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Federal Family Education
(Stafford) Loan Program
Eligibility for this loan
program will be determined upon completion of
the Free Application for Federal Student Aid
(FAFSA). Detailed information can be found
at
The Student Guide.
Federal Stafford Loans are
made in the student’s name and can be either
subsidized or unsubsidized.
A subsidized loan is awarded on
the basis of financial need. You will not be
charged any interest before you begin
repayment or during authorized periods of
deferment. The federal government
"subsidizes" the interest during these
periods. This loan must be repaid.
An unsubsidized loan is not
awarded on the basis of need. You will be
charged interest from the time the loan is
disbursed until it is paid in full. If you
allow the interest to accumulate, it will be
capitalized—that is, the interest will be
added to the principal amount of your loan
and additional interest will be based upon
the higher amount. This will increase the
amount you have to repay.
You must be enrolled at least
half-time (6 or more hours for undergraduate
students and 5 or more hours for graduate
students) in order to have these funds
disbursed to your student account.
Under federal law, you must
complete a
Loan Entrance Counseling session
before funds may be disbursed.
It is important that you know
and understand your rights and
responsibilities as a student borrower.
Please contact our office if you have any
questions.
Further, you must complete a
Master Promissory Note (MPN). In most
cases, you will sign only one promissory note
that will be used for all loans at Georgia
College. Students choosing to complete the
MPN electronically may do this upon selecting
their lender. By signing the MPN, students
are confirming their understanding that
Georgia College may make new loans for the
duration of their education (up to 10 years),
provided their choice of lender does not
change, without having to sign another MPN.
Each academic year, GCSU will disburse loan
proceeds to student’s accounts as indicated
on the on-line Award Letter viewed from the
GCSU Web Student Information System.
If you are a first-time
Stafford loan borrower at GCSU,
you will need to select a lender of your
loan. The following lenders have been placed
on our Electronic Lender List at Georgia
College & State University based on borrower
benefits and customer service. Neither
Georgia College & State University nor the
GCSU Financial Aid Office benefits in any way
from your lender selection.
The lender is the institution
from which the money is actually borrowed,
but the interest rates and terms of the loan
are set by the U.S. Department of Education.
Some lenders offer special incentives that
reduce your loan fees, interest rates and/or
loan balance.
While we have listed lender
suggestions, you have the right to select any
lender that participates in the Federal
Family Education Loan Program. If you have
borrowed a student loan previously, and you
are satisfied with the lender’s service, then
we encourage you to stay with the same lender
throughout your college career. Multiple
loans from multiple lenders could require you
to make multiple repayments at the same time.
If you have previously borrowed at GCSU,
we will automatically assign your loan to
your previous lender. If you wish to change
your lender, you should contact our office in
writing immediately.
The below
list is presented in alphabetically order.
Your research or selection of lender should
not be influenced by the order of
presentation.
All lender list information
contained in this site has been provided
through the colleges, universities, or
individual lenders and is updated annually or
upon a school's request. Incentives and
benefits referred to herein may vary. Please
contact the lenders directly for updated
information and/or visit the lender websites
for additional rate and disclosure
information including Annual Percentage Rate
(APR) examples
Federal Perkins Loans
The Federal Perkins Loan is a low-interest (5
percent) loan for students with exceptional
financial need. Georgia College is the
lender. The loan is made with government
funds with a share contributed by Georgia
College, so your payments are through the
university.
Eligibility for this loan program will be
determined on a first-come first-serve basis
upon completion of the Free Application for
Federal Student Aid. Detailed information may
be found at
The Student Guide.
Service Cancelable Loans
Georgia Student Finance Authority (GSFA)
offers Federal Stafford Service Cancelable
Loans for students who are pursing a Bachelor
of Science in Nursing. These students must be
juniors or seniors already accepted into the
Nursing Program. Once borrowers go into
repayment, loans may be cancelled with GSFA
with verification of employment. Borrowers
must be working in the Nursing field in the
State of Georgia.
Instructions for applying for
these loans may be obtained from the
Financial Aid Office. Students
must have completed the Free Application for
Federal Student Aid for eligibility to be
determined. Funds are limited, therefore
awards are made on a first come, first serve
basis. These applications are usually
available in the late Spring for the upcoming
academic year. Detailed information may be
found at
www.GAcollege411.org.
Disbursement of Loan Funds
For all loan funds, you must be enrolled at
least half-time (6 or more hours for
undergraduate students and 5 or more hours
for graduate students).
Federal Perkins Loan
If awarded this loan you must sign a promissory
note in the GCSU Student Loan Collections
Office, Wooten-Garner House, before funds may
be disbursed.
Federal Stafford Loans
You must have complete the federally mandated
Loan Entrance Counseling session and have
signed a Master Promissory Note (MPN) with
the lender of the loan.
Federal Perkins and Federal Stafford
Borrowers who use these funds to finalize
Business Office bills may elect to cancel
their loans and use another form of payment
within 14 days of disbursement. The
Financial Aid Office must be
notified in writing of the cancellation
within 14 days of disbursement to the
student's account.
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