2007-2008
Educational Expenses
& Financial Aid
Information Sheet
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Educational Expenses for 2007-2008
Tuition and Fees
When calculating the cost of attending law school, your budget
must include the cost of housing, food, travel, and other miscellaneous items in addition
to tuition, student fees, and books. This
All registered students will receive a term bill in
early August; it will be due mid-August. This bill will reflect
the university’s charges for tuition and students fees for the fall
semester; housing charges will also be included for students living
on-campus. Information regarding the different payment plans
available at Rutgers can be found online at
www.studentabc.rutgers.edu
under Payment Options. Term bills must be paid
before the university will allow you to get your student ID Card. If you are receiving any financial aid and have submitted all the
required documentation, these funds will show as a credit on your
term bill. Please note: your term bill
must be submitted to the Business Office by the date indicated
-- even if it shows a zero balance! If you don't submit the term bill
on time, you will be charged a $125 late fee.
Financial Aid is available to
cover educational expenses for both full-time and part-time law
students. Most of you have already applied for aid and will be
receiving your financial aid package shortly. Please note: If
your student status changes in any way [i.e., if you change your
credit load (full-time/part-time), your housing status (living
with parents/on-campus/off-campus) or your residency status
(NJ/Non-Resident)], there will be a change in your cost of
attendance and in your financial aid eligibility. Please
contact the law school's financial aid office to discuss this
impact, especially if you will be requesting a private educational
loan. If you would like to apply for
financial aid and haven't done so yet, you need to file a Free
Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as soon as possible. File online at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Provide the
Federal Title IV code number for Rutgers University (#002629)
on the application so we can access your information. Once your
application has been processed, Rutgers will automatically prepare
a financial aid package for you. Required Financial Aid
Documentation When you receive your
Financial Aid Package from Rutgers, please review your Financial
Aid Award Letter and the Award Letter Guide carefully. The back
of your award letter will indicate any required documents that
are needed by the central Financial Aid Office. A Data Change
Form will be attached to your award letter, and can be used to
make any necessary corrections or adjustments. This information
can also be found at www.studentaid.rutgers.edu under
Check Award
Status. Some general notes:
An electronic Master
Promissory Note (MPN) is required for all students accepting
Direct Subsidized and/or Unsubsidized Stafford Loans. The MPN
is available online at
dlenote.ed.gov.
You will need your FAFSA PIN # to electronically sign the
promissory note. When you are prompted to select your
university, chose Rutgers University from the drop down box. Rutgers University, Old Queens Campus, New Brunswick will be
displayed; this is the correct selection. Rutgers will
receive electronic confirmation once you have completed this
requirement. Signing the MPN in your first year will satisfy
the requirement for your entire law school career. Students
who have applied for a Direct PLUS Loan for the 07-08 academic
year will have to sign a separate Master Promissory Note (MPN)
for the PLUS loan; follow the same procedure as for the Direct
Stafford Loans. Private educational loans
are available for students who need additional funding to cover
some of their living expenses or to cover the gap between their
cost of attendance and the funding provided in their financial
aid packages. These loans are also available for international
students who are not eligible for the federal loan programs. Unlike the federal loan programs, private educational loans are
credit driven. Potential lenders will pull a copy of your
credit report and your FICO score prior to making a
determination on your loan application. Since many lenders will
base the interest rate they charge on this information, it’s
important to make sure that your credit report is accurate. (You can request a free copy of your credit report online at
www.annualcreditreport.com.) It’s also
advisable to reduce any unpaid balances on your credit cards as
much as possible before applying for one of these loans. Potential private educational lenders will require certification
from your university as to the maximum amount you can borrow and
the dates the funds can be disbursed. If your chosen lender
does not contact Rutgers electronically for certification, you
should send your signed loan application to the central
Financial Aid Office at Blumenthal Hall. (See above paragraph
for complete address.) The Rutgers University
financial aid website (www.studentaid.rutgers.edu)
has information regarding private lenders. This information can
be found under “Alternative (Private) Loans. This site will
enable you to access lender sites for Access Group, Bank of
America, Citibank, Collegiate Solutions, NJ Class, Student
Funding Group, and SallieMae. It will also provide
important information on how to compare different loan products. Four
key things to consider when comparing private educational loans
are interest rates, fees, grace periods, and repayment terms. Most of the loan products
listed on the Rutgers site do not have upfront fees, and will
allow a 6 or 9 month grace period before repayment begins. Most
are variable rate loans, however. The interest rate you will be
charged will be tied to one of the major financial indexes, such
