an
in your
BELMONT UNIVERSITY
lasting
VALUE We know finances factor into your college decision, and it’s important to carefully evaluate what you get for your money. When you look closely at Belmont, you’ll see a school that Kiplinger’s named one of the top 100 “Best Values in Private Colleges.” Belmont’s cost is consistently less than the national average for private colleges, and financial aid is awarded to 74 percent of students. When you factor in our innovative programs, historic 75-acre campus and award-winning faculty, it all adds up to a oneof-a-kind education at a competitive price.
distinguished
FACULTY The faculty at Belmont are constantly researching and growing in their individual fields in order to create the best classroom experience possible. Our 13:1 student to faculty ratio means students get personalized attention from professors and advisors who know them by name and take an active interest in their success. Apparently, it’s an approach that’s working as U.S. News & World Report has ranked Belmont among the top institutions in the nation for its strong commitment to undergraduate teaching and learning communities.
ongoing
INNOVATION At Belmont, we’re leading the way with groundbreaking teaching methods and pioneering programs, including a recent addition of a Songwriting major and a nationally acclaimed general education curriculum. That’s why U.S. News & World Report has consistently recognized us for our environment of innovation.
prime
LOCATION Belmont students also benefit from being part of the larger community, with all that Nashville has to offer. Located in Tennessee’s state capital, Belmont benefits from Nashville’s thriving business community, which regularly provides internship opportunities for students in a variety of fields including entertainment, healthcare and business.
unique
PROGRAMS Belmont is home to a number of unique academic programs that link classroom education with real-life experience, including pioneering interdisciplinary majors like Music Business, New Century Journalism, Social Entrepreneurship and Religion & the Arts. Belmont also boasts a financial trading room on campus as well as several student-run businesses, providing valuable real-world experience in an educational setting.
A view of Nashville from Belmont’s Inman Center
Belmont offers even greater academic enrichment through the Honors program, Study Abroad, Engaged Scholars, Service Learning and the Belmont Undergraduate Research Symposium (BURS), which provides undergraduates an opportunity to conduct independent research and present it to a community of peers.
HENDERSONVILLE, TN class of 2011 cal science minor finance major / politi
Kevin never expected Belmont could help him land a job with the Governor.
It was through his Belmont political science professors that Kevin found out about an internship working on Bill Haslam’s campaign for governor of Tennessee. “I went in as a general intern and then got fed into the finance part of it,” he says, which was a perfect fit for his area of study. The internship rolled into a temporary full-time job planning, organizing and fundraising for all the events surrounding Haslam’s inauguration.
Experiences like that made Kevin a sought after employee. Well before graduation, he lined up a job with Caterpillar Financial, a position he was tipped off to by another professor. “I think a lot of times students don’t realize how much Belmont faculty and staff are willing to help, even senior staff and leadership members. It’s everyone across campus—not just their advisors—who are available and willing to help.”
Raised in Africa by missionary parents, Dr. Ruby Dunlap first worked in several hospitals.
professor of nursing fulbright scholar
She was waiting for a clinical position as a nurse practitioner when she heard about an opening at Belmont.
and devotion to her work. “It’s a matter of nurturing the students, helping them discover what’s in them, and giving them the tools they need.”
“It had never occurred to me to go into nursing education, but I can see now that there was a teacher in me that was just waiting for an opportunity to come out. The very first day that I stood in front of a group of students, it was like an epiphany: This is why God made me!”
The nursing major has seen tremendous growth since Dr. Dunlap first arrived on campus, nearly quadrupling in numbers. It’s a rigorous program, but one that pays off with opportunities after graduation. “Employers here in town will take a Belmont grad if they have a choice,” Dr. Dunlap says. “We hear that again and again, that our grads are superior.”
