2008-2009 FEDERAL STAFFORD LOAN FACT SHEET

and

FEDERAL STAFFORD LOAN REQUEST FORM

for students of the

COLLEGE OF PHARMACY

The Subsidized Federal Stafford Loan, the Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan and Federal Graduate PLUS Loan are part of a group of education loans under the Federal Family Education Loan Program. This Fact Sheet provides you with instructions on completing the . . .

Federal Stafford Loan Request Form

(available at the end of this Fact Sheet)

as well as information to help you understand the Federal Stafford Loan process. You should carefully review all the information contained herein.

Federal Stafford Loans are long-term education loans made by a lending institution (bank, savings and loan, credit union, etc.) to an eligible undergraduate, graduate or professional student enrolled at least half-time at an eligible institution of higher learning. These loans are insured by the federal government and/or various guarantee agencies.

Subsidized Federal Stafford Loan – This loan is based on need, as determined by the information you provided on your FAFSA. The federal government pays the interest while you are enrolled in school, on at least a half-time basis, and during a six month grace period after you stop attending, on at least a half-time basis.

Unsubsidized Stafford Loan – This loan is not based on need and is therefore available to most students. However, eligibility is affected by other resources received. While you are in school the interest is automatically “capitalized” (i.e., added to the principal) unless you request to make interest payments.

To be eligible to participate in the Federal Family Education Loan Program, and receive a Stafford Loan as a College of Pharmacy student, you must be:

accepted for admission in the Doctor of Pharmacy program at Chicago State University (CSU),

enrolled full-time in the Doctor of Pharmacy program,

in compliance with the CSU Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy established for candidates for the Doctor of Pharmacy degree,

in good academic standing,

in compliance with all applicable Federal, State and CSU policies, and

all required forms and any verification documents, if required, must have been received and processed by the Office of Student Financial Aid.

Loan eligibility will be determined by the Office of Student Financial Aid. You will be notified by e-mail when your application has been processed and directed to review your status on the CSU X-press web site (go to www.csu.edu and click on CSU X-press - or – access CSU X-press through the Financial Aid home page).

Please Note: You may review the status of your loan(s) at anytime by accessing
the CSU X-press web site. You do not have to wait for e-mail notification.

THE APPLICATION PROCESS . . .

In order to qualify for a Subsidized Federal Stafford Loan or an Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan you must first complete the 2008-2009 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). You must also complete the Federal Stafford Loan Request Form (available at the end of this Fact Sheet).

 Submit the Federal Stafford Loan Request Form to the Office of Student Financial Aid. We will determine your eligibility and electronically submit the information to your lender.

THE LAST DAY WE WILL ACCEPT A FEDERAL STAFFORD LOAN REQUEST FORM (INCLUDING REVISIONS) FOR THE 2008-2009 SCHOOL YEAR IS JUNE 6, 2008.

Additionally, all first time borrowers at CSU are required to complete a Debt Management Loan Counseling Session (a/k/a Entrance Interview) BEFORE HIS/HER LOAN(S) WILL BE PROCESSED.

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IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR CONTINUING/REPEAT BORROWERS

The Office of Student Financial Aid has undertaken the move toward a more paperless environment. This undertaking will necessitate that any continuing/repeat borrower again complete an on-line Debt Management Loan Counseling Session (a/k/a Entrance Interview), even if he/she has completed such a session as recently as June 30, 2007. NO EXCEPTIONS WILL BE MADE TO THIS REQUIREMENT.

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If you request that we process a Federal Stafford Loan(s) for you, you will need to choose a lender to provide funding for your loan(s). For information concerning choosing a lender, the Preferred Lenders at CSU, and how we will choose a lender for you in the event that you do not specify a preference, please visit our Choosing a Lender web page.

Once the loan(s) has been guaranteed your lender, if it is one of the lenders on CSU’s Preferred Lender list, will send you a Master Promissory Note (MPN), which you must complete and return to that lender, if you have not previously done so. PLEASE, DO NOT RETURN THE MPN TO THE OFFICE OF STUDENT FINANCIAL AID. If you choose a lender other than one of those listed on the Preferred Lender list you are responsible for securing a MPN from that lender. You may, with many lenders, be able to complete the MPN on-line. You may, with many lenders, be able to complete the PMPN on-line. Please consult your chosen lender's web site or give them a call for instructions.

REMEMBER, all first-time borrowers must complete a Debt Management Loan Counseling Session (a/k/a Entrance Interview). You must fulfill this requirement on-line. All students who desire a Stafford Loan for the 2008-2009 academic year must complete this process on-line even if they have previously done so as recently as June 30, 2007.

The following sentence is removed as of July 1, 2008:

FIRST-TIME BORROWERS PLEASE NOTE:  YOUR FIRST DISBURSEMENT WILL NOT BE DISBURSED BY YOUR LENDER UNTIL 30 DAYS AFTER THE FALL SEMESTER BEGINS, I.E., SEPTEMBER 25, 2008.

