Financial Aid
Student Loans
- General Information
- Loan Deadlines
- Loan counseling
- Enrollment requirements
- Loan period
- Loan amounts
- Promissory note
- Loan cancellation or reduction
- Loan disbursement and refund
- Loan request form
- Additional loan information
- Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Requirements
1. General Information
Student loans are a type of financial aid and require that you complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Direct Loans are low-interest federal loans to students attending at least half-time (6 credits) to help pay for their college education. These loans are borrowed money and must be repaid with interest after the student graduates or drops below half-time enrollment.
There are two types of Direct Loans:
- Subsidized - If you meet certain financial need (results of the FAFSA) criteria, the federal government will pay the interest on your loan while you attend school at least half-time and during the times when you qualify for an authorized deferment.
- Unsubsidized - If you do not meet the financial need criteria to qualify for a subsidized loan, you may be eligible for the unsubsidized loan. For this loan, the federal government does not pay the interest on your loan. You are responsible for paying the interest. You can pay the interest while you are in school and during grace periods and deferment or forbearance periods, or you can allow it to accrue and be capitalized (that is, added to the principal amount of your loan). If you choose not to pay the interest as it accrues, this will increase the total amount you have to repay because you will be charged interest on a higher principal amount.
Failure to repay a student loan jeopardizes your future eligibility for financial aid and also impacts your credit worthiness for any future borrowing, including car loans, home mortgages or other consumer loans.
2. Loan deadlines
Once your FAFSA has been processed and you have been notified of your financial aid eligibility, you may submit a loan request. Processing loan requests can take 4 to 8 weeks depending on the term and when you submitted the request. It is important to note that each loan request has a deadline date in which the loan request form must be submitted by. Failure to submit the loan request form by the deadline date will result in your loan request not being processed.
In order to have loan funds available for registration, start the financial aid process early. Loan funds may not be available if you submit your loan request within the 4 weeks prior to the start of the semester. Loans submitted on or after the first day of classes will be processed after semester balancing (about the 3rd week of class) and will not be available for registration.
3. Loan counseling
Entrance counseling: You may complete online entrance counseling at www.studentloans.gov
If you have previously completed online entrance counseling at this website and indicated Schoolcraft College, you do not need to do it again.
Entrance Counseling may be done from any computer with Internet access. You may use the computers at the Schoolcraft College Bradner library on the Livonia campus, at the Radcliff Center Library in Garden City or in the Office of Financial Aid. If you are a current student you may use the campus computer labs.
Exit Counseling: At the end of the semester in which you graduate or when you stop attending at least half-time, you must complete Exit Counseling as required by federal regulation at www.nslds.ed.gov.
4. Enrollment requirements
You must enroll in at least 6 credit hours to be eligible to receive a student loan. If you take less than 6 credit hours, your loan must be cancelled and you will owe the college for the full amount of your unpaid tuition and fees (and any books/supplies charged to your account).
Your enrollment is checked at the time of application, at the time of disbursement to your student account and again when any unused balance is issued to you. You must be enrolled in at least 6 credit hours at each of these checks to be eligible for your student loan.
Please note: After your loan has been guaranteed and you have signed your promissory note, you will receive an award letter from Schoolcraft (viewed through WebAdvisor). The award letter lists the net Direct Loan amounts awarded for each semester. You may register for classes upon receipt of the award email or when funds appear in your WebAdvisor account. The award letter serves as a temporary payment until your loan funds are received by the college and applied to your student account.
5. Loan period
The following semester combinations are available for loan processing:
- Summer 2012
- Fall 2012
- Fall 2012 and Winter 2013
- Winter 2013
- Spring 2013
6. Loan amounts
Because we are concerned with the increasing debt level of our students, we encourage you to monitor your loan debt throughout your education and to borrow the minimum needed to cover your educational costs and therefore, reduce your loan payments later.
Loan amounts are based on your declared academic program, your credit level, residency status at the college, other aid you are receiving (i.e. Pell Grant, SEOG, Work Study, and/or Scholarships) and your dependency status through the FAFSA.
| Direct Loan - Dependent | Subsidized | Unsubsidized | Yearly Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freshman (1-25 credits) | $3,500 | $2,000 | $5,500* |
| Sophomore (26+ Credits) | $4,500 | $2,000 | $6,500* |
| Direct Loan - Independent | Subsidized | Unsubsidized | Yearly Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freshman (1-25 credits) | $3,500 | $6,000 | $9,500* |
| Sophomore (26+ Credits) | $4,500 | $6,000 | $10,500* |
*The above listed amounts are the maximum amount a student can receive through the direct loan lending program. Students may not be eligible to receive the maximum amount. The final approved loan amount is determined by your financial need (as determined by the Office of Financial Aid), cost-of-attendance, other financial aid and outside resources, program limits and loan amount requested. The school determines student eligibility for a federal student loan. If reasons are documented and explained to students in writing, the Office of Financial Aid may decline to certify an otherwise eligible loan application. In addition, a loan may be certified for an amount less than that for which the student would otherwise be eligible.
7. Promissory note
All student loans require you to sign a promissory note which is the legal document saying you promise to pay back your loan. You must complete a Direct Loan Master Promissory Note (MPN) in order for your loan application to be processed. The completion of your promissory note allows us to activate your student loan information and make it available for you to use during the registration period. This process is secure, easy and quick.
8. Loan cancellation or reduction
You may decline your student loan at any time before the college receives the loan funds and incur no cost. If the loan funds are applied to your student account, the origination and default fees are non-refundable. Contact the Office of Financial Aid in writing reduce or cancel your loan.
9. Loan disbursement and refund
All loans are issued in one disbursement per semester per the federal regulations. For the fall/winter loan, you will receive the first disbursement in the fall semester and the second disbursement in the winter semester. The loan fees that are charged by the Department of Education will be automatically deducted at the time of disbursement.
The college receives your loan proceeds by electronic funds transfer and applies them directly to your student account. The earliest the college will receive your semester loan funds from the Department of Education is 30 days after the first day of classes of each semester.
If you are still enrolled in at least 6 credits hours and are attending your classes, any remaining balance after payment of all charges on your student account will be mailed to you within 14 days after the college receives the proceeds. This means you will not receive your loan balance check until the 6th-7th week of classes each semester.
10. Loan request form
Submit all loan request forms to the Office of Financial Aid.
11. Additional loan information
Go to: Funding Your Education
If you have questions about student loans, contact the Office of Financial Aid at (734) 462-4433 or email finaid@schoolcraft.edu
12. Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Requirements
To be eligible for a student loan at Schoolcraft College, you must be making satisfactory academic progress toward a degree or certificate program as defined by the Office of Financial Aid.
In general, you are required to 1) maintain a cumulative grade point average of 2.0, 2) successfully complete at least 67% of all Schoolcraft College credit hours attempted and 3) attempt no more than 150% of your official Schoolcraft College academic program credit requirement. These requirements are the main components of the policy. Detail here for the complete Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy.
If you have withdrawn, not completed, walked away and/or dropped your classes you may not meet the satisfactory academic progress criteria. Your financial aid eligibility may be terminated or you may be placed on probation. In either of these situations, you will not be eligible for a student loan.
Additional Resources
Spring refunds to be released starting June 21, 2013.
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