U.S. student loans

Direct Loan type	description
Subsidized Loans	Loans made to eligible undergraduate students who demonstrate financial need to help cover the costs of higher education at a college or career school.
Unsubsidized Loans	Loans made to eligible undergraduate, graduate, and professional students, but eligibility is not based on financial need.
PLUS Loans	Loans made to graduate or professional students and parents of dependent undergraduate students to help pay for education expenses not covered by other financial aid. Eligibility is not based on financial need, but a credit check is required. Borrowers who have an adverse credit history must meet additional requirements to qualify.

To learn more, visit https://studentaid.gov/. 

Apply for admission to Mount Allison University and receive your letter of acceptance.

Register for courses, applicable to first-year students. Returning students advance to Step 3 unless you forgot your FSA ID or password.

Create a FSA ID from the U.S. Department of Education.

The FSA ID is a username and password that is used to access certain Federal Student Aid websites.

A student or parent uses their FSA ID to:

• sign the FAFSA
• log into the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to transfer tax information to the FAFSA
• sign a Master Promissory Note (MPN) for a federal education loan
• among other activities

Complete your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

This will produce your Student Aid Report (SAR) with Expected Family Contribution (EFC). Your eligibility is determined by the information on your FAFSA.

The Mount Allison University federal code is 009503-00 or they might ask for G09503.

Before you begin, please visit studentloans.gov to get acquainted with US student aid and use as a reference throughout the application process and beyond.

FAFSA will notify you by email or mail concerning information about your SAR.

Once you have acknowledged that your FAFSA application was processed successfully, please take a moment to review the section Comments About Your Information.

This section will advise you if you must submit more information to complete your application or provide other information about your application.

Please be advised that foreign schools are not allowed to participate in any US federal grant programs.

Important note: Please be aware that Mount Allison will automatically receive your information at the school. In order to download your file, Mount Allison will need to acquire your social security number.

Since this information is not required on your admission application, you will need to provide it to the Mount Allison Financial Aid & Awards Counsellor by telephone only (506-364-2258) as soon as you complete your FAFSA.

Can be found at: https://studentaid.gov/mpn/

To select Mount Allison University, go to the Non U.S. Schools Category or type the code provided above.

Be sure to read carefully! This is a legally binding contract. This step is required prior to originating your loan.

Note for returning students: you must complete a new MPN every year regardless if you have completed one in the past.

If you're a first time borrower, you are required to complete online Entrance Counseling in order to originate any student loans.

Familiarize yourself with the loan process and your rights and responsibilities as a borrower.

Mount Allison returning students who received aid last year or previous years do not have to complete another entrance counseling.

Once you have completed your FAFSA, MPN, and your entrance counseling you are ready to request that your loan be Certified.

Complete the US William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Certification Request Form — Mount Allison University.

This form notifies Mount Allison that you wish your loan to be certified at this university.

Your loan will not be certified or originated unless this form is completed.

Certification is the process undertaken by the Financial Aid and Awards Counsellor at Mount Allison to approve your loan amount(s).

We use your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) as is determined by your SAR and we calculate your Cost of Attendance (COA is determined by the costs to attend MtA for one year), as well as your expected financial assistance (EFA) in the form of any grants, bursaries, scholarships, and private loans to determine your financial need.

The EFC and EFA are subtracted from your COA, and the amount outstanding helps determine the type and amount of loan(s) for which you are eligible.

The Financial Aid and Awards Counsellor will then proceed to complete the certification process once we can acknowledge the receipt of your SAR, electronic MPN on file, and you have undergone entrance counseling.

Once your certification is complete, you must email your Financial Aid & Awards Counsellor at financialaid@mta.ca advising the value of Direct Loans (subsidized and/or unsubsidized) you wish to originate in your name. 

This step is required for all students and parents or guardians applying for a Parent PLUS loan. For more information on parent loans see section Parent Loan Program Information.

dependent students	annual loan limits
First year	$5,500 ($3,500 subsidized/$2,000 unsubsidized)
Second year	$6,500 ($4,500 subsidized/$2,000 unsubsidized)
Third year and beyond	$7,500 ($5,500 subsidized/$2,000 unsubsidized)

For full-time U.S. and Canadian students with dual citizenship 

mount allison approximate cost of attendance	uS citizen	canadian citizen
Tuition (full-time)	$19,620.00	$9,725.00
Student fees	$2,035.00	$1,265.00
Housing (single room), residence fees, house executive dues	$7,501.00	$7,501.00
Meals (7-day unlimited)	$5,117.00	$5,117.00
Average cost for books (varies by degree)	$3,080.00	$3,080.00
Transportation (CAD)	$3,000.00	$3,000.00
Total cost of attendance in Canadian Dollars	$40,353.00	$29,688.00

Direct (also known as Stafford) and/or PLUS Loans.

