Awards, Disbursement, Billing and Refunds

This page contains information related to the use of the University portal, accepting awards, the aid disbursement process and timeline, reconciling and paying bills, requesting refunds, and the exchange of information with third part individuals and entities. To quickly discover more about a specific topic, please select the topic of interest from the menu below:

• How to Accept Your Award
• Disbursement
• Billing
• Refunds
• Request to Release Financial Aid Information

Should you require additional information, have trouble navigating the University portal, or have questions related to any of the topics below, please contact the Office of Financial Aid at the School of Medicine by email at medicine.finaid@hofstra.edu or call 516.463.7523. If you have been working with a staff member of the Office of Financial Aid, please contact that individual directly.

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How to Accept Your Award

You will be notified via email once your financial aid award is generated.  Your notification email is not your award letter but will contain information about your award and your cost of attendance.  Be sure to read the notification email in its entirety as it will contain important information about next steps.  Financial aid awards can be found in the University portal and must either be accepted or declined.  There are numerous ways to access your financial aid status in the portal; however, the most direct / useful path is as follows:

• Log on to: my.hofstra.edu
• Log in with your Student Network ID and your password
• Read the FERPA agreement and click “OK” if you agree
• From the left menu, click on “Hofstra Online”
• You will see menus for “Student Services”, “Personal Services” and “Financial Aid Services”.  Under “Financial Aid Services” select “Award”.
• Beginning from here, you may achieve a number of tasks:

1. View your award, cost of attendance, cumulative Federal loan information, and housing status:
   1. Select “Award Summary by Aid Year”
   2. Select the appropriate aid year from the drop down menu (your aid year will, in most cases, be the next academic year)
   3. Select “Award Overview” from the tabs above
   4. If you have any questions or concerns, contact the Office of Financial Aid at the School of Medicine by email at medicine.finaid@hofstra.edu or call 516.463.7523.
2. View / accept / decline your award:
   1. Select “Award Summary by Aid Year”
   2. Select the appropriate aid year from the drop down menu (your aid year will, in most cases, be the next academic year)
   3. Here you will be able to view, accept, or decline all or portions of your financial aid award(s) (under “Award Decision”).  If you do not see “Award Decision” at the bottom of the page there are a series of tabs above (“General Information”, “Award Overview”, “Resources/Additional Information”, and “Accept Award Offer”).  Click “Accept Award Offer”.
   4. You will see your award(s) here.  You will not need to accept any scholarship amounts.  These awards will automatically be applied to your account.  All awards are presented in two terms and as a total (for the entire academic year).  You will make a selection in light of the academic year and the total amount is disbursed over two semesters (fall and spring).
   5. If you have any questions or concerns, contact the Office of Financial Aid at the School of Medicine by email at medicine.finaid@hofstra.edu  or call 516.463.7523.
3. Determine if you are missing any documents or requirements or if there are any holds on your account:
   1. To the left of the “Award” menu, select “Eligibility”
   2. You will see both unsatisfied and satisfied requirements
   3. You can also select “Holds” from the tabs above to determine if there are any holds on your account.
   4. Please note that there may be additional requirements if you are applying for, or receiving, institutional aid.  To be certain, check with the Office of Financial Aid at the School of Medicine.
   5. If you have any questions or concerns, contact the Office of Financial Aid at the School of Medicine by email at medicine.finaid@hofstra.edu  or call 516.463.7523.
4. View past financial aid awards:
   1. Within the “Award” menu, select “Award History”
   2. Here you can view past financial aid awards

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Disbursement

A financial aid package (or award) may include one or more institutional scholarships and/or loans from one or all of the three sources below.  Nothing must be done by a student in order for scholarship funds to pay to an account by the disbursement date; however, each loan program comes with requirements that must be met prior to disbursement.

Funds disburse once a student (1) accepts an award and (2) fulfills all requirements that accompany that award.  If the following requirements are not met by the scheduled date of disbursement, funds will be withheld from the student’s account.  This may potentially result in refund delays and late fees if the student’s bill is not paid by the due date.

