Financial Aid

California law requires that upon enrollment a fee be assessed relative to the cost of tuition (Education Code Section 94342). These fees support the Student Tuition Recovery Fund (STRF), a special fund established by the California Legislature to reimburse students who might otherwise experience a financial loss as a result of untimely school closure. Institutional participation is mandatory.

Students must pay the state-imposed fee for the Student Tuition Recovery Fund (STRF) if all the following apply:

1. You are a new student who pays all or part of your tuition, and
2. Your total charges are not paid by any third party payer such as an employer, government program or other payer unless you have a separate agreement to repay the third party.

You are not eligible for protection from the STRF and you are not required to pay the STRF fee if your total charges are paid by a third party, such as an employer, government program, or other payer and you have no separate agreement to repay the third party.

**STRF fees are $2.50 per $1,000 of tuition.**

Starting with the 2012-2013 award year, for students and parents who opt not to use the IRS Data Retrieval process and who subsequently are selected for verification, schools will be required to obtain the tax information — tax transcripts — directly from the IRS. This could lead to long delays in processing. Because we will not know ahead of time who will and who will not be selected for verification, we strongly recommend that you use the IRS Data Retrieval Process when you complete your FAFSA. The retrieval process is available 2-3 weeks after you have filed your federal taxes. Note that if you file as head of household and are married, you will not be able to use the IRS Data Retrieval Process.  For more on the IRS data retrieval process, please review: https://fafsa.ed.gov/fotw1112/help/irshlp8.htm.

With the new Direct Loan process, students need to sign a new Mastor Promissory Note (MPN) for the Stafford and Graduate Plus Loans.  When signing the MPN online at www.studentloans.gov be sure to use either Firefox or Internet Explore 7 web browser.  Browsers Google Chrome and Safari do not work.  For step-by-step instructions, please click here.

On March 30, 2010, President Obama signed the Health Care Education and Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010 (“HCEARA”-H.R. 4872) into law.  This bill makes significant changes to the way every school in the country processes federal loans.   HCEARA eliminates the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) and mandates that beginning July 1, 2010 all Federal Student Loans will be processed under the Federal Direct Loan Program (DL).

In light of this new legislation, the Monterey Institute, which currently originates loans through the soon-to-be eliminated FFEL program, will begin processing all Federal Student loans under the Federal Direct Loan program.

Any student applying for financial aid for the Summer 2010 semester and beyond will be required to sign a Direct Stafford Loan Master Promissory Note before any future loan funds can be disbursed to them.  You can do this online by going to www.StudentLoans.gov. 

NOTE:   -You will need the same PIN that you used to complete your FAFSA in order to electronically sign the Direct Loan Master Promissory Note.

-If you are a first time borrower, you will also have to complete the Stafford Loan Entrance Interview. 

-When signing the MPN online, select California as the State and Middlebury College – Monterey Institute as the school.

- If you have been awarded Grad PLUS Loan eligibility, you will need to complete a new Grad PLUS MPN on this website as well

-HCEARA only affects Federal Loans (i.e. Stafford and Grad PLUS Loans).  Private loans are not affected by this new law.

We encourage you to complete the new Direct Loan MPN ASAP to avoid any delays to your Summer or Fall loans.

Congratulations to our graduation class of 2010, on achieving a most admirable goal!  Your education!

As the recipient of a Federal Stafford Loan, you are required to complete an exit interview.  During this exit interview, you will learn about your rights and responsibilities as the consumer of a Federal Student Loan.  You will also learn about the various repayment options available to you, about loan consolidation, and loan deferment, forbearance and cancellation opportunities.

There will only be two exit interview sessions, so please make every effort to attend:

The first session will be: Tuesday, May 11^th from 12 to 2pm in the Irvine Auditorium

The second session will be: Tuesday, May 11^th from 5 to 6:30pm in B105

If you are not able to attend either session, please let us know ASAP.  If you are currently on IPSS, we will be holding a separate exit session in August when you return.

If you received a Federal Perkins Loan, you will be receiving an email from University Accounting Services directing you to their website to complete an online exit interview for your Perkins Loan. Please do not delete this email.  You are required to complete this form.   This is a SEPARATE process from the In-Person Exit Interview.  You are REQUIRED to complete both the online Perkins Exit Interview AND the in-person Stafford Loan Exit Interview before we will release your transcripts and/or diplomas.

You will need to bring an address book with you (or address information for three references) and your questions.  Remember, this is your chance to get all of your loan repayment and consolidation questions answered!

Limited funds have been made available for returning students who will enroll in the Fall 2010 or Spring 2011 semesters!!  If you are not planning to enroll in the Fall 2010 or Spring 2011, you can disregard the rest of this message.

These funds will be awarded on the basis of merit, levels of educational debt and financial need.

Applications must be submitted via email (finaid@miis.edu) to the Office of Student Financial Planning.

The deadline to apply is 4:00pm Friday,  April 30, 2010.

Any student meeting the following criteria is eligible to apply:

a) Must have a Minimum Cumulative GPA of 3.4 at the Monterey Institute
b) Must be a full-time student
c) Must be planning to enroll in the Fall 2010 or Spring 2011 Semesters
d) Must demonstrate evidence of financial need and/or high levels of existing educational debt

US Citizens and Permanent Residents must complete the 2010-11 FAFSA and the MIIS financial aid application by the April 30 deadline to be considered.

To apply, please describe your financial situation and your reasons for requesting additional support in 400 words or less.  Be sure to include your full name, your student ID number, as well as your degree program and, if IPS, the track you are pursuing.

Students who apply for these funds will be notified via email no later than May 21, 2010.