The Annual Application Process

At Concordia University, the loan application process is "borrower initiated," which means that each academic year you must fill out your FASFA and submit your loan documents if you wish to apply for Federal Student Aid.  Below, are the important dates you must keep in mind when completing your application.  We have also included a step-by-step application process you can follow to help ensure that your funding is available at the beginning of your academic term.

2021-2022 US Loan or VA Applicants

As the campus remains closed, all our services have moved online.  Your 2021-2022 US Loan or VA application must therefore be submitted securely in your MyConcordia Portal through your Student Center.

Please follow the following steps below to ensure your documents are received.

The new deadlines for application documents for the 2021-2022 year are as follows:

Important dates for submitting your loan application:

Your to-do-list

1. Complete your FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) to make sure you are eligible for Federal Student Aid www.fafsa.ed.gov  This will produce your SAR (Student Aid Report) with your EFC (Expected Family Contribution). This should be done as early as possible.  Both you and your parents will need to have filed your personal income taxes for 2019. Our school code is G08365.
2. Accept your Concordia University offer of admission.
3. Contact the Financial Aid & Awards Office to confirm that your program is FSA eligible.
4. Book your appointment for Academic Advising with your Faculty as soon as you are accepted.
5. Register for your courses (Registration opens in March for most programs).
6. Familiarize yourself with the loan process and your rights and responsibilities as a borrower. Complete online Entrance Counselling at https://studentaid.gov/app/counselingInstructions.action?counselingType=entrance
7. If you are in one of the following situations you must complete and submit your Exit Counselling even if you haven’t yet applied for graduation: 
   • This is my final year
   • I have accumulated the credits required to graduate
   • Exit Counselling https://studentaid.gov/app/counselingInstructions.action?counselingType=exit
8. Complete a Direct Loan Master Promissory Note (MPN). This is a binding legal document in which you agree to repay your loan under certain terms. Borrowers outside of the US need to submit an MPN every year. The Direct Loan Master Promissory Note is e-signed here: https://studentaid.gov/mpn
9. Effective aid year 2021-2022 all students must complete the Annual Student Loan Acknowledgment form.  This is a new US government loan requirement to demonstrate all borrowers understand their responsibilities to repay the loan and how much they owe.  This form can be completed on the following website: https://studentaid.gov/asla/
10. Download and complete the Concordia University U.S. Loan application

Protecting Your Privacy

Should you wish to give someone else permission to make inquiries regarding your financial aid file, or any other information concerning your status at Concordia, you and your proxy must take the appropriate steps to ensure a notarized proxy authorization form and identification documents are submitted to the Financial Aid & Awards Office, or present yourself with your proxy at our office to complete the authorized proxy form in front of an authorized Financial Aid Advisor. As all Title IV post-secondary institutions schools are now equated to financial institutions and are subject to the requirements of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA, 2002); implementing the appropriate safeguards regarding students' personal information is required. Please see our website for more information regarding US student privacy protection and to download the new proxy authorization.  

Applying for Federal Student Aid at a Foreign School is different from applying to a U.S. school:

Documents are not automatically sent to Concordia

For students applying for US Title IV Aid please upload the following documents as one single PDF:

• Entrance or Exit counselling

• 2021-2022 Student Aid Report

• Master Promissory Note (Pages 1-4)

• 2021-2022 US Concordia Application Form
• Effective aid year 2021-2022 all students must complete the Annual Student Loan Acknowledgment form.  This is a new US government loan requirement to demonstrate all borrowers understand their responsibilities to repay the loan and how much they owe.  This form can be completed on the following website: https://studentaid.gov/asla/

For students applying for US private loans only please upload the 2021-2022 US Concordia Application Form: Concordia University U.S. Loan application

For students applying for VA funding please upload the following documents as one single PDF:

• Eligibility Certificate

• 2021-2022 Consent to Release Confidential Information Form

• 2021-2022 Academic Approval Form

• 2021-2022 Concordia VA Application Form

   

Steps for secure document upload:

The student must click on Apply For Bursaries or Scholarships in the Finances section:

1. Complete the Aid Declaration for 2021-2022 indicating you have applied for US Aid. 

2. Then click on Award Applications and then "Click here to attach documents" (bottom left)

   

    

3. Select the Document Type you are uploading (either US Loan Application or VA Application).  Upload your application documents as one single PDF.

4. Email fundingyoureducation@concordia.ca with subject title either US Loan Application ID#******* (your student ID number) or VA Application ID#******* (your student ID number) to confirm your documents have been uploaded.

Your file will then be assigned to a Financial Aid Advisor, this advisor will email you to confirm receipt of your documents.  Please take note that this may take a few days due to the volume of applications we receive.

Foreign Schools

Foreign Schools; Distance Education – While Title IV of the HEA does not permit foreign schools to provide distance learning to U.S. students for the purposes of the Direct Loan program, the CARES Act allows an otherwise eligible program at a foreign institution to be offered via distance education if the applicable governmental authorities in the country in which the foreign institution is located have declared an emergency related to COVID-19.

Under normal circumstances, a Federal Student Aid eligible program is one that does not contain any use of telecommunications (online courses), correspondence or direct assessment.  Students are typically not eligible to receive Direct Loans while taking distance education or online courses. Any violation of this would make them ineligible for Direct Loan funding for the duration of their program. The CARES Act temporarily allows US students to participate in on-line courses. Please note, for previous terms that are not covered by the CARES Act any student who registered in an ineligible course remain ineligible for Direct Loans for the duration of their program.

Emailed documents will not be accepted

What Comes Next?

After receipt of your application, our office will:

1. Assign you to a Financial Aid Advisor.
2. The Advisor will send you an email confirming the receipt of your application and let you know of any missing information or documents.
3. Once your application is complete, your Advisor will calculate your Cost of Attendance for the semesters in which you are fully enrolled.
4. The Advisor will calculate the maximum amounts of financial aid that you are eligible to borrow.
5. The Advisor will email you this information in your Notification of Student Loan letter.
6. If your parents have applied for a Parent Plus Loan, they will also receive notification.
7. All borrowers must reply back to their Notification of Student Loan email to confirm how much of the eligible loan funds they wish to borrow. 

In the Direct Loan program, the U.S. Department of Education sends all funding via electronic transfer.

• Your FSA funds are disbursed on a per semester basis. If you are enrolled in the Fall and Winter semesters, you will receive two disbursements: one per semester.
• These funds are available after the University’s posted course drop/add date
• You will receive an email from the Financial Aid Office confirming that your funds have arrived at Concordia University

Our office will make every attempt to get your student aid funding to you as quickly as possible.  However, if your application is late we cannot guarantee your funding will arrive by Concordia’s payment due date.

Please note that the U.S. exchange rate is effective the day the loan is posted to your student account online statement.

For more information concerning the US loan application process please email us at  fundingyoureducation@concordia.ca.