faq

Student Aid (i.e., Loans)

We request that all students who intend to apply for loan assistance complete and submit The Duke Executive MBA Financial Aid Form to the financial aid office for the respective aid year.

HOW SHOULD I APPLY FOR FEDERAL STUDENT AID (I.E. DIRECT UNSUBSIDIZED LOAN, DIRECT PLUS LOAN)?

U.S. citizens and permanent U.S. residents requesting federal loan assistance must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Applicants are encouraged to complete the FAFSA prior to their admission decision. The Title IV code for The Fuqua School of Business is 002920. Usually, the FAFSA for an upcoming academic year is made available after October 1 of each year and should be completed with the federal tax returns filed prior to October 1 (e.g., the 2026-27 FAFSA would be completed with 2024 Federal Tax Returns).  Several days after the FAFSA is completed and submitted, the Department of Education will send the FAFSA Submission Summary (formerly the Student Aid Report-SAR) to the applicant. Information in the FAFSA Submission Summary, including the Student Aid Index (SAI), helps our financial aid office to determine the applicant’s federal student aid eligibility. Please note that after March 1, we will access electronic FAFSA data to review federal student aid requests.  Subsequently, we will email federal student loan aid offer notices to admitted and current students.

WHEN SHOULD I APPLY FOR FEDERAL STUDENT AID?

Students requesting to be reviewed for federal student aid for the duration of the degree program must complete a FAFSA each academic year. We recommend completing the FAFSA as soon as federal tax information is available for the appropriate aid year.

HOW WILL I KNOW IF MY FREE APPLICATION FOR FEDERAL STUDENT AID (FAFSA) IS COMPLETE?

Generally, we will begin to review federal student aid requests during March for the upcoming academic year. Approximately 1 week after FAFSAs are submitted, the Department of Education will provide the FAFSA Submission Summary. Subsequently, our financial aid office receives electronic FAFSA data, which is reviewed for accuracy and completeness. The financial aid office will reach out to students if more information is required. If no additional information is required or after requested information is received and reviewed, we will proceed by emailing a federal student loan aid offer notice. If an applicant is admitted to Fuqua and have completed their FAFSA after March 1, it will take approximately 10 business days to receive a federal student loan aid offer notice. Once the student completes the required federal loan entrance counseling session and master promissory notes as instructed in the aid offer notice, it will take approximately 2-3 weeks for the Department of Education (the lender) to follow up with an approval notice/disclosure statement verifying loan approval.

HOW IS FEDERAL STUDENT AID AND ELIGIBLE OFFRED AMOUNTS DETERMINED?

Federal student aid eligibility is based mainly on income and assets that are provided on the FAFSA. The school’s cost of attendance and other aid resources (i.e. scholarships, sponsorships) that the student may receive are factored to determine the federal student aid offered amount.

ONCE MY FEDERAL STUDENT AID ELIGIBILITY IS DETERMINED, HOW MUCH AID CAN I EXPECT TO RECEIVE?

Generally, students receive a combination of federal Direct Unsubsidized and Direct PLUS loan offers to cover up to the cost of attendance (which includes direct program costs and indirect costs): WEMBA: Tuition + Costs

NOTE: Effective July 1, 2026, there will be significant changes to federal student aid loan options.

One major shift is the federal government’s decision to eliminate the Graduate PLUS loan program for new borrowing.  
Current Fuqua students may continue to borrow after July 1, 2026 under legacy provisions.

Please visit this link to learn about the federal student aid Updates and Recent Legislation regarding available resources.

However, since the Weekend Executive MBA program will start in May, before July 1, 2026, any admitted student who completes the 2026-27 Free Application for Federal Student Aid and accepts the Federal student loan offer so that loans may disburse before July 1, 2026, will be extended the legacy provision.  The legacy provision allows qualified borrowers the opportunity to apply for the federal Direct Graduate PLUS loan after July 1, 2026, and throughout their academic program.

