Student Loans
APPLICATION PROCEDURES
Financial Aid is year specific. The 2007-2008 award year includes the Summer 2007 through the Spring 2008 quarters.
The following information describes the steps to complete an application for a Federal Family Educational Loan (Stafford Loan).
STEPS TO APPLY
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Complete the
Stafford Loan Request Form and deliver it to our Financial Aid Office. This form lists your desired loan periods, your desired loan amount, and the type of loan for which you are applying (Subsidized or Unsubsidized).
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Complete the Online
Loan Entrance Counseling. The Student Loan Entrance Counseling is an online interactive session that offers important information about your student loan. You should be able to complete this counseling session in a relatively short amount of time. If you choose to leave the session before completing it, your responses will be temporarily saved and you can return to complete the session at a later time. Loan entrance counseling is required each academic year.
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Complete the Online
Master Promissory Note (MPN). When completing the Online MPN, you must indicate the name of your lender on the MPN. If you do not indicate a lender, we cannot process your loan application.
At Olympic College (OC) students are welcome to select any lender who participates in the federal student loan program. The list below contains commonly used lenders and includes those lenders who provide good services to students and who have made a request to be included on this list. In addition to providing adequate benefits to our borrowers, we require lenders to have the necessary electronic capability for ease of processing and faster service to students. You may choose any lender on this list or any lender you prefer if they participate in the federal student loan program.
LENDERS THAT PROCESS ELECTRONICALLY WITH OLYMPIC COLLEGE
• Bank of America |
• Chela |
• CitiBank |
• Key Bank |
• Kitsap Bank |
• Student Assistance Foundation |
• US Bank |
• Wells Fargo Bank |
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When our Financial Aid Office has verified that Steps 1-5 have been completed, we will complete an online School Certification form for the guarantor (Northwest Education Loan Association - NELA).
IF YOU SELECTED A LENDER NOT LISTED ABOVE, your loan can still be processed, but you must obtain a Master Promissory Note (MPN) and School Certification forms from your lender. Complete the MPN but leave the School Certification questions blank and deliver the forms to the OC Financial Aid Office. The forms will be completed and returned to you and you must deliver the completed forms to your lender.
BRIDGE LOANS
If your financial aid only consists of a certified and approved student loan, OR if you have been certified and approved for a student loan and your grant, tuition waiver, scholarship or other aid is not sufficient to cover your term tuition, you may use your loan to pay your tuition by bridging (borrowing against) your loan.
If your loan is certified and approved, and you meet the Bridge Loan criteria mentioned above, please see the financial aid office for a Bridge Loan application form.
Please note that you must be enrolled as at least a half time student (a minimum of 6 credit hours) to receive a loan, and that wait-list classes do not count in the 6 credit hour minimum.
PLUS Loans cannot be bridged.
PARENT PLUS LOANS
Parent Plus loans are offered through the Federal Family Education Program (FFLEP). PLUS applicants must meet the general eligibility requirements for federal student financial aid. IF a parent is borrowing on behalf of a dependent undergraduate student, the student must also meet these general eligibility requirements. For example, the PLUS applicant and the student must be a United States citizen or eligible noncitizen; the applicant must not be in default on a federal student loan, and not owe a refund on a federal education grant..
The maximum PLUS Loan amount that can be borrowed is the student's Cost of Attendance (COA) minus any other financial aid the student receives. If a PLUS loan is received OC will first apply the funds to the student's school account to pay for tuition and fees. If any loan funds remain, they will be sent to the parent borrower, unless the parent authorizes the school to hold the funds or release them to the student. Any remaining loan funds must be used for your education expenses.
For Olympic College PLUS Loan information, click here.
LOAN DISBURSEMENTS
Loan disbursements (or the balance thereof) are mailed on the 30th day of the term for each term of the loan period. For single term loans there are 2 disbursements required by regulation, one on the 30th day of the term and the second shortly after mid-term.
LOAN INQUIRIES
Do NOT call the Olympic College Financial Aid Office to see if your loan has arrived. A letter will be sent to you when funds arrive in you name. You may check on your loan status by calling the Northwest Educational Loan Association (NELA) at 1-800-979-4441.
Calls inquiring about your loan status can be no sooner than 10 days after the date on your Financial Aid Award Notification.
REPAYING YOUR LOAN
Information regarding your loan repayment can be found on the Federal Student Aid (FSA) website.
EXIT COUNSELING INTERVIEW
Federal regulations require that any student who borrows money under the Stafford Loan program complete an Exit Counseling Interview when they finish their degree program or leave school.
USEFUL WEBSITES WITH ADDITIONAL LOAN INFORMATION
The National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) website allows students to access data about their Federal Student Loan(s) and Pell Grant(s). You must have your Federal Student Aid PIN number to access your information.
The Northwest Education Loan Association (NELA) website offers a budget calculator, online loan counseling, tracking of loan status, debt management and publications regarding loan programs. There is also a student loan and financial aid eligibility estimator to help your estimate your financial need.
The Federal Student Aid Ombudsman website provides information for students with questions or concerns regarding their federal student loans.