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Student Loans
General Eligibility
Requirements
To be eligible for
federal student loans, an applicant must:
Be a U.S. Citizen, U.S. National or eligible non-citizen,
Demonstrate documented need for need-based financial assistance,
Be in good academic standing and maintain satisfactory academic
progress toward an eligible degree or certificate program,
Enroll as a regular student in an eligible
program,
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Must be making Satisfactory Academic Progress,
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Must be enrolled at least halftime,
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Have registered with the Selective Service if male,
Not be in default on any educational loan or owe a refund on any
educational grant,
Not been convicted of possession or sale of drugs
while enrolled and receiving Title IV Financial Aid, and
Have a valid social security number.
How to
Apply for
Loans
To be considered
for a
federal student loan, a student must complete the following steps:
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Annually, complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid
(FAFSA) each academic year.
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Complete any additional paperwork that
the Office of
Financial Aid deems necessary to establish your financial
need. You will be notified on PeopleSoft Self Service
To Do List if
additional documents are requested.
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Apply and be
admitted to UH-Victoria.
How to Apply
for a Federal Stafford Loan
In addition to the steps above,
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On the
FAFSA
application, answer yes to the question
that asks if you are interested in student loans,
OR
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If
you marked "no"
to the question that asks if you are interested in Stafford
loans, complete the Federal Stafford Loan
Request Form and submit it to the
Office of Financial Aid.
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If at any time the
student’s financial or enrollment status increases after the
initial awarding, the student may be eligible
to apply for additional loan funds. To request additional loan funds, complete a Federal Student Loan
Request Form
and return it to the Office of Financial Aid. It is recommended that the student
should contact a Financial Aid Counselor prior to completing this form.
How to Accept A
Federal Stafford Loan Award
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Award notices are sent to your UHV email
account. You will need to log into PeopleSoft /
UHV Self Service / Financial Aid / Accept or Decline
Awards. Check the appropriate box. WEB
LINK:
http://www.uhv.edu/myPeopleSoft/
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If you have already
completed the Loans By Web guarantee process at UHV
once, you will not have to complete the process when you
request future loans.
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For 1st time loan borrowers
at UHV follow the steps below:
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After you receive an email from Texas
Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation, Click on the Loans By
Web link in the email or in the Financial Aid section of
PeopleSoft.
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You may be prompted to complete Loan Entrance
counseling if this is your first Stafford student loan
or you have not guaranteed a Stafford loan within the
past 90 days. When you complete counseling,
write down the confirmation number for future reference.
Follow the prompts on the screen, and then continue with the
TG Loans By Web process.
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Update your Personal Information.
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Enter
information for your References, including addresses
and phone numbers.
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Select your
Lender. Your school provides the list of preferred
lenders. Lenders that accept electronic signatures for loans are designated with an
asterisk.
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Review
your Loan Award Information. Fill in the necessary
fields. Click Previous to make changes to the other
screens.
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Select
whether you want to “Print the application packet on your
local printer or E-Sign,” OR have “TG mail the
application packet to you. Click Submit.
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Verify the information on the
Submit… screen. Click Guarantee to submit the
award.
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Follow the instructions on the
Results… screen. If
you selected an E-Sign lender, click on the link(s)
provided, to sign your Master Promissory Note (MPN)
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If
you did not E-Sign for the loan, sign, date, and mail one
copy of your printed MPN—included in your application
packet—to your lender. Your lender will not
release your loan funds until it
receives your signed MPN. If you already signed a MPN
for this lender you may not have to sign another note.
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If you have another award to
complete, click Back or Main Menu. If not,
Logout.
You
have the right to cancel all or a portion of the loan(s) by
contacting our office within 14 days of the date
the student was notified of his/her loan
disbursement. The funds will be returned to your lender by either
electronic funds transfer (EFT) or check.
How to Apply for
Federal Parent PLUS Loans
In addition to the steps above,
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Open your Web
browser and go to TG Loans By Web at
https://lbw.tgslc.org.
