Next Steps for Graduate Students

By enrolling at Northeastern, you’re indicating to us that you plan to accept your financial aid as offered.

If you choose to reduce or cancel any awarded funding, such as Federal Student Loans, you must notify our office by submitting your request through the SFS Service Portal.

Please note that if you wish to cancel or reduce a loan, you must specify if you wish to cancel it for a specific semester or for the length of the academic year. Additionally, federal loans may only be cancelled on a student’s behalf up to 14 days after disbursement.

Students who complete the FAFSA may be selected for Federal Verification. This requires Student Financial Services to confirm the information on your FAFSA with documents such as tax returns and confirmation of who is in your household. Although some of these documents may have already been provided to our office, additional information may be required.

Students who are required to provide additional documentation will receive an email request from Student Financial Services. Please be sure to respond promptly to any requests from our office for additional information.

While tax or income information will need to be provided by either using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool through the FAFSA or by requesting information directly from the IRS, institutional verification forms such as the Household Size/Number in College Verification Form can be found on our website. For students beginning in the Fall 2021 term, please complete and submit only the 2021—2022 forms being requested.

If you are borrowing a Federal Direct Loan for the first time, you will need to complete the following documents for the loan to disburse to your student account. Please note that the net amount of the loan(s) that disburses to your student account will be slightly less than the awarded amount, as reflected on your financial aid award, due to the associated origination fees.

The below documents only need to be completed once; in subsequent years awarded Federal Direct Student Loan funds will disburse automatically.

• Federal Loan Entrance Counseling: A federal requirement for all Federal Direct Loan recipients, Entrance Counseling provides you with information about your rights and responsibilities as a borrower, interest rates, repayment plans, and more. To complete Entrance Counseling, log into studentaid.gov using your Federal Student Aid ID (FSA ID). Once you have logged in, select “Complete Loan Counseling” and choose the option for “Entrance Counseling.” If you do not have your FSA ID, instructions will be provided on how to create one.
• Federal Loan Master Promissory Note (MPN): the MPN is a legal document in which you promise to repay your loan(s) and any accrued interest and fees. To complete your MPN, use the instructions above to log into studentaid.gov and select “Complete Loan Agreement for a Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loan (MPN).”
• Title IV Credit Authorization: The Title IV Credit Authorization can be completed on your Student Hub portal. Once logged in, select “My Financial Aid Status”, under “Student Financial Services”, and choose “Apply Online” from the menu.

For additional information regarding the Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans, visit the Federal Student Aid website.

Students who have been awarded the Federal Health Professions, Federal Nursing, or Physician Assistant Student Loan may be required to complete additional paperwork, as issued by the Office of Loan Collections. These materials must be completed and submitted prior to funding being disbursed.  If you have received one of these loans, you must first complete the Self-Certification Form on your Student Hub portal. Following completion of that form, the additional documents will be provided to you.

Learn more about how financial aid is disbursed.

These positions and awards are offered directly by the individual graduate schools or academic departments. Students seeking such assistance should contact their graduate school for an application and eligibility criteria.

Northeastern University Graduate Assistantships (SGAs) offer a taxable stipend in return for service, plus a non-taxable partial or full tuition scholarship. Graduate assistantships include teaching and research appointments, each requiring a time commitment to provide various types of assistance to an assigned department or project each week.

Unlike most financial aid awards that are offered for the entire academic year, these assistantships are only awarded one semester at a time. Receipt during a particular semester does not guarantee an award for the same amount during subsequent terms. The scholarship portion of these awards will not post to your account until classes begin, so your initial billing statement will not reflect this award.

Your Offer of Financial Assistance is based upon an assumed enrollment pattern, which is indicated on your award. If there are any changes in expected course load, please note these changes on the “Change in Enrollment” form, included in your Offer of Financial Assistance. Changes in enrollment during the course of the academic year must also be communicated to our office, as this may impact your financial aid eligibility.

To maintain eligibility for Federal Student Aid, you must meet the following criteria:

If you will be receiving an outside scholarship, you must notify our office of this additional resource. To do so, please complete the Outside Scholarship Recipient Form available on the SFS Service Portal.

Upon receipt of this information, we will review your current financial aid to determine if it needs to be adjusted. Please note that we will not reduce awarded grants or scholarships unless your combined total aid exceeds the Cost of Attendance for the academic year. In the event there is a change in your financial aid eligibility, a revised financial aid award will be sent to your Northeastern email address.

Students who have a credit balance on their account after their financial aid for the semester is applied towards billed costs, may request a refund via their Student Hub portal. Please note that refund requests will not be reviewed and/or approved until after the start of the term. We encourage students to plan accordingly as books and supplies may be needed prior to having a refund in hand. In these instances, students may need to pay out of pocket for these expenses and then reimburse themselves with their refund.

Please note, courses taken outside of your home college may be billed at the per credit rate of the college offering the course.

View fee descriptions

*Figures are estimates only

Billing statements are prepared per term and will be posted to the student’s Student Hub portal. Once the bill is posted, an email notification will be sent to the student’s Northeastern email address. The billing due date is located on the upper right-hand corner of the e-bill.

