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How To Apply
Use Your Federal Aid First
Always use available grant and scholarship aid before applying for a loan. When considering your loan options, remember to access your federal aid before applying for private loans. Federal loans usually have lower, fixed interest rates and more flexible repayment options than private loans. For more information, visit the U.S. Department of Education's Federal Aid First website.
Federal Student Aid
- File your FAFSA
- Review your SAR
- Complete the verification process (if you are selected)
- Review your Award Letter
- Apply for additional alternative loans if necessary
- Sign your Master Promissory Note
- Request a Federal Student Aid PIN, a personal identification number. A PIN lets you apply, “sign” your online FAFSA, make corrections to your application, sign your MPN and more-all online. If you are a dependent student and one of your parents has a Federal Student Aid PIN, he or she can sign the application electronically online as well. Request a PIN from the US Department of Education
- Collect the documents needed to apply, including income tax returns and W-2 forms (and other records of income.) A full list of what you need is at www.fafsa.ed.gov
- Apply online (the fastest and easiest way) by going to www.fafsa.ed.gov. Please utilize Rowan University's federal school code: 002609. Free help is available online or by contacting the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243) for assistance.
- Review this summary of the information from your FAFSA. If necessary, make changes or corrections by going to www.fafsa.ed.gov and selecting "Make Corrections to a Processed FAFSA."
- Verification may occur for CMSRU Institutional Scholarship applicants.
- Students selected for verification will be notified of their selection by the CMSRU Financial Aid Office.
- Students must submit the required documentation to the CMSRU Financial Aid Office.
- Until CMSRU’s Financial Aid Office has received the documents required, CMSRU scholarship applicants will not be offered CMSRU institutional aid.
- CMSRU accepted students must access their Award Letter information electronically via Rowan Self Service: www.rowan.edu/selfservice.
- Accepted students must utilize their Rowan ID (user ID) and Rowan PIN (not the same as your FAFSA PIN) to access Rowan Self Service.
- Accepted students will be provided with the procedures on how to access Rowan Self Service.
If you still need additional funding after you have borrowed your full eligibility under the federal student loan programs, or if you do not meet the eligibility requirements for federal loan programs, you should pursue an alternative loan from a private lender.
- You may apply for any amount up to the cost of attendance determined by CMSRU, minus any other aid (including federal loans) that you are receiving. Approval for these alternative loans is usually contingent upon the creditworthiness of the borrower. Most student applicants require a creditworthy co-signer. Alternative loans are available to students who do not meet Standards of Academic Progress.
- You should compare several lenders to find the best alternative loan to meet your needs. Please visit www.rowan.edu/provost/financialaid/alternative.html for a listing of all private loan lenders that provided loans to Rowan students during the most recent academic year. You may choose to borrow from a lender not on the list without penalty.
- Remember, an alternative loan is an agreement between the borrower and the lender. It is the borrower’s responsibility to carefully manage his/her educational loans. Please borrow wisely.
If you obtain alternative loans from private lenders:
- Students who borrow private educational loans are required to complete the Private Loan Self-Certification Form for each loan requested, before loan funds can be disbursed to Rowan University.
- Private educational loans include all Alternative loans. Private Educational Loan lenders will send the loan applicant the Self-Certification Form. Please follow all instructions from the lender and respond in a timely manner so that your loan can be processed as quickly as regulations allow.
- The student is responsible to complete the Self-Certification form and return it to the bank/lender, not to CMSRU. Information required for this form, Cost of Attendance and Estimated Financial Assistance, are found on your Financial Aid Award Notice. If you do not understand any of the required documents, please contact your bank/lender for clarification.
- If you chose an alternative loan to fund educational expenses, please submit one private alternative loan application for the entire Academic Year. Please select one lender, as multiple applications will significantly delay the process of certifying your loan request.
- In the event CMSRU receives multiple requests for alternative loans for the same student, CMSRU certifies loan requests on a first come, first serve basis. Only the first loan application received will be certified.
- Once the proceeds of a certified private loan have been paid to CMSRU and all charges on the student’s account have been satisfied, the Bursar’s office will issue a refund check of excess aid to the student. If additional funds are required, the borrower must submit a new application through the private lender.
- The Federal Department of Education has developed an electronic signature process that will expedite the processing of your Master Promissory Note (MPN), which is required for all student loan borrowers. All new first-time borrowers of Federal Direct Stafford Loans are required to complete a MPN.
- To sign your MPN for Direct Stafford Loans, visit www.studentloans.gov . Click on the green “Sign In” button on the left side of the page. To sign your MPN, you will use the same federal PIN that was issued when electronically signing your FAFSA.
