Office of University Financial Aid
Bethel Seminary
Federal Stafford Student Loan
How to Apply Online
(Students without internet access should contact the financial aid office at 651.638.6241.)
Students must take at least four (4) credits per quarter to maintain Stafford Loan eligibility.
Federal Stafford loans are available to Bethel Seminary students enrolled at the St. Paul and San Diego campuses. Students enrolled in the Philadelphia, New York and Metro D.C. centers of Bethel Seminary of the East also may borrow Stafford Loans. (Students enrolled at the New England center of Bethel Seminary of the East may borrow only private loans.)
- Complete the steps to apply for financial aid (Bethel University Financial Aid Application, FAFSA, prior-year tax returns)
- Entrance Counseling: If you are borrowing your first Stafford loan at Bethel, you must complete online Stafford Loan Entrance Counseling (at the Mapping Your Future website). (Note: When completing the online Stafford Loan Entrance Counseling, all Bethel Seminary students must select "Minnesota" as your state and select "Bethel University - St. Paul, MN" as your school, regardless of your geographic location.)
- 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
To ensure timely disbursements, all loan requests should be initiated by July 1 for fall, December 1 for winter, and March 1 for spring. Federal Stafford loans cannot be processed after a semester has ended or when a student is no longer enrolled.
Features
- Subsidized Stafford: 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. This loan is need-based.
- Unsubsidized Stafford: Interest accrues while student is "in school." Unpaid accrued interest is capitalized at repayment. This loan is not need-based.
- Loan counseling is required (entrance and exit).
- Annual loan limit for grad/professional: $8,500 subsidized, $12,000 unsubsidized.
- Minimum payment is $50/month.
- Maximum total Stafford debt limit when you graduate: $138,500 (grad/professional). No more than $65,000 of this amount may be in subsidized loans. The graduate debt limit includes Stafford Loans received for undergraduate study.
Interest Rates
- Stafford loans disbursed after July 1, 2006, 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.