Before You Apply for Aid

Who Should Apply for Financial Aid

Use the information in this booklet to estimate expenses for the academic year. Discuss with your parents, guardians, and other relatives the amount they are able to contribute annually toward the cost of your medical education. 

Add to this figure expected contributions from your spouse's earnings (if applicable), from your earnings, summer savings, personal assets, and other income, and from financial aid expected from external sources for which application through the school is not necessary. If your identified financial resources total less than your estimated educational expenses, then you should apply for aid.

Access a Financial Aid Calculator.

How Is Need for Financial Aid Determined

The College of Medicine's Financial Aid Office determines a student's need for financial aid by subtracting the student's total expected family contribution, as determined by Federal Methodology need analysis, from the expense budget as established by the University for the student's year of study. 

The Financial Aid Manager may exercise professional judgment to adjust data that determines the student's family contribution and/or the student's expense budget when individual special circumstances (such illness or dependent care) indicate that such adjustments would be appropriate.

Independent Student Status

Under current need analysis methodology, all graduate and professional students are considered to be independent. However, expected parental contribution, as determined by need analysis, must be considered in determining eligibility for certain loans and scholarships, including University Scholarships, Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students (SDS), Loans for Disadvantaged Students (LDS), and Primary Care Loans (PCL) depending on availability of funds.

Before You Sign on the Dotted Line

Before a student signs an application for a loan or a promissory note, he or she should read it carefully, ask questions, and complete the following steps:

  1. Determine the maximum amount that may be borrowed per academic year, as well as the maximum aggregate amount;
  2. Determine the interest rate;
  3. Determine whether the interest is deferred until after graduation, subsidized, or payable while the student is in school;
  4. Determine whether the interest, if not deferred, is payable monthly, quarterly, or annually;
  5. Determine the fees that will be taken out of the loan for origination and insurance;
  6. Determine the policies governing capitalization or compounding of interest;
  7. Determine whether the loan may be repaid at any time without penalty;
  8. Determine if repayment of the principal can be deferred through residency training;
  9. Determine the maturity date, which is the date upon which the promissory note becomes due and payable;
  10. Determine the grace period;
  11. Determine the number of years allowed for repayment of the loan and the repayment options available;
  12. Determine whether the loan can be forgiven for practice in a physician shortage area;
  13. Determine what the minimum monthly payment will be during the repayment of the loan;
  14. Determine the benefits offered during the repayment period, e.g., interest reduction for on time payments and/or automatic payments directly from your bank account; and
  15. Ensure that you are given a Disclosure Statement signed by the appropriate authority at the lending institution. A Disclosure Statement is a legal document and a record of the loan. All contracts between lenders and borrowers for loans are recorded locally or federally as standing legal obligations until terminated through repayment.

Financial Aid for International Students

Financial aid resources available to assist international students are extremely limited. Therefore, it is imperative that international students make definite financial arrangements for the four-year in-school period before arriving. The College of Medicine must be notified of these plans at the time of admission. 

Please contact the Office of Admissions to learn how to document resources.  An acceptable financial plan is a condition of matriculation for admitted international students. 

Obligations will include tuition and fees, books and supplies, room, board, travel and miscellaneous expenses.  To access information regarding freshman Cost of Attendance, visit the Prospective Students page.

Fulfilling your Financial Obligation to the University 

What they do:

Office of Student Financial Services, Phone Number:  202-806-2570

Location:  Mordecai Wyatt Johnson Administration Building, Room 218

  • Handles all refund and tuition adjustments
  • Handles “special billing,” i.e., the official billing (or invoicing) of embassies or other appropriate agencies or organizations responsible for paying the educational expenses of particular students.
  • Processes late charges, etc., to students' accounts
  • Processes EFT checks and credits to students’ accounts
  • Validation to paid registrants
  • Processes promissory notes provided by the Office of Financial Aid for University Emergency loans
  • Processes promissory notes for Direct Student Loans, Perkins Federal Loans, Health Professions Loans (Medicine, Dentistry,  Pharmacy, Primary Care, and Nursing), Loans to Disadvantaged Students, as well as long-term University loans.
  • Processes student deferment forms as well as repayment of University and Federal loans
  • Loan Collection—Recovery of monies owed to Howard University by students no longer enrolled.

Billing:

Bills are assessed when you are registered for a course and/or clinic.  Inquiries about your bill should be directed to the Office of Student Financial Services at 202-806-2570

Payment:

Payment in Full:

All charges must be paid in full by the due date: 

Fall semester, July 1st and Spring semester, December 17th. 

A $50 late fee will be assessed to all accounts with a missed payment later than 5 days.

