Yes. Many students feel that they don’t qualify for aid, possibly missing out on financial aid opportunities by not applying at all. The FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It does not hurt to see what you do qualify for. The FAFSA is the main application for both grants and loans. Without the FAFSA, students are not qualified for any financial aid.

No. Completing the FAFSA looks at what funding you are eligible for. It is completely up to you if you want to take out a loan or not. Importantly, the FAFSA is just to see what you qualify for. This same rule also applies to any grants you qualify for. Though you qualify, you are not required to request for any of it.

Because Hawaii Medical College does not run on a traditional university semester schedule, there is a possibility that you may have to reapply. Please check with your financial aid counselor for those details.

No. Parents are not responsible for the Federal Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loans. Students do not need to have a cosigner on those loans either, even if they are under the age of 18 because the “defense of infancy” does not apply to federal student loans.

If a parent is responsible for a loan, it would be the Federal Parent PLUS loan. Not all parents will qualify for the PLUS loan. As mentioned above, generally the student and the student alone is responsible for repaying any and all of their educational loans.

For the Federal Direct Subsidized or Unsubsidized Loan, the current origination fee (application fee) is 1.051%; for Direct Parent PLUS Loans, the origination fee is 4.204%. This percentage will be automatically deducted from the amount that you are going to request for.

During the 2014-2015 Academic Year, the interest rate for the Federal Direct Subsidized or Unsubsidized Loan is 4.66%; for Direct Parent PLUS Loans, the interest rate is 7.21%.

All Interest rates are fixed rates throughout the life of the loan.

No. Typically you have a six (6) month grace period from your last day of attendance (regardless if you withdraw, graduate, or get academically dismissed) before you begin any payments for loans.

Payments for loans will not be to the school, but to a loan servicer that is randomly assigned to you (Examples of those different loan servicers you can get assigned to are: Navient, FedLoan, Great Lakes, Nelnet, etc.).

Yes. If you are awarded any scholarship, please notify your financial aid advisor and the business office to readjust your award and payment plans. This means that if your scholarship covers any out of pocket costs, we can potentially decrease your loan amount.