Student Loans

The Emory Office of Financial Aid (OFA) assists eligible students with applying for and obtaining student loans. Among the factors you should consider before obtaining a loan are your total indebtedness, including undergraduate student loans; mean time to degree in your department or program; and estimated starting salaries in your field. There is no magic formula, but there are reliable calculators that can help masters and doctoral students make informed decisions about the timing and the amount of student loans.

For information about federal and private student loans, consult OFA.

All students, even those who receive stipend support, are advised to submit the forms that would determine financial need. You may not anticipate the need for a loan, but submitting the form will be helpful if your financial situation changes quickly. If OFA has the form on file, they can assess your eligibility in a few days, instead of several weeks. The form to determine financial need usually requires information from the previous year's tax return, and the national clearing agency normally takes about four to six weeks to process the form. Based on the needs assessment, OFA establishes loan eligibility.

To remain eligible for student loans, and to defer the start of repayment, students need to maintain full-time student status. At the Laney Graduate School, that means students need to be enrolled for 9 credit hours each semester.