Loans

The U.S. Department of Education has two federal student loan programs:

The William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program is the largest federal student loan program. Under this program, the U.S. Department of Education is your lender. There are four types of Direct Loans available:

• Direct Subsidized Loans are loans made to eligible undergraduate students who demonstrate financial need to help cover the costs of higher education at a college or career school. Interest is not charged before repayment or during authorized periods of deferment because the federal government "subsidizes" the interest during these periods. Repayment begins six months after graduation or after a student drops below half-time status.
  
  As of July 1, 2013 first time borrowers may only receive Subsidized Direct Student loans for 150% of the published time of the academic program. Students who continue enrollment on at least a half-time basis in the same program or enroll in another program of the same or shorter length will no longer be eligible to receive additional subsidized student loans. Furthermore, students will lose the interest subsidy on all prior subsidized loans. Borrower responsibility for interest will be triggered from the date of continued or subsequent (at least half-time) enrollment in an eligible undergraduate program of equal or lesser length. All unpaid accrued interest is capitalized in the same manner as unsubsidized loans. Eligibility on lost interest subsidy cannot be regained.
  
  
• Direct Unsubsidized Loans are loans made to eligible undergraduate, graduate, and professional students, but in this case, the student does not have to demonstrate financial need to be eligible for the loan. Interest is charged from the time the loan is disbursed until it is paid in full. If a student allows the interest to accumulate while in school or during other periods of nonpayment, it will be capitalized - that is, the interest will be added to the principal amount of the loan.
  
  Annual Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loan Limits

  Year in School	Base Subsidized/Unsubsidized Amount	Additional Unsubsidized Amount	Total Amount	Additional Unsubsidized for Independent students (and for dependent students whose parents are unable to obtain PLUS loan)
  Freshman	$3,500	$2,000	$5,500	$4,000
  Sophomore	$4,500	$2,000	$6,500	$4,000
  Junior/Senior	$5,500	$2,000	$7,500	$5,000

  Graduate & Professional Students: $20,500 Unsubsidized (all years)
  
  Aggregate Limits for Sub/Unsub Loans
  

  	Subsidized	Total (Sub and Unsub)
  Dependent Undergraduates	$23,000	$31,000
  Independent Undergraduates and Dependent Students whose parents can't get PLUS	$23,000	$57,500
  Graduate and Professional Students	$65,500	$138,500

  Notes:

  • The aggregate loan limits include any Subsidized Federal Stafford Loans or Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans you may have previously received under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program. As a result of legislation that took effect July 1, 2010, no further loans are being made under the FFEL Program.
  • Effective for periods of enrollment beginning on or after July 1, 2012, graduate and professional students are no longer eligible to receive Direct Subsidized Loans. The $65,500 subsidized aggregate loan limit for graduate or professional students includes subsidized loans that a graduate or professional student may have received for periods of enrollment that began before July 1, 2012, or for prior undergraduate study.

  If the total loan amount you receive over the course of your education reaches the aggregate loan limit, you are not eligible to receive additional loans. However, if you repay some of your loans to bring your outstanding loan debt below the aggregate loan limit, you could then borrow again, up to the amount of your remaining eligibility under the aggregate loan limit.

  Graduate and professional students enrolled in certain health profession programs may receive additional Direct Unsubsidized Loan amounts each academic year beyond those shown above. For these students, there is also a higher aggregate limit on Direct Unsubsidized Loans.

• Direct PLUS Loans are loans made to graduate or professional students and parents of dependent undergraduate students to help pay for education expenses not covered by other financial aid.

  Parents/students may borrow up to the cost of education minus any other estimated financial aid, assuming they meet established criteria. Students must file a FAFSA in order to determine eligibility for the PLUS loan program.

  A dependent student for whom a PLUS Loan is borrowed must meet the general eligibility criteria in 34 CFR 668 Subpart C and a parent borrower must meet the eligibility criteria, such as citizenship, specified in 34 CFR 685.200(c)(1). The current PLUS loan is a fixed rate of 5.30%. Each loan also carries an origination fee of 4.236%. The lender deducts these fees from disbursements sent to the college.

  Process a credit pre-approval and E-Sign the Parent MPN online.

  Dependent Students: If a parent borrower is unable to secure a PLUS loan, the undergraduate dependent student may be eligible for additional unsubsidized loans to help pay for his or her education, we will automatically process an additional Direct Unsubsidized Loan for you.

• Direct Consolidation Loans allow you to combine all of your eligible federal student loans into a single loan with a single loan servicer.

Click here to complete your MPN and entrance counseling for Federal Student Loans.

Interest Rates and Fees

The interest rate varies depending on the loan type and (for most types of federal student loans) the first disbursement date of the loan. The table below provides interest rates for Direct Loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2024 and before July 1, 2025.

All interest rates shown in the chart above are fixed rates for the life of the loan.

Note: The interest rates for federal student loans are determined by federal law. If there are future changes to federal law that affect federal student loan interest rates, we will update this page to reflect those changes.