as the U.S. Prime Rate (currently at 8.25%) or the London
Inter-Bank Offer Rate, known as the LIBOR rate (currently at
5.36%). Lenders will charge this base rate and then will add on
an additional percentage depending on your credit-worthiness. If
the base index rate changes,however, the lender will re-adjust
the interest rate they are charging you. Some lenders will
adjust your interest rate on a quarterly basis, and some will
adjust the rate on a monthly basis. When comparing rates, note
that a quoted interest rate of Prime plus zero (8.25% + 0) would
be comparable to LIBOR plus 2.89% (5.36% + 2.89%) using
published rates as of May 2007. In addition to the variable
rate loans, there are two fixed rate private loans to consider
for the 2007-2008 academic year. Graduate students can apply for
a federal Direct Graduate PLUS loan to cover unmet financial
need. This loan is fixed at 7.9%. A 3% fee will be charged
upfront, and there is no grace period. This loan goes into
repayment 60 days after the total loan funds have been
disbursed. However, borrowers can request an in-school
deferment. The application for this loan is available online at
www.studentaid.rutgers.edu. Click on Types of Aid;
the Grad PLUS loan is the last item listed under Federal
Programs. The second fixed rate loan
option is the NJ Class Graduate Fixed Rate Loan. This loan is
available for any graduate student who is a NJ resident or who
is attending a NJ educational institution. The 07-08 interest
rate for the NJ CLASS Graduate Fixed Rate Loan is 6.5% if you
select the option where you make no payments while a student. This loan usually has a 2% upfront fee and a 60-day grace
period. The application for the NJ Class Graduate Fixed Rate
Loan is available on the Rutgers site under Alternative
(Private) Loans. Hundreds of lenders are willing to provide
educational loans to help finance your education, so you are not
limited to the ones listed on the university’s financial aid
website. You may select any private lender that meets your
needs. This is an extremely important financial decision
though, so please do your research and make an informed
decision. If you have any questions or need additional
resources, call our office at (973) 353-1702. Accessing your Financial
Aid Funds Rutgers is a participant in
the Direct Lending Program. This means that any federal Direct
Stafford Loans you are accepting will be forwarded from the U.S.
Department of Education into a student account for you here at
Rutgers. You do not have to go to any bank or third-party
providers to receive these funds; they will be applied to your
term bill and will be credited against the charges you owe the
university for tuition, student fees, and/or housing. Private
loan disbursements will also be sent to the University's
Business Office. Any funds in excess of university charges will
be disbursed to you in the form of a refund check. Refund
checks will be available no sooner than the end of the first
week of classes. You will need to purchase your books before
school begins, so please make the appropriate arrangements to
cover this expense. Since the law school
strongly recommends that law students have easy access to a
computer, the university is willing to increase your projected
cost of attendance by $2,500 to allow for the purchase of a
personal or laptop computer. If you are interested in applying
for this increase, contact me for a Computer Budget Adjustment
Form. Please note: the university does not provide funding for
the purchase of a computer; this adjustment will only increase
your cost of attendance which in turn will allow you to borrow
additional private loan funds. This adjustment will be allowed
only once during your law school career. The Computer Budget
Adjustment Form should be submitted to the Financial Aid Office
prior to, or together with, your private educational loan
application to insure that your private loan is certified for
the correct amount. Deferment Forms Students who have
undergraduate or post graduate loans are eligible to defer
repaying these educational loans if they are enrolled in law
school at least part time. You must contact your loan holder(s)
directly to obtain the applicable deferment form. Rutgers
University's Registrar, located at Blumenthal Hall, will certify
your deferment application in August after your fall term bill has
been submitted to the Business Office. Officially, students must live
in New Jersey for 12 months to attain residency status. However,
law students who purchase property in NJ, or who sign a 12-month
lease with University Housing or some other rental entity within
the state, can gain residency status much sooner. Contact the law
school's Financial Aid Office or Admissions Office for more
details. Basic student health insurance
is required for all full-time students at Rutgers University and
is automatically included in your student fees. Part-time
students may elect to purchase basic student health insurance
coverage, but it will not automatically be included in your
student fees. All students with basic student health insurance
may purchase a major medical rider for themselves; students may
also purchase medical coverage for their family members. More
complete information will be provided during orientation, and can
found at www.rutgers.edu. Select the Newark Campus and then click on
Health Center. University parking decks and
lots are available for students who choose to drive to school. Students will be required to purchase a $25 parking hang tag for
their car, and then will have the option of paying on a daily
basis ($3/day), per semester ($179) or for the academic year
($333). More complete information on parking and other forms of
transportation are available at
nwkparking.rutgers.edu. If you have questions about any of
these items, or any other financial aid matters, please contact: Nicky Fornarotto |