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We are joined by some of our colleagues from Financial Aid,
and so this is our chance to really talk about that.
And so, Elizabeth, could you please introduce yourself and
tell us a little bit about your role?
>> Hi everyone, yeah, my name is Elizabeth LIamas.
I am the Associate Director of Financial Aid here at the GSB.
Very excited to be joining you this morning.
So I work with all students, veterans,
everyone to help them through the financial aid process, and
then also support you while you're a student with the GSB.
>> Cool, so
can you tell us a little bit about what's financial aid like at the GSB?
What's the process?
>> Sure, so for most students, we've built a system around three
guiding principles that we want to instill in our process,
excellence, access, and fairness.
And so when we talk about financial aid, we do have a combination,
in general, of fellowship and loans.
And we're looking at a student's income and assets which is, very,
if you've been through a financial aid process before which some of you may have.
This is probably very similar, something that you're familiar with.
We have as far as the process goes, we have our own financial aid portal for
our students.
So it's a one stop shop portal for you that's customized to your situation.
And it's a great tool for our students to connect with our office but
also to submit everything to us very securely, so very excited about it.
>> Cool, and then knowing our audience today,
can you tell us a little bit more about opportunities for veterans and
especially maybe can you touch on Yellow Ribbon Program, please?
>> Definitely that's probably chapter 33, post 911 Yellow Ribbon
is definitely one of the most common VA benefits that we have at the GSB.
And so for those who are maybe looking to use their Yellow Ribbon benefits for
the first time, essentially once you're eligible and
you receive your certificate of eligibility you'll have 36 months.
Our program is built around a 9 month financial aid budget, so
you'll be using about 18 months for the two years of your benefit.
And Stanford is committed to supporting our Yellow Ribbon
veterans as much as possible.
So our match with the VA funding will cover up to your tuition.
So that's a really great thing for
our veterans that they don't have to worry about the tuition costs.
For those who maybe are not Yellow Ribbon eligible, we still have,
like I said other methods of financial aid to help support you as well.
>> Cool, and then what about folks who might be interested in the nonprofit or
government sectors?
>> Yeah, so, yeah, we have a, and I think I know where you're going with this.
We have a really awesome loan forgiveness program if you do find that you need to
borrow loans to help supplement your educational costs.
And so that's for students who are looking to go back into a government sector or
possibly into the nonprofit sector.
This program has been around at the GSB for a very long time.
So over ten years, it's a well established program.
It is our own,
it's completely independent from the government's loan forgiveness program.
And if you do enter into one of these sectors essentially,
we will help you assist you repay your loan balances as an alumni.
So it's a really great opportunity for
those who are thinking about going back into the nonprofit or public sector.
>> Cool, and then as I'm thinking about financial aid and prospective applicant,
do you have any tips, best practices, things that we should be keeping
in the back of our mind as we're going through the journey?
>> Definitely so Stanford's has their own veterans department, OMAC.
I'm not sure if you've already touched on that in the past section, okay.
So we work hand in hand with OMAC, so it's really important, as you start
to get this information that you're not only in communication with us but
we will also assist with communication with the OMAC and come together.
The earlier you can get your documentation ready the better.
So that's going through whatever VA process that you need to,
especially getting that certificate of eligibility.
And so if you need assistance as far as the next steps, we definitely ask that you
reach out to us or to our colleagues at OMAC to assist you with that process.
But other than that, we're here to support you.
So if you're admitted, we will walk you through the necessary steps to apply for
financial aid.
>> Cool, so the OMAC that we referred to a couple times as the Office for
Military Affiliated Communities at Stanford University.
And this is not just a GSB organization, but
one that helps support our veterans across our whole community,
both the undergrads and the different grad department.
So once again, OMAC in the Office for Military Affiliated Communities.
Now, let's say I'm an admitted student, is there any way to kind
of understand what I could be getting as a financial aid package?
>> Yeah, so once you're admitted we do have a calculator tool which we encourage
all students to use to get a better understanding of what they may qualify for
before they begin the financial aid process.
So that will be available to you as an admitted student.
>> Cool, and then one other thing knowing that kind of from experience,
what about families?
Oftentimes we think about, hey, I'm applying to business school as
an individual, but for many of our applicants, there's either a significant
other, or there's children who are going to be participating in this journey.
How does that factor into financial aid?
>> Yeah, so our cost of attendance which is essentially the budget for
the program, is built around your circumstances.
So if you're single or if you're married, and if you're married if you're bringing
any children or dependents with you to the GSB.
So, of course those costs may increase for you.
For our Yellow Ribbon recipients, you are eligible for
a housing allowance on top of the tuition payment.
So you would be receiving that monthly as well to help offset those costs.
>> Cool, thank you just we've covered a lot of ground-
>> [LAUGH]
>> In actually really impressive
amount of time.
>> [LAUGH] >> Are there any other things that from
you, having sat in your seat for so long, any other words of wisdom or
things that you would love to share with the group?.
>> Yeah, I mean it can be scary approaching financial aid
in general or some people find it kind of stressful.
The people in our office, my colleagues and
myself, we've been doing this for a very long time.
And I've also been a certified official for the VA, so
I know what you need to go through to get your benefit.
And so my tip to everyone is just to start conversations
as early as possible with our office.
We're here to assist you and we would love to help you walk through this process and
make sure that you feel secure about your package and
how you're going to afford the GSP.
