2008-2009 FEDERAL STAFFORD LOAN FACT SHEET

and

FEDERAL STAFFORD LOAN REQUEST FORM

for the

SUMMER 2009 SEMESTER

The Subsidized Federal Stafford Loan, the Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan, Federal Graduate PLUS Loan and Federal Parent 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 you must be:

accepted for admission at Chicago State University (CSU),

enrolled (at least on a half-time basis) in a program leading to a degree/certificate (not "at-large" or enrolled in contract courses),

in compliance with the CSU Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy(s),

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 FOR A SUMMER 2009 SEMESTER LOAN (INCLUDING REVISIONS) IS JUNE 12, 2009.

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.

(If you completed a Debt Management Loan Counseling Session

since June 30, 2007 you do not have to do it again.)

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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 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. 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 Summer 2009 semester must complete this process on-line even if they have previously done so as recently as June 30, 2007. (If you completed a Debt Management Loan Counseling Session since June 30, 2007 you do not have to do it again.)

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 60 days. If, at the end of that 60-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 12, 2009, 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 60 days. If, at the end of that 60-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 12, 2009, 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 or contact your lender. 

Interest rates for Subsidized Stafford loans, for undergraduate students, disbursed on or after July 1, 2008, will be fixed at 6.0% while you are in-school, in a grace period, in deferment or when you go into repayment. Interest rates for Unsubsidized Stafford loans, for undergraduate students, as well as both Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford Loans, for graduate students, disbursed on or after July 1, 2008, 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). Annual limits for Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans have been increased for the 2008-2009 academic year.

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 . . .

Summer Federal Stafford Loans (both Subsidized and Unsubsidized) will be disbursed in one installment by the lenders to the school. Disbursement is tentatively scheduled for one week prior to the beginning of the Summer semester. You will receive a disclosure statement from your lender once your loan(s) is processed confirming the actual date. 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 the credit balance remaining on your account. Credit balances 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 balances will be issued.

If you fail to maintain satisfactory academic progress or you drop below half-time enrollment your loan may need to be revised, returned or canceled. If you do not attend the entire Summer semester, your loan must be canceled. If your enrolled hours should drop below half-time 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 a change in a timely manner may result in significant delays in processing your credit balance refund, if you are entitled to one, or might result in you owing a balance to CSU if a credit balance refund is issued prior to the adjustment(s) being made due to untimely notification (or no notification) of a change in enrolled hours.

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 12, 2009. 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 parent(s) of a Dependent student wants to apply for a Federal Parent PLUS Loan please access the 2008-2009 Federal Parent PLUS Loan Fact Sheet and Federal Parent PLUS Loan Request Form for the Summer 2009 Semester.

If a Masters or Doctorate candidate wants to apply for a Federal Graduate PLUS Loan please access the 2008-2009 Federal Graduate PLUS Loan Fact Sheet and Federal Graduate PLUS Loan Request Form for the Summer 2009 Semester.

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REMEMBER, THE LAST DAY WE WILL ACCEPT

A FEDERAL STAFFORD LOAN REQUEST FORM

FOR SUMMER 2009 SEMESTER LOANS

(INCLUDING REVISIONS) IS JUNE 12, 2009.

_______________________________________________

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

FEDERAL STAFFORD LOAN REQUEST FORM (.pdf)

You will need Adobe Reader to download the FEDERAL STAFFORD LOAN REQUEST FORM. If you do not already have Adobe Reader you should download it now by clicking here.