2009-2010 Financial Aid Award Guide

Graduate Student Financial Assistance

The Office of Student Financial Aid offers loans to graduate students who qualify to assist in funding their education. Listed below is some information concerning the methodology used for calculating financial assistance. We anticipate that we will award graduate students around mid-May. Since your award package may not reflect departmental scholarships, fellowships or private scholarships, please use the formula below to determine your financial assistance.

Financial need is determined by subtracting your expected family contribution (EFC) from your budget. Budgets include tuition, fees, room, board, books, and personal expenses (Room, board, books and personal expenses are averages based on estimates for all graduate students).

For in-state students for 2009-2010, the budget is $27,791; for out of state students for 2009-2010, the budget is $38,691. You can check our website for a more detailed description of your budget.

Graduate students can receive up to $20,500 in Federal Stafford loans less other aid received. For example using 2009-2010 data: If you are an in-state student receiving a Graduate Fellowship of $12,000 and tuition remission for five credits per semester ($4,440), your calculation would look like this:

Other aid includes, but is not limited to, University of Maryland Graduate Fellowships, Tuition Remission, Tuition Scholarships, Departmental Scholarships, and Private Scholarships.

Please note, for those students who are receiving a Graduate Assistantship, your budget and tuition charges will reflect the in-state cost of attendance.

Please direct any further questions to sfa-gradsch@umd.edu.