>> Nice, all right, so those were my questions.
>> [LAUGH] >> If you can't tell there's a lot of
joy in our office and we're going to extend that joy to the group.
We're going to open it up right now.
Are there any general financial aid questions or
funding questions that folks in the audience might have?
So feel free to pop those into the Q&A box, and
let's really make the most of our time with one of our financial aid experts.
Again, my hands are pointing in this direction because that's where her window
is in my screen.
I don't know where Elizabeth might be on your screen so that might.
>> [LAUGH] >> But this is the time to ask.
See if you have questions here.
Here's a question from Krista, when is the deposit for the program typically due,
assuming you're admitted, when do you have to make that deposit?
>> Yeah, so the deposit is, we'll jump in if [LAUGH] I believe deposit
is due by the time that you accept your admissions offer, is that correct?
Great, so it's due upfront as just for
once you had made it you'll have to receive your financial award,
really weigh your options and then commit to the program and accept your offer.
And that's when your deposit is due.
I will for the VA, with the VA benefits the one thing that is not
covered if your post 911 eligible is a deposit for our program.
But you're still fully covered for your tuition and
the deposit will go to offset other costs of the university.
>> Great, all right, here's a question about dual degree students.
How is the GI Bill and
the Yellow Ribbon benefits applied towards dual degree programs?
>> Yeah, so essentially, with a dual degree program,
you're looking at most likely a little bit longer than an 18 month program,
which is normal for an MBA student.
So depending on the dual degree that you're admitted to, it could be,
24 months, etc.
As long as you're, enrolled in an educational program,
that your VA benefits will continue to support your education.
And so, like I had mentioned, once you're eligible for Yellow Ribbon,
you usually have, if you have not used it before 36 months of benefits, so
it's quite a bit of time and we're only using about 18.
So if your enrollment extends past that 18 months,
then you'll have continued eligibility.
>> Great, thank you.
Here's a really important question from Carolyn.
If you do not qualify for Yellow Ribbon due to partial GI Bill,
are there other financial aid programs or scholarships that you recommend?
What's to that extent?
>> Yeah, yeah, so if you're not eligible for a VA chapter that covers your full
tuition, then we encourage you to apply for our Need-Based Fellowship Program.
Which is what I talked about a little bit in the beginning,
where we look at your income and assets.
And you go through the process like a normal student, and
that, if your are eligible for fellowship that can help
offset those additional costs that are not covered by the VA.
Additionally, we do have some resources that you will have access to for
external scholarships.
And we definitely encourage all of our students to look for
additional opportunities outside of our office,
and we're also here to help you with those opportunities.
So we have a general list for you to work off of.
But there could be more opportunities in that for you.
>> Yeah, and Elizabeth, correct me if I'm wrong, but
last- >> Yeah.
>> Wasn't the average financial aid package around
$40,000 per year per student?
>> Yeah, it was around $40,000 for our students, and that's per year.
So that can definitely help supplement what the VA is giving you
towards the tuition.
>> Great, here's the question.
So the application process, we're need blind in applications.
So that means that how you're going to finance your time at the GSB has no impact
on the final decision.
So our financial aid process is need-based okay, so.
>> Correct. >> So a clarification there.
For the applications, there's three rounds, so round one, round two,
round three.
Is there a difference in financial aid funding among the three rounds?
>> There's definitely not.
We've committed that whatever round that you're admitted to the GSB in you
will have the same opportunity for financial aid as those in round one and
two versus three, or any combination of those.
So same opportunity, any round you apply for you're admitted
you still have the financial aid opportunities as everyone else.
>> Great and here's one a little bit about housing.
So, knowing that this- >> [LAUGH]
>> Financial aid covers a lot of ground
here, is the housing stipend you mentioned with Yellow Ribbon different than or
in addition to the housing allowance received while using the GI Bill,
do happen to know?
>> No, it's the same.
So it's the BAH housing allowance as part of the GI Bill,
and it's going to be based on Stanford's zip code.
So if you're interested, you can head over to the VA website.
Our zip code is 94305.
And you can check out what your benefit level will be with the BAH housing siphon.
>> Great, and then one question here, actually,
there's a couple questions along this theme.
So need-based financial aid, can you talk a little bit more about what
are a couple of the elements there and then is it based only on those?
What happens if there's something in my life that isn't captured there?
>> Yeah, so the intial application is going to ask you for
several years of income as well as your assets.
And when we talk about assets, we are looking at liquid and illiquid assets.
And then we always leave,
we want to take a holistic approach to your financial aid package.
And so we're opening it up to if you have a circumstances that you think impedes
your ability to pay for your education,
we definitely want to hear about those in your application.
So we have an opportunity for you to explain and if for
some reason you have extenuating medical expenses or
possibly are supporting your family, we want to know about those.
So there's an opportunity for
you to explain situations outside of what we're asking for.
>> All right, so thank you again, Elizabeth, for jumping on and helping.
That was a lot of really helpful, meaty information.
>> It was a lot.
And for those who have been asking questions, thank you for your engagement.
If you didn't get your questions answered live today,
we're going to continue answering some of them over the course in the Q&A box as to
the best of our abilities.
Also, feel free to jump on our website, I keep referring folks back to that.
It's going to be one of your best resources.
Continue asking us questions there.
We are here to support you along this process.
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