Federal Direct Stafford Loan For Students and Federal Direct PLUS Loan For Parents

The bank-based FFELP Student Stafford and Parent PLUS Loans has been replaced by the Federal Direct Stafford Student and Federal Direct Parent PLUS loan beginning with the 2010-2011 academic year.

Follow these instructions for the student Federal Direct Stafford Loan (instructions for the parent Federal Direct Loan are just below):

You must return the Federal Direct Stafford Loan Eligibility Notice that we send to you. We will mail the 2013-2014 Eligibility Notice by sometime in the first full week of July. If you wish to receive a Federal Direct Stafford Loan and have not yet received your Eligibility Notice by mid-July from us, please contact us (see below).

Go to the www.studentloans.gov site operated by the U.S. Department of Education.

You need a 4 digit Federal Student Aid PIN to apply for your loan. If you have already filed a FAFSA, use that PIN. If you do not have a PIN, go to www.studentloans.gov to apply for a PIN (and do not forget to write your PIN down). You will need the PIN for this year and in subsequent years to apply for a loan and to get information on your loan.

Follow all steps to complete your Master Promissory Note (MPN) until you receive confirmation that you have submitted your MPN. If you have completed a Student Stafford Loan MPN for Haverford College in a previous academic year and received a Stafford Loan, you do not have to complete a new MPN for 2013-2014.

Click on “Complete Entrance Counseling” and answer the questions about your loan.

Per federal regulations, your loan cannot be approved unless you complete the Entrance Counseling and complete the MPN.

We will start processing 2013-2014 Direct Loans in July.

If you have any questions about the processing of your loan, please contact Judy Adham in the Haverford College Financial Aid Office at (610)896-1350 or jadham@haverford.edu.

Follow these instructions for the parent Federal Direct PLUS Loan:

Go to www.studentloans.gov site operated by the U.S. Department of Education.

The U.S. Department of Education requires completion of the 2013-2014 FAFSA for any parent applying for a Federal Direct PLUS Loan.

You need a 4 digit Federal Student Aid PIN to apply for your loan. If you have already filed a FAFSA, use that PIN. If you do not have a PIN, click on “Apply for a PIN” and write your PIN down. You will need the PIN for this year and in subsequent years to apply for a loan and to get information on your loan.

Click on “Request PLUS Loan” and complete the PLUS Application including entering an actual dollar amount you are requesting. Follow the on-screen instructions and submit the application for a credit check.

Click on “Start PLUS Application Process” and follow all steps to complete your Master Promissory Note (MPN) until you receive confirmation that you have submitted your MPN. If the parent borrower completed a Parent PLUS MPN for Haverford College in a previous academic year and received a PLUS Loan, you do not have to complete a new MPN for 2013-2014, however, you are still required to complete a new credit check each year. If borrowing with an endorser, a new Parent PLUS MPN must be completed including the endorser's signature each year.

Per federal regulations, your loan cannot be approved unless you complete the PLUS Application including entering the actual dollar amount you are requesting, perform the credit check, and complete the MPN.

We will start processing 2013-2014 Direct Loans in July.

Contact Us: If you have any questions about the processing of your loan, please contact Judy Adham in the Haverford College Financial Aid Office at (610)896-1350 or jadham@haverford.edu.

Federal Consolidation Loan

Educational loan consolidation is something like refinancing a mortgage: a borrower takes out one new loan to pay off one or more existing loans. A Federal Consolidation Loan allows student and parent borrowers to consolidate Federal Stafford Student Loan and Federal Parent PLUS Loans and follows a general pattern set by federal government. Go to www.studentloans.gov for information on repaying federal student loans including reviewing data on your specific loan through the NSLDS system, various repayment plans, and loan consolidation.

Depending on the loans you want to consolidate and your future educational and employment plans, this process can be complicated. One other suggestion we have is that, once you do decide to apply for consolidation, you be capable of receiving mail at your mailing address on a timely basis and you monitor the progress of the process your application to approval.

The consolidation process will require information on the remaining principle balance of your federal loans. Information on Stafford and PLUS loan principle balances is available from your lender or guarantor. If you received a Federal Perkins Loan while attending Haverford, you may contact Nancy Sunderland, Business Office, at (610)896-1246, for the principle balance of your Perkins Loans. (Note that Perkins Loans already have a fixed rate that may be lower than the consolidation rate.)

Repaying Federal Student Loans

The most important source of information regarding the repayment of your student loan is your lender or the servicer of your loan. Many lenders do not service their own loans since it is often more economical to have a specialized company or agency do the billing and collection. Federal regulations require your lender to send you information on who you must deal with to repay your loan. Go to www.studentloans.gov for information on repaying federal student loans including reviewing data on your specific loan through the NSLDS system, various repayment plans, and loan consolidation.