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Office of Financial Aid

Financial Aid Loan Entrance and Exit Counseling

Loan Entrance and Exit Counseling

Students should be careful to avoid borrowing excessively. A reasonable monthly student loan payment should not exceed 8-10 percent of one's monthly gross income. (See the Budget Calculator and Loan Payment Calculator on the Federal Student Aid website.) See the chart at the bottom of this page for sample loan repayment amounts.

The average student loan debt of Bethel University borrowers who graduated from the College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) between July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2008 was $30,747 (about 75% of graduates from the class of 2008 borrowed a student loan). Assuming a 6.8% interest rate and ten years to repay their loans, average CAS student borrowers will make monthly loan payments of $353.83.

Loan Entrance Counseling

Prior to borrowing their first Perkins, Stafford,  or Grad PLUS educational loan, students are required to complete loan entrance counseling to ensure they understand their rights and responsibilities. Borrowers must complete this online counseling prior to the disbursement of their loan.

Remember to complete entrance counseling for each type of loan you will use:

Loan Exit Counseling

Upon graduation (or dropping below half-time status), students will complete loan exit counseling to prepare for entering repayment. Select one of the following links for online loan counseling.



Sample Loan Repayment Chart Based on 10 year Repayment Period
  Stafford Loans Grad PLUS Loans
  6.80% 8.50%
Amount Borrowed Estimated Monthly Payment Estimated Monthly Payment
$ 3,500
 $ 50
 $ 50
$ 5,500
 $ 63
 $ 68
$ 10,500
 $ 121
 $ 130
$ 20,000
 $ 230
 $ 248
$ 25,000
 $ 288
 $ 310
$ 40,000
 $ 460
 $ 496
$ 50,000
 $ 575
 $ 620
$ 75,000
 $ 863
 $ 930
$ 100,000
 $ 1,151
 $ 1,240
$ 138,000
 $ 1,588
 $ 1,711