View interest rates for loans disbursed earlier

Federal student loans fees

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. 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.

The chart below shows the loan fees for Direct Subsidized Loans, Direct Unsubsidized Loans, and Direct PLUS Loans first disbursed on or after Oct. 1, 2020.

Loans first disbursed prior to Oct. 1, 2020, have different loan fees. 

Resolving Disputes

The Federal Student Aid Ombudsman Group of the U.S. Department of Education is dedicated to helping resolve disputes related to Direct Loans, Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans, Guaranteed Student Loans, and Perkins Loans. The Ombudsman Group is a neutral, informal, and confidential resource to help resolve disputes about your federal student loans.

Before contacting the Ombudsman Group, be sure to follow the recommendations to resolve problems with your student loan yourself.

You may contact the Ombudsman Group through one of these methods.

Postal Mail

Phone (877)557-2575
Fax (606)396-4821

There are several educational loan opportunities to help cover costs when federal and state programs are insufficient or when students are ineligible for federal loans. Terms of eligibility and repayment vary. Most require a creditworthy cosigner; some offer a cosigner release. Most offer deferred repayment while the student is in school.

Some alternative loans require the student to meet the school's satisfactory academic progress requirement, while others do not. Please note it is the responsibility of the borrower to ensure that the Financial Aid Office receives any certification requests from lenders.

See the DeSales University preferred lender list »

You have the right to select any lender you choose. Preferred lenders have been selected based on competitive pricing, borrower benefits, and service to borrowers and the school. To understand why we picked these lenders, please read about the lender selection process (see section below).

The Higher Education Act of 2008

The Higher Education Act of 2008 sought to protect student loan consumers and amended the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and established disclosure requirements for private education loans. (Regulation Z)

As a result of this change, all private lenders are required to collect a self-certification form from each applicant before a private loan can be processed.

The form:

• informs and reminds you about other sources of financial assistance and federal loan options
• collects your cost of attendance* and expected financial assistance at DSU. This information will be used by the lender as part of the eligibility determination process
• Lenders will provide you with the form at the time of application or you can download the Private Education Loan Applicant Self-Certification and submit it to your lender of choice.

Students who plan on filing a FAFSA should do so before applying for a private loan so that they have an estimate of their financial assistance.

The Higher Education Opportunity Act also requires preferred lenders to annually provide schools with information regarding the private education loans that will be offered to the school's students. Private loan disclosures (see section below) provide general information regarding rates, terms, cost examples, and eligibility requirements. A Loan Approval Disclosure Form will be provided with specific loan details after the application is approved. Rates may vary depending on the creditworthiness of the borrower.

* The total Cost of Attendance includes estimates for tuition, fees, room, board, books, and personal, transportation, and living expenses.

Important Note for Traditional Day Students:
The Cost of Attendance information provided is based on standard enrollment of full-time.

Your estimated financial assistance is available on the "Award Package by Aid Year" and can be obtained by logging onto WebAdvisor.

Federal loan regulations, set by the Department of Education, require a school that chooses to provide a Preferred Lender List to borrowers to disclose their method of selecting the lenders included on their list of suggested lenders. This guide is to provide information to borrowers about the method DeSales University's Financial Aid Office used to create the 2022/2023 Preferred Lender List.

According to Section 682.212 of the Federal Register, published by the Department of Education, "A school may, at its option, make available a list of recommended or suggested lenders, in print or any other medium or form, for use by the school's students or their parents, provided such list--

• Is not used to deny or otherwise impede a borrower's choice of lender
• Does not contain fewer than three lenders that are not affiliated with each other
• Does not include lenders that have offered, or have offered in response to a solicitation by the school, financial or other benefits to the school in exchange for inclusion on the list or any promise that a certain number of loan applications will be sent to the lender by the school or its students" (U.S. Department of Education, 2007).

Why a Preferred Lender List?

Provides a comparison of selected lenders in relatively consistent terms, reducing confusion and assisting borrowers and their families in making the best-informed decisions. Provides an opportunity to help educate students and parents in regards to the student loan industry.

Steps Taken With Decision Process

Evaluation of lenders is done on an annual basis.  Lenders are welcome to submit information on their products and services via a standard Request for Information (RFI) by March 1st.  The questions included in the RFI should address the following topics:

Once all information had been gathered and considered, the financial aid office made a decision for the upcoming academic year on particular criteria (which is listed below). Throughout the decision process, the financial aid office's goal was to select a list of reliable lenders who would be able to provide beneficial products and services to the DeSales University community.

Criteria Used to Select Lenders

Borrower Benefits -In considering benefits, it was important to evaluate the lenders who offer borrower benefits to students as well as the percentage of the actual borrowers who qualified for such benefits.

Borrower benefits that were evaluated included the following:

• Interest rates and terms
• Fees paid by the lender or the responsibility of the borrower
• Availability of repayment options
• Back-end borrower benefits (i.e. principal reduction, interest rate reduction, etc.)

Quality of Lender Products and Services

In evaluating lenders' quality of products and services, it was important to determine which lenders provide exceptional customer service to its borrowers as well as the school.

