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Financial Aid
Programs
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Federal
School Code (FAFSA): G24824
School
Code for Loans : 024824
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Scholarships
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| There
are several different scholarships available to the students
from sources outside Ponce School of Medicine. Some of
these scholarships require a repayment commitment by the
recipient, such as one year of obligated service for each year
of scholarship received: ARMY,
NAVY, AIRFORCE
and NATIONAL
HEALTH SERVICE CORPS.
The Ponce School of
Medicine allocates funds received from sources such a U.S.
Public Health Services (Scholarship for Disadvantaged
Students); the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Beca
Ayuda Suplementaria); National Medical Fellowship, Inc.,
USA Funds
and others.
Institutional Scholarships
to cover educational expenses are available for
distribution. Annually Institutional funds are allocated to
distribute among students. The scholarships committee
integrated by faculty members of all programs selects the
recipients, the total distribution exceed $100,000 annually.
Actually some fund raising activities are been developed to
increase availability of funds to this purpose.
To apply for scholarships
available, the student select to be considered (in a space
provided) in the request to financial aid form. |
Loans
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student applies for educational loans with our technical
assistance. The interest rate of these loans is usually
less than private loans. As of July 1st, the
interest rate is set by the federal government annually.
The most frequently processed loans are: |
- Federal Loan Changes for
2012-2013
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The Budget Control Act of 2011 was passed
on August 2, 2011. Some of the provisions in the act impact
federal student loan programs offered at Ponce School of
Medicine and Health Sciences. These changes WILL NOT affect
the amount of loan funding available. However, loan funding
will become more expensive. Here are the key
provisions affecting future federal graduate and
undergraduate student loans:
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Graduate and
Professional Students Only:
Beginning July 1, 2012, all graduate and professional
students will lose the interest subsidy on the
Subsidized Stafford loan. The graduate Stafford loan
program will become entirely unsubsidized, which means
the loan will accrue interest while a student is in
school. These changes will not affect the annual and
aggregate borrowing limits. The maximum amount a student
can borrow will remain at $20,500 per academic year.
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Loss of
“origination fee rebate” affecting Stafford, Grad PLUS
Currently, there is a 1% origination fee on a Stafford
loan and a 4% fee on PLUS loans, but a portion of the
fee, .5% for a Stafford and 1.5% for a PLUS, is rebated
at the time of disbursement.
(New) Beginning July 1, 2012, the full fee will be
charged.
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Loss of interest
rate reduction:
The last change is the loss of the .25% interest rate
reduction if you pay your loans electronically while in
repayment.
We recommend that students monitor their Federal Loan
borrowing history online at
http://www.nslds.ed.gov/nslds_SA/
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- Unsubsidized
Stafford Loans
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The fixed interest rate loan has an
annual loan limit of $12,000 and the Federal Government do
not pay the interest while the student in the school.
However, as an Institution participating in the previous
HEAL program, the student of our MD program may be awarded
an additional $20,000 and those of our Psy. D program
receive $12,500. For MPH, PhD, DrPH and Certificates the
maximum amount is $12,000 per year.
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- Aggregate
Amount of Loans
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The medical
student may obtain an aggregated $224,000.00 in Stafford
Loans of which $65,500.00 can be Subsidized and $158,500.00
Unsubsidized. The other PSM Graduate Programs
have an aggregated limit of $138,500.00, of which $65,500.00
are Subsidized Stafford Loans. The aggregated debt
limit includes ALL LOANS, both undergraduate and graduate
levels.
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There are no fixed
annual or aggregate loan limits. A graduate or professional
student may be awarded a PLUS loan for up to the student’s
cost of education minus other financial assistance.
Credit will be verified, interest begins to accrue upon
disbursement. For academic year 2012-2013 interest rate is
8.5%, origination fee is 4%. Repayment begins immediately,
but you may obtain a deferment while in school. PLUS loans
have no grace period, so repayment begins upon graduation or
withdrawal from the school.
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There are
several alternative loans programs for the health
professional students. These are credit-based loans
that may be used to supplement other types of financial
assistance. The loan amounts vary from $10,000 to
$20,000. The interest rate is variable, accrued while
in school and usually based on the current “Prime
Rate” plus a lender’s predetermined interest rate.
Repayment may be up to 20 years. Alternative Loans
sometimes provide funds to complete the remaining need after
the student is awarded other financial aid. Due to the
high interest rate that these loans represent, the student
should seek these loans as a last resource to their
financial need.
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Graduate
Assistantships/Fellowships
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are research assistantships provided by faculty members for
externally funded research projects. One of these
programs is the Minority
Biomedical Research Support Program (MBRS) that may be
available for participation. The program provides
student support that includes salary and fringe benefits.
Additional information may be requested at the Offices of the
Deans, Program Directors, and/or faculty. |
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