Financial Aid - FAQs

All students who apply for financial aid are automatically considered for both the service scholarship and University grants.

Approximately four weeks after you submit your financial aid application, or together with your admissions decision, whichever is later.

Since all of our aid is need-based, we review student financial aid annually, taking into account changes in financial circumstances. Our goal is to ensure that the cost of the program is not a barrier to study.

The student has the right to cancel the enrollment agreement without obligation and obtain a refund of refundable charges paid through attendance of the first class session or the seventh day after enrollment, whichever is later. See more

Investments include real estate (do not include the home in which you live), trust funds, UGMA and UTMA accounts, money market funds, mutual funds, certificates of deposit, stocks, stock options, bonds, other securities, installment and land sale contracts (including mortgages held), commodities, etc. Investments also include qualified educational benefits or education savings accounts such as Coverdell savings accounts, 529 college savings plans and the refund value of 529 prepaid tuition plans. Investments do not include the home in which you (and your spouse) live; cash, savings and checking accounts; the value of life insurance and retirement plans (401[k] plans, pension funds, annuities, non-education IRAs, Keogh plans, etc.).

The net worth of your (and your spouse’s) current investments is the amount leftover after deducting the debt from the value of the investment. For example: You (and your spouse) own an investment property valued at $100,000, however, $75,000 in debt is owed on the property. The net worth of the investment is $25,000 ($100,000 – $75,000 = $25,000).

Yes. An applicant for admission may request a preliminary estimate of financial aid by contacting the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid, although financial aid cannot be awarded formally until the student has received notification of his admission to the University and has submitted all of the required forms. Financial aid information remains confidential and is kept separate from a student’s application for admission. Admission decisions are “need-blind,” that is, they are made without consideration of a student’s or his parents’ ability to pay.

For incoming students, financial aid is determined soon after they have received notification of their admission to the University and after their financial aid application is complete. This is always after January 1st since the financial aid application cannot be completed prior to January 1st. For continuing students, financial aid is normally awarded in June for the upcoming academic year. To ensure coordination with the University’s budget, the financial aid award is deemed final when the student accepts it. In exceptional cases when a student’s financial circumstances change substantially and unexpectedly, the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid will reconsider the student’s financial aid in response to a request.

If students and their parents believe additional financial aid is necessary, or if the family’s circumstances change substantially during the school year, the family can request additional assistance, specifying exactly how much additional aid is needed. In reviewing such a request, the University may require additional financial information from the family. The University reserves full discretion in determining what constitutes “demonstrated financial need” in any particular case.

No. Since the financial circumstances of students and their families may change from year to year, applications for financial aid and all relevant documents must be resubmitted annually. Financial aid is then awarded in light of the most current information about each family’s resources.

Whenever the University has found it necessary to increase tuition, room and board charges, the funds allocated for financial aid have been increased, as required, to meet financial need. This practice ensures that no qualified student will be turned away or will be unable to continue his studies because of insufficient financial means.

Yes. A significant percentage of each incoming class is composed of students who have attended other colleges or universities previously. The University evaluates their requests for assistance in the same way as it does for students beginning university studies for the first time.

DRBU does not provide merit-based scholarships. All financial aid given by the University goes to students who have demonstrated financial need.

We recommend the following website to anyone searching for grants or scholarships from outside agencies: www.finaid.org/scholarships. This website contains much useful information as well as links to several free search databases.