US Loans - FAQs

To apply for federal student aid, such as federal grants, work-study funds, and loans, you need to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. Completing and submitting the FAFSA form is free, and it gives you access to the largest source of financial aid to help pay for college or career school.
 
In addition, many states and colleges use your FAFSA information to determine your eligibility for state and school aid, and some private financial aid providers may use your FAFSA information to determine whether you qualify for their aid.

A Master Promissory Note is a legally binding document under which the borrower promises to repay the loan and to comply with the terms and conditions of the agreement.

The FAFSA Submission Summary is a paper or electronic document from the U.S. Department of Education’s office of Federal Student Aid that lists answers to the questions on the student’s FAFSA form and gives basic estimates about the student’s eligibility for federal student aid. It is not a financial aid offer.

If the FAFSA form is complete and processed successfully, a Student Aid Index (SAI) will be included on the FAFSA Submission Summary. The SAI is a number that colleges and career schools will use to calculate how much financial aid the student is eligible to receive. The SAI is not the amount of money a family will have to pay for college or the amount of federal student aid the student will receive. The SAI is subject to change with updates or corrections to the FAFSA form. Learn how aid is calculated.

COA is the amount it will cost a student to go to school. Most two-year and four-year colleges calculate their COA to show the total cost for the school year (for instance, for the fall and spring semesters).

If you’re attending school at least half time, the COA is the estimate of

• Tuition and fees
• Books, course materials, supplies, and equipment
• Cost of housing and food (or living expenses)
• Transportation expenses
• Loan fees (excluding any loan fees for non-federal student loans)
• Miscellaneous expenses (including a reasonable amount for the documented cost of a personal computer)
• Allowance for childcare or other dependent care
• Costs related to a disability
• Costs of obtaining a license, certification, or a first professional credential; and
• Reasonable costs for eligible study abroad programs

The Student Aid Index (SAI) is an eligibility index number that the financial aid office uses to determine how much federal student aid you would receive if you attended the school.

This number results from the financial information you and your contributor(s) provide on your FAFSA form.

This number is not a dollar amount of aid eligibility or what your family is expected to provide. A negative SAI indicates a student has a higher financial need. Learn how the SAI is calculated.

The college will determine your financial need by subtracting your SAI from the cost of attendance.

If your FAFSA form is complete and fully processed, your estimated federal student aid and SAI will display under the ‘Eligibility Overview’ tab on your online FAFSA Submission Summary. Before completing the FAFSA form, use the Federal Student Aid Estimator to estimate your SAI.

All graduate/professional students are considered independent; otherwise to be considered independent you must fit into one of the categories below:

• Are older than 23 years at the time of completing the FAFSA
• Are currently or have been married at the time of completing a FAFSA
• Are a parent
• Are a veteran
• Are a ward of the court

The classification of your dependency status is used to determine how much of the Federal Stafford loan is available to you.

Deferment is a temporary period during which a borrower is not required to make payments.

For Stafford Loan borrowers, many deferments are subsidized, meaning the interest that accrues on the loan during the deferment is paid by the federal government. Some deferments are unsubsidized, meaning the interest that accrues must be paid by the borrower.

For further information see our deferment section.

Forbearance is a temporary postponement of your loan repayments, for students who are not entitled to deferment.  Again, it is recommended that you seek more information from your lender.

If you default, it means that you have failed to make payments on your student loan according to the terms of your promissory note.  Default is a serious matter. Some of the consequences of default are:

• National credit bureaus can be notified of your default, which will harm your credit rating, making it more difficult to buy a car or house.
• You would be ineligible for additional federal student aid if you decided to return to University.
• Loan payments can be deducted from your paycheck.
• State and federal income tax refunds can be withheld and applied toward the amount you owe.
• You will have to pay late fees and collection costs on top of what you already owe.
• You can be sued.

You may have a default fee and/ or Origination fees associated with your loan.

The default fee (previously known as the "guarantee fee" ) is a charge made by the Department of Education to cover any costs incurred if you miss repayments once you have graduated.

The origination fee is a charge made by the Department of Education to cover the administrative charges related to your loan.