If a Weekend Executive MBA student does not apply and does not receive a disbursement from a federal Direct student loan before July 1, 2026, they will not be extended the legacy provision.  This means that they will not be able to borrow a Graduate PLUS loan.  In this case, they will only be reviewed for a federal Direct Unsubsidized loan and may seek other funding sources through a private student loan program.

WHEN CAN I EXPECT TO GET A RESPONSE FROM THE FINANCIAL OFFICE REGARIDNG THE FEDERAL STUDENT AID OFFER?

Students who have completed the FAFSA (and the requested Duke Executive MBA Financial Aid Form) by the recommended dates can expect a loan aid offer at least 1 month prior to the start of the first Term within the academic year.

WHAT IS A FEDERAL STUDENT LOAN AID OFFER?

The student loan aid offer notice will provide a federal student loan offer as well as instructions on how to accept the offer and finalize the loan application process. Also, the loan aid offer notice provide available private alternative student loans as listed on Duke University's list of Private Loan Options.

I RECEIVED MY AID OFFER BUT HAVE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS ABOUT THE INFORMATION I RECEIVED.

First, we recommend that students read the general information and loan instructions included in the loan aid offer notice. If there are remaining questions, contact our financial aid office.

I RECEIVED MY LOAN AID OFFER BUT NEED ADDITIONAL FUNDS.

Students must submit written requests and provide proper documentation to be reviewed for additional loan funds that exceed the school’s cost of attendance. If the request is granted, students may be able to use federal student loans or apply for private alternative student loans to help cover the cost of attendance for the respective academic year. Please see the Duke University's list of Private Loan Options.

WHEN SHOULD I START CONTACTING LENDERS TO APPLY FOR PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE STUDENT LOANS?

Students who requested to be reviewed for federal student aid should contact private lenders after receiving the federal student loan aid offer notice. Since private alternative student loan programs are credit-based, students who anticipate borrowing private alternative student loans instead of federal student loans may consider contacting private lenders in early March to make certain that they are creditworthy loan borrowers for the upcoming academic year.

Private alternative student loan applications are completed and processed electronically. Students may visit a lender's website to apply for a loan. Subsequently, lenders will transmit loan requests to our financial aid office, so the loan may be certified and processed electronically.

WHEN DO I REPAY MY STUDENT LOANS?

Students officially enter their loan prepayment after the end of the grace period (a deferred period before repayment begins) for each loan. Federal Direct Unsubsidized loans and PLUS loans carry a 6-month deferment or grace period that begins on the last day of enrollment (which is usually the date of graduation), the date that a student drops below half time, or the date a student withdraws from school. The grace period for private alternative student loans may be 6-9 months, depending on the lender.

Before starting loan repayment, student borrowers should receive a repayment schedule from the lender of your student loans. This disclosure should inform the borrower of the total amount borrowed, the current interest rate, the monthly and total amount that should be paid over the repayment period of the loan.

I RECEIVED MY TUITION BILL, BUT MY STUDENT AID DOES NOT APPEAR.

Aid (i.e. loans, institutional scholarships) is scheduled to disburse to student bursar accounts no earlier than 10 days before the start of class for each semester. As a result, students receiving student aid from guaranteed sources (such as federal student loans/private alternative loans) only need to pay the amount of university charges (i.e., tuition, fees) that their aid does not cover. Students receiving aid can review their aid offer to determine disbursement amounts.

CAN I VIEW MY LOAN AID OFFER ONLINE?

Students can view their loan aid offer online through DukeHub, which is Duke University's Online Registration system that allows students to view their financial aid information and monitor student Bursar account activity. Access to DukeHub is gained by the use of a Net ID & password, which is automatically assigned to admitted students upon matriculation.

I AM RECEIVING TUITION ASSISTANCE FROM MY EMPLOYER OR SPONSOR. HOW DOES THIS AFFECT MY STUDENT AID?

Since employer/sponsored tuition assistance is considered an additional financial resource, it will likely affect the student loan eligible borrowing amount and any institutional scholarship offer.