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US students

As an American studying at SFU you should be aware of the following when you are researching or applying for financial support:

  1. An offer of admission is NOT an offer of financial support.
  2. SFU assumes that incoming students will arrange their own funding to meet immigration requirements for the issuance or renewal of student authorizations and Visas.
  3. Upon enrolling at SFU, you may be eligible to apply for: Awards | Bursaries |
    Scholarships     | The Work-Study program | Graduate Fellowships
  4. You are NOT eligible to apply for: the Canada & Provincial Student Loan Programs

There are basically three types of loans that you can apply for:

Stafford Student Loans | US Federal Plus Loans | Private US Loans

For useful information, see http://nela.net.

Stafford Student Loans

If you are interested in applying for a Stafford Student Loan, you will need to complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, which is available online at www.fafsa.ed.gov. The school code assigned to Simon Fraser University by the U.S. Department of Education is 008444. However, some states may require the code: G08444. Contact FAFSA if you require any assistance determining which of the school codes you should use. Also, please keep in mind, that it takes anywhere between three to six weeks for your loan application to be evaluated by FAFSA and another few weeks for SFU to certify and process your loan; thus, you should apply as early as possible if you wish to receive your money before the start of the semester.

The Student Aid Report and Master Promissory Note

If approved, the U.S. Department of Education will generate a one page Student Aid Report (SAR) for you, which they will send electronically to your school. However, since SFU is a foreign school, we will NOT receive your SAR electronically. As such, you will need to call the National Processing Center at 1-800-433-3243 and follow the automated instructions to request that an eight page SAR be mailed to you. Again, please keep in mind that it will take time for this step to be completed, so please do this as soon as possible.

Once you have received your eight page SAR, you should double check to make sure that the financial information on the SAR is correct. If there are errors, then your must note the necessary corrections on the document itself, sign the declaration at the end of Part Two and return the SAR to the Federal Student Aid Programs Office.

What SFU needs you to do

Once you are certain that you have a correct SAR, you must submit the following to SFU Financial Aid and Awards:

1. An official, paper copy of your eight page SAR (no photocopies accepted)
2. A correctly completed Master Promissory Note
3. A blank School Certification Form (Do not fill any section of this form, not even your name and address).

Once we have received your Master Promissory Note, School Certification Form, and the original eight page SAR, Financial Aid and Awards will:

  • Calculate your cost of attendance to determine the loan funding for which you may be eligible
  • Complete the School Certification form
  • Forward the application to the appropriate lending agency for processing

The Stafford Entrance Loan Counseling Program

Note: if you are enrolling at SFU for the first-time, you will need to participate in the Stafford Entrance Loan Counseling Program, before you can receive your first disbursement. Please go to www.mapping-your-future.org to conduct this interview and submit the electronic entrance interview to Simon Fraser University.

Federal Plus Loans

Another option you have to help finance your studies is the Federal Plus Loan program. This loan is different from the Stafford Loan in that your parents are the ones who will be borrowing the money. In other words, your parents must qualify for the loan on your behalf. Once your parents have been approved, you can submit your PLUS Loan documents with your Stafford Loan documents to SFU in order to expedite processing. For further information, consult the Federal Plus Loan Program website.

Private US loans

Many U.S. financial institutions may have student loan programs that will allow you to borrow money to help pay for your schooling. We encourage you to research this option on your own if you are considering it. You can find plenty of information through the World Wide Web. Try using popular Internet search engines such as Google to begin your search.

Note: Canada Student loans, provincial student assistance programs and federally sponsored graduate and undergraduate scholarships may be available to students with permanent resident status. Additional conditions may apply, please contact Financial Assistance for further information.

Typical costs for international students | SFU International

 

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