Prospective Students

Your College Financing Plan (CFP) is a Federal form that provides you with an estimate of how much it may cost to attend college after your financial aid award. The CFP is broken down into sections, and each section provides information about your financing plan.

The Cost of Attendance is an estimate of your educational expenses for the Spring semester only. Your COA should not be confused with your student account statement (bill). The COA consists of both Direct costs and Indirect costs. Books, supplies, transportation and personal expenses are indirect costs. You will not receive a bill from Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine with those items listed, but we realize that students do have these additional items as expenses, so we include them in your estimated costs to help with family financial planning.

Student Aid Index (SAI): The Student Aid Index is a number used to calculate the amount of federal student you are eligible to receive. It’s based on the financial information you provided on the FAFSA. This is not the amount of money your family will have to pay for college, nor is it the amount of federal student aid you will receive.

Scholarships and Grants: Student aid funds that do not have to be repaid. Grants are often need-based, while scholarships are usually merit-based. Occasionally you might have to pay back part or all of a grant if, for example, you withdraw from school before finishing a semester. If you use a grant or scholarship to cover your living expenses, the amount of your scholarship may be counted as taxable income on your tax return.

VA Education Benefits: Benefits that help Veterans, service members, and their qualified family members with needs like paying college tuition, finding the right school or training program, and getting career counseling. You can find more information here: https://www.va.gov/education/. For more information visit https://studentaid.gov

Net Price: An estimate of the actual cost that a student and his or her family need to pay in a given year to cover education expenses for the student to attend a particular school. Net price is determined by taking the institution's cost of attendance and subtracting any grants and scholarships for which the student may be eligible.

Loan and Work Options to Pay the Net Costs to you

• Direct Unsubsidized Loan: Loans that the borrower is responsible for paying the interest on during all periods. If you choose not to pay the interest while you are in school and during grace periods and deferment or forbearance periods, your interest will accrue (accumulate) and be capitalized (that is, your interest will be added to the principal amount of your loan).
• Grad Plus Loan: Grad Plus Loans are made to graduate or professional students to help pay for education expenses not covered by other financial aid. Eligibility is not based on financial need, but a credit check is required. Borrowers who have an adverse credit history must meet additional requirements to qualify.
• Federal Work-Study (Currently Not Offered at HMSOM)

Other Options

• Non-Federal Private Education Loan: A private education loan is a loan issued expressly for postsecondary education expenses to a borrower (either through the educational institution or directly to the borrower) from a private educational lender, rather than as a Title IV, HEA loan offered by the Department of Education.
• Tuition Payment Plan: Students can elect to sign up for a payment plan each semester with an enrollment fee of $45 through the SOMA Portal on the Financial Accounts>Touchnet tile. Automatic payments can be set up through the payment plan. The SOM is not responsible for fees or penalties incurred because of payment with a debit card or other credit cards. The student should contact their financial institution to ascertain if there are any restrictions or limit restrictions on their account.

Once you receive your username and password to access your SOMA Portal, please follow the following steps:

Step 1-Accept your Aid

• Scholarships are automatically accepted. You do not need to perform any actions to accept scholarships.
• You will need to accept your loans via the HMSOM Student Portal at https://campus.hmhn.org
• Proceed to Student Home>Financial Aid>Summary.
• Click on Accept/Decline; Click on the Pencil to edit your awards.
• If you wish to reduce the amount, please follow steps here or email us at SFS@hmhn.org

Step 2-Allow aid to pay your tuition and fees

• In order for your tuition and fees to be paid by federal financial aid, you will need to grant HMSOM a one-time permission to use aid to fund your expenses on the HMSOM Student Portal.
• From the Student Home menu, Proceed to Financial Account>Account Services>View Student Permissions
• Click on Student Permissions, display the agreement and accept it.

Step 3-Check for Missing Documents

• On the SOMA Portal, check for missing documents.
• From the Student Home menu, Proceed to Tasks to see if you have any missing financial aid documents.

Step 4-Sign Up for Direct Deposit

• For students that expect funds for living expenses, the fastest and easiest method of delivery is direct deposit.
• From the Student Home Menu, proceed to Financial Accounts>Touchnet Payments and Refunds
• Please be sure pop-up blockers are off so that a new window can launch; it will take a few seconds to redirect.
• Click on “Refunds”.
• Add your account information/Update your Account Information.

Step 5-Visit StudentAid.gov

• Proceed to https://studentaid.gov
• If you have not previously completed Graduate Entrance Counseling, please complete Entrance Counseling for Graduate Students.
• Please complete the Unsubsidized Master Promissory Note (MPN) if you have not completed one in the last 10 years. If you have completed one at a previous institution, you will not be required to complete a new one.
• If you wish to borrow the Graduate Plus Loan, please complete the credit check and the MPN. The MPN is valid for 10 years. However, the credit check is required annually.