Video Transcript – Top 5 Financial Aid Tips

Learn 5 things about financial aid from Ally Daniels, Director and Advisor, Online MBA, and Natalie Newell, Financial Aid Counselor.

Video Transcript

[Ally Daniels, Director and Advisor, Online MBA] Hi, I’m Ally Daniels, Online MBA Advisor. It’s common to have questions about financial aid. We’re here today with a member of our Financial Aid Office to talk through a few tips.

TIP #1: Graduate Student Aid = Loans + Scholarships

[Natalie Newell, Financial Aid Counselor] Graduate Student Aid is received in the form of loans and scholarships.

Graduate students are eligible for not need-based aid. So, what that means is, they are eligible for unsubsidized loans or graduate plus loans.

Unsubsidized Loans means that your interest accrues while you’re in school. That doesn’t mean that you need to pay for it while you’re in school, but once you graduate or take a leave, then you need to go ahead and pay those loans, and just note that your interest will be accruing the entire time.

A Graduate Plus Loan is help for supplemental need. So, if it’s above and beyond what you are allotted for the year for your cost of attendance, you can go ahead and apply for a Graduate Plus Loan, and that helps fill that gap of need.

[Ally] If you’ve been awarded a scholarship through the Online MBA Program, you will be notified as soon as you are admitted to the program. There’s no additional application necessary.

Stay eligible for financial aid by following these guidelines…

TIP #2: You must be enrolled in at least 5 credits per semester to be eligible for student loans.

[Natalie] As a graduate student, you need to be enrolled in at least five credits per semester to be eligible for student loans.

For the online MBA, you need to be enrolled in at least two classes per semester, whether that’s two classes per session or one class for each session of the semester, to be eligible for Federal Financial Aid.

TIP #3: Aid is awarded after you enroll for classes.

[Natalie] Aid is awarded after you enroll in classes.

As an online MBA student it’s important to know that you will not be awarded your aid until after you have registered for your classes. After you submit your FAFSA, just note that it takes about two to three weeks for Boise State to receive that and process it. So, don’t be alarmed if you don’t hear from us from about two to three weeks, but we will be in contact as soon as we receive it. If we have any questions or if we need any additional documentation, we will contact you.

TIP #4: You are responsible for accepting your aid.

[Natalie] You are responsible for accepting your aid. After aid is awarded it’s very important that you log in to your Student Center Account, and you need to accept that aid.

What’s great about this process is you can pick and choose how much aid you need for the full academic year. It’s important to note that what you are accepting will be divided between two semesters.

So, just plan ahead and think about what you need, and it’s also important to note that if you accept aid and you need additional aid, or less, you can always contact our office and we’ll happily walk you through that process.

TIP #5: There are maximum loan limits.

[Natalie] Now there are limits for Student Graduate Loans. The maximum a graduate student can receive in federal loans is $20,500 per year.

Boise State University College of Business and Economics. Online MBA. OnlineMBA@boisestate.edu or call 208-426-5921.