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Loans are another source of financial aid and must be repaid. File the FAFSA application to be considered for the loans listed below. A commitment to borrowing for education is an important decision. Please consider carefully before borrowing from any loan program.
Federal Direct Loans
Under the Direct Loan program, students and parents borrow money directly through the federal government. Families complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) www.fafsa.gov and loan eligibility is determined by the OCC Financial Aid office. To qualify, you must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. You must be enrolled on at least a half-time basis and demonstrate eligibility according to federal guidelines. There are 3 types of Federal Direct Loans: Direct Subsidized Loans for students, Direct Unsubsidized Loans for students and Direct PLUS Loans for parents.
Interest is variable and assigned when the loan is disbursed, but will not exceed 9 percent. Repayment begins six months after leaving school and you may take up to 10 years to repay. Payments are $50 -100 per month per loan. Annual and aggregate loan limits are listed below.
Total combined debt from all outstanding Direct Subsidized Loans, Direct Unsubsidized Loans, and Federal Stafford Loans (subsidized or unsubsidized)
Direct subsidized loans are for students with financial need. You are not charged interest while you’re in school at least half-time and during grace periods and deferment periods.
Interest Rates
Direct unsubsidized loans do not require you to demonstrate financial need to receive the loan. Interest accrues (accumulates) on an unsubsidized loan from the time it’s first paid out. You can pay the interest while you are in school and during grace periods and deferment or forbearance periods, or you can allow it to accrue and be capitalized (that is, added to the principal amount of your loan). If you choose not to pay the interest as it accrues, this will increase the total amount you have to repay because you will be charged interest on a higher principal amount.
Direct Plus loans are for parents. This program offers additional federal loans to parents of dependent undergraduate students, based on credit approval. The maximum amount is for the cost of attendance minus financial aid. Interest on the loan amount begins to accrue the day a check is disbursed at a fixed rate of 7.9%. There is no grace period for Direct PLUS Loans - the repayment period for each Direct PLUS Loan you receive begins 60 days after your school makes the last disbursement of the loan. However, effective 7/1/2008, you can defer repayment of Direct PLUS Loans while the student for whom you obtained the loan is enrolled at least half time, and for an additional 6 months after the student graduates or drops below half-time enrollment.
Once you leave school, graduate or stop attending at least half-time (6 credits) the grace period for the loan begins. Repayment begins 6 months after a student drops below 6 credits and it may take up to 10-25 years to repay. Payments can be $50-100 per month per loan. You may verify your loan information at any time on the National Student Loan Database System’s (NSLDS) website by logging in with your FAFSA pin number: http://www.nslds.ed.gov/nslds_SA/ or the Federal Loan Servicing Center’s website at https://www.myedaccount.com/.
Students are required to complete an Exit Counseling Session for the school they are leaving, even if the student is transferring or planning to return to OCC at a later date. Exit Counseling gives you an overview of your rights and responsibilities as a borrower, as well as information regarding payment options. After leaving school (or studying less than half time), you will be notified by the loan servicer that holds the loans. The notification will include payment options, where to send payments, and contact information.
Exit Counseling may be completed at: http://www.nslds.ed.gov/nslds_SA/SaEcWelcome.do
Examples of typical Direct and FFEL Stafford Loan and Plus loan repayment plans, by initial amount of debt and type of repayment plan.
$3,500
$50/mth
$4,471 total
$58/mth
$6,905 total
$83/mth
$10,357 total
$121/mth
$14,500 total
$173/mth
$20,714 total
$460/mth
$55,239 total
$277/mth
$83,289 total
$25/mth
$5,157 total
$40/mth
$7,278 total
$59/mth
$10,919 total
$15,283 total
$119/mth
$21,834 total
$316/mth
$58,229 total
$27/mth
$6,092 total
$38/mth
$8,703 total
$57/mth
$13,055 total
$80/mth
$18,277 total
$114/mth
$26,110 total
$253/mth
$72,717 total
$6,405 total
$36/mth
$9,150 total
$54/mth
$13,725 total
$76/mth
$19,215 total
$108/mth
$27,451 total
$197/mth
$84,352 total
Note: Interest rate: payments are calculated using the fixed interest rate of 6.8%.
Graduated repayment plan: an estimated monthly repayment amount for the first two years of the term and total loan payment. The monthly repayment amount will generally increase every two years, based on this plan.
Income-Contingent Repayment plan: Direct Loans Only (income = $25,000) assumes a 5% annual growth (Census Bureau) and calculated using the formula requirements in effect during 2006.
HOH is head of household: assumes a family size of two.
http://www.studentaid.ed.gov
IBR is designed to reduce monthly payments to help make loan debt manageable. To qualify you must have a partial financial hardship. Under this plan, your monthly payments are:
For more information on IBR and monthly payment calculators visit http://studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/understand/plans/income-based
Students who are having difficulty repaying their student loans should contact their loan servicer. You can obtain your servicer’s contact information at any time on the National Student Loan Database System’s (NSLDS) website by logging in with your FAFSA pin number: http://www.nslds.ed.gov/nslds_SA/ or the Federal Loan Servicing Center’s website at https://www.myedaccount.com/.
You may also contact OCC’s Financial Aid Office for assistance at (315) 498-2291 or via email at faoinfo@sunyocc.edu.
There are deferment options for students in qualified situations that prevent them from making payments. For more information on repayment and deferment options go to http://www.direct.ed.gov/postpone.html.
National Student Loan Database System1-800-4-FED-AIDhttp://www.nslds.ed.gov/nslds_SA/
Direct Loan Informationhttp://www.direct.ed.gov/
General Information1-800-4-FED-AIDwww.studentaid.ed.gov
FAFSAwww.fafsa.gov
Direct Loan Servicing Center/View Your Student Loans1-800-848-0979https://www.myedaccount.com/
Entrance Counselingwww.studentloans.gov Exit Counselinghttp://www.nslds.ed.gov/nslds_SA/SaEcWelcome.do
Direct Loan Consolidation Center1-800-557-7392www.loanconsolidation.ed.gov
Loan Repayment Calculatorhttp://www2.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/DirectLoan/calc.html
Private education loans are available from a variety of sources to provide supplemental funding when other financial aid does not cover costs. These loans are not sponsored by the federal government, but offered by banks or other financial institutions and are based on income and credit history. Students considering an alternative loan should research each loan option to determine which loan best suits their needs. Students should exhaust their options through the federal aid programs first by filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at www.fafsa.gov. Students choosing to borrow must complete the Private Education Loan Applicant Self-Certification form with their private loan lenders.
OCC does not recommend or suggest private educational lenders however students can get more information through www.finaid.org/loans/privatestudentloans.phtml. For additional information on the differences between the Federal Student Loan programs and private education loans, you can visit the Federal Student Aid website at http://studentaid.ed.gov/types/loans/federal-vs-private.
For information on the College's Student Loan Code of Conduct