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Select “I am
a Parent Borrower.”
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Log in using
your Social Security Number and Date of Birth.
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Enter your
dependent’s Social Security
Number and Date of Birth.
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Select Complete a loan award.
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Select an
award under Option 1. If no awards are listed, and
your school has instructed you to initiate a loan request,
select your school from the drop-down list under Option 2
and click Create Loan Request.
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Type in your
Personal Information. Click Next.
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Type in the
contact information for two References. Click
Next.
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Click Select Lender. Your school’s preferred lender list appears.
Lenders that accept electronic signatures for pre-approval processing are
preceded by an asterisk. Select a lender. Click Next.
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Review your
Loan Award Information. Fill in the necessary fields,
including the Requested Loan Amount, your Loan
Period Begin and End date, Employer, etc. Click
Previous to make changes to the other screens. Click
Submit
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Your loan
request may be routed to the lender to obtain a credit
approval. Select the hyperlink Online Credit Status
to retrieve the results of your credit request. Depending
on the lender you selected, processing times vary and your
results may not be available immediately. Please bookmark
the lender Web site and refer back to it later.
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If the
selected lender accepts electronic signatures, click the E-Sign
button to sign your MPN (Master Promissory
Note). If the E-sign button is not available, your MPN will
be mailed to you. Mail the signed and dated MPN back to the
lender, or check your lender’s Web site to see if they have
electronic signature capabilities available there.
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Click Logout to end your session.
Complete and submit the
Federal Parent PLUS Loan Request Form.
- Accept or Decline the loan award in
PeopleSoft.
How to Accept A
Parent PLUS Loan Award
You will need to log into PeopleSoft /
UHV Self Service / Financial Aid / Accept or Decline Awards.
Check the appropriate box. WEB LINK:
http://www.uhv.edu/myPeopleSoft/.
How to Apply for a
Graduate PLUS Loan
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Open your Web
browser and go to TG Loans By Web at
https://lbw.tgslc.org.
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Select: “I
am a Graduate Student Borrower.”
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Log in using your
Social Security Number and Date of Birth.
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Select Complete a loan award.
The Complete Your Loan Award
screen appears. Disregard Option 1.
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Under Option 2, select your school from the drop-down list and
click on the Create Loan Request button.
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The Complete Your Loan Award page lists the steps to request
a loan: Personal Information, References, Lender
Selection, and Loan Award Information.
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Type in your
Personal Information. Click Next.
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Type in the
contact information for two References. Click
Next.
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Click Select Lender. Your school’s preferred lender list
appears. Lenders that accept electronic signatures for loans
are preceded by an asterisk. Select a lender. Click Next.
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Review your
Loan Award Information. Fill in the necessary fields,
including the Grad PLUS Requested Loan Amount, Loan
Period Begin and End dates, etc. Click Submit.
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Verify the
information on the Please Verify… screen. Click Send Request to submit the request.
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Follow the
instructions on the Results… screen. If you selected
an E-Sign lender, click on the link(s) provided, to sign
your Master Promissory Note (MPN).
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If you did
not E-Sign for the loan, your MPN will be mailed to you.
Mail the signed and dated MPN back to the lender, or check
your lender’s Web site to see if they have electronic
signature capabilities available there.
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Click Back to create another loan request. Click
Logout if you are done.
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Complete and submit the
Federal Graduate PLUS Loan Request Form.
- Accept or Decline the loan award in
PeopleSoft.
How to Accept A
Graduate PLUS Loan Award
Award notices are sent to your UHV email
account. You will need to log into PeopleSoft / UHV Self Service /
Financial Aid / Accept or Decline Awards. Check the appropriate box.
WEB LINK:
http://www.uhv.edu/myPeopleSoft/.
Loan Disbursement Process
The
loans are disbursed after
enrollment
and eligibility verification is reviewed
on a student by student basis.
Loans will be credited toward the
student’s university account after all required
documentation
is received and awards
have been accepted, declined, or modified in PeopleSoft.
