Announcements
Student Resource Week
From June 24 through June 28 the Student Resource Center will host a Student Resource Week. To learn about dates and times, visit our Student Resource Week page.
Change in Direct Loan Origination Fees Due to Sequester
On August 2, 2011, Congress passed the Budget Control Act of 2011, which put into place an automatic process of "across-the-board" federal budget cuts, known as the sequester, to take effect if Congress failed to enact legislation to reduce the federal deficit. As of March 1, 2013, Congress did not enact the required legislation, resulting in the implementation of the previously outlined sequester actions.
As part of the sequester, the Department of Education was required to change the origination fees for all Direct Subsidized, Direct Unsubsidized, and Direct PLUS loans that have not had a first disbursement as of 11:59 p.m. on March 1, 2013. All loans for the 2012–2013 academic year that had at least one disbursement prior to 11:59 p.m. on March 1, 2013 are not affected by the sequester at this time.
Origination fees are charges to a Direct Loan that reduce the gross amount of the loan disbursement before the funding is received and applied to a student's Drexel University account. The previous origination fees were 1% for Direct Subsidized and Direct Unsubsidized Loans and 4% for Direct PLUS Loans.
Currently, the projected new origination fees are 1.051% for Direct Subsidized and Direct unsubsidized Loans and 4.204% for Direct PLUS Loans.
All Direct Loan borrowers affected by the sequester should receive electronic notification from the Department of Education regarding this change.
Delayed PHEAA Summer Grants
The Pennsylvania State Grant Agency has notified schools that 2012 PHEAA Summer Grant award payments will not be available until the week of July 23, 2012. Students who have applied for and met PHEAA's requirements for conditional summer awards will not be able to receive funding at Drexel until mid-late July, as mandated by the State Grant Agency.
Students can apply for the 2012 Summer Grant at www.pheaa.org until August 15, 2012. Students must also meet certain enrollment and eligibility requirements in order to qualify for State Grant funds at Drexel. Questions regarding Summer Grant application status should be directed to State Grants and Special Programs at 1-800-692-7392.
New Loan Fees
Effective July 1, 2012, the upfront rebate on origination fees for all federal direct loans will be eliminated per the Budget Control Act of 2011. Subsidized and unsubsidized loan disbursements for 2012–2013 will be subject to a 1 percent origination fee of the gross disbursement amount, while parent and graduate PLUS Loans will be subject to a 4 percent origination fee.
Changes to Funding for Graduate and Professional Students
Starting with the 2012–2013 academic year, the Department of Education will no longer offer Direct Subsidized Loans to graduate and professional students. The $20,500 annual federal direct loan limit for graduate and professional students will remain the same, but it will be offered as Direct Unsubsidized Loan funding only. For further information regarding this change, please see the IFAP website.
File Your FAFSA
Beginning January 1, you can file your FAFSA online at www.fafsa.gov. The earlier you file your FAFSA the better, so act quickly. Submit the FAFSA even if you don't think you'll qualify for financial aid — it's required for loans and some scholarships.
Be sure to complete your FAFSA application before your priority date in order to be eligible for the maximum amount of financial aid. The priority deadline for entering freshmen and graduate students is February 15, 2012. The priority deadline for all other students is May 1, 2012.
See our Applying for Financial Aid Instructions for more information.
Personalized Final Exam Schedule
We're pleased to announce that you can now view your personalized final exam schedule via DrexelOne. To view your personalized schedule, simply log in to DrexelOne and choose the "students" tab, then select "Student Detail Schedule."
New Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy
As required by the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) and effective July 1, 2011, Drexel has a revised Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy. The SAP policy establishes the minimum passing GPA and number of earned credits needed to maintain financial aid. It's important for every Drexel student to be aware of these changes. The policy can be found on the Financial Aid Eligibility Policies page.