Financial Need/Award Processing

Determining Financial Need

Financial need is determined based upon the information provided on the FAFSA and need analysis. The need analysis formula is termed Federal Methodology (FM) and is applied as set forth by the Department of Education. Federal Methodology was passed into Congress under the Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965 as amended by the Higher Education Amendments of 1992.

Expected Family Contribution

The Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is the amount that the student is expected to contribute towards their educational costs. The EFC is federally regulated and is established by the income, asset and household information provided on the FAFSA. All graduate and professional school students are considered independent for financial aid need analysis purposes. Therefore, you are not required to report parental information on the FAFSA.

Financial Aid Eligibility

This amount is determined by subtracting the student's Expected Family Contribution from the Cost of Attendance.

The need analysis calculation is as follows:

Cost of Attendance - Expected Family Contribution = Financial Aid Eligibility

Award Processing

Once the Office of Financial Assistance receives the electronically transmitted FAFSA information from the federal processor and the financial aid application, each student who has been admitted to the Caruso School of Law is reviewed for financial aid awarding. The Office of Financial Assistance offers financial aid packages that include scholarships and/or loans. All financial aid awards total the full cost of attendance. The Award Notification is a listing of all financial aid that is being offered to the student. Awarded students will receive an e-mail instructing them to log on the WaveNet to access student self-service so they can view their Award Notification online. Students must "Accept," "Reduce" or "Decline" each individual financial aid award through self-service so as to expedite financial aid processing.