Money Talks: Today's Tips on Finding Financial Aid
Now that your students have made up their minds that they want to attend SMU, they may have some concerns about how they are going to pay for their education here. The Office of Financial Aid is here to assist families in maximizing their federal, state, and institutional financial assistance to make their dream of continuing their education here possible.
So, where do they start? Families often forget that the
best way for students to finance their college education is scholarships.
While the Admission Office is currently going through the process of
extending SMU scholarship offers to students, families should also research
external scholarship opportunities. The following websites are useful places
where students can customize their scholarship searches:
Important
Reminder:
Priority Deadline to file for financial aid at SMU is
February 15
All students are strongly encouraged to complete the Free Application For
Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and CSS/Financial
Aid PROFILE® so that
our office may determine their eligibility for need-based financial aid.
This encompasses the following forms of aid at SMU:
· Federal Pell Grant
· Federal SEOG Grant
· Federal Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG)
· Federal Work-Study
· Federal Stafford Loan (Subsidized/Unsubsidized)
· Tuition Equalization Grant (Texas residents only)
· SMU Need-based Grant (Texas residents only)
· SMU Partnership Grant
Many families may falsely believe that they may not qualify for financial aid because of their income; however, SMU uses the information you provide on both of these online applications to offer the best financial aid package which the student is eligible to receive for their first year. The FAFSA and PROFILE® may be found at these websites, respectively: www.fafsa.ed.gov and profileonline.collegeboard.com The SMU priority deadline for first-year students to submit these online applications is February 15th if they want to receive their financial aid award letter by early April.
Recently, numerous SMU families have used the TuitionPay Plan to spread tuition payments over a number of months. The Plan is not a loan, so there are no interest payments, only a low annual enrollment fee. TuitionPay allows you to break down your education expenses into easy-to-manage installments, rather than one lump-sum payment. More information about this option may be found at www.TuitionPay.com
The Office of Financial Aid understands that this is a stressful time for both students and parents, so we welcome any questions you may have. Feel free to contact us via email at enrol_serv@mail.smu.edu or by phone at 214-768-3417 and ask to speak with a financial aid advisor.
Consuela Mitchell
SMU Financial Aid Advisor
Back to newsletter...