Please be advised that your enrollment status as a full-time student (9 credit hours or more per term) is verified prior to disbursing loan funds to your Mount Allison Account.

Your loan(s) will be disbursed in two installments, one in the Fall term and the other in the Winter term.

Your loan money must first be applied to pay for tuition and fees, room and board, and other school charges.

All loan disbursements will be credited directly to your Mount Allison student account.

Should loan funds exceed outstanding MtA balance, you will automatically receive the value of the overpayment (credits on account related to US loans) via e-transfer to your mta email within 14 days of origination date.

It is the responsibility of the student to review their Mount Allison Student Connect Account periodically to determine if all loan proceeds have been credited accordingly. Go to Connect to view your financial information.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) for students with Title IV Aid Overview

U.S. government regulations (Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy 34 CFR 668.34) require students in receipt of Federal Direct Loan Program funds to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) to remain eligible for all U.S. Direct Loans. These loans include Unsubsidized Federal Direct Loans, Subsidized Federal Direct Loans, Federal Direct Graduate PLUS loans, and Federal Direct PLUS (parent) loans.

It is the student’s responsibility to review the SAP policy and to contact the Financial Aid and Awards Counsellor (financialaid@mta.ca) for further clarification if needed.

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SAP REQUIREMENTS

Maintaining eligibility for Title IV Aid — SAP Requirements

Mount Allison University (MtA) is required to monitor the academic progress of students who receive U.S. federal financial aid.

In order to remain eligible for U.S. federal aid, students must comply with MtA’s standards for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP).

All undergraduate and graduate students who hold Title IV loans will be evaluated for SAP at the end of every academic year.

SAP general evaluation components are defined as follows:

• Qualitative component: a minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 1.5;
• Quantitative component (or pace): completion of at least 67% of all credits attempted each academic year;
• Timeframe component: students must finish their degree within 150% of the published length of degree completion time (in credits).

Therefore, to maintain U.S. Direct Loan eligibility MtA’s undergraduate students must fulfill the following three requirements:

1. maintain a session grade point average (SGPA) and a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of at least 1.5;
2. complete at least 67% of the credit hours they attempt;
3. may not exceed a maximum timeframe of 150% of the credit hours required by their degree program — resulting in a maximum of 180 credits attempted.

Graduate students must meet minimum standards outlined in section 11 in the Academic Calendar to maintain their U.S. Direct Loan eligibility.

Calculating PACE completion rate

There are two methods to calculate a student's completion rate:

1. Determine how many credits a student must complete each year:

• Multiply the credits attempted by 67% (minimum pace) to determine the minimum credits that must be successfully each year.
• Example: 24 (total credits attempted) x 67% (minimum pace requirement) = 16 (successfully completed credits needed)

2. Determine if 67% of the credits attempted were successfully completed:

• Total successfully completed credits in academic year ÷ total credits attempted in the academic year = completion rate
• Example: 16 (successfully completed credits) ÷ 24 (total credits attempted) = 66.6667% (pace)

Note on rounding: For SAP calculation, Mount Allison will follow standard rounding principles and round to a whole number. Therefore, 66.66667 will be rounded to 67%.

Credits successfully completed include MtA courses with a grade of A through D- for undergraduate, and A through B- for graduate (Academic calendar 10.9.3 — Letter Grades and their meanings) or transfer credits, credits by exam courses, and Pass/Conditional Pass/Fail courses where credit P or CP was earned.

Credits not successfully completed include audit, course in progress, deferred, exemption, incomplete, withdrawal, withdrawal form University, courses with no posted grade, and pass/conditional pass/fail courses that earned a failing (F) grade.

Total number of hours attempted is the aggregate of both successfully and unsuccessfully completed courses.

Maximum Time Frame Eligibility

A student is considered to not have made SAP for maximum time frame once the school has become aware that the student will not complete within the maximum time frame and therefore, become ineligible for US Direct Loans at Mount Allison University for that degree.