DISBURSEMENT REQUIREMENTS
Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan	Direct PLUS Loan for Graduate / Professional Students	North Shore-LIJ Health Loan
Sign the Master Promissory Note (MPN) – a previous Direct Loan MPN may be valid if signed within the last 10 years Complete Entrance Counseling (Stafford) – prior to the first year borrowing while a student at the SOM (usually MSI)	Complete a PLUS Request Sign the Master Promissory Note (MPN) – PLUS-specific; valid for 10 years once signed Complete Entrance Counseling (Grad PLUS) – prior to a student’s first year borrowing at the SOM (usually MSI)	Sign the North Shore-LIJ Health Loan Promissory Note – a new note must be signed each year Complete Entrance Counseling – specific to the North Shore-LIJ Loan Program (separate from the Direct Loan Entrance Counseling)

*On occasion, students may be asked to provide additional information (proof of U.S. citizenship, permanent residency, etc.).  If a student encounters this requirement on the University portal, please contact the Office of Financial Aid at the School of Medicine.  

The Federal MPN(s), entrance counseling, and PLUS requests can be completed / satisfied securely online by accessing the U.S. Department of Education’s StudentLoans.gov website.  Students are required to provide their PIN (the same PIN used to complete the FAFSA) upon login. 

Students that are awarded the North Shore-LIJ Health Loan are required to sign a promissory note and complete entrance counseling with ECSI, the School’s loan servicer.  Email notification will be sent directly from ECSI to the student.  Students can then log on to a secure website, sign the promissory note, complete entrance counseling and receive the final loan disclosure.  *Entering MSI students: please be sure to check both your Hofstra University and personal email accounts for this notification email.  If you do not receive a notification email from ECSI within a week of accepting your North Shore-LIJ Health Loan, please contact the Office of Financial Aid. *Current students: MSII-MSIV students will also receive a notification email after accepting a financial aid award. 

To log in to your ECSI account please visit: https://borrower.ecsi.net/.  If you have access to your credentials and you need to complete your promissory note, you may do so here: https://www.ecsi.net/prom8s/.

Disbursements are made twice annually (June/July/August and January) no sooner than 10 days prior to the start of classes for that term.  Awards will first be applied to cost components payable to Hofstra University (tuition, fees, housing, meal plans, etc.).  The residual amount will be refunded to the student for additional education-related living expenses (books, personal expenses, transportation, etc.) within 10-14 days of the student placing a request.

SCHEDULE OF DISBURSEMENTS AND REFUNDS BY CLASS (approximate, subject to change)
Class standing		Start of classes	Aid disbursement date	Estimated date of refund*
Spring 2015 (Jan.)	MSI (Spring 2015)	1/5/2015	1/2/2015	1/16/2015
	MSII (Spring 2015)	1/5/2015	1/2/2015	1/16/2015
	MSIII(Spring 2015)	1/5/2015	1/2/2015	1/16/2015
	MSIV (Spring 2015)	1/5/2015	1/2/2015	1/16/2015
Fall 2014 (Jul., Aug., Sept.)	MSI (Fall 2014)	8/4/2014	7/25/2014	8/8/2014
	MSII (Fall 2014)	9/2/2014	8/25/2014	9/8/2014
	MSIII (Fall 2014)	7/7/2014	6/27/2014	7/11/2014
	MSIV (Fall 2014)	7/7/2014	6/27/2014	7/11/2014

*Students must first request a refund in the Hofstra University portal. The above chart represents the earliest date a refund may be received.

The Entrance Interview

All first year borrowers are required to attend a mandatory one-on-one entrance interview with the Director of Financial Aid.  This session should take place during the first 12 weeks of the fall term.  Failure to participate may result in spring term disbursement delays.  Topics covered during this session include:

• an individual analysis of the financial aid award and preliminary estimation of indebtedness at the anticipated time of graduation
• a review and discussion of undergraduate indebtedness
• a review of the terms and conditions of the loans in the financial aid award
• a review of the cost of attendance and student’s budget for the upcoming academic year
• an early introduction to loan forgiveness opportunities and loan repayment plans
• a preliminary discussion of financial goals

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Billing

Students are billed twice annually (fall and spring terms) at periods that coincide with his or her year in the program.  As of the 2013-2014 academic year, paper bills will no longer be mailed to students.  When a student invoice is generated, an email is sent to the Hofstra University email account which directs the student to visit the University portal to view and pay his or her bill.  All invoices will be available online and only e-bills will be generated.  You can receive up-to-date billing information at any time by visiting the University portal. 

