Office of University Financial Aid
Graduate School
Federal Stafford Student Loan
How to Apply Online
(Students without internet access should contact the financial aid office at 651.638.6241.)
- Complete the steps to apply for financial aid (Bethel University Financial Aid Application, FAFSA, prior-year tax returns) and wait to receive your Financial Aid Award letter showing your loan eligibility before you apply for loans.
- Entrance Counseling: First-time Stafford borrowers must complete the online Stafford Loan Entrance Counseling (at the Mapping Your Future website).
- Choose a lender: If
you are a first-time Stafford borrower at Bethel, you need to select a
lender for your Stafford Loan. Repeat borrowers at Bethel will be kept
with their prior lenders, unless they ask to change lenders. (Prior
AFG, SLXpress, TCF and T.H.E. borrowers must
choose a new lender for 2008-09. See the discontinued lenders note
at the bottom of this page.) If you want to change your Stafford
lender, you must complete a new Master Promissory Note and notify the
financial aid office of your decision (steps 4 and 5 below). Students
are free to select any lender for their educational loans. To assist
students in selecting a lender the financial aid office annually
compiles a list of preferred lenders (see Bethel's criteria for preferred lenders).
We encourage students to visit the preferred lender websites listed
below to learn more about the specific benefits offered by each lender.
- Tell the financial aid office how much you plan to borrow: Complete and return the Financial Aid Loan Response Form (received with your Financial Aid Award letter) or a Loan Authorization Form, so the financial aid office can certify your loan request.
- Promissory Note: First-time Stafford borrowers
must complete a Master promissory Note. To access the online
application/promissory note for one of the preferred lenders listed
below, choose the "TO APPLY" link for that lender. Be sure to select
the same lender for the promissory note as you did on the Loan Response
Form.
Processing Deadline
Students should complete this process by October 15 for fall semester, March 15 for spring semester, and July 15 for summer semester. Federal Stafford loans cannot be processed after a semester has ended or when a student is no longer enrolled.
Features
- Subsidized Stafford: Available to students who demonstrate financial need. Federal government pays interest while student is enrolled "in school" (at least half time, pursuing a degree or certificate) and during a six-month grace period after leaving "in-school" status.
- Unsubsidized Stafford: Available to students who do not have financial need. Interest accrues while student is "in school." Unpaid accrued interest is capitalized at repayment.
- Loan counseling is required (entrance and exit).
- Annual loan limit for grad/professional: $20,500 - no more than $8,500 of this amount may in in subsidized loans.
- Cumulative maximum total Stafford debt limit when you graduate: $138,500 - no more that $65,000 of this amount may be in subsidized loans. (The cumulative graduate debt limit includes Stafford Loans received for undergraduate study.)
Interest Rate
- Stafford loans disbursed after 7/1/2006 will have a 6.8% fixed interest rate.
Loan Fees
- All Stafford Loans are charged fees of 2.0 percent for 2008-2009 (origination fee of 1.0 percent plus a federal default fee of 1.0 percent for a total fee of 2.0 percent). However, some lenders and guarantors will pay a portion of these fees on behalf of the borrower.
- Fees reduce the amount of loan proceeds borrowers receive. For example, a $3,500 loan with a 2 percent fee ($70) will result in a net loan of $3,430 disbursed to the borrower ($3,500 minus $70 equals $3,430).
Choosing A Lender
To assist students in selecting a lender, the financial aid office conducts an annual evaluation of potential lenders. Students are free to select any lender for their educational loans. However, after a thorough review of lender data, we encourage borrowers to strongly consider one of the following preferred lenders to ensure that they receive the highest level of customer service, avoid delays in processing loans, and have access to the best borrower benefits available to Bethel students.
Summary of Borrower Benefits*
All of Bethel's preferred lenders offer financial benefits to their
borrowers. Please visit the lenders' websites listed below to learn more about the
specific benefits they offer (e.g., rebates of principal, reduced
interest rates for graduation and/or automatic payments).
Current Preferred Lenders List
Stafford Lender |
Initial Loan Fees Paid by Borrower |
Citibank
|
1% default fee |
U.S. Bank
|
0% default fee |
Wachovia Education Finance
|
1% origination fee 0% default fee |
Wells Fargo
|
1% default fee |
* These benefits are for loans processed for the 2008-2009 academic year and are subject to change without notice. The information above is correct as of February 1, 2008. Visit the lenders' websites for current information.
Note: Previous borrowers of discontinued lenders
Effective April 1, 2008, Academic Funding Group (AFG), Student Loan Xpress (SLXpress), TCF Bank (TCF), and Total Higher Education (T.H.E.) are no longer participating in the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). Therefore, you will not be able to borrow a Stafford, Parent PLUS, or Grad PLUS loan from these lenders for the 2008-2009 year. Prior borrowers of Stafford and PLUS loans from these lenders will need to select a new lender and complete a new Master Promissory Note for 2008-2009. If you have any questions, please contact the financial aid office by email at finaid@bethel.edu or by telephone at 651.638.6241.
To see a current list of lenders that are no longer participating in the federal loan programs, visit http://www.finaid.org/loans/lenderlayoffs.phtml and scroll down to the "Loan Program Suspensions" table.