Luther Seminary’s financial aid programs
consist of need-based grants, merit scholarships, tuition grants,
loans and federal and campus work-study. Aid is offered to students
in degree track programs (certificate students, DMIN and non-degree
students are not eligible for financial aid) and maintaining the
requisite course load which will be spelled out in each category.
It is the desire of Luther Seminary that by making these funds
available to students we are able to assist you in making your
preparation for ministry possible and affordable.
All Seminary students in the MDiv, MA, MSM, and
MTh are eligible to apply for the Need-based Grant. Grant
recipients are required to be taking at least 2.5 courses in each
semester that they are receiving a grant. In order to be considered
you must complete the Luther Seminary Financial Aid Application. Deadline
to be considered is June 1st of each year.
While anyone may
nominate a student for this award, this nomination is usually made
by the student’s supervisor in the above programs. Nomination forms
are available from the Office of Admissions or the Seminary
web-site. Nominations should be directed to the Director of
Admissions. Deadline for nomination is April 15th of each year.
In order to be eligible for any of the loans
listed below a student must be attending at least half-time
(full-time for the Mourer Loan) and be pursuing one of the following
degrees: MDIV (all loans), MA (all loans), MSM (all loans), MTh and
PhD (federal loans only). You will be required to complete the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as well as the Luther
Seminary Financial Aid Application. Other forms or documents may be
required.
Students can borrow
$18,500 per year, although only $8,500 of that is subsidized.
However they amount that you may be eligible to receive may be less
depending on your course load and other aid received. There are
also cumulative limits of $65,500 combined limit for undergraduate
and graduate in the Subsidized Stafford program and $138,500 (less
and Subsidized Stafford) for the Unsubsidized Stafford program.
These amounts include any borrowing graduate for undergraduate prior
to attending Luther Seminary.
Stafford Loans have
variable interest rates (based on 91-day T-bill rate + 1.7% during
school with an additional .6% increase upon graduation) capped at
8.25% or less, depending on yearly adjustments. All lenders may
offer the same rate for the Stafford Loan, however many now offer
some discounts for on-time and electronic payments. These rates are
recalculated each year and become effective on July 1 of each year.
There are two types of
fees that may be charged to you in order to receive a Federal
Subsidized or Unsubsidized Stafford Loan.
Both the Federal
Stafford and Perkins Loans have various provisions for deferment.
Deferment means that if you meet certain conditions you may be able
to discontinue your payments for a period of time. For the
Subsidized Stafford and Perkins Loans interest would also stop.
Further both loans have provisions for cancellation. For a better
discussion of deferments and cancellations please see
www.finaid.org/loans/
Mourer Loan -
This loan is a non-federal loan offered by Luther Seminary. It is
important to note the non-federal nature of this loan. What this
means is that once a student has completed their education this loan
would not be eligible to be included with a Federal Consolidation
Loan. Depending on a student’s debt level this might make a
difference on whether they want or should apply for this loan. This
is a first come first served loan. Funds are limited. In order to
be considered you must apply early (Jan-Feb) and check the box on
the Luther Seminary Financial Aid Application requested
consideration for the Mourer Loan.
This is a fixed rate
5% loan with all the same deferment and cancellation options
available to federal loan borrowers. The difference being that we
will cancel up to 50% of the original loan balance for service in
“ministry”. We will cancel 10% of the original balance per year for
the first 5 years of ministry. Ministry is defined (but not
necessarily limited to) as the following:
·
Ordained ministry - is defined as service under call to a
congregation or authorized ministry, subject to oversight by a
recognized denominational body. Such ministries may include parish
ministry, chaplaincy in specialized settings such as health care
chaplaincy and pastoral counseling; campus ministry, spiritual
direction, camps and missionary fields, and in synod, regional, and
church wide offices.
·
Lay ministry - is defined as service under call to a
congregation or authorized ministry, subject to oversight by the
congregation and/or a recognized denominational body, or service
under the supervision of a congregation or agency. Such ministries
may include work within a congregational setting or in a
church-sponsored agency including youth ministry, chaplaincy,
diaconal service, social work, advocacy, and related efforts.
·
Missionary Ministry - is defined as service under call to a
recognized denominational body or church agency for the purpose of
sharing the Christian faith in international and domestic settings.
