Federal Direct Loan Information

FEDERAL DIRECT LOAN INFORMATION

The William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program

Florida Memorial University participates in the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program for the federal Stafford, PLUS and Grad PLUS loan programs. Listed below are the loan types, eligibility and steps that you must follow to complete your loan process from application to disbursement.

Loan Types

Subsidized – is awarded to student’s demonstrating a financial need as determined by the federal processor as a result of your FAFSA application. Your loan eligibility is also based on your academic level (see chart below). Interest payments on this loan is subsidized (you are not charged interest) by the federal government while you are in school or during authorized periods of deferments. You begin repayment six months after you graduate or stop attending at least half-time.

Unsubsidized – a student does not have to demonstrate financial need to receive this loan. You may borrow the cost of attendance minus all financial aid awarded and based on your academic level (see chart below). Interest payments on this loan are not subsidized by the government. You can choose to pay the interest while you are enrolled halftime or it can be accrued and added to the part of the principal of the loan that you owe. You begin repayment six months after you graduate or stop attending at least half-time.

Parent Plus – PLUS (Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students) Loan enable parents to borrow for each of their dependent children enrolled in at least six credits and meet all eligibility requirements. Parents can borrow up to the cost of attendance minus other aid. Parents have the option to defer payment until six months after the dependent student on whose behalf the parent borrowed ceases to be enrolled on at least half-time basis. Interest payments on this loan are not subsidized by the government.

This loan is a credit-worthiness loan which will require a credit history approval.

Parents will need to complete a Federal Direct Parent Plus Loan Application with the Financial Aid Office. This application will initiate the loan application process; you will be notified of the pre-approval decision so that we can determine final eligibility by the Department of Education. Parents will need to contact the Department of Education for payment arrangements, deferments and forbearance options. Loans are not automatically renewed. Parents must reapply annually.

Graduate Plus – Graduate students are now eligible to borrow under the PLUS loan program up to their cost of attendance minus other estimated financial assistance. Students need to first apply with the Department of Education to initiate the loan application process; terms and conditions applicable to Parent Plus Loans also apply to Graduate Plus Loans. All Graduate Plus Loans are awarded to all graduate students who meet the eligibility requirement upon receipt of your financial aid award letter for each academic year. This loan is a credit-worthiness loan which will require a credit history approval. Interest Payments on this loan are not subsidized by the government.

Eligibility/Requirements

Recipients of federal loans must meet the following criteria:

Completed Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Application annually

1. Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen

2. Admitted to a degree seeking program or an eligible certificate program

3. Be enrolled at least half time (undergraduates = 6+ credits, graduates = 6+ credits) when loan proceeds are received.

4. Not be in default on a previous student loan or owe a repayment on a previous federal aid award received at any institution.

5. Applicant cannot have an adverse credit history (for Parent and Graduate Plus loans only).

6. Maintain satisfactory academic progress.

3 Steps to complete BEFORE the Disbursement of your Loan(s) including the Master Promissory Note (MPN)

1.First time FMU borrowers – Complete an Entrance Counseling for your particular loan type

2.If you do not have a FAFSA PIN (personal id number) obtain one at http://www.pin.ed.gov/ for student/parent to sign the electronic Master Promissory Note.

3.If you are a first-time Federal Direct Loan borrower, using your Federal FAFSA PIN, complete and submit the electronic Master Promissory Note at: http://studentloans.gov/

Parent Plus Loan Application Process

1. Submit your completed FMU Federal Plus Direct Loan Application to the Financial Aid Office. Please keep a copy for your records.
Complete an electronic PLUS Master Promissory Note(eMPN) for Parents at

http://studentloans.gov/

2. You must submit copies of the parent applicant’s citizenship or permanent resident documentation.

3. If you do not have a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on file with our office, you must submit copies of the student’s citizenship or permanent resident documentation.

