Hey all!

Sorry for the long delay in posting but life has been crazy for me... Since we last spoke:

1. I've traveled to Philadelphia for a 568 group meeting. We've started discussing proposed changes and refinements to the methodology we use to determine financial aid and the meeting was an attempt to try to build consensus of some of these issues.

2. I've traveled to Fenway for a terrific Red Sox win over the Pirates. My father's day gift was seats at the game on Sunday, and a great game it was! The Red Sox won 8-0. After the game, we got to participate in the annual Father's Day Catch (where they let dads and kids on the field and hand out soft (very soft) balls, which with you can play catch with the kids). It was a BLAST! They even changed the sign on the Green Monster (the scoreboard) to honor fathers (a photo follows - note that I don't know anyone in the photo).
   
   

3. We all have been busy reading, reading, and doing more reading. At this time of year, we are trying to finish reading all currently completed upperclass student files so that you can have a financial aid award prior to the July 10^th bill. At this point, there are still about 200 complete files we are reviewing and we hope to have these decisions out the door in the next two weeks.

4. Reading and packaging Graduate Students. We have also been working with the application files of Graduate Students and notifying you of your eligibility for loan funding. At this point, we have awarded over 500 Graduate Students with more award packages on the way weekly. (As a point of information, we are adopting an email-only notification policy for Graduate Student award letters -- make sure to open the Word document we send you and print it for your records). A photo of our Graduate process manager, Elizabeth Barnes, in which she expresses joy at this move, follows:
   
   

5. We have been hard at work processing Self-Help forms. At this point, we have processed all of the Self-Help forms we have, assigning you the best programs for term-time work and student loans for which you are eligible. I hope in the rest of this post to expand on what you need to do now for follow-up on these programs.

So, now it is time to turn to the steps you need to take to finalize your loans and term-time work:

If you asked for student loan funding, you were awarded one (or more) of the following three loans: Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Direct Subsidized or Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, or MIT Subsidized Technology Loan. I will talk about the differences between these programs below, but first let's address what you need to do to take advantage of these programs.

• For any of these programs, you must complete an online Entrance Interview. Your Entrance Interview can be completed through WEBSIS by following this navigation path: For Students → Financial Record → Loan Entrance Interview. All students who plan to take a loan during their academic career must complete a Loan Entrance Interview prior to any funds being disbursed to the student account.

• For the Federal Direct Subsidized or Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, you must complete a Master Promissory Note (MPN). Students can access an online version of the MPN here. In order to access your MPN online, you will need your PIN used during your FAFSA application process. Alternatively, you can wait until Loan Signing sessions in the Fall (see below) and sign your MPN in person. Once you sign an MPN, you will no longer need to sign annually; instead, your award letter from us will identify the amount of your new disbursement under this program.

• For the Federal Perkins Loan, you will need to sign your Master Promissory Note (MPN) when you arrive on campus in the Fall. We will announce loan signing dates and locations in the Fall. At that time, you will complete an MPN which will allow us to offer you loans under this program in later years without having to resign loan notes each year.

• For the MIT Subsidized Technology Loan, you will need to complete a MIT Technology Loan Cosigner Application (these forms are not yet ready, we will send you one once they are complete and ready for distribution). The MIT Tech Loan is a cosigned loan so you will need to have someone serve as your cosigner. Once they have been approved as a cosigner, we will then send your cosigner a Promissory Note for them to complete and send back to us; we will then notify you that you need to come sign the same Promissory Note.

Now for some details on the loans themselves:

• The Federal Perkins Loan is a subsidized loan (meaning that no interest accrues on the loan while you are in school) and features a 5.00% fixed interest rate. There are no borrowing fees on the loan. Repayment on the loan begins 9 months after graduation (or when a student withdraws or drops below half-time). The repayment period is 10 years and there is a minimum monthly payment of $40. There are specialized deferment and cancellation provisions which will be identified on the MPN.

• The Federal Subsidized or Unsubsidized Stafford Loan is a loan featuring a variable interest rate (capped at 8.25%, and set annually on July 1). The loan will either be subsidized (see definition above) or unsubsidized (meaning that you can either pay the interest while you are in school, or have the interest added to the loan principal you repay). For July 1, 2005 - June 30, 2006 the in-school rate for Unsubsidized loans is 4.7% and the repayment rate for all loans in 5.3%. Fees are deducted from the loan you borrow (a 3% origination fee with a 1.5% rebate given back), and repayment begins 6 months after graduation (or withdrawal or less than half-time enrollment). The standard repayment period is 10 years with a minimum monthly payment of $50 (there are other repayment options available). There are deferment and forbearance provisions which will be spelled out in the MPN.

• The MIT Subsidized Technology Loan is a subsidized loan. The interest rate is 7% fixed and repayment begins 6 months after graduation, withdrawal, or less than half-time enrollment. There are no borrowing fees, and the standard repayment period is 10 years. The minimum monthly payment is $50.

So let's talk about work:

If you asked for term-time employment, you were awarded one (or both) of two funds, either Federal Work Study or MIT Work. In either case, the majority of terms are the same; the only difference pertains to who pays your wages (either all from MIT or shared between MIT and the Federal Government). I will be providing a much longer post on Student Employment (when it is more timely) and highlighting what you need to do to find a job on campus, but at the present time, I will just briefly discuss several items of which you may want to be aware.

• If you want to access the jobs that are currently available, click here. Some jobs for the Fall are already listed, but many employers will add jobs in August knowing at that point what their needs are and that you won't until August be able to apply for the jobs anyway. Think of this as kind of an "online bulletin board" for available positions.

• If you were awarded Federal Work Study you may want to consider Community Service as a way to meet your term-time employment. Community Service is only available to Federal Work Study recipients; these jobs are off-campus assignments in the community at large where you can direct your passion for public service into positive use by working in a local non-profit agency and getting paid to do so. Again, much more information on Community Service jobs for 2005-2006 will be available as we get closer to the Fall. (If you didn't receive Federal Work Study but you want to participate in Community Service, you may still be able to if you received a Federal Perkins or Subsidized Stafford Loan. If this is the case, all you need to do is complete a modified Self-Help form, indicating your changed decision as to your Work / Loan distribution, and indicate your interest in participating in Community Service on the form. Make sure to return the form to us and indicate on it that it is a revised form by checking the box at the top.)

• Regardless of which program you have, be sure to bring your original documents with you in the Fall to prove your eligibility to work. As you may be aware, before anyone can work in any job, we must prove your eligibility to work by completing an I-9 Form. Part of the I-9 Form, asks us to confirm your citizenship status by examining your actual eligibility documents (such documentation can include your Passport, Social Security Card, Birth Certificate, Driver's License, etc). You must have your original documents with you at MIT at the time you complete the I-9 Form, so be prepared to bring these with you to campus in the Fall.

So much more to discuss, but so little time. I need to get back to reading. Questions? Comments? General feedback?