Installment Plan:

Howard University offers a 5-month installment plan for the fall and spring semesters.  When registration opens for the plan in May and October, students can sign up for the 5-month installment plan via BisonWeb. There is a $45 non-refundable enrollment fee and monthly payments are made on the 5th of each month. This plan is managed by Touchnet Business Solutions and offers several benefits:

  1. Payment Methods – Payments may be made by Discover, Visa, MasterCard or American Express or automatic bank payment (ACH)
  2. Convenience – Automatic payments deducted from a checking/savings account or credit/debit card
  3. Easy Access – The installment plan can be monitored online or you can call a dedicated customer service representative
  4. Peace of Mind – Arrangements are made to satisfy the semester charges and students who have secured validation

Information Applicable to All Plans:

  • Enrollment must be completed via BisonWeb for each semester
  • The enrollment fee of $45 is to be paid online at the time of enrollment
  • Your date of enrollment will be your future payment date
  • Missed installment payments will be subject to a $50 late fee after the 5th day
  • Students will not be able to enroll in a current payment plan if their prior balance is greater than $200
  • Howard University reserves the right to deny access to our payment plans for any reason
  • Howard University will administratively un-enroll participants who are 2 or more months delinquent on their account
  • The amount financed will be equal to the student’s outstanding balance for the semester, if the balance changes for any reason, the plan will recalculate to reflect the change
    • If the plan recalculates, an email will be sent to the student and any authorized user

View the main Student Financial Services website for more details: https://www.howard.edu/studentfinancialservices/accounts/ 

Be advised, this form cannot be used to enroll in a new agreement. During enrollment periods, you may enroll via BisonWeb.

Payment Methods:

Payments may be made by credit card (Visa, American Express, MasterCard, Discover), cash, money order, cashier‘s check, certified check or wire transfer. A $35.00 fee will be charged for all reversed credit card payments and returned checks. Subsequent checks will not be accepted. Checks and money orders should include the student‘s name and Howard University Identification Number.

Via BisonWeb  (For a video tutorial, click the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6FLdosnajw)                 

By Check (Including Outside Scholarship)

Howard University
Office of Student Financial Services
MSC 590501
Washington, DC 20059

Send by Wire Transfer

Bank of America
730 15th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20005
ABA#: 026009593
For Credit to Howard University
Account Number 1933194600
For Further Credit to:
"Student Name"

Send by UPS/DHL/FedEx

Howard University
Student Financial Services
Office of the Bursar
2400 Sixth St. NW Ste 218
Washington, DC 20059

Third-Party Sponsors/Special Billing

Third-Party Contracts must be submitted to the Office of Student Financial Services/Student Accounts by the appropriate sponsoring agency or organization. The Third-Party Agent is billed once a month. Should the sponsor not submit payment the student is responsible for satisfying the student account.

For additional information, please review the Frequently Asked Questions.

Refunds

Credit Balance Funds are created when a student‘s account is overpaid. These funds are refunded to the student as follows:

  1. Credit Card Payments credited back to the credit card.
  2. Direct Deposit funds transmitted directly to a specified bank account.  Direct Deposit is the most efficient way to receive your refund in a timely manner.

Student Refunds

Refunds are only processed for students who have met their financial obligations.  Refunds processed via direct deposit will post to students' bank accounts 48-72 hours after the disbursement date.  

Direct Deposit

For your convenience and in the interest of safety, direct deposit is now offered for all Howard University student refunds. This includes all student account credits resulting from student/parent loans, scholarships, grants etc. If you haven’t done so, you may sign up for direct deposit with an established bank of your choice or open a new checking account.

Once direct deposit is set up, it is valid until graduation. If any bank account changes/closures are made please update your account info online.  Follow the directions in the video below to enter you Direct Deposit information.

If you have established a direct deposit account and would like to confirm receipt/processing, please follow up with the Assistant Treasurer via e-mail at directdeposit@howard.edu. The Office of Student Accounts and the Office of Financial Aid cannot verify this information.

Holds

When you have a financial and/or medical hold on your account you should address it immediately.  Registration, Financial Aid disbursements and refunds, and Graduation cannot occur until your hold(s) is removed.

To resolve a Medical hold, please visit the Student Health Center.  No office in the College of Medicine can resolve this for you. We recommend that you retain proof of your removed hold once satisfied.

To resolve a Financial hold, either join a payment plan (BisonWeb steps below) and send proof of enrollment to the Financial Aid Manager,  or pay your remaining balance online (Bisonweb steps below).  If you prefer, you can also visit the Office of Student Accounts to pay your balance in person.  Extraordinary issues should be brought to the attention of the Financial Aid Manager.

You can view holds via your BisonWeb account (BisonWeb steps below).  Typically, holds are placed towards the beginning (July/August) and end (December/May) of a semester.  However, they can be placed at any time.  Please check regularly.  See the video below for instructions.

Taxes

Tax inquiries from U.S. Resident Students:

Please visit the IRS website for information:  http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Students

Tax inquiries from International Students:

Please visit Howard University's website for information: http://www.howard.edu/internationalservices/taxes.html


1098T

How can I get a copy of my 1098-T?

Use the Tax Credit Reporting Service (TCRS) student site at http://www.1098t.com/

- Click "Access My Record."

- Log in to the system according to the instructions, setting a PIN number if necessary.  The University does not supply a PIN number to TCRS on your behalf.  If you have difficulty with your PIN number, contact TCRS toll-free at (877) 467-3821.

- Select the tax year of interest from the drop-down menu box.  You may search for your 1098-T form for the current tax year (the default selection), as well as for the previous two tax years.

- After retrieving your 1098-T online, you may print as many duplicate copies as desired.  Note that you are not required to submit any copy of the 1098-T with your tax return.

For specific questions about your 1098T form, please contact the Office of Student Financial Services at 202-806-2570.