• Undergraduate program: timeframe of completion of program must not exceed 150% of the published length of program as measured in credit hours. This is determined by the following: 120 credits for degree completion x 150% = 180 attempted credits. Students on Title IV aid are permitted to retain eligibility up until the University is aware the student no longer is on track to complete degree requirements within the maximum time frame of 180 credit hours.
• For graduate programs: maximum time frame is based upon the length of the program as measured in credit-hours or years, as applicable. This is determined by 150% x published length of program. For example: a published 2-year graduate program x 150% = 3 years.(Academic Calendar — Time Required)

Course load

Student must be registered full-time (9 or more credits per term) to maintin loan eligibility.

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UNIQUE GRADE TREATMENT

See the Academic Calendar — Letter Grades and their Meanings for more information on grades.

Incomplete course (INC), Deferred Exam (DE)

• Not included in CGPA calculation until the notation of DE or INC are replaced by a letter grade.
• INC and DE are considered attempted credits, but they are not considered a completed course until the final grade is recorded. Therefore, they will not be used in the calculation of PACE until grades are reported and courses are considered complete.

Withdraws (W) noted on transcript

Students who are granted a late withdrawal from individual courses will receive a ‘W’ for the course on their transcript.

• Withdrawals are recorded on the transcript and are excluded from the CGPA calculation
• Withdrawals are counted towards attempted credits, but not considered as a successfully completed course

Repeated Courses

• If a course is repeated, only the higher grade will be used in the CGPA. All results from attempts at a course will remain on the transcript.
• Repeated courses are counted towards attempted and completed credits for SAP PACE eligibility assessment.

Dropped courses

If a course is dropped during the withdrawal period without academic penalty it does not appear on the transcript and is not used in SAP review.

Transfer credits

• Transfer credits are not noted with a letter grade on the MTA transcript. Therefore, they are not included in the CGPA calculation.
• Any transfer credits accepted by the University and are accounted towards the completion of a student’s program and are considered attempted and completed courses for SAP evaluation of PACE.
• Note: The University Registrar is responsible to adjudicate transfer credits based on the University equivalencies of hours attempted and hours completed as it pertains to a student’s program of study. See Academic Calendar – Transfer Credits.

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SAP PROCESS

Official SAP review

All students with Title IV aid will have their academic progress reviewed at the end of each academic year. Students who have not fulfilled the SAP requirements will be placed on Financial Aid Probation and will not be eligible for US Direct Loan funds for the subsequent academic year(s). Once the academic results are available (generally early May) a student’s academic record is verified to ensure they have met SAP requirements. Students who have not met SAP and were on U.S. Direct loans will be notified within 30 days of academic results being available.

SAP checkpoint

Mount Allison will also complete a SAP Checkpoint after each term (Spring/Summer and Fall) to provide midway status update. Should the student be at risk of not meeting SAP by end of academic year (did not meet SAP for the term being reviewed), the Financial Aid Officer will provide the student with a Financial Aid Warning Notification. This will allow the student time to take corrective academic measures surrounding the SAP requirement that is at risk of not being met. Students placed on Financial Aid Probation are permitted to appeal this decision. This process it outlined below (see SAP Probationary Appeal Process). Should the student not appeal, the student must meet SAP requirements before aid eligibility can be reestablished.

End of second academic year qualitative check

At the end of the second academic year, all students holding Title IV aid must be checked against another qualitative measure. Students must have earned a 1.5 CGPA and 1.5 SGPA, as well as earned good academic standing consistent with the Mount Allison requirement for graduation. See Academic Calendar — Degree Requirements.

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REGAINING ELIGIBILITY

Students who are not meeting SAP requirements can use this chart to determine what steps they can take to regain eligibility.

what happens	student financial aid status	what students need to do
If your CGPA drops below 1.5	All types of Direct Loan denied	Raise CGPA to required standards. A student may appeal if you have extenuating circumstances.
If you do not have an overall completion rate of 67% or more	All types of Direct Loan denied	Raise your completion rate to 67% or higher. You may appeal if you have extenuating circumstances.
If your CGPA drops below 1.5 AND your overall completion rate is under 67%	All types of Direct Loan denied	Raise your completion rate to 67% or higher and raise your CGPA to 1.5 or higher. You may appeal if you have extenuating circumstances.
Once the school becomes aware that you will need to take more than 150% of the published length of time to finish your degree	All types of Direct Loan denied	You may appeal if you have extenuating circumstances. Please refer to the following sections on SAP appeals.

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SAP PROBATIONARY APPEAL PROCESS

Upon receipt of probationary notice, a student may appeal their status within 20 business days.

The appeal is available for students for any of the following:

• Fall or Winter term GPA is not accurate;
• Medical or exceptional circumstance which had an impact on the student’s ability toretain their student loan eligibility;
• Fall or Winter term GPA changes due to a grade reevaluation (Academic Calendar — section 10.9.9).

