Student Loans Information

• Student loans are borrowed money that must be repaid
• Students must be enrolled at least part-time (6 hours for undergraduate or 3 hours for graduate students) each semester to receive loan funds
• Loan funds are disbursed in two installments, the first during the fall semester and the second during the spring semester. Loans for one term only have a single disbursement
• Student loan funds must first be used to pay tuition, fees, room and board. Any remaining loan funds may be refunded to the student or returned back to the government

Direct Stafford Loans, from the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program, are low-interest loans for eligible students to help cover the cost of higher education. Eligible students borrow directly from the U.S. Department of Education. This is the standard loan program that is offered to students after completing the FAFSA.

Direct Subsidized Loans are for students with financial need. The Financial Aid Office will review the results of your FAFSA and determine the amount you can borrow. You are not charged interest while you are in school at least half-time as well as during grace periods and deferment periods. The interest rate is fixed at 3.73% for the 2021-22 school year for undergraduates. Interest rates for the 2022-2023 school year will be announced June 1, 2022.

You are not required to demonstrate financial need to receive a Direct Unsubsidized Loan. Like subsidized loans, your school will determine the amount you can borrow. Interest accrues on an unsubsidized loan from the time it first disburses. You can pay the interest while you are in school and during the grace periods and deferment or forbearance periods, or you can allow it to accrue and be capitalized (that is, added to the principal amount of your loan). If you choose not to pay the interest as it accrues, this will increase the total amount you have to repay because you will be charged interest on a higher principal amount. The interest rate is fixed at 3.73% for the 2021-22 school year. For graduate students, the interest rate is fixed at 5.28% for the 2021-22 school year. Interest rates for the 2022-2023 school year will be announced June 1, 2022.

Additional information on the subsidized / unsubsidized loan programs

Direct PLUS loans are federal loans that graduate students and parents of dependent undergraduate students can use to help pay for college. A Direct PLUS loan is commonly referred to as a parent PLUS loan when made to a parent, and as a grad PLUS loan when made to a graduate student. PLUS loans can help pay for education expenses not covered by other financial aid. As with the subsidized and unsubsidized loans, the U.S. Department of Education is your lender. You must not have an adverse credit history. A credit check will be conducted. If you have an adverse credit history, you may still be able to receive a PLUS loan or an additional unsubsidized loan if you meet additional requirements. The interest rate is fixed at 6.28% for the 2021-22 school year. Interest rates for the 2022-2023 school year will be announced June 1, 2022.

Additional information on parent PLUS loans

Additional information on grad PLUS loans

Several banks and lending agencies offer private educational loans to creditworthy borrowers or to borrowers with credit-worthy cosigners. These loans are not federally subsidized. Because the interest rates for private educational loans are generally higher than Federal Direct Stafford and PLUS Loans interest rates, we recommend that you exhaust your Federal educational loan eligibility before considering alternative loans. When shopping for a private loan, students need to be educated consumers. Factors to consider when searching for an alternative student loan include the following: the interest rate, loan origination fee, repayment terms, approval requirements, borrower benefits, etc. We use a preferred lender list, which includes Sallie Mae, Discover, Citizens, Thrivent Federal Credit Union, and College Ave Student Loans. However, you are not required to use our preferred lender list; you are free to select any lender of your choice.

For loan counseling and further instructions on selecting a lender, please use this form: Private Loan Information Sheet. Loan counseling is not a requirement for the private loans, but we strongly recommend it so that you may be a better informed borrower.

For more information on the PLUS loan and private loan options, please use this comparison chart: Understanding gap financing options.

• Complete FAFSA and submit additional documents as requested
• Accept or decline the subsidized or unsubsidized loans on your student account on my.xiaoneizhi.com when your financial aid counselor completes your award package.
• If it is your first time receiving a Direct Loan, you will need to fill out a Master Promissory Note and complete Online Entrance Counseling. The Master Promissory Note or MPN is a legal document in which you promise to repay your loan and any accrued interest and fees to the Department of Education. It also explains the terms and conditions of your loan. In most cases, one MPN can be used for loans that you receive over several years of study. Furthermore, all student loan borrowers are required to complete Entrance Counseling if you have not previously received a student loan. You must complete this before you can receive the first disbursement of your loan. This helps you to understand your responsibilities regarding your loan. For instructions on completing both of these steps, please use this form: Entrance Counseling and MPN
• After completing the above steps, the lender sends the loan funds to SNU, which will be disbursed to the student’s Bursar account balance.
• Any remaining funds are issued to the student.

• Complete FAFSA and submit additional documents as requested.
• For instructions and information on the PLUS loan process, please see Parent PLUS Loan Instructions.
• If it is your first time to receive a PLUS loan, you will need to complete a Master Promissory Note (MPN). The online entrance counseling for the PLUS loan is not required unless a co-signer is used on the application due to adverse credit.
• After completing the above steps, the lender sends the loan funds to SNU, which will be disbursed to the student’s Bursar account balance.
• Any remaining funds are issued to the student or parent.

• Unlike federal loans, a FAFSA is not required.
• After selecting your lender with the instructions provided above under “Private Loans,” complete the application.
• After completing your application, SNU will receive it to certify the application.
• After certification has been completed from both the lender and SNU, the lender will send the loan funds to SNU.
• Any remaining funds are issued to the student.

When you receive a federal direct loan, it gets assigned to a federal loan servicer who is a part of the Department of Education. That is where you will make your payments. To see your loan servicer information go to studentaid.gov and log in with your FAFSA username and password. For a complete list of loan services to which you may be potentially assigned, please visit Repayment Services. For private loans, you will repay your lender for which you completed an application.

Yes. Please use this website to see the different repayment plans for which you may be eligible: Understand Repayment Plans. For private loans, check with your lender.

When you are enrolled at least half-time (6 hours for undergraduates, 3 hours for graduates), you are not required to begin making payments on your loans until after you have graduated or withdrawn from school. There is also a 6-month grace period whenever you exit school, which means you will not be required to make payments until after the 6-month grace period ends. You are welcome to make payments on your loans at any time while in school, but there is no obligation to do so.

Most federal student loans have loan fees that are a percentage of the total loan amount. The loan fee is deducted proportionately from each loan disbursement you receive while enrolled in school. This means the money you receive will be less than the amount you actually borrow. You’re responsible for repaying the entire amount you borrowed and not just the amount you received. For the subsidized/unsubsidized loan, the fee is 1.059%. Direct PLUS loans have a fee of 4.236%. The private loans typically do not have an extra fee, but you will need to check with your lender to make sure.

Yes, to view a complete history of all of your federal direct loan disbursements, visit nslds.ed.gov and log in with your FAFSA username and password.

To view your account balance information as well as your financial aid package, go to your student account on my.xiaoneizhi.com.

Under certain circumstances, a borrower can receive a deferment or forbearance to temporarily stop or lower the payments on a loan. You can also select a different repayment plan that might offer a lower monthly payment. Check with your loan servicer/lender to understand your options.

You will risk going into loan default, which carries with it severe consequences, such as wage garnishment, hurting your credit score, not being able to receive any other financial aid in the future, etc. For more information and how you can avoid loan default, please visit this website: Loan Default.

No. A PLUS Loan made to the parent cannot be transferred to the student. The parent is responsible for repaying the PLUS Loan.

Yes, under certain conditions. A cancellation (discharge) releases the student from all obligations to repay the loan. Under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, borrowers may have the balance of their loans forgiven if they are employed full-time in a public service job and make 120 payments on their loans during that period. For additional details, please visit this website: Forgiveness / Cancellation.