Our Approach to Financial Aid & Student Planning

The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale (AiFL) provides "financial planning" for its students. This means that we can provide a payment plan that will allow you to budget for your entire program. Our goal in Student Financial Services is to make your monthly payments as affordable to you as possible. After you complete the application forms, your Student Financial Planner will review them using a federally required calculation to determine your eligibility for financial aid. The Planner will then work with you and your family to devise a Student Financial Plan to help you cover your educational expenses, based on your financial aid eligibility and your family circumstances. This is an outline of our process:

1. We estimate the total cost of your education. Your total costs are broken down into direct and indirect costs.
   • The school charges tuition, fees and school sponsored housing for each quarter separately and a student is never obligated to pay for charges beyond the quarter they have started.
   • "Indirect" costs include food, transportation, personal expenses, and some supplies. Standard budget figures (available for review in the Student Financial Services department) are used to estimate indirect costs, based on where you will live when you attend AiFL. These budget standards may be adjusted to meet unusual personal circumstances.
   • Housing expenses can be considered direct or indirect costs, depending on your living arrangements. The Housing Services office can provide you with information on school-sponsored as well as independent apartments.
2. We add up all available resources that can be used to pay educational costs. This can include scholarships, veteran's benefits, federal and state aid for which you are eligible, private loans, etc.
3. We subtract all of the available resources from the total estimated cost of your education. The difference is the amount that can be covered through the Student Financial Planning process.

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