Appeal submission requirements:

To appeal the status, a student must submit the following:

• A letter from the student explaining the circumstances/reason(s) for not meeting SAP requirements; what will change that will allow the student to satisfy SAP requirements in the future; any other relevant information.
• Supporting documentation relevant to the appeal.

Method of submission:

The appeal must be submitted to Financial Aid and Awards counsellor via email: financialaid@mta.ca with the following subject line: US Direct Loan SAP Probation Appeal.

Only complete requests will be reviewed. The outcome of the appeal review will be emailed to the student’s university (@mta.ca) email address.

Decision outcomes

The appeal decision may be:

• a reinstatement of eligibility for US Direct Loans and be placed back into Financial Aid Warning status, or
• a financial probationary period with conditions, or
• a denial of US Direct Loans. 

Any conditions pertaining to the financial probationary period status will also be listed in the email. Examples of conditions may include raising the CGPA by the end of the next academic term, meeting with an Academic Advisor, proof of medical support sought. At the end of the subsequent term, SAP will be re-evaluated according to the SAP policy and any conditions stipulated in the appeal decision.

Failure to meet the SAP requirements or any appeal conditions will result in denial of U.S. Direct Loans. Students cannot appeal SAP in the same year on different grounds if eligibility was not re-established after the first appeal. Students may submit an appeal each time they are notified they have lost eligibility for U.S.Direct Loans for reasons of SAP.

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STUDENTS DENIED U.S. DIRECT LOAN

If a student is denied U.S. Direct Loans after an appeal but in subsequent years meets SAP requirements, it is the student’s responsibility to notify the Financial Aid and Awards Counsellor at the Registrar’s Office that SAP requirements have been met and to apply for U.S. Direct Loans.

The Financial Aid and Awards Counsellor will verify SAP requirements have been met prior to originating any U.S.Direct Loans.

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UNOFFICIAL WITHDRAWLS

U.S. federal financial aid regulations state that a student with no grades (ie: AU, W, X) in all courses for a term must be considered as an unofficial withdrawal.

U.S. Federal Student Aid recipients who have no grades other than these three will be reviewed for a possible unofficial withdraw. MtA records and courses will be reviewed to assist in this determination. If an unofficial withdraw has been determined, the Financial Aid and Awards Counsellor is required to perform a federally mandated repayment calculation to ascertain the amount of ‘unearned’ federal financial aid. The amount of unearned aid depends of the effective date of withdraw, and if no academic activity can be documented, all federal aid must be returned. If the late date of academic activity cannot be documented as occurring on or after 60% of the term, the withdraw date will be considered the mid-point of the term unless documented otherwise.

For more information on withdraw and repayments please review Title IV R2T4 Policy.

The US federal government mandates that students who withdraw from all classes may only keep the federal financial aid (i.e., Title IV funds) they have "earned" up to the time of withdrawal.

Title IV funds that have been disbursed in excess of the earned amount must be returned by the University and/or the student to the federal government. Thus, the student could owe aid funds to the University, the federal government, or both.

The withdrawal date is determined by:

• Date student began the formal withdrawal process or provided official notification
• Mid-point, if no notification
• Date of illness, accident, or extenuating circumstance
• Last date of an academically related activity

Deadlines for return of Title IV Funds

The University must perform the Return of Title IV calculation within 30 days of withdrawal date. The University is required to return Title IV finds within 45 days. The Financial Aid & Awards Counsellor will notify the student by email and provide instructions to students who are required to return funds to the Department of Education. In the event that a student and/or parent (in the case of a PLUS loan) qualified for a post-withdrawal disbursement, the University must make the post withdrawal disbursement within 180 days from the day of withdrawal.

To determine the amount of aid the student has earned up to the time of withdrawal, the Financial Aid & Awards Counsellor divides the number of calendar days the student has attended classes by the total number of calendar days in the term (minus any scheduled breaks of 5 days or more). The resulting percentage is then multiplied by the total federal funds that were disbursed to the student account for the term.

This Return of Title IV calculation determines the amount of aid earned by the student that s/he may keep. For example, if the student attended 25% of the term, the student will have earned 25% of the aid. The unearned amount (total aid disbursed minus the earned amount) must be returned to the Department of Education by the University and/or the student.

In summary, when the amount of Title IV funds exceeds amount earned, so funds must be returned. When the amount of Title IV funds is less than amount earned, so a post-withdrawal disbursement is due from the University. If you are considering withdrawing from courses, it is highly recommended to meet with the Financial Aid & Awards Counsellor prior to withdrawing from the University. The Financial Aid & Awards Counsellor will determine how withdrawing will affect your financial situation.

