The only form of financial aid currently being offered in the MSEC program is assistance in applying for student loans.

Before taking out student loans and accruing debt, you may want to consider arranging an interest free payment plan through Academic Management Services (AMS):

     http://www.cmu.edu/hub/finaid.html#plan
     http://www.amsweb.com

Students who wish to process loans to help finance their education need to follow a four-step process. In order to remain organized throughout the process of filing all the necessary documents we encourage you to either print out these instructions, or use your hard copy, as a check list.

IMPORTANT NOTE: MSEC who carry, or plan to carry, less than 18 units per semester are considered less than half-time status and are not eligible to borrow loans. If you are unsure of your registration status, please check with the MSEC staff prior to processing the documents listed below.

Step 1A. File the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA form)

Anytime after January 1, a FAFSA form may be obtained for the pending academic school year. FAFSA forms are available from the financial aid, student affairs, admissions or placement offices at most undergraduate and graduate schools or by calling the Federal Aid Information Center at (800) 443-3243 or your Financial Aid Officer at GSIA at (412) 268-2272. You may also file through the Web at:

http://www.fafsa.ed.gov

IMPORTANT NOTE: The U.S. Department of Education is required to collect signatures from you and your spouse (if applicable) when you file the FAFSA form. If you are filing a Renewal FAFSA, your Electronic Access Code (EAC) serves as your signature. However, if you are filing an original FAFSA, the U.S. Department of Education will need to collect a paper signature from you and your spouse (if applicable). You can fulfill this requirement by printing and mailing a signature page when you transmit your application or you can have a signature page mailed to you, which must be signed and mailed back to complete the application process.

GSIA suggests that you file the FAFSA form at least two months prior to the beginning of the academic term for which you are requesting loan assistance.

The FAFSA form will ask you to release your data to schools. To authorize GSIA to receive your data, complete Question 86 in the following manner:

Title IV School Code: E00074
College Name: Carnegie Mellon University Grad Sch. of Indus. Admin.
Address: 149 Posner Hall, Schenley Park
City: Pittsburgh
State: PA 15213

Step 1B. Review Your Student Aid Report (SAR)

Once your FAFSA form has been received and processed by the Department of Education (this process usually takes four to six weeks) you will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) in the mail, which is normally five pages. The SAR is a printout of all of the information you provided to the Department of Education on your FAFSA form. The SAR serves two purposes. First, it is a way for you to review the accuracy of the information you supplied on the FAFSA form. Secondly, some students are selected for a process known as Verification. If you have been selected for Verification, you will then need to submit a SIGNED copy of your 2000 Federal Income Tax return and worksheets A, B and C from your FAFSA form (click here to print worksheets; please be sure to review all categories of income) to the GSIA Financial Aid Office. Verification is a process which ensures that the information you provided to the Federal government, via the FAFSA form, agrees with the information you supplied on the GSIA Application for Graduate Financial Aid (see Step 2). You will be able to tell if you have been selected for Verification after reviewing the Part I Information Summary on your SAR.

Step 2. Complete the GSIA Application for Graduate Financial Aid

So that we are made aware of your intention to process loan funds, in addition to filing the FAFSA form, you will need to complete and file the GSIA Application for Graduate Financial Aid. You may obtain the Application for Graduate aid by calling the Financial Aid Officer at GSIA at (412) 268-2272. It is also available to download:

Financial Aid Application (.pdf)

Step 3. File a Student Loan Application

For Stafford and private loan information please refer here

Step 4. Attend a Loan Entrance Interview

If you are borrowing loans for the first time for your studies at GSIA, you must complete a loan entrance interview. This can be completed through this web site:

https://connections.pheaa.org/olec/olec.html

Your completed loan entrance information will then be forwarded to GSIA.