Financial Aid » Loans » Federal Loans » Application Procedures

Application Procedures

Domestic Students

Before receiving an email award letter notification from our office, please follow the instructions below.

  1. Apply for an FSA ID here, as it will be required for access to any Department of Education websites

  2. Complete the 2020-2021 FAFSA with Columbia University's Title IV school code: 002707. Columbia Business School does not have a different code. After we receive the results, we will set up a financial aid package and our office will send you an email when it is ready to be viewed.

    • A new FAFSA is needed to renew your loans for each academic year

  3. Complete Entrance Counseling and a Direct Loan Master Promissory Note (for unsubsidized loan)

  4. Complete a Graduate PLUS Master Promissory Note (MPN for Direct PLUS)

    • You will not be asked for a dollar amount in this application

  5. Complete and submit a Graduate PLUS Credit Authorization Form

    • Request a Graduate PLUS dollar amount on this form. The maximum amount will be listed on your award letter in the Messages section

    • Private loans can be borrowed in lieu of the Graduate PLUS Loan. Applications are already available online with your lender of choice if you are interested in this loan type

    • Review Loan Choice page to review differences between Graduate PLUS Loans vs. Private Loans which details key considerations in deciding between these loan types

Students who wish to borrow both a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan and a Federal Graduate PLUS Loan must complete separate Master Promissory Notes for each loan program. There is however a combined entrance counseling process for both loan types.

After receiving an email award letter notification from our office, please follow the instructions below.

  1. Log onto Net Partner. To log in you will need to locate your Student ID (PID). This can be found by logging on to SSOL with your UNI or it can be found on the emailed award letter notification from our office.

  2. Click on the Accept Awards tab at the top of the page and accept the portion of the Direct Unsubsidized Loan you wish to receive. The maximum eligibility is $20,500 per academic year.

  3. Click on the Documents tab at the top of the page to check for check for any remaining documents as well as the Messages tab to learn more about the various types of aid offered to you.

To secure federal loan funds, you need to both accept the aid on our system and complete all of the necessary applications listed above.