How to pay for College?

A college education is one of life’s biggest investments. Financial aid funding is available to help students pay their education-related expenses. Financial aid programs have enabled thousands of students to achieve their educational goals.

Barry University encourages students to use their own resources first to finance their education. When personal resources of the student are insufficient to meet the total cost of education, the Financial Aid Office makes every effort to supplement the student's resources with available financial aid.

Barry University participates in the full array of federal and state financial aid programs available to graduate students. In addition to government-funded programs, there is also program-specific assistance, such as scholarships, assistantships, as well as tuition discounts.  About 80% of our student body receives some form of financial aid. At Barry, we are committed to doing all we can to help you finance your education.

Barry University participates in the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program. Direct Loans provide students with a low-interest way to borrow money to pay for their higher education. The U.S. Department of Education is the lender for Direct Loans rather than a bank or other financial institution. Direct Loans are: 

Simple: You borrow directly from the federal government, who will assign your loans to a loan servicer. Typically all of your loans will be assigned to the same servicer, even if you receive Direct Loans at different schools.

Convenient: You will have online access to your Direct Loan account information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Flexible: You can choose from a variety of repayment plans that are designed to meet the needs of almost any borrower, and you can switch repayment plans as your needs change.

Florida residents who are active duty or honorably discharged members of the Armed Forces who served on or after Sept. 11, 2001, are degree-seeking and have unmet need (as determined by the results of the FAFSA) may be eligible to receive funding from the Honorably Discharged Graduate Assistance Program (HDGAP).

Funds are intended to assist with living expenses during holiday and semester breaks. This program was created by the 2014 Florida Legislature and must be funded every year.

Funding is not guaranteed and is determined by the Florida Legislature and the Florida Office of Student Financial Assistance. The per student amount is based on many factors, including the number of eligible students, the amount the state provides the university and other factors. The amount in the past has varied between $100 and $1000 per student.

Barry University offers scholarships that you can apply for every year. Barry University Scholarship System is an easy-to-use and mobile-friendly process that makes finding and applying for scholarships online easier. 

The scholarships are funded through contributions from private donors, alumni, faculty, staff, parents, campus organizations, and corporations.

With the Barry University Scholarship System, you can:

• Answer as many questions as you like—the more questions answered, the more scholarships you’re matched to
• Be automatically considered for many of the scholarships available at Barry University
• Do a keyword search for scholarships and review the criteria to see if your qualifications are a match

Your Barry education is a valuable investment in your future. When considering a private education, costs may be a factor, but they need not be the determining factor. Your Barry education can be quite affordable. 

We invite you to review our tuition and fee schedule. You should also check with staff in Barry's Offices of Financial Aid and the Cashier/Business Office. They are here to help you and your family by providing guidance in financial planning and financial assistance.

To maintain financial aid eligibility, a student must make satisfactory academic progress (SAP) toward a degree. Barry University, in compliance with federal regulations, has established certain standards that must be met to receive federal financial aid.

Satisfactory academic progress is determined by both qualitative and quantitative measurements.

Federal regulations require colleges to consider all educational financial assistance to be calculated in determining student eligibility. Financial assistance includes grants, loans, scholarships, waivers, fellowships/assistantships, work study, specific Veteran educational benefits, and similar programs used to cover postsecondary educational expenses. When a student receives more aid than his/her financial need or our cost of attendance, the result may be an overaward.

Overawards must be resolved and may result in funds being returned to an aid program and a student owing the university money.

When the total of all aid received by the student exceeds the student’s cost of attendance budget, awards in the package will be adjusted (cancelled or reduced) in order to eliminate the overaward. Loans will be reduced before any reduction is made to any other awards.

Occasionally, unique circumstances influence income for students and/or families. These circumstances have an impact on the ability to pay for college. Students and/or families may need to indicate special circumstances that may not be evident on the FAFSA, or circumstances may have changed.

When these situations arise, we may re-evaluate a student’s aid eligibility based on current circumstances using the Professional Judgment (PJ) process. Students should describe the circumstance in detail and must submit supporting documentation along with their request. A processed FAFSA and completed verification, if selected, must be on file before a PJ can be considered.

The following are reasons for which a student may request Professional Judgment:

• Expected Family Contribution (EFC) changes
• Cost of Attendance (COA) increases
• Dependency override requests