Direct Subsidized Loans are available to eligible undergraduate students who demonstrate financial need to help cover the cost of higher education.

The U.S. Department of Education pays the interest on a Direct Subsidized Loan while you are in school at least half-time, for the first six months after you leave school and during a period of deferment.

Direct Unsubsidized Loans are available to eligible undergraduate and graduate students, but  the student does not have to demonstrate financial need to be eligible for the loan.

The student is responsible for paying the interest during all periods.

Direct Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) are available to the parents of dependent undergraduate students.

The borrower must be a parent (biological, adoptive, or in some cases, a stepparent) who is a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen.

Credit approval is necessary to receive the loan.  Please refer to How to Apply for a Direct Plus Loan for instructions.

Direct Graduate PLUS Loans are available to graduate and professional students. Credit approval is required. Please refer to How to Apply for a Plus Loan for application instructions.

The Nurse Faculty Loan Program (NFLP) is for graduate nursing students focusing on becoming a nursing teacher faculty member. This program offers partial loan forgiveness for borrowers who graduate and serve as full-time nursing faculty for the prescribed period of time.

ELIGIBLE BORROWERS

To be eligible to receive an NFLP loan, a borrower must:

• Be a citizen or national of the U.S., or a lawful permanent resident of the U.S. and its territories.
• Have no judgment liens entered against him/her based on the default on a federal debt.
• Be enrolled as a student in good academic standing in an advanced nurse education program.
• Students must maintain enrollment for a minimum of two consecutive terms/semesters (either full-time or part-time) during an academic year while receiving the NFLP loan support. Students enrolled in the last year of the program are not required to enroll for two terms/semesters if program requirements are met.
• The NFLP is not a need-based program.

NFLP LOANS TO STUDENTS

• SCSU will make NFLP loans to eligible students for the cost of tuition and fees.
• Complete your FAFSA. (Need is not a criterion but is part of the federal approval process for this loan program.)
• An NFLP loan may not exceed $35,500 per student for any academic year and not to exceed five years of support to a student.
• Subject to availability of funds and the recipient maintaining good academic standing, the loan will be made annually for the period required to complete the course of study.
• The borrower must sign paperwork with UAS prior to disbursement of loan funds in the first term of the academic year.

CANCELLATION

Up to 85% of the principal and interest of an NFLP loan can be cancelled over a consecutive four-year period as follows:

• Upon completion by the borrower of each of the first, second, and third year of full-time employment as a faculty member in a school of nursing, 20% of the principal and interest on the NFLP loan will be cancelled, as determined on the first day of employment, and
• Upon completion by the borrower of the fourth year of full-time employment as a faculty member in a school of nursing, 25% of the principle and interest on the NFLP loan will be cancelled, as determined on the first day of employment.

REPAYMENT

• The NFLP loan is repayable over a ten-year period beginning nine months after the borrower completes the advanced nurse education program, ceases to be enrolled as a student in the advanced nurse education program, or ceases to be employed as full-time nurse faculty.

INTEREST

• The NFLP loan will bear interest on the unpaid balance at the rate of 3% per annum beginning three months after the borrower graduates from the advanced nurse education program.
• The NFLP loan will bear interest at the prevailing market rate if the borrower fails to complete the advanced nurse education program or fails to serve as a nurse faculty member for the consecutive four- year period.
• The current interest rate is 10.25%.

First-time borrowers of a federal direct student loan are required to complete Entrance Counseling and a Master Promissory Note (MPN). 

These federal loan requirements are located on www.studentaid.gov.  After logging in with your FSA ID please select the “Complete a Process” tab and follow the steps for each process.  Once completed, please allow 24-48 business hours for it to reflect on your Southern Banner Web Account. 

Please note, that parents borrowing a PLUS loan for their dependent undergraduate student will need to complete a Parent PLUS MPN as well as a Parent Annual Student Loan Acknowledgement, and Graduate students borrowing a PLUS will need to complete a Graduate PLUS MPN.

Federal regulations require that students who have received a Direct Loan (Subsidized and Unsubsidized) must complete an online exit counseling session upon withdrawing, graduating or attending at less than half-time registration.

Please follow the instructions below to complete the exit counseling session for a Federal Direct Loan:

1. Go to Studentaid.gov
2. Sign in using your FSA ID Username and Password
3. Select "Complete Counseling" and click on Exit Counseling
4. Select CT and Southern Connecticut State University
5. Click on "Add School"
6. Complete the entire counseling session (upon completion you will receive a confirmation number)

Repayment of federal student loans begins after you graduate, withdraw, are academically dismissed or drop below half-time enrollment.  Your loan servicer will provide you with a loan repayment schedule that states when your first payment is due, the number and frequency of payments, and the amount of each payment.  To determine your loan servicer, please visit studentaid.gov.

These private bank loans can provide education financing beyond Federal Direct Loans. You should carefully research these loans, comparing interest rates, repayment options and other benefits. You can check with any credit union or bank that offers educational loans or compare a number of options by going to Elm Select Alternative Loans.

Please note that if you plan to take a loan for winter or summer, you must file a separate loan application for each of those sessions.

• Log on to studentaid.gov using your FSA ID and password
  • Your outstanding loan balance and lifetime grant awards will populate on your dashboard
• Select "View Details" to see your loan servicer breakdown