If you have any
questions about whether a certain type of ministry would be
eligible, you should check with the Office of Financial Aid prior to
receiving the loan.
Repayment will begin
on the earlier of: (i) the nine month anniversary of your graduation
from the Seminary; or (ii) if you leave the Seminary for any reason
other than graduation, the six month anniversary of the last day you
were enrolled at least half time.
Interest will not be
charged during period of enrollment or during acceptable deferment
periods.
If you are
experiencing temporary financial hardship and do not fit one of the
allowed deferments you may be able to postpone or temporarily reduce
the amount of your monthly payment by requesting forbearance.
Forbearance is granted at the discretion of the Seminary. During
forbearance, interest will continue to accrue on the loan at your
expense
Applying for Financial Aid at Luther Seminary
By Aid Type
Luther Seminary Need Based Grant -
Students will, at a minimum, be required to complete the Luther
Seminary Financial Aid Application. Other documents or
clarification may be requested
Luther Seminary Merit Scholarships -
Individual scholarships may have an application and/or nomination
form. Please see above for each requirement.
Federal Student Loans
- Students who wish to be considered for any type of federal aid
(Stafford, Perkins and Grad PLUS Loans) must complete
the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as well as
the Luther Seminary Financial Aid Application. Other documents or clarification may be
requested.
Mourer Loan - In order to be
considered for the Mourer Loan, students must complete the Luther
Seminary Application for Financial Aid as well as the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Further, there is a
check box on the Luther Application that must be check in order to
be considered.
Luther Seminary Employment - The only
requirement for non-federal work study is the work study
application found on our website.
Other Aid/Outside Aid - Aid from other
sources may or may not have special application considerations.
You should check with the organization directly to be sure.
Forms
Free Application For Federal Student Aid
(FAFSA) – This application should be completed on-line. It
can be found at
www.fafsa.ed.gov. You will need your prior year tax return or
w-2’s to complete this form. If you have applied before you can
sign this form on-line using your Department of Education PIN
number. If you don’t sign it on-line you can print out the
signature page and mail to the appropriate address. If you can’t
remember your PIN number you can request it from
www.pin.ed.gov. You will be asked what schools you are
attending, the id code for Luther Seminary is G02357 (G, zero,
two, three, five, seven). We will receive your application
electronically. At this point we may need to request additional
forms. If you will not be applying for student loans (federal or
Luther) you do not need to complete this form. However, we
encourage all students to complete the FAFSA so that the Office of
Financial Aid has a complete picture when it comes to selecting
students for various scholarships and grants. Also, situations
change. If an emergency were to arise and a loan was needed, if
the application is completed and received a loan can be done quite
quickly.
Deadlines
Merit Scholarships
– We must have nominations forms and students accepted by February 1
of each year.
Luther Seminary
Grant – The deadline for this award will vary from year to
year. Please see the website for current deadline. Typically this
deadline will run from August 1 to September 1 of each year.
Mourer Loan –
There is no official deadline for this award. However, this loan is
awarded on a first come first served basis. Students who complete
their financial aid file after March 1st typically miss
out on this loan.
Federal Loans
– There is do deadline for federal loans. However we must have a
complete file (including FAFSA) prior to the end of the term you are
applying for. But, it would be helpful if students did not wait
until the last minute in case of problems.
Luther Seminary
Financial Aid Application – Starting with the 2005/2006 the
Luther Seminary Application will be available via the website. The
application will be completed online. The application is “signed”
by typing in the student’s full name. If you won’t be applying for
student loans of any type this will be the only form you will need
to complete.
Housing
Application – Must be completed if student wishes to live in
Seminary Housing. The same form is used for dorms and apartments.
Tax Returns –
Some students may be required to submit their prior year tax
returns. Our office will notify you if we need them.
Verification Form
– If we need your taxes we will also need you to complete a Federal
Verification Form. Our office will notify you if we need it. The
form can be downloaded from our website or our online financial aid
system.
Congregational
Request Form – If you would like Luther to send a letter to your
congregation or any congregation that you have been associated with
you would complete this form. Once completed and you are accepted
the office of Seminary Relations will send out a letter to your
church letting them know you are here and what the costs are. This
form is available on our website and in the online financial aid
system.