If the student’s enrollment status is activated (at least
the minimum amount due on the fee bill is paid OR the
awarded aid is more than the minimum due), the
loan will be credited toward the
student’s account no earlier than the first
day of class. Any resulting
credit balance will be issued in the form of a refund check.
The
lenders may disburse the loan in two equal payments if the
student anticipates enrolling for more than one semester. If
the student is only enrolling in one semester, the student
may receive the funds in two equal disbursements
during the semester.
You
have the right to cancel all or a portion of the loan(s) by
contacting our office within 14 days of the date
the student was notified of his/her loan
disbursement. The funds will be returned to your lender by either
electronic funds transfer (EFT) or check.
Other Important Loan Information
Notification will be mailed to the student making
them aware of when the loan was credited to their account and how much was
disbursed. The student has 14 days from the time they receive the notification to
request all or a portion of the funds to be canceled by
contacting their lender.
Students can access information about their student loan
history and Pell Grant history at the following site:
http://www.nslds.ed.gov.
Students need a personal identification number prior to accessing this
information.
Students who do not currently hold a PIN number can go to the web site:
http://www.pin.ed.gov
to obtain one.
When a loan recipient
withdraws, drops below half-time, or graduates, he or she must complete an Loan
Exit Counseling Session. This can be done by completing the Exit Counseling on the web at the
following address:
http://www.mapping-your-future.org/.
Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) Stafford Subsidized and
Unsubsidized Loans
This is a federal long
term low interest loan designed to help students who have difficulty meeting
college expenses. The University of Houston-Victoria provides information to the
lender (bank, credit union, or savings and loan association) about the student's
eligibility for the loan, and a lender makes the loan to the student. The loans
are insured by the guarantee agency and reinsured by the Federal Government.
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Dependent Undergraduate Student |
Independent Undergraduate Student |
Graduate/Professional Student |
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1st Year |
$3,500 |
$7,500—No more than $3,500 of this
amount may be in subsidized loans. |
$20,500—No more than $8,500 of this
amount may be in subsidized loans. |
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2nd Year |
$4,500 |
$8,500—No more than $4,500 of this
amount may be in subsidized loans. |
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3rd and 4th
Years (each) |
$5,500 |
$10,500—No more than $5,500 of this
amount may be in subsidized loans. |
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Maximum
Total Debt from Stafford Loans When
You Graduate |
$23,000 |
$46,000—No more than $23,000 of this
amount may be in subsidized loans. |
$138,500—No more than $65,500 of
this amount may be in subsidized
loans.
The graduate debt limit includes
Stafford Loans received for
undergraduate study. |
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The student does not
have to pay the interest on the subsidized loan until 6 months after the student
graduates, withdraws, or drops below half-time.
Students must pay the interest on the unsubsidized loans immediately unless the
student chooses to capitalize the interest payments.
Capitalizing the interest increases the amount you will
eventually have to repay.The interest rate
during repayment for loans borrowed after July 1, 2006,
will be fixed 6.8%. Loans borrowed prior to July 1,
2006 will vary each year depending on the Treasury bill plus
a certain percent.
Beginning July 1, 2007, the variable interest rate will be 6.62%
during in-school, grace, and deferment periods and 7.22% during repayment.
The applicable rate cannot exceed 8.25%.
The subsidized loan
cannot be more than the cost of education at one school, minus Expected Family
Contribution and other financial aid received. The student’s eligibility equals
the amount that remains or up to the maximum dollar figure posted in the loan
application packet. The unsubsidized loans cannot be more than the cost of
education at one school, minus other financial aid or up to the maximum dollar
figure posted in the loan application.
If the student’s enrollment status changes, the loan amount
may have to be recalculated. Information about
deferments and
consolidation of loans
is available in the Office of Financial Aid or on the Texas
Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation's website (http://www.tgslc.org).