Funds are returned to the following Title IV source in this order:

1. Unsubsidized Federal Direct Loans
2. Subsidized Federal Direct Loans
3. Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loans
4. Federal Direct PLUS (parent) Loans

Exit Counselling Requirement

All students that withdraw from the University are required to complete Exit Counselling. Please be advised all students that are required to complete this survey will have a hold placed on their student account until this requirement is completed, hence no transcripts will be released.

Payments of a Student's Return of Title IV and Post-Withdrawl Disbursements

The University is responsible to pay the portion of the student’s return of program funds. The Financial Aid & Awards Counsellor will request a cheque in US dollars from the University General Accountant and courier the check with supporting documentation to the Department of Education. The Financial Aid & Awards Counsellor will also adjust student loan dollars according to the amounts returned or disbursed with the Department of Education.

Students with an outstanding balance due to the return of Title IV funds should make payment arrangements with the General Accountant as soon as possible.

Students and/or parents that qualify for a post-withdrawal disbursement will receive a cheque from the University for the amount of calculated disbursement owed. The Financial Aid & Awards Counsellor will request a cheque from the University General Accountant. The cheque will be forward to the student’s campus mailbox during the academic term or mailed to the parent’s residence address on file. If a cheque is produced for a student after the academic term has ended, the cheque will for mailed to the student’s home address on file

As per the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) of 2008, the U.S. government requires institutions offering U.S. Direct Loans to disclose the following consumer information. Please contact financialaid@mta.ca if you require any further information.

• Academic undergraduate degree programs
• Academic graduate degree programs
• Accessibility services — student welllness and accessibility centre
• Campus map
• Campus security annual reports and statistics
• Contact information
• Copyright infringement policies
• Cost of attendance
• Degree completion
• Drug and alcohol abuse prevention program
• Fire safety
• Intercollegiate athletic program participation
• National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS)
• Notice of Federal Student Financial Aid penalties for drug law violations
• Placement in employment
• Privacy of student records
• Refund policy, requirements for withdrawl and return to Title IV
• U.S. Direct Loans repayment plans and interest rates
• Retention and graduation reports
• Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
• Schools and program accreditation, approval, or licensure
• Student financial aid information — U.S. Direct Loan Program
• Student loan information published by the U.S. Department of Education
• Transfer of credits
• Vaccination policy
• Textbook and course schedule information
• Entrance counselling for student loan borrowers
• Exit counselling for student loan borrowers
• U.S. alternate loans — Sallie Mae Student Loans, Vermont Student Assistance Corporation, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs — GI Bill, education and training benefits

• Step 1: Create a FSA ID from the U.S. Department of Education. The FSA ID is a username and password that is used to access certain Federal Student Aid Websites. A student or parent uses their FSA ID to sign the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), log into the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to transfer tax information to the FAFSA, or sign a Master Promissory Note (MPN) for a federal education loan, among many other activities; Mount Allison University’s federal school code is 009503-00.
• Step 2: Complete a Direct PLUS Loan Request. You must authorize a credit check to determine your eligibility for a PLUS loan. A credit check is processed in approximately 24 hours from submission. Please forward the outcome of your application (email from the Dept. of Ed) to financialaid@mta.ca regardless if the loan was approved or declined.
• Step 3: Complete online an electronic Direct Loan Master Promissory Note (MPN). To select Mount Allison University go to Non U.S. Schools Category or type in the code provided above. Be sure to read it carefully! This is a legally binding contract. This step is required prior to originating your loan.
• Step 4: Once you have completed your MPN, please send an email to financialaid@mta.ca advising of this fact and how much in Parent PLUS loan to originate for the academic school year.
• Step 5: Prior to disbursing your PLUS Loan for your student, you must complete a MtA Parent PLUS Loan Release Form provided after the loan is originated by the Financial Aid & Awards Counsellor. This form must be completed prior to funding any PLUS loans to a student account.

All loan disbursements will be credited directly to your Mount Allison student’s Connect account in two installment (September & January).

Should loan funds exceed outstanding MtA balance, you will automatically receive the value of the overpayment (credits on account related to US loans) via e-transfer to your mta email within 14 days of origination date.

Changes to original Parent PLUS Loan Release Form agreement must be specified in writing no later than 14 days from the day student loan funds are received.

Notice of disbursements is sent each term via email to all parties who originate any Direct Loans.