Each term, an electronic bill will be produced and will reflect the billing transactions as of the date the bill was generated. Payments or adjustments applied following the bill due date will be reflected on the next monthly billing statement.

However, students may view their account live at any time through their Student Hub portal.

Direct payments, or approved payment arrangements through one of our accepted financing options, such as the monthly payment plan or supplemental loan, are due in full prior to the start of the term as specified on your original billing statement.

Should your family require additional time to submit payment, a two-week grace period will be granted for up to two weeks beyond the initial due date. Payments provided beyond the original due date or grace period may be subject to a late fee and/or financial hold. If you have a supplemental loan or payment plan that is due to provide payment after the billing due date, that is a form of acceptable payment and no further action is required.

Students or families who plan to use 529 plans to cover educational costs should reach out to their 529 provider to initiate the process of withdrawing funds. Many providers require a copy of the billing statement to determine eligible expenses or specific line-item costs. Once a billing statement becomes available, please submit this documentation to your provider. If you are seeking a preliminary estimate of tuition and fees, or room and board costs, please visit our website.

Should additional information be necessary beyond that statement, please submit the Inquiry Form for further assistance.

Financial institutions are required to be transparent about their policies and procedures, and requirements. The Student Financial Responsibility Agreement (SFRA) informs students of their financial responsibilities associated with enrolling for classes and explains the potential consequences that may result if a student fails to meet those obligations.

Our goal is to help students understand the cost of their education and financial policies associated with their enrollment at Northeastern. The SFRA is one vehicle to help explain the university’s expectations and payment policies. Agreement to the terms and conditions of this agreement is required prior to completing “I Am Here” in the fall. The completion of “I Am Here” confirms and secures a student’s course schedule and registration for the term.

Students maintain the responsibility to ensure their account is in good financial standing during their Northeastern education. If payment or approved payment arrangements are not provided by the indicated due date, late fees may be assessed and/or a financial hold may be applied.

F2 Financial Hold: applied to older balances. This level of hold restricts registration and the ability to complete “I Am Here.”

If a financial hold has been applied but a student has a documented payment pending that will resolve the balance due, account protection may be provided. Please submit the Inquiry Form for further assistance.

If financial aid or provided payments exceed billed costs, a credit balance will appear on the student account. This is represented by a negative value.

Credit balances due to overpayment will be automatically refunded to the student.

Tips on ensuring auto-refund success:

Credit Card Payments: In the event a credit card was used to pay any student charges, credit balances in the student’s account will first be applied to the credit card used, with any remaining balance paid to the student.

Students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with our refund policy, and set up direct deposit prior to requesting a refund. Having direct deposit on file will streamline and expedite any future refund process.

Refund requests are processed in the order in which they are received. During the start of the term, the volume of requests is very high, and there may be delays. Refunds can be requested after the start of the term and once aid has been disbursed to the student account.

Refunds are generally processed within 10 business days. Though updates regarding refund status are not available upon request, students will be notified about the status of their request at their Northeastern email address.

Massachusetts institutions of higher learning are required by Commonwealth Law to enroll all qualified students in a health insurance plan that meets or exceeds state minimum requirements. NUSHP is the university’s student health plan which is administered by Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Massachusetts.

Eligible students may waive this plan annually, and its cost, if they can provide information that they are enrolled in a comparable domestic health plan. This waiver is completed by the student via their Student Hub portal and must be completed by the deadline. Students may request to waive enrollment in NUSHP after they have received their billing statement. Please note that the NUSHP waiver is not available on the Family Portal.

For additional information regarding NUSHP, or the waiver process, visit the NUSHP website or contact NUSHP at [email protected].

Administered through Flywire, the monthly payment plan allows students and families to spread education costs for a semester out into monthly payments. There’s an enrollment fee of $45, but no interest is charged. Families can log into the payment plan at any time after enrollment to adjust the amount due for any changes in meal plans, housing, or NUSHP fees.

The federally sponsored Graduate PLUS Loan is a student loan for graduate level students who are enrolled at least half-time.

Loan funds are disbursed directly to Northeastern in equal amounts over each term of enrollment for the academic year. The maximum amount that may be borrowed is the cost of education less any other forms of financial aid. PLUS loans must be processed according to federal regulations, which stipulate that a loan cannot be processed after the end of the loan period. Thus, the Federal Graduate PLUS Loan cannot be used for a back balance.

The Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan requires credit approval by the Direct Loan Servicer, along with its own Federal Loan Entrance Counseling and Master Promissory Note (MPN).

Learn more about the Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan, including the application process and additional requirements.

When considering supplemental education loans from outside lenders, students and families are encouraged to compare the benefits, and terms and conditions of several lenders before applying. Although loan parameters will vary depending on the loan program, most supplemental loans are in the student’s name with an approved co-signer. While we cannot recommend private lenders, we encourage you to review the information on our website, which includes a list of lenders commonly utilized by students at Northeastern, as well as additional information to assist you researching private loans.

Please note that if you have applied for and been approved for a supplemental education loan, the loan will be sent directly to Northeastern from the lender and applied towards billed costs.