Federal Stafford Loan Request Forms, which cannot be processed when they are submitted due to outstanding obligations/requirements on the part of a student, such as, but not limited to:

1) no FAFSA, or incomplete FAFSA, on file;

2) incomplete verification documents;
3) Satisfactory Academic Progress problems:

4) not enrolled, or enrolled for less than full-time;
5) outstanding default on previous student loan; etc.,

will be kept on file for 30 days. If, at the end of that 30-day period your loan cannot be processed due to any outstanding obligation/requirement, the Federal Stafford Loan Request Form shall be considered VOID. NO FURTHER NOTICE WILL BE GIVEN. If you still desire a loan after that time period, and after you have satisfied all obligations/requirements, you must submit a new Federal Stafford Loan Request Form, provided the deadline for submission, June 6, 2008, has not passed.

Federal Stafford Loan Request Forms, which cannot be processed when they are submitted, because they are not completely, or improperly, filled out will be kept on file for 30 days. If, at the end of that 30-day period the deficiencies in the form have not been corrected, or a new complete form has not been submitted, the Federal Stafford Loan Request Form shall be considered VOID. NO FURTHER NOTICE WILL BE GIVEN. If you still desire a loan after that time period, you must submit a new Federal Stafford Loan Request Form, provided the deadline for submission, June 6, 2008, has not passed.

Please allow 4-6 weeks for processing of any Federal Stafford Loan Request Form that you submit. In the event that you have outstanding obligations/requirements, such as those listed above, which prevent our initial attempt to process your loan(s), please allow 4-6 weeks for processing once all obligations/requirements have been satisfied.

The Office of Student Financial Aid will determine your eligibility for each type of Federal Stafford loan. You will begin repayment six months after leaving the university or dropping to below half-time status. Under some conditions repayment can be deferred. You should contact your lender for specific deferment information. You may access your lender’s web site, if it is one of the CSU Preferred Lenders, through either the Manage Your Loans or the Choosing a Lender web pages.

Additional and important information concerning the loan application process at this university is available on the Apply for Loans web page.

LOAN COSTS, INTEREST RATES AND LIMITS . . .

There are fees that are normally deducted from your student loan prior to each disbursement. An origination fee of up to 1% is usually retained by the lender to help defray the costs of subsidizing the loan program. There is also a 1% default fee charged on the principal balance. In some instances the Preferred Lenders, as well as other lenders, and/or guarantee agencies have elected to either forego or absorb all or part of such fees. For more information please visit our Choosing a Lender web page. 

Interest rates on Stafford loans, disbursed on or after July 1, 2007, will be fixed at 6.8% while you are in-school, in a grace period, in deferment or when you go into repayment.

For information regarding annual and aggregate lifetime Federal Stafford Loan limits please access Federal Stafford Loan Limits (.pdf)

TERMS AND RESPONSIBILITIES . . .

You should carefully read the “Borrower Certifications and Authorizations” and “Promise to Pay” sections that are part of the MPN. Additionally, you should take the time to become familiar with other important information discussed on the MPN regarding loan terms, loan cancellation, interest, origination fee and guarantee fee, late charges and collection costs, repayment, acceleration and default, and governing law and notices.

LOAN DISBURSEMENT . . .

Federal Stafford Loans (both Subsidized and Unsubsidized) will be disbursed in two installments. The first disbursement, from lenders, is scheduled to take place on August 15, 2008. The second disbursement, from lenders, is scheduled to take place on January 12, 2009. You will receive a disclosure statement from your lender once your loan is processed confirming these dates. If you have a credit balance on your student account, after all your financial aid and loans are received and your tuition and any other charges you may have have been paid, you will be issued a check for the credit balance remaining on your account. Credit balance checks are issued by the Office of the Bursar, not the Office of Student Financial Aid. The Office of the Bursar will notify the CSU community as to when credit balance checks will be issued.

The following sentence is removed as of July 1, 2008:

FIRST-TIME BORROWERS please remember, your lender will not release your first disbursement until 30 days after the beginning of the semester, i.e., September 25, 2008.

If you fail to maintain satisfactory academic progress, or do not attend the Spring semester, your loan may need to be revised, returned or canceled. If your enrollment should drop below full-time status this occurrence must be REPORTED IMMEDIATELY, IN WRITING, to the Office of Student Financial Aid so that we can make any appropriate adjustments to your loan disbursements. Failure to report changes in a timely manner may result in significant delays in processing your credit balance check(s), or might result in you owing a balance to CSU if your credit balance check is issued prior to the adjustment(s) being made due to untimely notification (or no notification) of a change in your enrollment.

Should you wish to increase the requested amount of a loan(s) or apply for another loan (assuming you have remaining loan eligibility), after you have already submitted a Federal Stafford Loan Request Form, you may do so by submitting a new/corrected copy of the Federal Stafford Loan Request Form and simply writing the word “Revision” on the top of the form. The deadline to submit requests for increases is June 6, 2008. Should you wish to reduce the amount of a loan(s) that you have already applied for, or cancel a loan(s) that you applied for, please submit a signed letter to our office requesting the cancellation.

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If the amount you are eligible for under the Stafford loan program is not sufficient for your needs you may want to apply for a Federal Graduate PLUS Loan.

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REMEMBER, THE LAST DAY WE WILL ACCEPT A

FEDERAL STAFFORD LOAN REQUEST FORM

(INCLUDING REVISIONS) IS JUNE 6, 2008.

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Please click on the link below to download the . . .

FEDERAL STAFFORD LOAN REQUEST FORM (.pdf)

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