That was in 1996, and for 15 years Belmont nursing students have been reaping the benefits of that love
investing in
YOUR FUTURE The Belmont education is a valuable one, but we recognize that you may need some extra help to make this investment fit within your budget. The amount of financial aid awarded each year can make a Belmont education reasonable and affordable. We distribute comprehensive aid packages made up of a combination of need-based and merit-based aid. To be eligible to receive any form of need-based aid from Belmont University, you should complete and submit the FAFSA by March 1 of the year in which you plan to enroll.
HOW TO APPLY FOR FINANCIAL AID 1. Complete the application for admission. You must be accepted for admission before being considered for merit scholarships and/or needbased institutional financial aid. 2. Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online at www.fafsa.gov. Designate Belmont as a recipient of your Student Aid Report (SAR) by indicating Belmont’s Title IV code 003479. The FAFSA should be completed as soon as possible after January 1. The priority deadline for submission of the FAFSA is March 1. Limited need-based funds will be awarded beginning with those students who meet the March 1 priority deadline. 3. When you receive your SAR, review it for accuracy. If you are selected for verification, be sure to complete the verification worksheet available online at www.belmont.edu/sfs.
TYPES OF FINANCIAL AID Financial aid is used by families in almost all income brackets and should probably be thought of as “money management” rather than aid. Almost 75% of Belmont students receive some form of financial aid. An important distinction in financial aid is between merit-based and needbased aid. Merit-based aid is based upon the student’s academic record or outstanding talent in an artistic or athletic capacity. Merit-based aid typically comes in the form of scholarships. Need-based aid is based upon the student and family’s financial need as determined by the FAFSA. Need based-aid comes in the form of grants, loans and on-campus employment.
NEED-BASED AID Belmont is authorized to award the following types of need-based federal aid: Pell Grants, Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants (SEOG), Stafford Loans, Perkins Loans and Federal Work Study. Grants are, of course, the type of aid you want since they do not need to be paid back. Understandably, not very many students (or their parents) get excited about taking out a loan, but loans are quite useful in helping reduce your immediate out-of-pocket expense. Many of the student loans are even deferred and do not require a payment as long as you are in college. You may use earnings from on-campus employment, commonly called Work Study, to assist with your spending money. Further details on these types of financial assistance can be found online at www.fafsa.gov. The state of Tennessee offers need-based and merit-based grants, including those through the Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship Program (HOPE). Submission of the FAFSA is required to receive HOPE funding, regardless of need. Details on qualifications and award amounts can be found online at www.tn.gov/collegepays.
MERIT-BASED AID Belmont University’s program recognizes distinctive academic achievement and leadership among the entering freshman class. The application for admission to the university serves as the merit-based scholarship application. General academic merit scholarships are awarded to freshman applicants on a rolling basis within 30 days following the offer of admission. December 1 is the application deadline for consideration for Belmont’s most competitive named and departmental scholarships. Notification of named and departmental scholarships will be sent in mid-February. You may receive only one merit-based scholarship. Roughly a third of the freshman class received academic merit scholarships.
GENERAL ACADEMIC MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS Incoming freshmen are considered competitive for a general academic merit scholarship if they meet at least four of the following six criteria: completion of a strong college preparatory curriculum, unweighted core GPA of 3.5 or higher, unweighted cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher, top 10 percent of class rank, ACT of 28 or higher or SAT of 1260 or higher (composite score of Critical Reading and Math), and significant individual achievement.
NAMED & DEPARTMENTAL SCHOLARSHIPS Presidential Scholarships Belmont’s most competitive scholarship, awarded to five incoming freshmen, covering full tuition, room, board, books and fees. Consideration criteria include a minimum test score of 1320 SAT (composite score of Critical Reading and Math) or 29 ACT. Faculty Scholarships Seventy-five $15,000 awards to the top incoming freshmen who qualify for the Presidential Scholarship. William Randolph Hearst Endowed Scholarship One scholarship covering full tuition, room, board, books and fees for an incoming freshman from a diverse background with outstanding academic and leadership records. Ingram Diversity Leadership Scholarships Four full-tuition scholarships for incoming freshmen with diverse backgrounds from the Nashville area with outstanding academic and leadership records. Thomas J. Madden Ministerial Scholarship One full-tuition scholarship for a Baptist freshman man majoring in religion and who plans to enter full-time ministry. Servant Leader Scholarship One full-tuition scholarship for a Baptist freshman woman who majors in religion and who plans to enter a church-related career. Turner Scholarships $7,500 awards for students from rural high schools with outstanding academic records and demonstrated need. Glover Accounting Scholarships Merit-based scholarship for students majoring in accounting who meet academic scholarship criteria.
