My daughter will probably need to borrow the $5500 per year government subsidized loan.
Where do we start? Do we go to the Sallie Mae website, do we go to our local bank, do we compare rates?
I feel like I absolutely should know this already, but would really appreciate if someone could point me in the correct direction.
Thanks.
Fed. subsidized loans are awarded by the school based on your FAFSA application/EFC score. Has she received her FA award letter?
Mine “just appeared” in my aid package from my school, and I simply had the choice to accept or decline. No further apps needed. The rates are set.
My D had a way to accept/decline/reduce her federal student loans in the financial aid section of her student portal.
Later she was directed to a website to do the loan entrance counseling and sign the master promissory note.
Here is some info about federal student loans, interest rates, etc
https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/loans
https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/loans/interest-rates
Periodically she will get emails regarding counseling, etc. If you can reliably count on her to respond/act on those, that is great. One of my kids had done pretty significant executive functioning issues, so we put my email address on the Nelnet account (loan servicer) so she wouldn’t miss any notifications.
Your school’s award letter will show what she is eligible for. Of the $5500 available to freshman, I think only about $2200 or so of our was subsidized. The rest was unsubsidized.
Be sure she accepts the loan through whatever process is outlined in the FA letter.
It’s all through the school’s portal. She’ll need to accept the loan, and then she’ll be sent links to the credit counseling and the master promissory note. When she completes it, the loan will be put on her billing statement. If that causes an overpayment, she’ll receive a refund. You may need to pick how you want this refund, by direct deposit, by hard check, by a prepaid card.
I would be careful with Sallie Mae…my friends who took out loans from them told me the company will do anyhing to increase the debt.
It will be part of her aid package. She just accepts the loan when she accepts her aid package. She must also do the on-line loan counseling.
These are federal loans, @paul2752. The information and rules are very transparent and standard for all borrowers.
Also, @twoinanddone, not all schools do the acceptance process through their portal. Some still have a paper process.
@intparent Oh that’s great to hear. Hm, I wonder why my friends thought the Sallie Mae was a rip-off, then. Thanks for correcting me.
Sallie Mae is a private loan, not the government direct loans to students. Many people ARE unhappy with Sallie Mae loans.
According to the letter, “our financial aid award will be considered automatically accepted. To decline any or all of your financial aid…”
So, as I read that, we do nothing, right? The Promissory Note will arrive in the mail?
In our experience…the promissory note was done online by the student for the Direct Loan. NO MAIL.
Your student will need to do a little entrance counseling thing first. Then they complete the promissory note and submit it.
The student will need their FSA ID information to complete the promissory note for the Direct or Perkins Loans.
My D had to first accept the loans in her FA section in her portal.
Then later she got an email directing her to a website and there she had to enter her FSA ID (which is her user ID for FAFSA and federal loans) to do entrance counseling and sign master promissory note I believe.