Financial Aid - US Department of Education
How to apply for financial aid
To be considered for financial aid, you must complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). You can apply online at www.fafsa.ed.gov. You will need to make sure that your web browser is compatible.
Applying online is the best method because your results are processed quicker and there are checks to ensure your information is submitted correctly. If you wish to apply via paper, you will need to contact FAFSA directly.
After you initially submit a FAFSA, each year thereafter undergraduates who completed a paper FAFSA will receive a renewal FAFSA and graduate students or students who completed the FAFSA on the web will receive a Personal Identification Number (PIN) mailer. For those who have applied for Financial Aid previously, the renewal FAFSA has most of your information pre-printed, and typically only your income information needs to be updated (and your parents', if you are a dependent student).
Students are reminded to obtain the necessary PIN (parent(s) and students must each have a PIN) to validate the signature before electronically sending the application to be processed. PIN’s can be obtained from going online at US Department of Education PIN Registration.
University/school codes
One of the final steps in completing the FAFSA is supplying CDU’s US Dept of Education federal university/school code.
CDU’s school code is 031404.
On the FAFSA you will need to replace the 0 with a ‘G’ – it will therefore be G31404.
What happens next?
After completing the FAFSA, you will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR). This document lists the information you and your family have provided and tells you what your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is for the year you are applying.
You may be advised that the Financial Aid Office receives this information in an electronic format. This is not the case for foreign universities. Each student will receive a SAR or similar electronic document called an ISIR which details eligibility and calculates EFC. CDU requires you to send your SAR and/or SAR Print summary directly to CDU International Office before your application can progress any further. Please fax or email this to our office (+61 8 8946 6644 | therese.fitzgerald@cdu.edu.au) as it will enable the university to track and process your application more efficiently.
Pre-loan counselling
CDU requires all students to complete loan counselling at the appropriate grade level (undergraduate or graduate) prior to the initial certification of any US Federal loan funds. You can do this by going through our on-line provider, Mapping Your Future at mappingyourfuture.org. CDU International Office will automatically be advised once you have successfully completed the counselling session.
How is eligibility determined?
The FAFSA is an organized method of gathering information about you and your family’s financial situation. This information is then analyzed according to US federal guidelines together with University guidelines. This insures that all applications are treated fairly and equitably.
The results of this need analysis indicate the difference between what can be expected from the family and the cost of education. It shows the ability, not the willingness, of the student and/or their family to pay for their education. This is used to determine whether the student has a financial need.
You also need to advise the Financial Aid Office of any other grant / aid or scholarship that you are in receipt of, or are in the process of applying for when you submit your application for aid.
Dependant vs. independent student
A student’s dependency status is determined from information provided on the FAFSA. It affects the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and types of aid that you may be eligible to receive.
For the purposes of Title IV aid, a student is considered independent if he or she meets one ore more of the following criteria:
- The student is at least 24 years old by December 31 of the award year.
- The student is an orphan or ward/dependent of the court, or was a ward/dependent of the court until he or she reached age 18.
- The student is a veteran of the US Armed Forces
- The student is working on a master’s or doctorate program at the beginning of the award year for which the FAFSA is completed.
- The student is married as of the date the FAFSA is completed.
- The student has at least one child who receives more than half of his or her support from the student.
- The student has a dependent, other than a spouse or a child, who lives with the student and receives more than half of his or her support from the student at the time the FAFSA is completed and through June 30 of the award year.
The student is considered dependent if he or she does not meet any of the preceding criteria for an independent student unless the financial aid administrator determines that the student is independent on the basis of special circumstances and performs a dependency override.
Amounts for Federal Stafford loans
Dependent undergraduate students |
Subsidized (US government pays interest while student is in university and six months after graduation/withdrawal) |
Subsidized and unsubsidized combined |
1st Year |
$3,500 |
$3,500 |
2nd Year |
$4,500 |
$4,500 |
3rd Year & Up |
$5,500 |
$5,500 |
| Aggregate limit for dependent students: $23,000 | ||
Independent undergraduate students |
Subsidized (US government pays interest while student is in university and six months after graduation/withdrawal) |
Subsidized and unsubsidized combined |
1st Year |
$3,500 |
$7,500 |
2nd Year |
$4,500 |
$8,500 |
3rd Year & Up |
$5,500 |
$10,500 |
| Aggregate limit for independent students: $46,000 | ||
Graduate students |
Subsidized (US government pays interest while student is in university and six months after graduation/withdrawal) |
Subsidized and unsubsidized combined |
|
$8,500 |
$20,500 |
| Aggregate limit for graduate students: $138,500 | ||
NOTE: These amounts may be lower, depending on the eligibility determined by the financial aid office. Students who receive unsubsidized loans may pay the interest while they are in university with principal deferred until after they cease to be enrolled at least half time or they can choose to have both the interest and principle deferred until after they cease to be enrolled at least half time.
You will be advised via email as to the determination of your eligibility for need based aid (subsidized) and non-need (unsubsidized) based aid. You will be required to confirm your intent to take this amount, or any other lesser amount prior to certification taking place.
Once CDU receives your information, we will prepare an award letter that outlines the aid programs for which you are eligible. This award letter can then be used in your visa application to prove that you have access to sufficient funds.
It is strongly recommended that you plan on having sufficient funds available for accommodation, books, supplies, and any other personal expenses during the first six to eight weeks of classes in the event that there is some delay in your financial aid arriving from the US.
When your aid cheque arrives, you will be required to come to the International Office to sign the cheque, and it will be distributed to your tuition account and any remainder will be refunded to your private bank account.
Disbursement information
CDU will not disburse funds to students until thirty (30) days prior to the commencement of classes, in accordance with US Federal policy. Typically, it is the date your cheque is posted - not the same day that funds are actually available. You should not expect to receive funds prior to arriving in Australia.
Disbursement of Federal loans will be on two (2) separate dates coinciding with the Orientation if you are undertaking a semester based or Doctoral program. This is to allow, the academic monitoring requirements mandated by the US Department of Education in the second semester.
If you are commencing in Semester 2, as a result of advanced standing or previous credit, the initial assessment will be for a six (6) month period only. The reasoning for this is that as of Semester 1 the following year you may be eligible for additional aid.
If you are undertaking a Trimester based program, your funds will be disbursed on three (3) separate dates coinciding with trimester based orientation programs. This disbursement schedule allows for the mandatory academic monitoring stipulated by the US Department of Education.
The loan funds will be sent to the University and you will be notified via email when the cheques have arrived and are ready for your signature. Once you have signed these, the cheques will be converted from US dollars into Australian dollars, and credited towards your tuition account and the remainder will be paid into your living account.
