Domestic Focused MBA Students

  1. Complete the FAFSA for the current aid year and coming aid year online as soon as possible. The current aid year application will be used to determine federal student loan eligibility for the summer semester and the coming aid year application will be used for the following fall and spring semesters. Please review the federal loans section of the Stern Graduate Financial Aid website for detailed information.
  2. If you are applying for a private loan, please submit an application directly to the private lender of your choice. You may apply for a semester-only loan or a fall/spring loan combined. For a sample list of lenders, please visit the private loans page on the Stern Graduate Financial Aid website. Typical processing time is 3-4 weeks. Please plan accordingly.
  3. Receive a financial aid award notice to your Stern e-mail account about one month prior to your summer payment deadline.
  4. Accept your summer federal student loans on NYU Albert. This is the university-wide system which provides a comprehensive view of your financial aid. In addition to federal loans, Albert will also display any private loans for which you have applied and been approved, and any scholarships you may have received.
  5. Sign in at studentaid.gov to secure your loans. You must complete:
    • Entrance Counseling Session
    • Master Promissory Note(s). Please note that there is a separate MPN for the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan and the Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan. Once signed, the note is valid for 10 years.
  6. As long as your loans are approved by the payment deadline and all necesarry documents are submitted, the Bursar will credit the loan amount to your student account.
  7. If you are not using loans to cover your full Bursar balance, submit a payment to the Bursar before the summer payment dealine.
  8. The lender sends the summer loan disbursement to the Bursar ten days prior to the start of the semester.
  9. If you have loans in excess of your tuition and fee charges, you will be refunded the excess amount. We encourage you to use the direct deposit option for your loan refund. However, due to the high volume of disbursements at the start of each semester, you should not count on your refund for the first month of classes. Please budget accordingly.
  10. If you are applying for a private loan for the fall/spring semesters, please submit another loan application directly to the private lender of your choice. 
  11. If you are borrowing federal student loans for the fall/spring semester, steps 3-9 will be repeated. You will not, however, need to complete step 5 again as the required loan documents are valid for 10 years. Half of the fall/spring loan amounts will be disbursed 10 days prior to your fall classes while the second half will disburse prior to your spring classes.