Applying for aid
If you are going to apply for financial aid or student loans while you are attending graduate school, you will need to file a FAFSA form. The deadline for priority processing of FAFSA forms is March 1st for the upcoming school year, regardless of whether you have received an acceptance offer and decided to attend by that time or not. The FAFSA form can be filed online at www.fafsa.ed.gov or printed out and mailed.

When you complete the form, you should specify James Madison University as a recipient of the results (code: 003721). Once you have filed your FAFSA, the earliest you can expect to receive your financial aid notice from JMU is April.

Remember that the FAFSA needs to be resubmitted every year between January 1 and March 1.

Accepting Aid
Once you receive an award notice, you will need to respond to it by accepting all or part of the aid offered and filling out any necessary forms as specified on your award notice. Once all of the required forms have been submitted, no further action is required unless your student status changes.

Check your status on e-campus
If you have already setup your computing account, you can keep an eye on your financial aid account by signing into e-campus and clicking on Finances to see the status of your loans and account balance.

Setup Direct Deposit for loan funds
If you are receiving a student loan in excess of your tuition expenses, you probably want to set up direct deposit for the university to automatically deposit your loan refund amount into your bank account. This is much quicker than waiting for the university to mail a check. This can be set up online through e-campus, or print and mail the form if you prefer.

Come prepared
Remember, even if your loan forms are completed on time, it may be several weeks into the semester before you get your loan money, so be prepared and have some "start up cash."