Quality of products and services criteria used to evaluate each lender was as follows:

• Ease of application process
• Web-based application and services
• Proactive customer communication, including easy access to borrower's current and cumulative borrowing and estimated repayment information
• A toll-free number for information and advice
• Timely and responsive processing of loans including resolving issues
• Expedient and simple pre-approval processes
• Knowledgeable customer service representatives
• Dedicated service or marketing representative assigned to the school
• Lenders practice to recommend students to maximize Federal financial aid first
• Lender Stability

With regulatory changes and market instability affecting lenders' decisions to remain in the student loan industry, it was important to select lenders who are reliable and will continue to service borrowers for future years.

Lender stability criteria used to review each lender included the following:

• Mission Statement
• Number of years in the student loan business
• Source of stability of capital used in providing loans
• Relationships with other loan partners
• Default rates
• Reputation at the local, state, regional and national levels
• Marketing practices including its promotion of products and services
• Demonstrated security of borrower information

References

• National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (2007). Statement of Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct for Institutional Financial Aid Professionals.
• National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (2005). Monograph - Guide to Developing a Preferred Lender List
• Spelling, Margaret (09 August 2007). Dear Colleague Letter from the Secretary of Education. Washington, DC.
• U.S. Department of Education (30 March 2007). Dear Colleague Letter. GEN-07-01. Washington, DC.
• U.S. Department of Education (08 January 2008). Dear Colleague Letter. GEN-08-01. Washington, DC.
• U.S. Department of Education (05 May 2008). Dear Colleague Letter. GEN-08-06. Washington, DC.
• U.S. Department of Education (2007). Federal Register: Part II. 34 CFR Parts 674, 682 & 685. Washington, DC.
• U.S. Department of Education (2008). Federal Student Aid Handbook 2008-2009. Volume 2 - School Eligibility and Operation. Washington, DC.
• Provided by the Financial Aid Office of DeSales University

View the loan application and solicitation disclosures for the following lenders:

• Citizens Bank
• College Ave
• Discover
• PA Forward
• PNC Bank
• SallieMae
• SoFi

Why Complete Exit Counseling

Students who borrowed under the Federal Loan Program must complete "Exit Loan Counseling" session during their final semester. The U.S. Department of Education wants to ensure that students review the terms of their loan and understand their rights and responsibilities under this program, as they enter repayment.

Where to Go

Complete Exit Counseling, and use your FSA ID to log in. The login page will request your Social Security Number, first two characters of your Last Name, Date of Birth and Federal Student Aid ID.

Know What You Owe and Who Will Be Sending You a Bill

Once logged in at studentaid.gov, the dashboard will display all your Federal Direct and Grad Plus loans that have been reported by every college/university you have attended. A servicer is an important part in the loan repayment process. Visit your servicer's website to become familiar with the resources that they have to offer.

Private Loans – Use www.annualcreditreport.com and verify Private (Alternative) Loans. You have the right to a free copy per year from all 3 major credit bureaus.

Understanding Repayment

What is grace period? What are my repayment options? You can get answers to your questions and more at studentaid.gov/manage-loans

Creating an account with your servicer will allow you to manage your student loans. You can make payments, check balances, model your repayment plan options, and much more. You can find out what servicer is managing your loans from your dashboard at studentaid.gov.

Calculate your monthly payments using a repayment estimator.

Know The Terminology

Deferment allows you to temporarily stop making payments on the loan. Forbearance allows you to temporarily stop making payments, make smaller payment or extend the loan for making payment.

Click to see if you may be eligible for deferment or a forbearance.

Budgeting

A budget calculator will help you take control of your spending and living within your means.

Is Consolidation Right for You?

You may be able to combine your federal student loans into one consolidated loan. There are a few things you need to consider: Are your monthly payments manageable? What are the interest rates on your loans? Find out if consolidation is for you.

Federal student loan forgiveness, cancellation, or discharge

You must repay your loans even if you don't complete your education, can't find a job related to your program of study, or are unhappy with the education you paid for with your loan. However, certain circumstances might lead to your loans being forgiven, canceled, or discharged.

Communication With Your Servicer is Critical!

Become familiar with your servicer's website. Create an online account and ALWAYS check your email for important information about your student loans.

Helpful Websites

• Annualcreditreport.com
• FSA ID
• Loan Servicers
• Mint.com
• Ombudsman Group
• StudentAid.gov
• YouCanDealWithIt.com

The Federal Student Aid Ombudsman Group of the U.S. Department of Education is dedicated to helping resolve disputes related to Direct Loans, Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans, Guaranteed Student Loans, and Perkins Loans. The Ombudsman Group is a neutral, informal, and confidential resource to help resolve disputes about your federal student loans.

Before contacting the Ombudsman Group, be sure to follow the recommendations to resolve problems with your student loan yourself.

You may contact the Ombudsman Group through one of these methods.

Postal Mail

Phone (877)557-2575
Fax (606)396-4821