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East Tennessee State University participates in the Federal
Family Educational Loan (FFEL) Program in an effort to meet
students' needs. The Free
Application For Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) must be completed
before eligibility can be determined. Programs available:
Federal Perkins Loan Program:
Federally funded loans borrowed from the university at five percent
interest for both undergraduate and graduate students. Repayment
begins nine months after a student ceases at least half-time
attendance.
Federal Stafford Loan Program:
Stafford loans are awarded based on a student's dependency status,
financial need, cost of attendance, and grade level. Both
undergraduate and graduate students may borrow in this program.
These loans will be subsidized when based on need and the federal
government will pay the interest while the student remains enrolled
at least half-time. Unsubsidized loans are also available based on
the student's cost of attendance and other financial aid. These
loans require the student to pay or accrue the interest while
enrolled, although the principal amount of the loan is deferred.
Borrowers begin repaying both subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford
loans at the end of at least half-time enrollment. The interest rate
is a fixed 6.8%.
GradPLUS Loans:
New PLUS loan program to
help graduate students and professional students pay for college
- Effective for loans certified by the educational institution on or
after July 1, 2006, a graduate student or professional student may
borrow a Federal PLUS Loan! With benefits similar to the
traditional PLUS loan for parents, the graduate student PLUS
loan program (Grad PLUS) allows graduate students or professional
students to borrow up to the cost of education at a particular
institution minus any other financial aid.
Federal Parent Plus Loan Program:
Federal PLUS loans are available to parents of undergraduate
students. Repayment begins 60 days after the loan is
disbursed, and continues while the student is enrolled. The maximum
repayment period is 10 years. The interest rate is a fixed 8.5%.
Remember, you may
request your student/parent loan through any lender. If your
lender is not shown on the Lender Selection Form, you may write in
the name of the lender you wish to borrow from and you must provide
ETSU with the application.
Please be aware that
the benefits offered by lenders to student loan borrowers vary and
are subject to change. Before selecting a lender, please
contact various lenders of interest and review their borrower
benefits to determine which lender best meets your educational
borrowing needs. The lenders listed in our Preferred Lender
list have demonstrated their commitment to offering ETSU students
the best overall terms and services over the life of their loan.
ETSU does not receive
any monetary benefit from any lender.
HOW DOES
ETSU SELECT ITS PREFERRED LENDERS?
The Office of Financial Aid is
committed to helping students and parents choose the Federal Family
Education Loan program lender most likely to meet their particular
needs, both now and throughout the life of the loan. Borrowers
frequently ask for guidance in the selection of a FFELP lender. For
this reason, the University publishes an updated List of Preferred
Lenders early each spring.
To identify lenders that provide excellent customer service and
benefits to our borrowers, more than 20 lenders were invited, in
Fall 2007, to provide information regarding their benefits and
services via a Request for Information (RFI). Responses to the
annual RFI were ranked using criteria established by the
University’s Preferred Lender List Committee, which consists of
representatives from the Office of Financial Aid, the
Bursar/Financial Services Office, and the Office of Internal Audit.
Specific selection criteria applied to each lender are:
- Participation in the
student loan business a minimum of 10 years.
- Public or private
organization was acceptable.
- Non-profit or for-profit
status was not a determining factor.
- Customer service
representative must have had a minimum of 5 years experience in
financial aid/student lending.
- The customer service
representative’s years of experience with the organization were
not a determining factor.
- Electronic Loan Management
(ELM) membership was preferred, but not required.
High scores are achieved through
demonstrated excellence in the areas listed above. Each committee
member ranks the lenders. Lenders with the top scores are
ranked to produce a preliminary list. The committee then
creates an overall ranking using the sum of the members’ rankings.
The top-ranked lenders are then chosen for the Preferred Lender
List.
The University’s list of preferred lenders is intended only as a
guide. The Office of Financial Aid will process a loan
certification request listing any
qualified FFELPlender selected by
the borrower. Borrowers are encouraged to conduct their own
research of FFELP lenders, and to review each lender’s Web site
before applying or re-applying for a loan, as borrower benefits vary
and are subject to change at any time.
Feel free to contact the Office of Financial Aid if you have any
questions about the lenders selected or the loan certification
process.
Counselors are available to assist students with any questions or
concerns regarding their eligibility.
Contact Us!
Code of
Conduct and Student Bill of Rights
Early Loan Consolidation: Is
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