Confidentiality
Financial aid information is reviewed only by
the Director of Financial Aid. Access to student files is limited
to the office staff. Information will be shared only with other
Seminary administrators as appropriate to their professional
responsibilities and established need-to-know procedures.
Information will not be released to any other source without
written authorization from the student. The exception to this
would be requests from the ELCA for ELCA students
Verification
It is possible that a
student’s FAFSA may be chosen for a process called verification.
The selection may come either from the federal processor or the
office of financial aid. If selected a student will have to provide
the following:
1.
A copy of the student’s federal income tax return or a letter
detailing why they were not required to file;
2.
Verification of any untaxed income received;
3.
Verification of family size as well as identifying any family
members who are also attending other secondary institutions on at
least a half time basis.
4.
Any other documentation that the Office of Financial Aid may
need to complete the process. The Office of Financial Aid will
notify students as to the deadline for the additional documents at
the time they are requested. If changes are required to student
data or awards students will be notified and the time frame required
to make those changes.
5.
It will be the responsibility of the Office of Financial Aid
to resolve any conflicts prior resulting from the verification
process. If conflicting information is received after federal aid
is disbursed further disbursements will be put on hold until the
conflict is resolved.
Availability of Federal Aid
Should request for
Federal Perkins Loans exceed available funds, preference will be
given to students with the highest defined need on a first-come,
first-served basis.
Early Withdrawal and refund or repayments of federal funds
Refund of tuition is made to a student who
withdraws from Luther Seminary by formal application to the Dean
of Students. The effective date of withdrawal is the date a
formal notice is received by the Dean of Students.
The seminary is not responsible for refunds
if a student fails to follow this procedure.
Effective July 1, 2000, Luther Seminary
adopted a new refund policy that conforms to the updated version
(section 668.22) of the Higher Education Amendments Act of 1998.
Withdrawing students with Title IV funds (Federal Subsidized and
Unsubsidized Stafford and Perkins Loans) will be subject to both
Federal policies regarding the possible return of the Title IV
funds AND Luther Seminary’s refund policy as outlined in the
Seminary catalog.
Federal policy states that if a student
totally withdraws on or before the 60% point in time of the
enrollment period calculated using calendar days, a portion of the
total Title IV funds awarded to a student must be returned. The
calculation of the return portion may result in the student owing
a balance to Luther Seminary and/or the Federal Government.
Exceptions to this policy include withdrawal
prior to the beginning of the enrollment period or after the 60%
point of the term.
Please see the seminary catalog for an
explanation of the Luther Seminary refund policy.
Payment of charges
A student’s registration is not complete
until satisfactory arrangements have been made with the Business
Office for payment of tuition, housing and all other charges.
Satisfactory
arrangements include any combination of the following:
1.
Payment of all charges in full;
2.
Student aid awarded by Luther Seminary applied to account;
3.
Completed application for a federal or Luther Seminary
student loan;
4.
Documentation of future payments to be made directly to
Luther Seminary by an outside source, such as a letter from the
student’s home congregation stating the date and amount of tuition
or other charges to be paid by that congregation.
Registration for
succeeding academic semesters or units of study is not permitted,
and current registrations are cancelled, until all amounts
previously owed have been satisfied as explained above.
Payment of all account
in the Business Office, Library and Bookstore, is required before a
diploma is issued.
When a student leaves
Luther Seminary for any reason, eight percent annual interest is
charged on all outstanding Seminary accounts.
Student Employment
There are many employment opportunities available both on and off
campus for Luther Seminary students. Students are encouraged to
supplement their financial aid through employment as a way
to help defray the costs of a seminary education. The
Luther Seminary intranet maintains a listing of both on and off
campus positions.
Any student wishing to pursue on-campus employment
should contact the specific department directly to inquire about
possible employment.
Prior to employment, all students
are required to complete a Federal I-9 Form and W-4 Form as well as
present the appropriate identification to the Seminary Payroll
Office.
Each department is responsible for the
hiring of students. Pay rates and policies may vary by office.
Beginning with the 2007/2008 academic year Luther Seminary no longer
participates in the Federal Work Study Program. Therefore,
completion of the federal financial aid form (FAFSA) is no longer
required to pursue a position on campus.
Errors and questions should be directed to:
Office of Financial Aid
2481 Como Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55108
Phone: 651-641-3463
Fax: 651-641-3497
Email:
finaid@luthersem.edu
