Office of Financial Aid
Beginning summer 2009, Bethel University will participate in the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan program. This means that students will now get Stafford Loans directly through the Department of Education, rather than through private lenders participating in the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). All students borrowing a Stafford loan for 2009-2010 must complete a new Master Promissory Note (MPN), see instructions below.
(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, San Diego, and Seminary of the East campuses.
Entrance Counseling: New Bethel borrowers must complete Stafford Loan Entrance Counseling online at the Federal Student Loan Servicing website. If you borrowed a Federal Stafford loan previously at Bethel and completed entrance counseling in a year prior to 2009-2010, you do not have to complete Direct Loan Entrance Counseling. (Note: When completing the online Stafford Loan Entrance Counseling, all Bethel Seminary students must select "Bethel University - St. Paul, MN" as your school, regardless of your geographic location.)
Complete a Master Promissory Note: All students must complete a new Master promissory Note (MPN) at the Federal Student Aid Direct Loan website even if you have previously borrwed a Stafford Loan at Bethel.
You may sign your MPN online by using your Department of Education PIN (the same pin that you may have used to sign your FAFSA). If you do not have a Department of Education PIN, or you have lost your PIN, you may obtain one by visiting www.pin.ed.gov.
Request loan amount: Students normally borrow one loan for the whole school year. Stafford
Loan disbursements are equally divided between each eligible quarter (enrolled for 4 credits or more). You may request your Stafford Loan amount online via BLink.
If you prefer not to accept your loan online, you may complete and
submit a paper Federal Direct Stafford Loan Request Form. Your Direct
Stafford Loan will not be processed until you have requested the loan
amount.
The fee for Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans is 1.5%; however, a 1% interest rate rebate reduces this fee to a net of .5%. Once you begin repayment you must make 12 on-time monthly payments to retain this benefit.
To ensure timely disbursements, all loan requests should be initiated by July 1 for fall, December 1 for winter, and March 1 for spring, and June 1 for summer. Federal Stafford loans cannot be processed after a semester has ended or when a student is no longer enrolled at least half-time (4 credits for Seminary students).
For additional information regarding the Direct Loan Program, visit the U.S. Department of Education's Direct Loan website at http://www.direct.ed.gov/student.html or choose one of the links below.