Glover Business Scholarships Merit-based scholarship for students majoring in business who meet academic scholarship criteria. Leadership Scholarships Twenty-five $2,000 awards to incoming freshmen who demonstrate outstanding leadership abilities. Rose Park Scholarships Half- and full-tuition scholarships for deserving incoming freshmen with demonstrated need who live in proximity to E.S. Rose Park (Nashville, TN). Community Scholarships Half-tuition scholarships awarded for deserving incoming freshmen with demonstrated need and above average academic credentials who live in proximity to the Belmont University campus.
TALENT-BASED AID Belmont awards Talent-Based aid in the form of Athletic, Music and Art Scholarships. More information may be found online at: Athletic Scholarships www.belmont.edu/athletics Music Scholarships www.belmont.edu/music Art Scholarships www.belmont.edu/art
YOUR AID PACKAGE If you met the March 1 priority deadline for submission of the FAFSA, you may expect to receive your official Financial Aid Award Letter from Belmont beginning in mid-March. For students who submitted their FAFSA after the March 1 priority deadline, Belmont will send the financial aid letter after awarding the students who met the priority deadline. Your financial aid package may include federal and state monies for which you qualify, grants and scholarships from outside sources, institutional merit awards and institutional need-based aid. Invariably, when the need is substantial, loans are also a part of the package. It is virtually impossible to meet your financial needs through grants and scholarships alone. You will then have the information you need to make an educated decision about which programs you would like to use—based upon your personal cash flow. Although Belmont seeks to first exhaust all other aid avenues, it has become increasingly difficult to fund a college education without some form of loan. One key to staying away from heavy loans is to apply as early as possible for financial aid to take advantage of limited need-based grant funds. Additional scholarship and financial aid information can be found online at www.belmont.edu/sfs. A Belmont education continues to pay dividends long after a diploma is earned. Nowhere else provides what Belmont has to offer, so make an investment in your future. Come see for yourself what makes Belmont stand out. Call 615•460•6785 or click on the “Visit Us” button on www.BELMONT.edu to schedule a campus visit.
RANKED
national
#
NOTICE
U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges 2011 Regional Universities (South)”
We’re not just tooting our own horn. Others are sitting up and taking notice. Here are just some of our most recent awards and accolades:
named one of
U.S. News &World Report’s
TOP SCHOOLS TO WATCH
TOP
100
Host of the 2008 Town Hall PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE
Kiplinger’s
“BEST VALUES IN PRIVATE COLLEGES”
RANKED BUSINESS ETHICS
PROGRAM 2008
for the third year in a row
8
TH by BusinessWeek
“Top 100”
Named “ONE OF THE BEST MUSIC BUSINESS PROGRAMS IN THE COUNTRY” by Rolling Stone & Time Magazines
home of the 2010 National Champion
STUDENTS IN FREE
88%
ENTERPRISE (SIFE) TEAM of Belmont graduates in 2009
secured professional, full-time employment, enrolled in graduate school or enlisted in military service within six months after graduation.
Atlantic Sun Conference
ALL-ACADEMIC
TROPHY WINNER
Undergraduate School of Business ranked in
BusinessWeek’s
TOP 100 ( B-SCHOOLS - 2009 ) BEST UNDERGRADUATE
Office of Admissions 1900 Belmont Blvd. Nashville, TN 37212 www.belmont.edu admissions@belmont.edu 615.460.6785 or 800.56ENROLL