To accept: the student will visit www.studentaid.gov and log in using the username and password from the FAFSA (DO NOT log in with a parent’s username and password). Students need to complete Loan Entrance Counseling and sign a Master Promissory Note.

Pro tip: Have your financial aid offer with you before beginning this process! You will be asked to report the sum total of your financial aid and college costs.

To decline: the student should email their request to faoffice@beloit.edu to decline the loan offer. The email must come from the student’s Beloit College email address.

To accept: the student will visit www.uasconnect.com and create an account using their Beloit College email address. Once the student logs in and finishes setting up their account, the student will complete the eight step module. 

Pro tip: Have your financial aid offer with you before beginning this process! You will be asked to report the sum total of your financial aid and college costs.

To decline: the student should email their request to faoffice@beloit.edu to decline the loan offer. The email must come from the student’s Beloit College email address.

Borrowing a student loan to help fund your education is an investment in your future-especially if it is done with knowledge and understanding of what it means for you both in the immediate, and in the future. That includes understanding what borrowing a loan means, when payments begin, interest rates, and origination fees.

Most information a student or family may need on all things federal student aid can be found at Studentaid.gov, and all-encompassing loan info can be found directly at: https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/loans. 

The federal direct subsidized or unsubsidized student loans a student may borrow all require repayment eventually (6 months after graduation or dropping below half-time enrollment is start of required repayment-called a grace period- but early payment is always an option!). The subsidized loan does not earn interest while student is enrolled at least half-time and would not begin accruing interest until that 6 month grace period has ended. The unsubsidized loan, while also not requiring repayment while in school, will be earning interest from the day it is disbursed (applied to student account). 

The federal government sets the interest rate each year for the upcoming school year, and the rate your federal loans are at during the aid year you take them out is locked in for all of repayment for that loan. The rates are valid from July 1-June 30th each year. This year’s interest rates are available online at: https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/loans/interest-rates.

When a student accepts a federal loan, they are accepting a total amount, known as the gross amount (which is the amount for that loan they will be paying back plus interest)- however the federal government requires an origination fee/loan fee to be assessed to each type of loan borrowed from them, prior to sending the funds on behalf of the student.  Currently, direct federal subsidized and federal direct unsubsidized loans have an origination fee of 1.057%. This means that whatever gross amount you are accepting, there will be 1.057% not included in what gets applied to the student account-referred to as the net amount. A helpful example for freshman would be if you are accepting $3,500 in subsidized loan (gross amount), the government will send $1,732 for Fall semester and $1,732 for Spring semester, making the net amount $3,464 over the course of the year that will actually be sent to the school on the students’ behalf to apply towards the bill.