• Apply for admission to the graduate program of your choice through the Department of Education. Ensure that all components of the admissions process have been completed.

• Simultaneously complete and send off your FAFSA form (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). The FAFSA is your key to financial aid at any institution. The FAFSA is in your graduate program admissions packet. If you did not receive one, contact CBU Student Financial Assistance at (901) 321-3305 to request one. You may also fill out a FAFSA online by following the links at www.fafsa.ed.gov. This is by far the fastest approach to use.

• You will get a Student Aid Report (SAR) back in three to four weeks. Your financial aid at CBU cannot be processed until the SAR returns to the Student Financial Assistance office. It is vital to allow time for the FAFSA/SAR process.

• Your award letter, specifying the amount of financial aid that you are eligible for, comes from the Student Financial Assistance office.

• When your award letter comes, it will include any documents that you need to fill out, as well as tell you about any documents needed to complete your file (such as copies of your tax returns). Most frequently, these documents will include a promissory note from your lender and an entrance interview process that sets out the tenets of the loan.

• Unless you file your FAFSA and also are fully accepted by a graduate program in the Department of Education at least four weeks prior to your anticipated enrollment date, your financial aid may not be in place. The Student Financial Assistance office will consider the fact that your application for admissions is complete and is in process, and that your SAR has been received, if you are not able to interview and complete the full admissions process until close to the time of enrollment in a term.

• You must have financial arrangements solidly in place in order to finalize or validate your registration and enrollment in courses. If your financial arrangements are not made by the end of the drop/add period, you will be dropped from your classes.

• If your financial aid package is not in place at the time of your anticipated enrollment, you must expect to self-finance, making a deposit from your own resources of at least one-third of your tuition and fee charges for that term, also signing a promissory note to Christian Brothers University. CBU does participate in a long-term financing plan for students who wish to self-finance rather than receive financial aid. Please consult with Student Financial Assistance or the Business Office about this program.

• To follow up on the progress of your financial aid award, from FAFSA-to-SAR-to-CBU and you, you may contact Student Financial Assistance with your questions at finaid@cbu.edu or (901) 321-3305.

• Tuition Discounts at CBU

Teacher Loan Forgiveness
If you have been a teacher for at least five consecutive years and teach in a low-income school, then you may be eligible for $5000 in loan forgiveness. Click here for more details.

Teachers who have student loans earned through the Federal Family Education Loan Program are now eligible for forgiveness. There are standards to be met for qualification. For further information about the qualifying standards, click here to visit the Federal Student Aid Web site.