In the event that an email notification is not received or overlooked, students remain responsible for any charges and must pay invoices by the date expressed on the e-bill.  Late fees will be applied to accounts that are not paid by the due date.  Below you will find approximate bill generation and due dates (please note that these dates will vary based on the calendar year and are provided for reference only):

	Fall term generation date range	Fall term due date range	Spring term generation date range	Spring term due date range
MSI	June 1st – 15th	July 1st – 15th	November 1st – 15th	December 1st – 15th
MSII	July 1st – 15th	August 1st – 15th	November 1st – 15th	December 1st – 15th
MSIII	May 15th – 30th	June 15th – 30th	November 1st – 15th	December 1st – 15th
MSIV	May 15th – 30th	June 15th – 30th	November 1st – 15th	December 1st – 15th

A note about bills and financial aid: generally speaking, 3 categories exist:

1. Students who do not rely on financial aid
2. Students who rely on financial aid to cover a portion of or all billable charges only
3. Students who rely on financial aid to cover all billable charges and living expenses (total cost of attendance)

Students will notice that financial aid disbursement dates occur after invoice due dates.  For those in category 1: bills will capture charges and are due at the time noted on the e-bill and in the University portal.  For those in categories 2 and 3: if a financial aid award is accepted in the portal prior to the invoice generation date, all charges and financial aid will be captured on the invoice and although these awards will not pay to a student’s account prior to disbursement, accounts will be up-to-date and accurate at the time that the invoice becomes due.  Students are responsible for reviewing bills to ensure that the anticipated credits are accurately reflected and match their financial aid awards.  To prevent late fees from accruing, students should ensure that all requirements are met and all outstanding balances are paid on time.

There are several ways for a student to review charges in the portal.  For more information on how to navigate the portal, please visit the University’s “How To” page: http://www.hofstra.edu/sfs/sfs_howto_portal.html.

If you feel that there is an error on the invoice, please notify the Office of Financial Aid at the School of Medicine and we will provide direction so you may quickly resolve the issue.

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Refunds

For students that are relying on financial aid to cover cost of living expenses, please visit the University website at  www.hofstra.edu/sfshowto and under the “Billing” tab, click on the link to the PDF entitled: “How to Request a Refund”.  A request cannot be made until financial aid has disbursed and funds are applied to an account (reinforcing the importance of ensuring that all requirements are met in advance of the scheduled disbursement dates).  

Please note that a request must be made each time a refund is anticipated.  This applies not only to each term of an academic year but also each time and award is changed, modified (within a term), or if a request is made and processed prior to the release of all funds within a financial aid package to a student account. 

For example, if an award package is updated after the semester begins and a refund has previously been issued and received, a student must submit another refund request.

Another example is when all Federal loans disburse and institutional loans do not.  In many cases a student will request a refund the once funds have disbursed.  If a student has met all of the requirements for the Federal loan(s), a refund will be processed.  If outstanding requirements remain for the institutional loan, funds will not pay to a students account and thus, will not be available for refund.  Once these requirements are met and funds pay to a student’s account, the student must submit another refund request.     

There are three ways to receive a refund:

• Mail
  • Ensure that the address in the portal is accurate!  Checks will be mailed to the address listed in the portal.  If a check is sent to an address at which a student no longer resides, considerable delays will occur while we correct the issue and re-process the request.    
• In-person pickup
  • You will receive an email from the University’s Office of Student Financial Services once your check is ready to be picked up.  Checks must be picked up in Memorial Hall (South Campus).
• Direct deposit
  • A direct deposit will be sent directly from the University’s bank to your personal U.S. bank account.  This is the most efficient means of receiving a refund.  This is a particularly beneficial for MSIII and MSIV students who will be spending the majority of their time at our clinical sites.   

For more information on requesting your refund please visit the University’s Office of Student Financial Services “How To” website: http://www.hofstra.edu/sfs/sfs_howto_portal.html.

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Request to Release Financial Aid Information

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protects the privacy of students and their parents.  Graduate students are considered independent and as such, the Office of Financial Aid cannot discuss any details of a financial aid award with anyone other than the student unless specifically expressed by the student.  A formal request must be submitted allowing the Office of Financial Aid to share information.  You can submit this request through your Hofstra Portal.
Please visit the Hofstra University website for more information on FERPA or visit the U.S. Department of Education on the web by clicking here.