Loans

Loans are awarded after eligibility for grants, scholarships, and Federal Work-Study (FWS) are determined. Your financial aid package may include loans in the form of need based and/or non-need based financial aid.

Need Based Loans

* Federal Subsidized Stafford Loan
* Federal Perkins Loan

Non-Need Based Loans

* Federal Unsubsidized Stafford Loan
* Federal Parent PLUS Loan

Other Loans

* Alternative Educational Loans
* Emergency/Short term (30 day) Loan

Stafford Loans

 There are two types of Stafford loans:

Subsidized - Need Based. The government pays the interest while the student is attending, in the grace period or deferment.

Unsubsidized - Non Need Based. Interest accrues on loan while in school.

Stafford Loan Interest Rate
Stafford Loans taken out after July 1, 2007 have a fixed rate of 6.62% while in- school, grace and deferment periods and have a fixed rate of 7.72% during repayment.

PLUS Loans

Applying for a PLUS Loan
PLUS Loans -  A Parent PLUS Loan is for parents borrowing on behalf of a dependent child.

How to Find a Lender
A variety of commercial banks, savings and loan associations and credit unions offer PLUS Loans. You may contact your bank or credit union to see if it participates in the PLUS Loan Program. If you need help finding a lender call NELA's Customer Service Center at (800) 979-4441 or e-mail loaninfo@nela.net.

PLUS Loan Interest Rate
For loans taken out on and after July 1, 2007, the interest rate is fixed at 8.5%. For more information on PLUS Loan interest rates go here.

Borrowing Fees
You may pay up to 1% in federal default fees and 3% in loan origination fees. Federal default fees go to the guarantor and is used to prevent and cover borrower loan defaults. The loan origination fees go to the federal government to offset program costs.

Borrowing Limits
There are no borrowing limits in the PLUS Loan program. However, some lenders may set limits on how much they will lend.

Repayment Terms
Loan repayment for a PLUS Loan begins immediately and the first payment can be due within sixty days after full disbursement of the loan funds - unless you are eligible for deferment.

All PLUS borrowers receive a standard repayment schedule that can have a repayment period of up to 10 years, and can be set up in two different ways:

  • It can have the same monthly payment amount with a slightly higher or lower final.
  • It can have a payment that is adjusted each year to reflect the variable interest rate.