Graduate Financial Aid FAQ

Yes, the University of New Haven is committed to assisting our Graduate Students in the financing of their education by offering a comprehensive financial aid program. We try to meet the needs of Graduate aid applicants through a "package" of assistance, generally consisting of:

The Federal Direct Unsubsidized Student Loan - The primary financial aid source for most graduate students. A student’s eligibility for this loan is determined by the results of the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Additionally, students must be U.S. citizens or eligible non-citizens, matriculated, and enrolled at least half-time (5 credits per term). Eligible graduate students may be able to borrow up to $20,500 per year in Federal Direct Student Loans, however this amount may be lower depending on the student's enrollment plans or other financial assistance a student is receiving. Students are responsible for paying the interest on Unsubsidized loans. You can opt to make interest only payments each quarter which will assist in reducing accumulated interest. More information on the Federal Direct Student Loans can be found here.

A refund can only be issued when there is a credit on your account at the Bursar's office (i.e. there is excess financial aid after all of your university tuition and fee costs have been covered). To expedite a refund, you need to make sure that all of your financial aid requirements are completed including submission of an accepted financial aid award, completion of a Federal Student Loan Master Promissory Note and/or Student Loan Entrance Counseling session (if required) and proper enrollment in the upcoming term. Failure to complete any of these procedures can result in delayed disbursements and refunds.

Financial aid begins to disburse to student accounts after the first week of each term, for students who have completed their financial aid requirements. If your federal aid creates a credit on your account, the Bursar's office will generate a refund. Under federal regulations, the Bursar's office has 14 days once a credit is created by your federal financial aid to process a refund. Traditionally our Bursar's office makes every effort to expedite that process in a shorter timeframe. Students are encouraged to enroll in direct deposit in ePay to expedite the receipt of their refund when it is available. Checks are mailed to students not enrolled in direct deposit. For more information regarding refunds click here.

Yes. There are several reasons that you have to notify us that you have added or dropped a class:

1. Some loans and grant programs require you register for a specific number of credits each trimester. Federal Student loans are only available to students that are enrolled half-time or above (5 credits are more) in any given term. Our Graduate Assistantship positions are only available to fulltime students (9 credits per term) with the only exception being the last term of enrollment where the student may enroll half-time and still receive the Graduate Assistantship grant for 50% of their tuition.

2. The number of credits you register for determines your enrollment status (ie. full time, part time) and this in turn may affect the amount of financial aid you can receive. Your overall Cost of Attendance is derived by your enrollment status.

3. Satisfactory academic progress, a mandatory regulation for maintaining financial aid, may be affected by dropping classes. You were awarded aid based on achieving a specific number of credits per term (as stated in your financial aid award). If you do not successfully earn those credits at year end, when we check academic progress, you will be ineligible to receive aid for the next academic year until those deficient credits are achieved. Students have an opportunity to appeal their loss of eligibility.

Bottom line: before you change your schedule, drop a class or withdraw from a class, you must notify the Financial Aid Office to determine if that change will affect your eligibility for aid or your loan amounts.