School of Dental Medicine

Student Loan Application Process

Students who are US Citizens or Permanent Residents who have completed the financial aid application process will receive an award packet containing the Award Notification Letter and Student Loan Handbook which provides detailed instructions for completing actual loan application requirements. Completion of the Award Notification Letter and returning it to the Financial Aid Office in a timely manner is very important.

The Award Notification Letter is the tool the student will use to communicate which types of financial aid awards/loans they’re accepting and provides the dollar amount of each loan the student wishes to borrow to pay for their educational costs. Upon receipt, the Financial Aid Office will update the student’s financial aid record which will trigger additional requirements the student must complete in order to obtain the student aid which they have accepted. These additional requirements will be viewable online through your SIS account. The links at the bottom of this page will provide further instruction so that you complete all requirements for loans which you’ve decided to accept.

Financial Aid Award Notice

Once the student has reviewed their financial aid award notice and made any required updates to the loan amounts, they must submit the signed award notice through the secure box portal below. The award notice must be signed prior to submitting it.  Written or electronic signatures will be accepted but typed or font signatures will not be permitted.  Post-graduate students are required to submit their completed loan disbursement worksheets (LDW), also through the portal.

  • If the award notice was received via email, print out the email, initial any changes, sign it with written (inked) signature, scan it, and return to the Financial Aid Office by uploading it to the secure portal link below. If a printer or scanner is not accessible, open the email window containing the award letter, go to “File”, “Print”, select “Print to PDF,” and then select “Print”.  A prompt will follow to identify a document name and where PDF should be saved. Once document has been named (see below for proper naming configuration), click Save. The email is then saved as a PDF document to which any appropriate adjustments (initial any changes) can be added along with an electronic signature. Upload the saved document using the secure portal link below.

    Regardless of chosen method to complete the award letter, when saving the document, please NAME IT USING the following configuration:

    LAST NAME, FIRST NAME, PROGRAM, AND YEAR OF GRADUATION Award Notice

    For instance, a D27 student should name their document: Last Name, First Name D27 Award Notice. A first-year Endodontics student should name their document: Last Name, First Name EN25 Award Notice. Loan Disbursement Worksheets (Post-Graduates only) can be submitted using a similar configuration with LDW at the end. This helps the Financial Aid Office direct your award notice to the appropriate staff member for processing.

    Click this link through the secure Box portal to Submit your Award Letter electronically to the Financial Aid Office.

You should evaluate your student loan borrowing needs in light of personal financial resources available to you. Completing the Loan Disbursement Worksheet will help you determine exactly what you might need to borrow. It is suggested that DMD/DIS students complete the Loan Disbursement Worksheet. Note that post-graduate students applying for Federal Direct Grad PLUS or a Private Education Loan are REQUIRED to complete the Loan Disbursement Worksheet and return it to the Financial Aid Office.

To complete loan application requirements for loans that you’ve been awarded (and have accepted per your Award Notification Letter), click on the appropriate drop down(s) below. 

  • HPSL and LDS Borrowers

    Recipients of Health Professions Student Loan (HPSL) or Loans for Disadvantaged Loans (LDS) are required to return the Award Notification Letter to the Financial Aid Office. The borrower will receive email instructions shortly after July 1st directing them to UAS Connect to complete an electronic master promissory note (MPN) and/or to electronically accept their loan award along with a Self-Certification Form. Note that only first time borrowers at TUSDM will be required to complete the MPN. As the borrower completes their MPN, they receive required online student loan entrance counseling. First time borrowers as well as repeat borrowers will receive certain disclosure information online which should be reviewed carefully.

    Tufts Loan Borrowers

    Tufts Loan recipients are required to return their Award Notification Letter to the Financial Aid Office. The borrower will receive an instructional an email shortly after July 1st instructing them to complete their Tufts Loan promissory note, Self-Certification Form and review disclosure information available at UAS Connect.

  • All first-time borrowers of William D. Ford Federal Direct Loans are required to complete a Federal Direct Loan Master Promissory Note (MPN) at https://studentaid.gov unless they borrowed Federal Direct Loans previously at a different school and it hasn’t expired. Borrowers may call the Federal Direct Loans Origination Center at (800) 557-7394 to determine if they have an active and valid Direct Unsubsidized MPN on record.  The Student Loan Handbook provides step-by-step instructions to complete the Federal Direct Loan MPN.  

    Federal Direct Grad PLUS (Legacy Borrowers Only)

    Legacy borrowers can continue to receive Grad PLUS.  A new Grad PLUS only needs to be completed if the previous Grad PLUS MPN expires and/or isn’t considered valid or the student was required to add an endorser to their prior Grad PLUS loan.  Borrowers may contact the Federal Direct Loan Origination Center at (800) 557-7394 to determine if they have an active and valid MPN on records.  The Student Loan Handbook provides step-by-step instructions to complete the Grad PLUS MPN.  Legacy borrowers are defined as: 

    • The student was enrolled in a program of study at an institution as of June 30, 2026;
    • They received at least one Direct Loan (Federal Direct Unsubsidized loan or Grad PLUS) for such program of study prior to July 1, 2026; and
    • The student is currently enrolled at the same institution in the same program of study and have not ceased to be enrolled in the same program at the same institution at any point on or after July 1, 2026. An approved leave of absence is not considered to be a break in enrollment.  
    • If the student’s leave of absence did not qualify as a federally approved leave, the student was considered to have withdrawn from TUSDM and thus would not have been considered enrolled at the institution as of June 30, 2026.  As a result, should the student return to TUSDM, the period of leave is considered a break in enrollment thus the student will be considered a new borrower in those circumstances.

    When completing the Federal Direct Grad PLUS MPN, the borrower is providing authorization for the Federal Direct Loan Originations Center to run a credit check. If the borrower’s application is denied, the borrower may pursue an appeal and, if necessary, add an endorser to the loan.  If appeal is successful or the Grad PLUS loan is approved with an endorser, the borrower will be required to complete additional student loan entrance counseling.  The Federal Direct Loan Originations Center will explain the appeal and endorser addition processes. Credit checks for subsequent Federal Direct Grad PLUS loans will be performed if the existing credit check on record is older than 90 days.

  • If you’re borrowing Federal Direct Loans or Federal Direct Grad PLUS loans for the first time at TUSDM, you are required to complete entrance counseling before the Financial Aid Office can certify your eligibility for either of these loans.

    Complete student loan entrance counseling for Federal Direct Loan and Federal Direct Grad PLUS loan.

    Private Education Loans

    Award Notification Letters for students who are ineligible for Grad PLUS because they are considered new borrowers will have their maximum private education loan eligibility noted on their award notice.  Students who choose to borrow private education loans must apply directly with their lender of choice directly. Please refer to the information and instructions under the Financial Aid Programs section of the Financial Aid Office’s website, scrolling down to open the Private Education Loans section.  Please review the information in that section carefully. Note that students can select a private education loan lender of their choice and are not required to use a lender listed on TUSDM’s Preferred Lender List.  

     

  • Refer to the instructions contained in the Student Loan Handbook to determine if additional forms are required of you. These may include the Title IV Authorization Form or, if you are a post-graduate student, the Loan Disbursement Worksheet. These forms, along with the Student Loan Handbook and a Student Loan Application Checklist are contained in the document list below.

    Additional Loan Application Requirements and Print Forms