Financial Aid Policies

The MGH Institute abides by the federal financial aid policies and regulations as required by the US Department of Education. For more information you may access the Department of Education's Guide to Federal Financial Aid.

Your Financial Aid Offer Letter may contain any combination of scholarships and/or Federal Direct Loans. Eligible students must independently apply for Federal Grad PLUS Loans and private alternative loans. All MGH Institute financial aid decisions are made on an academic year basis and are reviewed annually.

Students must reapply each year and meet established deadlines in order to receive aid in subsequent years. Renewal of financial aid is dependent upon students meeting satisfactory academic progress requirements and all other eligibility criteria.

The type and amount of future aid will depend on calculated financial need and available funding levels. Financial aid may be higher or lower in future years if family circumstances or the MGH Institute’s ability to provide assistance changes.

A student's financial aid file will be reviewed once it is complete and the student has been accepted into his or her degree or certificate program.

The Office of Financial Aid maintains five business days to process student requests.

Available via the Web site are links to possible federal, state, local, private and institutional financial need-based and non-need based assistance programs, and as available, for each program a description of:

  • Application form and procedures
  • Student eligibility requirements
  • Selection criteria
  • Criteria for determining amount of student's award
  • Rights and responsibilities of students receiving Title IV and other financial aid, including criteria for continued eligibility
  • Satisfactory academic progress standards and criteria to reestablish eligibility if student fails to maintain satisfactory academic progress
  • Method and frequency of financial aid disbursements
  • Terms of any loans received, sample loan repayment schedules, and the necessity for repaying loans
  • Exit counseling information required to be provided to federal student loan borrowers of Federal Direct Loans. This information is mailed from the MGH Institute on a student borrower's separation or change to less than half-time status.

 

Financial Aid Office Communication with Students

Students enrolled at MGH Institute are required to check their mghihp.edu address to ensure they receive current information pertaining to financial aid. Prospective students and currently enrolled students are welcome to contact the Financial Aid Office regarding any questions, concerns, or to schedule an appointment.

The Office of Financial Aid uses electronic means only to provide required notifications to students to stay green and also to be as efficient as possible. You may opt out of electronic notifications and request paper copies by financialaid [at] mghihp.edu (notifying us in writing).

An over award occurs when your aid exceeds your need or cost of attendance. Federal regulation requires the office of Financial Aid to reduce your award package when an over award exists.

Most often, over awards occur when the Office of Financial Aid learns of outside resources available to you after your aid has been awarded.

You are responsible for paying back any monies refunded to you if an over award occurs after you have received your refund. An over award may also occur if you make changes to your FAFSA.

If a student withdraws on or before the 60% point in time of the period of enrollment, which is calculated using calendar days, a portion of the total Title IV funds awarded the student (e.g. Federal Direct Loan) must be returned, according to the provisions of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1988.

The calculation of the return of these funds may result in the student owing a balance to the MGH Institute and/or the Federal Government. The balance must be paid in full before the student will be allowed to re-enroll and/or receive additional funds.

Financial Aid awards are based on enrollment. Students must report changes in enrollment status to the Office of Financial Aid. Changes in enrollment status may affect your financial aid award. Students need to be enrolled at least half-time (5 hours for graduates, 6 hours for undergraduates) during the semester to retain federal student loans.

Student loan funds are returned to the lender if the student's enrollment status does not fulfill federal policy requirements.

Federal and Private Loan Program Deferments

The MGH Institute of Health Professions uses the Student Loan Clearinghouse to report the enrollment of ALL students on a monthly basis. Normally, lenders receive this information automatically and put any eligible loans into deferment for you. Please allow at least 30 days from the start of classes for your lender to take action.

Terms and conditions of deferment are available through your lender or servicer. If your lender has not responded after 30 days, please contact your servicer for deferment conditions and procedures. Students may need to submit paper enrollment certification forms. The registrar's office will assist you with completing your forms.

Students who are experiencing unforeseen and unanticipated financial difficulties should complete the Emergency Grant Application to see if there is additional assistance available. Such difficulties could be caused by:

  • Major illness, either temporary or permanent in nature
  • Family emergencies
  • Divorce or separation
  • Disruption and/or displacement in living situation (fire, flooding, unsafe living environment)
  • Accidents
  • Any other disruptive life event

Please note that the inability to secure loans due to low credit scores is not considered an unforeseen hardship.)

The Financial Aid Office sets aside a limited amount of funding each year for these circumstances. Students will be asked to provide documentation of the hardship (letters, copies of bills, etc). The Financial Aid office will then determine what support is available to the student. Support may consist of a short-term (90-day) loan as an advance against future aid, an increase in borrowing eligibility, or institute scholarship funds.

The U.S. Department of Education requires students to maintain certain academic standards to obtain or retain eligibility for federally sponsored student aid programs.

As an institution of higher learning, the MGH Institute is required to define and monitor standards of satisfactory academic progress for students receiving federal financial aid. This policy explains the process for such monitoring.

  • All students are evaluated for satisfactory academic progress (SAP) at the end of each semester (i.e., loan payment period).
  • Satisfactory academic progress is measured quantitatively, by review of the cumulative Grade Point Average; qualitatively, by review of the rate of progress (pace) the percentage of credits earned vs. attempted; and overall against a maximum timeframe of 150% of the program length, measured in attempted credits.
  • The academic credit for semesters is earned with a B grade or better. Satisfactory progress is defined as a minimum of a 3.00 cumulative GPA and a rate of progress of at least 67%.
  • To successfully complete a program the student must achieve 100% of the program credits within 150% of the program length, as defined by attempted credits.

SAP Status Review

At the SAP checkpoint, a student who is not meeting the SAP requirements for the first time will be placed on a Financial Aid Warning. Students on “Financial Aid Warning” who do not meet SAP requirements for the subsequent semester will lose financial aid eligibility.

To regain aid eligibility after this point, the student must appeal in accordance with the policy described below. Students whose appeals are granted will be placed on Financial Aid Probation for the next semester. If students do not meet SAP after the Financial Aid Probation period, all federal financial aid eligibility will be lost.

Appeal Process

A student who loses aid eligibility due to failure to maintain satisfactory academic progress may appeal this status. To do so, the student must submit a written appeal to the Financial Aid SAP Appeals Committee in the Financial Aid office.

If the appeal is granted, a student previously receiving financial aid will regain financial aid eligibility on a Financial Aid Probation status for one semester. The student must regain SAP status by the close of the financial aid probationary semester.

The student’s appeal must address the following:

  • The basis for the appeal – a description of the special circumstances;
  • The reason why the student failed to meet the SAP standard(s);
  • What has changed in the student’s situation so that s/he will now be able to meet SAP standards.

Appeals will be granted on a case-by-case basis. If the appeal is granted, a student previously receiving financial aid will regain financial aid eligibility on a Financial Aid Probation status for one semester. The student must regain SAP status by the close of the financial aid probationary semester.

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