Baylor Law School

New & Prospective Students

Costs, Financial Aid & Scholarships

Vocabulary

Award Letter: Once you have completed the financial aid application process, the Office of Financial Aid produces an award letter notifying you of your eligibility. One copy of the award letter must be signed and returned to the Office of Financial Aid.

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA): The FAFSA is an application created by the federal government that requests information concerning you, your family, your income, and your assets. In order to receive federal or state aid, you must complete this form.

Grace Period: The grace period is the short time period after graduation during which you are not required to begin replaying your student loans. The grace period may also kick in if you leave school for a reason other than graduation or drop below halt-time enrollment (5 quarter hours). For example, you will have a grace period of six months before you must start making payments on your Stafford Loan.

Guarantee Agency: The Guarantee Agency is the state agency that guarantees the Federal Stafford Loan. The agency acts as a co-borrower on the Federal Stafford Loan to prevent you from being subjected to a credit check.

Guarantee Fees: Guarantee fees, which are similar to origination and insurance fees, are assessed on private loans and may vary depending on the lending institution.

Lender: The lender is the banking institution or credit union from which you will borrow your federal and/or private loans. It is important that you borrow from the same lender throughout your studies at Baylor University.

Loan Application/Master Promissory Note (MPN): As a part of the application process for student loans, you must complete a loan application and Master Promissory Note. The MPN is good for a period of ten years provided you use the same lender. If you choose a Texas lender, you will apply for the loan on-line since Baylor participates in Loans by Web. Loans by Web is an on-line application and guarantee process.

Origination and Insurance Fees: When applying for a Federal Stafford Loan, you will be assessed an origination fee of up to 3% of the original loan amount. The origination fee is deducted from the original loan amount before the Stafford Loan proceeds are disbursed to the school.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP): Law students must meet the scholastic regulations established by the Baylor University School of Law with regard to the cumulative grade point average required to be in good academic standing. While there may be other hour requirements designated by the Baylor University School of Law, for financial aid purposes as a full-time law student you must complete a minimum of 10 hours per quarter. If you enroll on a part-time basis, your progress will be evaluated on a proportional basis equivalent to your enrollment status.

Servicer: The servicer is a company that keeps track of all the information pertaining to your loans including the repayment of the loans. While some lenders service their own loans, others employ outside servicers. During the six-month grace period, you will receive information concerning which company is servicing your loan.

Student Aid Report (SAR): The SAR is generated as a result of filling the FAFSA and summarizes the information you reported on the FAFSA. Therefore, it is very important that you review all the pages of the SAR and submit any corrections that need to be made. You can make changes concerning your address, telephone number, and driver's license number either electronically or by using your SAR. Before you make any changes to your data, please contact the Office of Financial Aid to discuss the correct procedure. If all of the information on the SAR is correct, then you will need to keep the report for your records.