Federal Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students (FPLUS)
Parents of dependent
undergraduate students may borrow funds under this loan program on behalf of the
student. Parents can borrow
funds up to the cost of education minus other financial aid the student
has been awarded. Parents must have a good credit history to qualify. Lending
institutions, along with a guarantee agency, administer the loan program. The
interest rate for PLUS loans borrowed before July 1, 2006 is variable, adjusted annually, but will not
exceed 9%. Loans borrowed prior to July 1,
2007, will be 8.02% beginning July 1, 2007. The interest rate
for loans borrowed after July 1, 2006, will have a fixed interest rate of 8.5%.
Payments begin within 60 days from the date of disbursement, with $50
minimum payments per month. Loan regulations allow at least 5, but no more than
10, years to repay this loan. The parent borrower may prepay the whole or part
of the loan at any time without penalty, or may defer payments of the principal
if the student is attending school full-time. Please note that although the
principal may be deferred, the interest continues to accrue or must be paid.
PLUS loans are credited to the students account the same way subsidized and
unsubsidized loans are.
PeopleSoft shows the loan amounts the student is eligible
for after the student's loan eligibility has been computed. The student
must accept/reject all or part of the loan(s) by logging into
PeopleSoft. The loan will be disbursed to the
student's account once eligibility is reviewed.
Federal Graduate PLUS Loan
Graduate students who have been awarded
the maximum Stafford loan award for the academic year
($20,500) and have not been awarded aid equal to the amount
of his/her Cost of Attendance, or has borrowed his/her
aggregate loan amount of $138,500, may have the opportunity
to borrow additional funds through the Graduate PLUS Loan
Program. Graduate students are subject to
credit-worthiness standards. If the student does not pass the
credit check, they may have the option to have an endorser for
the loan. The interest rate is the same as the Parent
PLUS loan listed above.
PeopleSoft shows the loan amounts the student is eligible
for after the student's loan eligibility has been computed. The student
must accept/reject all or part of the loan by logging into
PeopleSoft. The loan will be disbursed to the
student's account once eligibility is reviewed.
Graduate students awarded the GRAD PLUS
Loan will have a 60 day grace period after the last
disbursement is made. If the student is enrolled at
least half-time, the student can apply for an in-school
deferment or begin making the monthly payment.
Alternative Loan Programs
Many lenders have
alternative loan programs for students who have borrowed their annual maximum
Federal loan limit and still have unmet need. Our
office has brochures available from various lenders.
Sample Repayment Schedules
Federal student loans must be repaid to
the lender or servicers of the borrowed loan funds over a
period of 10 years unless other arrangements are made with
the lender. Students can set up several types of
repayment schedules:
1. Standard Monthly Repayment
- same payment amount each month.
2. Graduated Repayment -
smaller payment amounts first and will gradually increase
over time.
3. Income-Sensitive Repayment
- the plan ties the size of your monthly payment to your
income level.
4.
Prepayment - you can make extra payments to pay off the entire loan
balance at any time.
5. Consolidation - Students
can refinance his/her eligible Federal Loans. The interest
rate is determined by the weighted average of all loans
included in the refinance. Advantages of consolidating
include a fixed interest rate for the term of the loan and
possibly a longer repayment period.
Monthly Repayment Example: If you borrow $20,000 in
student loans during your college career, your monthly
payment would be approximately $232 per month.
You can go to
http://www.aie.org/Calculators/Loan/index.cfm for a Loan Calculator. The Loan Calculator will give you
an example of how much you will have to pay using a standard
repayment method.
Office of the Ombudsman
The Department of
Education created an Office of the Ombudsman for students to contact when
disputing the terms of the loan. If the student disputes the terms of the loan
in writing and it is not resolved by the institution, lender or guaranty agency,
they have the right to contact the Office of the Ombudsman. Contact information
includes:
Student Financial
Assistance
U.S. Department of Education
Office of the Ombudsman
830 First Street, N.E., 4th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20202-5144
Toll Free: (877) 557-2575
http://ombudsman.ed.gov
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