In order to start the application process, submit the required application materials to the Stanford GSB Financial Aid Office.
If the submitted materials are accurate and complete, then the Financial Aid Office will process your application. Be advised that supplemental information may be required and will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Award Letter
If an applicant is eligible for program funds, the Financial Aid Office will email an award letter and promissory note that indicates how much you are eligible to receive in these funds. The award letter will state how much you are eligible to receive in their first award disbursement (first six months of eligibility). It will also project how much you will receive in their second award disbursement (the next six months of eligibility) assuming that there is no change in income, employment and/or marital status.
Eligibility will begin on the first date of the month in which the Financial Aid Office receives the completed loan forgiveness application and additional required materials. An initial applicant may not request back payments on his/her educational loans prior to submitting the application materials.
Acknowledgement/Acceptance Letter
The acknowledgment/acceptance letter will be based on the amount the applicant receives for the first award disbursement. In the email, applicants are requested to sign and return the acknowledgment/acceptance letter to the Financial Aid Office. A legible fax or scanned signed copy of the letter would be acceptable. Upon request, applicants may be contacted by Stanford GSB Development Office to write a thank you letter to the donor on an annual basis. Thank-you letters must be submitted prior to the applicant’s six-month renewal application.
Disbursement
Once we receive an applicant’s acknowledgment/acceptance letter, it typically takes two weeks thereafter to send the award disbursement. It is then the applicant’s responsibility to pay, in a timely manner, the lender or servicer that holds their Stanford GSB loans. Applicants residing in an international location will need to consider how to deposit and remit loan payments from their loan forgiveness award to their lender(s) in a timely manner.
Each disbursement of funds from the program is made on the understanding that applicants will remain employed by the eligible organization described in their application for the full six months. If applicants change jobs, have a change in salary, or work less than halftime (less than 20 hours), they must notify the Financial Aid Office immediately. If requested by the Financial Aid Office, they will be required to repay any funds advanced, for which they have become ineligible.
Typically, the process takes four to five weeks from the receipt of MSx loan forgiveness application documents in the Financial Aid Office to the time in which an applicant will receive the payment. Applicants should be reminded to continue to make required loan payments during the application process.
Renewal Process
At the end of the six months of qualified employment for which your educational loan payments have been made, applicants will be required to provide the following renewal materials, in a form satisfactory to the Financial Aid Office:
- If you have had a major change in income or employment since completing the Annual Application
- If you have not had a major change in income or employment since completing the Annual Application
The Financial Aid Office must receive the above renewal materials no later than one month after the next six-month renewal period, as indicated on the award letter. The Financial Aid Office may grant back payments for only one month, upon receiving the renewal paperwork.
The Financial Aid Office will then examine the information provided, and if it is sufficient, they will process a renewal for the second award disbursement payment. If the Financial Aid Office receives changes to previously submitted information (e.g. change in income, employment and/or marital status), they may adjust the second award disbursement payment.
Renewal Award Letter and Acceptance Letter
Applicants receive a renewal award letter and a new acknowledgment/acceptance letter based on the amount they are eligible for in the second disbursement. For the next six-month period, applicants will need to sign and return the acknowledgment/acceptance letter. Once the new acknowledgment/acceptance letter for the next six-month period is received, the subsequent disbursement will be made. Again, in order to keep loan(s) in good standing, applicants will need to continue making any required loan payments during the process.
After the second award disbursement has occurred and another six months of qualified employment for which the applicant’s educational loan payments have been made, the application process will start over.