GRADUATE AWARD PROGRAM
The Eastman School of Music provides financial support to its graduate students primarily through the Graduate Award Program, a merit-based system of financial aid. Through its graduate awards, Eastman is able to provide in-depth professional training for graduate students, and to receive valuable services in return. Graduate students who are not only highly recommended in their major, but who also are highly recommended for a graduate award, receive the most merit-based financial support from the School.
A graduate award normally consists of a stipend (salary for the work done) and a tuition scholarship (a partial remission of tuition). A small number of awards are tuition scholarship only. Please note that admission to a graduate program does not guarantee a graduate award.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Cost of a Graduate Degree at Eastman
For further information, please contact Eastman’s Office of Graduate Studies.
APPLYING FOR A GRADUATE AWARD
Graduate Award tuition scholarships and/or stipends are awarded through the Office of Graduate Studies. If a student currently has a Graduate Award for the 2011-2012 academic year, a Continuation of Graduate Award Form will be sent to a student’s UR email address in January. The form should be returned to the Office of Graduate Studies. If a student does not hold a Graduate Award for 2011-2012 academic year and wishes to be considered for one for the 2012-2013 academic year, he/she should consult the departmental chair for application procedures.
All Graduate Students must complete the 2012-2013 Graduate Student Aid Application and submit the completed form to the Eastman Financial Aid Office. Graduate tuition scholarships will not disburse and any other institutional or Federal aid cannot be processed until the Financial Aid Office has received the Graduate Student Aid application. A Financial aid award letter will be sent to the student’s UR email address when this form has been reviewed and the financial aid package has been processed.
Please note that graduate awards do not roll over from year to year. Student’s must re-apply every year through the process described above.
FEDERAL AID
Graduate Federal Aid
The Graduate Award Program is unable to meet the financial need of all our our graduate students. Eastman’s Financial Aid Office helps graduate students, who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents, apply for federal assistance to help with their educational expenses. Such assistance includes Federal Direct Student Loans (Unsubsidized & Graduate PLUS) and Federal Work-Study funds.
International graduate students, although not eligible for federal assistance, with U.S Citizen or eligible permanent resident as a co-applicant may apply for a private loan for financial assistance beyond the graduate awards.
Federal Work-Study Awards
The Federal Work-Study program provides full-time graduate students an opportunity to earn money towards educational expenses through on-campus and off-campus employment. The hourly pay for each position is based on the University of Rochester pay rate for the position which is based on the type of work and the skills required. Most FWS program students at the Eastman School of Music obtain employment within the school.
It is the student’s responsibility to seek available positions on campus if he/she wishes to earn work-study funds. Available positions are posted to the Careers and Professional Development website.
The number of hours a student will work are determined by the student’s class schedule, supervisor and the amount of FWS funds offered in the award letter. A student must be enrolled as a full-time student to be eligible for work-study.
Federal Direct Loan Program (Unsubsidized)
This program provides low-interest, long-term loans for students’ educational expenses. The federal loan limit per year for graduate students is $20,500. A student will be notified of loan eligibility through the financial aid award letter. Interest will be charged from the time the loan is disbursed until it is paid in full. The interest rate for a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan is 6.8%. If a student allows the interest to accumulate, it will be capitalized and added to the principal amount of the loan. An origination fee is charged by the federal government, so the actual dollar amount a student receives will be less than the amount borrowed. Federal regulations require multiple disbursements of federal loans originated for a full academic year, so a student will receive half of the loan amount in the fall term and half in the spring.
First time Federal Direct Loan Borrowers must complete an Entrance Counseling Session and a Master Promissory Note before loan proceeds can be credited to a student’s account. Returning students, who received a Federal Direct Loan in a prior year, will not be required to sign another master promissory note. Federal Direct Loan proceeds will be automatically applied to a student’s account. If a student wishes to decline or reduce his/her Federal Direct Loan, it has to be done in writing no later than 30 days after the disbursement of the loan.
