Financial Aid Dictionary

Award amount
This is the amount of aid a school expects to award a student based on the student’s eligibility, enrollment, family contribution and the cost of attendance.

Exit counseling
The purpose of exit counseling is to ensure you understand your student loan obligations and are prepared for repayment. Exit counseling will help you learn what your loan payments will look like.

If you have borrowed a Federal Direct Student Loan (FDSL), Massachusetts No Interest Loan or Mount Holyoke College Loan, you are required to complete exit counseling when you meet any of the following conditions:

• Graduate from Mount Holyoke.
• Drop below half-time.
• Take a leave of absence that is more than 180 days.
• Transfer to another school.

Expected family contribution
The family contribution is calculated based on an assessment of your family’s income and asset information and is verified with documentation such as certified tax returns or certified letters from your parents’ employers, along with bank statements.

Financial aid package
After a review of your financial aid application, if you are determined to have financial aid eligibility (financial need), you will receive a financial aid package which typically consists of a combination of grant, loan and work-study aid to meet that eligibility. These three types of assistance may be funded by institutional, federal and state sources. Financial aid packages are constructed differently depending on individual family circumstances and institutional aid policies. A financial aid package may include some, but not all, of these components:

• Grants.
• Mount Holyoke merit-based scholarships.
• Outside scholarships.
• Veteran benefits .
• Student loans .
• Student employment.

Grace period
A grace period is an amount of time automatically granted on a loan during which you do not have to pay any money toward the loan, and you do not incur any penalties for not paying. Both federal and Mount Holyoke College Loans have a grace period before repayment begins.

You may choose to make payments during the grace period, but they are not required.

Grant
Grants don’t have to be repaid. They are offered by the federal government, state governments and the College.

Loan consolidation
Consolidation allows you to simplify the repayment process by combining several types of federal education loans into one loan so you make one payment a month. Not all student loans qualify for loan consolidation.

Net price
This is the amount of direct and indirect costs remaining after grants and merit aid is applied. Net price can be covered through a variety of sources, including: savings, income and education loans.

Promissory note
This is a written promise to pay a loan. You must sign a promissory note when you accept a loan.