So you have a financial aid award… will you be borrowing those loans?

If you have an award notification from our office, it’s very likely that there is some federal student loan eligibility included in your financial aid package.  If you need to borrow the loan(s), or any portion of your eligibility, there are some processing steps you’ll need to complete.

1. Go to the Loan Information & Processing section of our website.
2. Identify the loan types showing on your award letter, such as the Federal Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loan.
3. Follow the instructions for processing each loan type for which you’re eligible:

Federal Perkins Loan
Federal Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loan
Federal Direct PLUS Loan for Graduate & Law Students

What if I need to borrow more than what’s on my award?

If you are looking for other loan types that you can use to cover the difference between the total cost and the financial aid you were awarded, you might be interested in applying for a Federal Direct PLUS Loan for Parents of Undergrads or a private educational loan. 

Graduate & Law Students:  The Federal Direct PLUS Loan that you have access to (see above) should be sufficient to cover the remainder of your expenses.

When should I process my loans?

Loan processing should be done at least one month prior to your first day of classes.  This means that if you’ll be attending during the fall 2010 semester, you should secure your loans by the end of July!