For detailed information on Federal Direct Loans, please visit the Eastman Loan Page.
Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan Program
This program provides credit-based loans that allow graduate students to borrow up to the cost of attendance minus other financial aid awarded. The interest rate for a Graduate PLUS Loan is fixed at 7.9%. A student will be notified of loan eligibility through the financial aid award letter and can apply for a Graduate PLUS Loan via a paper application or online. An origination fee is charged by the federal government, so the actual dollar amount a student receives will be less than the amount borrowed. A Graduate PLUS Loan applicant must not have an adverse credit history. However, if student does have an adverse credit history he/she may still be able to receive a loan by obtaining an endorser who does not have an adverse credit history. An endorser is someone who agrees to pay the loan if the borrower fails to do so.
First time Graduate PLUS Loan Borrowers, who are approved for this loan, must complete an Entrance Counseling Session and a Master Promissory Note before loan proceeds can be credited to a student’s account. Returning students, who received a Federal Graduate PLUS Loan in a prior year, will not be required to sign another master promissory note. Federal Graduate PLUS Loan proceeds will be automatically applied to a student’s account. Federal regulations require multiple disbursements of federal loans originated for a full academic year, so a student will receive half of the loan amount in the fall term and half in the spring. If a student wishes to decline or reduce his/her Federal Graduate PLUS Loan, it has to be done in writing no later than 30 days after the disbursement of the loan.
Graduate students, who wish to defer payment on the principal of the PLUS Loan while they are enrolled, must complete a deferment request form. This form can be obtained from the Federal Graduate PLUS Loan Servicer. A student borrower can find out who his/her Federal Loan Servicer is by reviewing his/her PLUS Loan account at www.nslds.ed.gov.
For detailed information on Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loans, please visit the Eastman Loan Page.
APPLYING FOR FEDERAL AID
Eligibility
Students who wish to be considered for Federal Aid (federal student loans and work-study) must:
- Be registered for at least half time status each semester (at least 6 credit hours or ESM 999) to receive loans.
- Have made satisfactory academic progress towards completing their degree.
- Complete all necessary applications and return all required documentation.
Completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
2012-2013 Academic Year
The U.S. Department of Education has created an enhancement to the FAFSA filing process by allowing applicants to retrieve tax data from the IRS. This new process is called the IRS Data Retrieval Tool. Students should select this option when filing their 2012-2013 FAFSA to streamline the application process.
- Complete the 2012-2013 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) following the instructions in the Group that best describes how you will apply. Make sure to use the Eastman School Code on your FAFSA: 008124. The Eastman FAFSA Application deadline is May 15, 2012.
- If a student chooses to sign the FAFSA using an electronic signature, then the student (and student’s spouse) will need a FAFSA PIN. If the PIN is forgotten, please apply for or request one at www.pin.ed.gov.
- A Graduate student is considered independent for financial aid purposes. Parental data is not required on the FAFSA.
We recommend the following steps when filing the 2012-2013 FAFSA:
Group 1 – You (and your spouse) will be filing your 2011 Federal Tax Return prior to April 15, 2012.
Complete your 2011 Federal Tax Returns.
Complete the 2012-2013 FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) at www.fafsa.ed.gov.
- If you (and your spouse) filed your taxes electronically, wait 2 weeks and then complete the FAFSA.
- If you (and your spouse) filed your taxes via regular mail, wait 6 weeks and then complete the FAFSA.
Enter the student (and spouse) income information by clicking on “LINK TO IRS”.
- The tax information will automatically be entered from the IRS database onto the FAFSA.
Do not send any financial aid information to the Eastman Office of Financial Aid. When we receive your FAFSA information, we will notify you if any further information is needed.
Group 2 – You (and your spouse) will be filing your 2011 Federal Tax Return after April 15, 2012 (Filing an IRS Form 4868 for a tax extension)
Complete the 2012-2013 FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Use estimated student (and spouse) tax information when completing the FASFA.
Complete your 2011 Federal Tax Returns.
