Federal Direct Student Loan
Annual
Loan Maximums
The amount you can borrow annually depends
on your grade level, as determined by the number of units you have earned.
| Grade Level
|
Earned Units
|
Annual Loan
Limit
|
| Freshman |
0-29 |
$2,625 |
| Sophomore |
30-59 |
$3,500 |
| Junior |
60-89 |
$5,500 |
| Senior |
90+ |
$5,500 |
| Graduate Student |
|
$8,500* |
*Graduate student borrowers must take
at least six units per semester of graduate level coursework towards
their graduate degrees.
Cost of
Borrowing
Beginning with loans for which the first disbursement of principal is made on or after July 1, 2006, Federal Direct loan borrowers will pay a 3 percent of each Direct loan to the U.S. Department of Education as a loan
origination fee. The U.S. Department of Education may offer an up-front
interest rebate of up to 1.5 percent of the loan amount borrowed. (To keep
the interest rebate, you must make your first twelve required monthly payments
on time.) This fee will reduce the amount of loan money disbursed to your
university account.
Repayment
After you graduate, leave school, or drop
below half-time enrollment (six units), you have a six-month grace period
before you begin repayment.
Repayment
Options
You have four repayment options:
- The Standard
Repayment Plan allows you to repay your loan with a fixed monthly payment
of no less than $50 over a period of less than ten years.
- The Extended Repayment Plan also has minimum
payments of $50 per month, but allows you to take from 12 to 30 years to
repay your loans.
- The Graduated Repayment Plan allows your payments
to start out at one level, then gradually increase every two years.
- The Income Contingent Repayment Plan gives
you the flexibility to tie your payments to your Adjusted Gross Income.
You can estimate your monthly payments with
various repayment plans by using the Repayment calculators available on-line at
the U.S. Department of Education's
Direct Loan Web site.
Loan Consolidation
A Federal Direct Consolidation Loan allows
you to simplify repaying all of your educational loans by combining loans
from the Federal Direct Loan Program, the Stafford Loan Program*, and the
Federal Perkins Loan Program.
Deferments
A deferment
allows
you to postpone payment on your loans. Interest charges accrue on
an unsubsidized loan during a deferment period. You may be eligible for a
deferment while you are involved in the following activities:
- pursuing at least half-time study
at an eligible school;
- conscientiously seeking but unable to
find full-time employment (for up to three years);
- experiencing economic hardship (for up to
three years).
Forbearance
If you have a problem making a payment
on your loan, the Direct Loan Servicing Center will work with you to help
you avoid the costs and adverse consequences of delinquency. Forbearance
is a temporary postponement or reduction of loan payments for a limited
and specified period of time when you are willing but unable to make loan
payments. Forbearance may also be an extension of the repayment period. All loans accrue interest during forbearance.
To e-mail the Financial Aid Office, please click here
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