If you apply for Financial Aid, you may be offered loans as part of your Financial Aid award package. A loan is federal funding that you borrow and pay back with interest.
You must repay a student loan even if your financial circumstances become difficult. Loans can’t be canceled because you didn’t get the education or job you expected, and they can’t be canceled because you didn’t complete your education.
Loan requests submitted after the deadline will not be accepted.
Students will be required to submit a Loan Change Form an Aid Adjustment Form in order to alter their loan(s) in any way, including canceling, adding, reducing or increasing loans.
Students will only be allowed to make one change to their loans per semester, so they will need to be certain of the amount they request and decline.
Students with excess funds on their account will be refunded the excess funds, including funds from qualifying grants, scholarships and student loans awarded to their student account. Students without excess funds on their account will not receive any sort of refund. Refunds occur 14 days after aid has been applied to your account.
Payment of loans is determined by the enrollment at the time of disbursement – or payment to the student account. Students who are enrolled half-time or above at the time of disbursement will retain their student loans for the term. If a student receives Title IV grants or loans and does not begin attendance in any courses within a payment period or period of enrollment, the student is considered to be ineligible for any Title IV aid. Any aid previously disbursed to that student would be removed from their account.
Students who have received loans must complete Exit Loan Counseling if they either drop below 6 hours, or withdraw from all classes, or do not return for a subsequent semester. Students who withdraw are expected to complete Exit Loan Counseling within 30 days of their withdrawal from classes or enrollment in less than 6 hours.” Students who do not complete exit loan counseling will have an institutional hold placed on their account, which will prevent their ability to register or request a transcript until the exit counseling is performed, notification of the exit counseling is received by the financial aid office, and the hold is removed.
All Direct Loans received by students will be submitted to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), which will be accessible by guaranty agencies, lenders, and institutions determined to be authorized users of the data system. Students can access this website at any time after receiving student loans to locate loan amounts and lender information. Borrowers will find information regarding the federal student loans they have borrowed, including loan amounts, loan servicer contact information, and repayment information, in the Federal Student Aid portal.
Although you may select or be assigned a repayment plan when you first begin repaying your student loan, you can change repayment plans at any time. Contact your loan servicer if you would like to discuss repayment plan options or change your repayment plan. You can get information about all of the federal student loans you have received and find the loan servicer for your loans by logging in to the Federal Student Aid portal.
Before you contact your loan servicer to discuss repayment plans, you can use this Repayment Estimator to get an early look at which plans you may be eligible for and see estimates for how much you would pay monthly and overall.
If you are having trouble making your loan payment(s), contact your loan servicer as soon as possible. You may be able to change your repayment plan to one that will allow you to have a longer repayment period or to one that is based on your income. Also ask your loan servicer about your options for a deferment or forbearance, or loan consolidation.
If you don’t make your student loan payment or make your payment late, your loan may eventually go into default. If you default on your student loan, that status will be reported to credit bureaus, and your credit rating and future borrowing ability will be damaged. In addition, legal action can be taken to require payment through garnishment of wages and withholding of tax refunds.
Find out what you need to know about repaying student loans.
You must repay your loans even if you don’t complete your education, can’t find a job related to your program of study, or are unhappy with the education you paid for with your loan. However, certain circumstances might lead to your loans being forgiven, canceled, or discharged. Forgiveness, cancellation, and discharge of your loan means that you are no longer expected to repay your loan.
If you are employed in certain public service jobs and have made 120 payments on your Direct Loans (after Oct. 1, 2007), the remaining balance that you owe may be forgiven. Only payments made under certain repayment plans may be counted toward the required 120 payments. You must not be in default on the loans that are forgiven. For more information, go to Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
The Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program is intended to encourage individuals to enter and continue in the teaching profession. Under this program, if you teach full-time for five complete and consecutive academic years in certain elementary and secondary schools and educational service agencies that serve low-income families, and meet other qualifications, you may be eligible for forgiveness of up to a combined total of $17,500 on your Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans and your Subsidized and Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans. If you have PLUS loans only, you are not eligible for this type of forgiveness.
There are other situations that may allow you to qualify to have your federal student loan forgiven, canceled, or discharged. Find out whether you qualify due to bankruptcy, disability, the closure of your school, or other circumstances.
On April 6, 2022, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced an initiative – called “Fresh Start” – to help eligible borrowers in default. Fresh Start will continue through one year after the COVID-19 payment pause ends.
The Fresh Start initiative restores Title IV aid eligibility for borrowers with loans in the following categories that defaulted prior to the start of the student loan repayment pause on March 13, 2020:
If you’re not sure whether your loans qualify, you can call the Default Resolution Group at 1-800-621-3115 (TTY for the deaf or hard of hearing 1-877-825-9923). Students who qualify for the Fresh Start initiative will receive a letter of eligibility that can then be submitted to the Office of Financial Aid.
