EMBA - Tuition & Financial Aid - Financial Aid Common Terms and Acronyms

We have provided a glossary of common financial aid terms and acronyms you may see or hear regarding financial aid below:

Academic Year (AY): One complete school year as defined by an institution.  For the Full-Time MBA format, the academic year includes the Fall and Spring semesters.  For Executive MBA (EMBA and GEMBA) format, the academic year includes the Fall and Spring semesters for the first year, and the second academic year includes the Summer, Fall and Spring semesters.

Adverse Credit: Negative events on a borrower’s credit report that can affect eligibility to receive a Direct Graduate PLUS Loan.  (https://studentaid.gov/sites/default/files/plus-adverse-credit.pdf)

Annual Student Loan Acknowledgement: Additional loan counseling session to assist borrowers in understanding the financial responsibility of funding their education. The Annual Student Loan Acknowledgement provides an overview of how much debt you have accrued and your repayment obligation.  You will be required to complete this each academic year you receive federal loans.

Certificate of Eligibility (COE):  A document generated by the Department of Veterans Affairs that will outline the amount of Post 9-11 GI Bill ® (Chapter 33) Veteran’s Benefits the student is entitled to receive. It will also specify a beginning and end date of eligibility.

Clearinghouse:  Servicer used by the University of Virginia to report your enrollment status.

Cost of Attendance (COA): an estimate of the cost of education, which includes tuition, fees, room, board, books and supplies, personal expenses and transportation costs.  Can be referred to as a budget.

Demonstrated financial need: the difference between the cost of attendance and the calculated expected family contribution

Department of Education (ED): The agency of the federal government that establishes policy for, administers, and coordinates most federal assistance to education (https://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/focus/what.html)

Direct Costs: These are COA items that are billed directly to the student, such as tuition or fees.

Direct Deposit: A safe and easy way to have funds in excess of what your aid can pay towards your direct costs electronically deposited from the University of Virginia into your US savings or checking account.

Direct Loan (DL): The federal student loan program offered by the US Department of Education.

Direct Loan Servicer:  an agency that the Department of Education will assign your federal loan for repayment and questions.

DOB: Date of Birth

Entrance Counseling: Required counseling for federal loan borrowers when borrowing loans to understand them, manage your spending, plan to repay your loans and information to avoid default.

Exit Counseling: Required counseling for federal loan borrowers to review federal student loan repayment upon graduation, leaving school, or dropping below a half-time enrollment status.

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA): A federal law that protects the privacy of student education records (https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html)

Federal aid: financial aid items funded by the federal government: For Darden it is the Direct Unsubsidized loan and Direct Graduate PLUS loan

Federal eligibility: the amount of federal aid for which a student qualifies as determined by the federal need or COA.

Federal Expected Family Contribution (FM EFC): a measure of the financial strength of a student’s family used to determine demonstrated financial need; calculated according to a formula established by law in order to determine eligibility for federal aid

Federal Graduate PLUS Loan: Loans made to graduate or professional students to help pay for expenses not covered by other financial aid.  Eligibility is not based on financial need but by your COA minus any other aid.  A credit check is required which will look for any adverse credit history.

Federal Unsubsidized Loan:  Loans made to eligible graduate students and eligibility is not based on financial need.

Financial Guarantee Form: Form required of international students to demonstrate that you have sufficient financial capability to attend Darden.

First Year (FY): Students attending Darden for their first Academic Year

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA): an application to apply for and determine eligibility for federal aid

Independent student: All Darden students will be considered independent since they are enrolled in a graduate program.  This means you will not need to provide any parental data.

Indirect Costs: These are COA items that are not billed directly to the student, such as living expenses or travel to and from home.

Institutional aid: financial aid items provided by Darden; includes but is not limited to: Darden School and Darden Foundation scholarships, UVA grants and scholarships

Institutional eligibility: the amount of institutional aid for which a student qualifies as determined by the IM EFC

Institutional Methodology Expected Family Contribution (IM EFC):  a measure of the financial strength of a student’s family used to determine demonstrated financial need; calculated according to a formula established by Darden in order to determine eligibility for institutional aid.

Loan Fees: Fee charged to originate a student loan and are calculated as a percentage of the total loan amount.  

Master Promissory Note (MPN): A legal document in which you promise to repay your federal loan(s) and any accrued interest and fees to the US Department of Education and also outlines the terms and conditions of your federal loan(s).

Military Educational Benefits Form (MEBR):  form submitted to UREG each semester a student wants to receive  military benefits.

National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS): A database for the US Department of Education (ED) student aid, where schools, agencies, and other ED programs report student aid information.  This is where your enrollment information will be reported to defer current federal loans when you are enrolled. 

Need-based aid: financial aid items for which a student must demonstrate financial need in order to qualify; total amount of need-based items may not exceed demonstrated financial need

Net Direct Price: This is the estimated “out of pocket” cost of attending the University, once all forms of financial aid have been accounted for.

Non need-based aid: financial aid items for which a student is not required to demonstrate financial need in order to qualify (for example, Direct Unsubsidized loan, Direct Graduate PLUS loan)

Official financial aid offer: the financial aid offer provided after the review of submitted application materials, generally available beginning in June; subject to change if information is received by Darden or if there are changes to the student’s record

Post 9-11 GI Bill ® (Chapter 33) Veteran’s Benefits: A benefit for Veterans and service members to help pay for school or job training.

Return of Title IV (R2T4): The formula used to adjust Federal Title IV aid if a student withdraws from the program.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP): The requirement of earning good enough grades and completing enough classes (credits, hours, etc) to keep moving toward successful completion your degree in an acceptable time period. If you do not maintain satisfactory academic progress, you will be in jeopardy of losing eligibility for Federal financial aid. The Darden SAP policy is available here.

Second Year (SY): Students attending Darden for their second Academic Year

SFS: The University of Virginia’s Student Financial Services department.  For Darden students, SFS will process all military contracts, employer invoices as well as all billing for Darden.

SSN: Social Security Number

Student Aid Report (SAR):  output document you will receive when completing the FAFSA.

Student Information System (SIS): The system of record for all student-related information including unofficial transcripts, grades, student finance, and financial aid.  Once admitted, students will have access to the SIS.  Through the SIS, the University of Virginia makes student finance information available online for viewing and payment through UVAPay.

UFAA: University Financial Aid Application required to be completed by all students regardless if receiving financial aid

UREG: The University of Virginia’s Office of Registrar

VA: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Verification: a federally mandated process to confirm the accuracy of information reported on the FAFSA or other submitted documents.

Vocational Rehabilitation (Chapter 31) Veteran’s Benefits: A benefit for Veterans to provide assistance with service-connected disabilities to prepare for, find and keep suitable jobs.