4. Upon receipt of your completed application with all required documents, your application will be processed.

5. If your PLUS Loan is approved, you will receive notification from the U.S. Department of Education. The funds will be credited to the students account upon receipt. The Student Accounts Office will deduct from financial aid award any and all monies due Florida Memorial University and remit the balance to the student .

6. If your PLUS Loan is rejected, you will receive notification from the U.S. Department of Education. You will be given the option, at that time, to obtain an endorser (co-signer) to continue the loan process.

7. If you choose not to submit an endorser application, you should contact the Financial Aid Office for information on student eligibility for alternative loans.

Is there a charge for this loan?

Yes. In addition to interest, you pay a loan fee of 1.0% of the principal amount of each Direct Subsidized or Unsubsidized Stafford Loan that you borrow. The loan fee for PLUS loans is 4%. According to the US Dept of Education, – these fee helps reduce the cost of making these low-interest loans. The US Dept of Education deducts the fee before you receive any loan money, so the loan amount you actually receive will be less than the amount you have to repay.

Receiving Your Loan Disbursement

All Federal Direct Loan funds are disbursed directly to the Financial Aid Office to confirm that enrollment criteria are met at the time of disbursement. Funds are first used to pay any outstanding balance due. Any remaining funds are sent to the borrower per term via a refund. Students must maintain at least half-time enrollment to receive any loan funds as required the federal regulation.

Refunds-Student Accounts Office-Bursars Office

A check is processed and can be picked up from the Bursar’s Office or it will be mailed through the US Postal system.

Loan Cancellation Procedure

If loan proceeds have been accredited to your student account and you would like to CANCEL/RETURN all of a portion of the disbursement of this loan(s) you have 14 days from the date of the disbursement of the loan to inform the Financial Aid Office of this request. You must submit a Loan Adjustment Request Form to cancel/return all or a portion of your loan. You can complete a Loan Adjustment Request Form by coming into the office or the one that is available on the financial aid website under the REQUIRED FORMS link.

If you received your loan disbursement through a paper check, you must first return the un-endorsed and un-cashed paper check to the Student Financials Office and they will forward the cancellation request to our office once they have cancelled and reversed the check.

Loan Certification and Reinstatement Procedures

In order for the Financial Aid Office to be in compliance with Federal Regulations with regards to the Federal Direct Loan Program, students only have a specific time frame to request the certification and/or reinstatement of a federal direct loan. Loans offers are made for an entire academic year (fall/spring) or per term, so depending on the loan period (enrollment period) students have 15 days prior to the end of the loan period to submit a request for reinstatement and/or certification of any Federal Direct Loan, it is the student’s responsibility to make sure any loan request have been received by our office by the stated deadline, late requests will not be processed.

DeadLine for 2010-2011

Fall Only Loans – 11/30/2010

Fall and Spring Loans- 04/15/2011

Spring Only Loans- 04/15/2011

Summer Term Loans- 07/15/2011

DeadLine for 2011-2012

Fall Only Loans – 11/15/2011

Fall and Spring Loans- 04/01/2012

Spring Only Loans- 04/01/2012

Summer Term Loans- 07/15/2012

Loan Limits

Direct Loan Servicing OnLine

www.dl.ed.gov/

Direct Loan Borrower Servicing Center
1-800-848-0979/ TTY users can call 1-800-848-0983

Direct Loan Online Servicing Tutorial?
https://www.dl.ed.gov/borrower/TourMain.do?cmd=initializeContext

NSLDS Loan History

http://www.nslds.ed.gov/nslds_SA/

The William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program (Direct Loan) US Department of Education as lender.

On this Web site information such as repayment options and calculators are available to assist you.
www.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/DirectLoan/index.html

Repayment Information

Repayment Plans
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/DirectLoan/RepayCalc/dlindex2.html

Repayment Calculator
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/DirectLoan/calc.html

Direct Consolidation Loan Information
1-800-557-7392/TTy users can call 1-800-557-7395