Qualifications: Undergraduate and graduate students; need based.
Annual Amount: Up to $3,000 undergraduates; up to $5,000 graduates.
Deadlines & Application: March 1, Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and complete file by April 15.
Description: The Perkins Loan is given to undergraduates and graduates, in-state and out-of-state students, with financial need. Be sure to indicate your interest in receiving loans on the FAFSA form. Students pursuing a second bachelor’s degree or educational/professional licensure are also eligible for the Perkins Loan.
Funds for the Perkins Loan are limited, as they come from previous borrowers in repayment. Make sure your FAFSA is submitted by March 1, and your file complete by April 15 for award consideration.
The Perkins Loan is repaid by you to the university through a third party servicer, New Mexico Student Loans. Interest (five percent) and payments are deferred until nine months after graduation, after you leave school, or drop below six hours (called a grace period). The repayments of previous loan recipients create the money for current ones.
In certain circumstances, your Perkins Loan repayments may be deferred, postponed, or cancelled. Some of these circumstances include becoming a teacher, nurse or health care professional, law enforcement officer, Peace Corps volunteer, or member of the armed forces. For more information on these options, contact the Financial Aid Office or New Mexico Student Loans.
The Perkins Loan is part of your Financial Aid Package. Each academic year, you will sign a promissory note. The loan amount will then be applied to your student account receivable on the second Friday of each semester.
Each academic year you complete an online loan counseling session before funds will be disbursed. Go to www.mappingyourfuture.org and select Perkins Loan.
Stafford Loans
Student loans, unlike grants and work study, are borrowed money that must be repaid with interest. Loans are legal obligations, so before you borrow a student loan, think about the amount you’ll have to repay over the years, as well as the kind of job you will be pursuing to be able to afford repayment of your student loans.
Effective summer 2010, as a result of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (HR 4872), all Stafford loans will be processed under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program.
Loans may take up to eight weeks to fully process. This process largely depends on you. Once the loan data form is submitted to the Financial Aid Office (your FAFSA must be complete and reviewed), your loan is certified in our office. You must sign your master promissory note before loan money will be released to Highlands University. It is best to turn in your Loan Data Form when you submit your FAFSA. Otherwise, you can choose to wait for your award letter in late May or early June to determine how much more, in addition to what your current awards, you might require.
The maximum amount of what you may borrow using a Stafford Loan depends on other aid you may have in your financial aid package. It also depends on your student classification and the cost of attendance at Highlands. Loans based on financial need and dependency status are subsidized, which means that interest will not be charged until you graduate or
leave school and begin repayment.
Interest on Stafford Loans will not exceed 8.25% and will vary according to economic conditions.
You do not want to borrow any more than you need. Remember, this is a loan that must be repaid with interest. For example, you may have $3,500 available to you, however, you may choose to borrow only $200. Also, remember the maximum annual loan amount is the total available to you in an academic year: summer through the spring semester. You will need to budget a certain amount from this total to cover each semester.
A financial aid adviser can help you understand the details of a Stafford Loan.
Borrowers at Highlands must complete an online loan entrance counseling session at www.studentloans.gov before a loan will be certified. Once the loan has been certified, then go to www.dlenote.ed.gov and sign your master promissory note (MPN) on this website. One MPN will allow you to continue to borrow direct loans through your entire undergraduate and/or graduate education, if you borrow continuously for a maximum of ten years.
You will receive the Stafford Loan in two disbursements. For a two-semester loan, you will receive the first credit to your student account receivable (SAR) on the second Friday after the beginning of the fall semester and the second disbursement on the second Friday of the spring semester. Loan amounts exceeding your charges will be reimbursed to you on the second Friday of each semester. For a one-semester loan, you will be credited with the first disbursement on the second Friday of the semester, and the second disbursement the week of midterms. Freshmen and first-time borrowers will not receive their first disbursement until 30 days after classes have begun.
Federal Subsidized Stafford Loan
Qualifications: Undergraduate and graduate students; need based.
Annual Amount: Up to $3,500 to $8,500, depending on grade level.
Deadlines & Application: Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and Loan Data Form.
Deadline: No later than two weeks prior to the end of semester. Otherwise, release will be subject to satisfactory academic progress review for late disbursement.
Description: To be eligible for the Stafford Loan, as well as other federal financial aid, fill out the FAFSA application or Renewal FAFSA. Also complete a Loan Data Form at the Office of Financial Aid or online (download & print) .
You may only apply for summer loans if you are enrolled to attend the fall semester and must be enrolled a minimum of six credit hours in each.
Federal Unsubsidized Stafford Loan
Qualifications: Undergraduate and graduate students.
Annual Amount: Up to $3,500 to $20,500, depending on grade level and subject to cost of attendance (budget).
Deadlines & Application: Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA); Loan Data Form.
Deadline: No later than two weeks prior to the end of semester. Otherwise, release will be subject to satisfactory academic progress review for late disbursement.
Description: To be eligible for the Stafford Loan, as well as other federal financial aid, fill out the FAFSA application or Renewal FAFSA. Also complete a Loan Data Form at the Office of Financial Aid or on-line (download & print) .
You may only apply for summer loans if you are enrolled to attend the fall semester and must be enrolled a minimum of six credit hours in each.
Federal PLUS Loan
Qualifications: Available to parents of dependent undergraduate and graduate students.
Annual Amount: Cost of attendance minus any other financial aid received. Cannot exceed cost of attendance.
Deadlines & Application: Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA); PLUS Loan Application prescreening form. Deadline – No later than two weeks prior to the end of semester.
Description: eligibility for this loan is based on credit worthiness and approval from the Federal Department of Education. Repayment conditions apply.
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