- If you (and your spouse) filed your taxes electronically, wait 2 weeks and then update the FAFSA.
- If you (and your spouse) filed your taxes via regular mail, wait 6 weeks and then update the FAFSA.
Update the 2012-2013 FAFSA by returning to your original FAFSA at www.fafsa.ed.gov and clicking on “LINK TO IRS”.
- The student (and spouse) tax information will automatically be entered from the IRS database onto the FAFSA.
- You (and your spouse) will need to update any of the other questions on the FAFSA manually.
You will need to send a copy of your IRS Form 4868 or approval of extension and all 2011 W-2 forms to the Eastman Office of Financial Aid. Do not send any other financial aid information. We will notify you if any further information is needed.
Group 3 – Do not try to use the IRS Data Retrieval System if:
- You are married, but filing separate 2011 Federal Tax Returns.
- You are divorced/separated, but file a joint 2011 Federal Tax Return.
- You (and your spouse) will file an amended 2011 Federal Tax Return.
If Group 3 describes your situation, contact the Eastman Office of Financial Aid for further guidance about completing the FAFSA.
VERIFICATION PROCESS -
2012-2013 Verification Process
Verification is the process of confirming the information on the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). In order to comply with Federal regulations, we may ask you to provide information that verifies the data you provided on your FAFSA. The creation of the IRS Data Retrieval Tool has simplified the verification process.
Due to a change in Federal regulations, our office is no longer allowed to accept federal tax returns.
If your FAFSA information is selected for verification, you and your family will need to submit the following documentation:
1) The IRS Data Retrieval Tool was used:
2) The IRS Data Retrieval was not used or was unable to be used:
- 2012-2013 Independent Verification Form
- 2011 Federal Tax Return Transcript (Student & Spouse), if filed
- 2011 W-2 forms (Student & Spouse)
For all non-tax filers, please list your income information in the appropriate section of the Independent Verification Form.
If you and your spouse file an amended tax return, you must submit both a 2011 IRS Tax Return Transcript AND a 2011 IRS Tax Account Transcript.
For instructions of how to obtain an IRS Transcript, please click on the links below:
If you have questions about the verification process for the 2012-2013 academic year, please contact the Eastman Office of Financial Aid.
ADDITIONAL FUNDING
Outside Scholarships
We encourage students to search and apply for outside scholarship funding throughout their graduate program. Receiving the greatest amount of outside scholarship funding requires students to consider scholarships beyond the music realm (clubs, religious organizations, ethnic groups, groups that your relatives may be involved with, etc.) and to keep their search broad.
Private Loans
Some students choose to borrow a private loan to cover a portion of the cost of education not already paid for by scholarships and federal grants/loans. We strongly encourage students to exhaust all federal loan options prior to applying for a private loan. The federal loan programs generally offer lower interest rates and fees than private loans.
If a student chooses to pursue a private loan, we recommend comparing the costs associated with various loans before completing an application. Interest rates, fees, repayment periods, and other benefits can vary significantly between loans. Often these loans are based on credit-worthiness and approvals are not automatic. The FinAid.org website provides some comparative information regarding private loans. When selecting a loan through a comparative website, be sure to go to the lender’s website to ensure the most up-to-date information about the loan.
The University of Rochester Eastman School of Music does not maintain a preferred lender list. As such, the University has no agreements or relationships with any lenders and does not receive any benefit, financial or otherwise, from the use of private loans by students. For more information on the University’s policies, please see our Student Loan Code of Conduct and Policy on Private Lending.
Financial Aid Appeal
If a student’s financial circumstances have changed drastically due to unemployment, medical expenses, loss of personal funding (Social Security or Child Support), etc., then the student may petition for additional assistance.
Domestic students must complete a 2012-2013 Financial Aid Appeal Form-Domestic Students and submit any additional documentation that is requested.
International student must complete a 2012-2013 Financial Aid Appeal Form-International Students and the CSS PROFILE for International Students. The Eastman School Code for the CSS PROFILE for International Students is 2224.
