Financial Aid FAQs

Financial aid is money awarded to help a student meet educational expenses. Financial aid may be in the form of a scholarship, grant, loan or employment. Grants and scholarships generally do not require any form of repayment. Loans must be repaid, typically after graduation.

Cummings School offers grants and loans from institutional funds to students enrolled in the DVM program. The school also administers certain state funded contract programs, federal student employment and federal student loans. Students enrolled in a graduate program (MAPP, MCM or MS-IDGH) may apply for federal financial aid, which consists of loans and federal work study.

Institutional grants and loans are awarded on the basis of calculated financial need. Using an institutional need analysis, Cummings School will determine a student's need and develop a financial aid package that may include a combination of institutional funds and federal and private student loans. Students who do not qualify for institutional aid will receive an aid package made up of federal and private loans.

Cummings School does not offer merit-based financial aid. We encourage applicants to seek private scholarship assistance from sources such as community, church, synagogue or civic organizations. The FinAid! website has information about searching for scholarships, including a link to a searchable database. We strongly advise against using any scholarship service for which a fee is charged.

First-year international students are not eligible for institutional financial aid. There are several private student loans for which international students may apply. The student must have a loan co-signer who is a US citizen or permanent resident. Additional information may be found on the eduPASS website.

Application packets are available in October. Specific application deadlines are published in the application materials and are strictly enforced.

Applicants must submit the following:

• Cummings School financial aid application,
• Cummings School parent questionnaire,
• the application for federal student aid,
• a copy of the student's federal tax return,
• and a copy of the student's parents' federal tax return.

Students applying for institutional grants and loans, and loans from the federal Health Professions Loan Program, must submit financial information for both parents. Exceptions to the parent information requirement may be made for students applying for institutional aid if the student has been independent for at least five years prior to matriculation. Information about this exception is provided in the application packet. Students who do not provide parental information will be considered for federal loans, student employment and private loans only. They will not receive consideration for institutional grants or institutional loans.

Financial aid notices are emailed to prospective students before they need to make an admissions decision.  Notices are emailed to continuing students following the application deadline on an ongoing basis.

In most cases, the answer is yes. Through student loans or a combination of institutional aid and student loans, most students are able to receive the funds they need. Students may borrow to replace an expected family contribution if the contribution cannot be met by the family. However, a student's combined aid from all sources cannot exceed the standard cost of education. Applicants are urged to review the Cost of Attendance/Standard Student Expense Budget.

A student's need for financial aid is the difference between the cost of education and the student's expected family contribution.

The amount of money a student and his or her family is expected to contribute to the cost of education is their expected family contribution. This expected family contribution is assessed using a standard need analysis and is based on many factors including family size, income, assets and the number of family member enrolled in college.