PLUS Loans
This loan program enables parents of undergraduate “dependent”
students to borrow directly from the Department of Education
at a variable interest rate not to exceed 9 percent. Loan amounts
may cover the cost of attendance, less any other financial aid, per
academic year and grade level. Parents will undergo a credit check.
Federal regulations require dependent students to be considered
for all types of federal financial aid before a Federal Direct PLUS
loan may be processed. UMUC requires students and their parents
to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
and take all necessary steps to apply for financial aid through
UMUC-Europe. Parent borrowers must request the additional
federally required Federal Direct PLUS Loan Data Sheet available
from the Maryland Financial Aid Office in Heidelberg. A credit
check will be made by the federal loan processing agency.
Federal Perkins Loans
The Federal Perkins Loan program provides long-term federal
loans for undergraduate students with the greatest financial need.
Students may borrow up to $4,000 per academic year at a
5 percent annual interest rate with the University of Maryland
University College acting as the lender.
Students wishing to apply for a Federal Perkins Loan must first
complete the Maryland Financial Aid Data Form and then
complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Because of
2003/2004Undergraduate Catalog