OU-COM --

This page is designed to provide you with one place to go to apply for financial aid. Financing a medical education is an expensive proposition. Although the primary responsibility for paying for your medical education lies with you, the majority of the OU-COM student body relies on some form of financial aid to fund all or part of their educational costs. The process of applying for financial aid can be confusing and can vary from school to school. We are here to assist you with each step of the process.

The first step in applying for financial aid is to apply for student Stafford Loans. The backbone of most financial aid packages at OU-COM is the Federal Stafford Loan. In order to apply for the Stafford loan or any other federal student aid, you must complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). If you are an incoming student or a new borrower there are other entrance interview materials that you must complete before you will be eligible for the Stafford Loan. See the “Financial Aid Checklist” below which has links to the FAFSA and other financial aid materials.

The second step is to apply for scholarships. There are two types of scholarships that are awarded by OU-COM. They are the OU-COM Institutional Scholarships and Federal Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students. The deadline to apply for the Institutional scholarships was March 31, 2009 so that application is not longer available. Students may apply to be considered for the Federal Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students at any time during the year. Information about what criteria determine “Disadvantage” can be found below in the Financial Aid Checklist.

Although the deadline to apply for OU-COM Institutional Scholarships has passed, the scholarships will not be awarded until late summer. This means that you will have to request your loans before you know if you will receive a scholarship. We advise that you borrow only what you need to cover your costs for the academic year. If you borrow less than the maximum amounts available, you can always increase your loan amounts later during the year.

Think about applying for other loans. If you need more loan money than the annual limits of the Stafford loan program, the next step would be to consider whether you should apply for the Graduate PLUS loan. You can apply for this loan any time during the academic year so we suggest that you wait until you are sure that you need the extra loan funds before completing this application. You will find information about the Grad PLUS loans near the bottom of this page.

If you are in the Class of 2010 or 2011 and are committed to practicing Primary Care, you may want to consider the Primary Care Loan. This loan has very specific eligibility criteria. For more information about his loan, contact our office. This loan is NOT available to students in their first and second year at OU-COM.

Follow the detailed steps below:




		Step 1 = Complete the FAFSA (Required for all students) Be sure to use the correct code for OU-COM, which is E00306 This is required to be eligible for all student loans and most of the scholarships Be sure to include your parents' financial information on the FAFSA if you are planning to apply for scholarships:

		Step 2 = Complete the Stafford Loan Application (Required for all students) How do I know how much I should ask to borrow?

		Step 3 = The application for OU-COM Institutional Scholarships is no longer available. THE DEADLINE TO SUBMIT THIS SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION WAS MARCH 31, 2009. Applications are no longer being accepted.

		Step 4 = Complete the Entrance Interview Part I "Eye Opener" and Entrance Interview- Part II "Entrance Counseling" (You will need to choose 08-09 from the drop down box until it is updated in July) (Required for Class of 2013 or a student who has not borrowed Stafford loans while attending OU-COM) Take approximately 20 minutes. Hint - print the confirmation sheet and keep it incase we do not receive the electronic notification

		Step 5 = Determine if you are eligible to apply for Disadvantaged Scholarships (Optional) Disadvantaged application The Disadvantaged Application is no longer available for the 2009-10 academic year. When it becomes available in early 2010, this link is only intended for use by OU-COM medical students. If you are an undergraduate or graduate student but are not attending the medical school, you may not apply for these funds. If you are an OU-COM medical student who is disadvantaged and did not previously apply for disadvantaged funds, contact the financial aid office. What is the definition of disadvantaged?

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT:

We will make every attempt to certify your Stafford loans within a week of your loan request (depending on volume). Then, we will send a Financial Aid Award letter to your university e-mail account. For students in the class of 2013, we will send the award letter to the e-mail address that you listed on your FAFSA. The Financial Aid Award letter will list the amount of your loans and the dates that you can expect your loans to disburse to the university.

Applying for Graduate PLUS loans

Consider signing up for Direct Deposit To sign up for direct deposit, students will need their University Personal Identification Number (PID). The class of 2013 will receive their PID at orientation and will be able to sign up for direct deposit at that time.

If you are a currently enrolled OU-COM student and already receive your financial aid overage checks by Direct Deposit, you do NOT have to complete this form again.

Ohio University
College of Osteopathic Medicine
014 Grosvenor Hall, Athens, Ohio 45701
Tel: 740-593-2156

Last updated: 10/22/2009