Bethel Seminary

Federal Stafford Student Loan (FFELP program)

How to Apply Online for 2008-2009

(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.)

1. Complete the steps to apply for financial aid (Bethel University Financial Aid Application, FAFSA, prior-year tax returns)
   
2. 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.)
3. 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, Bremer Bank, EFSI, SLXpress, and TCF 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.
   
4. 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 and on the Loan Response Form.
5. Authorize loan amount: All Stafford borrowers must complete and return their Financial Aid Loan Response Form (received with your Financial Aid Award letter) or a Supplemental Loan Response Form, alerting the financial aid office to how much they need to borrow. Students normally borrow one loan for the whole school year.  Stafford Loan disbursements are equally divided between each eligible quarter.
   

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, 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.

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.