Student Loans

There are two types of student loans sponsored by the federal government; subsidized and unsubsidized.  On a subsidized Federal Stafford Student loan the interest is paid by the government while the student is in school and during the grace and deferment periods.  A student may qualify to borrow up to $5,500 per academic year as a freshman and a maximum of $6,500 per academic year at the sophomore level.  Students are classified as freshman (Grade Level 1) if they have between 0 and 29 credit hours.  They are considered to be sophomores (Grade Level 2) when they have earned 30 or more hours. A subsidized loan is need-based and the actual amount that a student is eligible to receive is based on the cost of attendance minus the expected family contribution and any other financial aid the student is receiving.  The amount left after these deductions is the amount of unmet need and is the amount of the loan the student can request.  It can not exceed the $5,500 or $6,500.

On an unsubsidized loan the interest is paid by the student borrower and is not based on financial need.  The interest accrues during in-school, grace, and deferment periods.  You may choose to make interest payments while in school or you may defer the interest until repayment starts.  The accrued interest will be added to your original loan amount.

Dependent students can only receive unsubsidized Stafford loans if they are not eligible for the maximum subsidized Stafford loan.  The total loan amount for a school year cannot exceed the $5,500 for a dependent freshman or $6,500 for dependent sophomores.  

A student is classified as a dependent student if they are younger than 24, are not married, do not have dependents, are not an orphan or ward of the court, or not a veteran of the military.  See the discussion on independent versus dependent for a more complete explanation.

Independent students can receive an additional unsubsidized Stafford loan of up to $4,000 for the academic school year.

Students apply for loans by completing the FAFSA, a Master Promissory Note (MPN) at www.studentloans.gov  and entrance counseling which can be accomplished at www.studentloans.gov  .

You will need to accept your loan through the student portal mySTAR and at that time you will need to enter the amount you desire your loan to be to cover your educational expenses.  The maximum amount you are eligible to request will be listed in mySTAR.  To accept your loan, log-in to mySTAR, go to the financial aid tab, go to the financial aid channel, click on the financial aid link, enter the applicable aid year, and then click on the awards offer tab.  This is when you enter the amount and accept or decline your loan.  A Financial Aid Advisor will verify your eligibility and process your loan request.  The school will verify that you are still enrolled at least half-time and making satisfactory academic progress before releasing the proceeds to you onto your account on the designated date. 

Loan Eligibility Criteria

A student must be enrolled at least half-time (six credit hours) to be eligible for Stafford loans.  The student must also be admitted to the college as a “regular” student in a program of study and meet the SFCC Standards of Academic Progress and GPA to borrow a Stafford Loan.  Any student with any college course work will be evaluated based on SFCC’s Standards of Academic Progress and hours Attempted Toward Degree Completion. 

Eligibility for the second disbursement on a two-semester loan or to apply for an additional loan will be determined according to SFCC’s Standards of Progress and Hours Attempted Toward Degree Completion.

Parent PLUS Loans

Under the Federal Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) program, parents may borrow up to the cost of attendance minus any financial aid the student is receiving .  The PLUS loan is not need-based.  It has a variable interest rate capped at 8.5 percent and the repayment of the principal and interest begins 30-60 days after the loan is fully disbursed.  Parents may apply for a PLUS loan from U. S. Department of Education through the William D. Ford Direct Loan program.   If parents desire to apply for a parent loan you must go to www.studentloans.gov to complete the MPN.

General eligibility requirements are the student must be pursuing a degree/certificate, must be a U.S citizen or eligible noncitizen, must be registered with the Selective Service (if male), must not have eligibility suspended or terminated due to a drug-related conviction, must have a valid social security number, must not be in default on a federal student loan, must not owe repayment of a federal grant, and must maintain satisfactory academic progress as defined by the college (see “Standards of Progress).

Loan Repayment

Please remember that ALL STUDENT LOANS MUST BE REPAID!  So before deciding to take out a loan, think about how much debt you want to have when you graduate from college.  

To learn more about the student loan program go to The William D. Ford Direct Loan Program web site.

To learn more about student loan repayment you may to the Student Aid on the Web Repaying Your Loans web site. 

To calculate your estimated loan payments, go to the Standard Repayment plan calculator.