Federal Loan/Grant Information

Important Loan Terms

Academic Year

A period of time schools use to measure a quantity of study. For example, a school’s academic year may consist of a fall and spring semester during which a student must complete 24 semester hours. Academic years vary from school to school and even from educational program to educational program at the same school.

Cost of Attendance (COA)

The total amount it will cost a student to go to school—usually expressed as a yearly figure. It’s determined using rules established by law. The COA includes tuition and fees; on-campus room and board (or a housing and food allowance for off-campus students); and allowances for books, supplies, transportation, loan fees, and, if applicable, dependent care; costs related to a disability; and miscellaneous expenses, including an allowance for the rental or purchase of a personal computer. Also included are reasonable costs for eligible study-abroad programs. For students attending less than half time, the COA includes only tuition and fees and an allowance for books, supplies, transportation, and dependent- care expenses. Talk to the financial aid administrator at the school you’re planning to attend if you have any unusual expenses that might affect your cost of attendance.

Default

Failure to repay a loan according to the terms agreed to when you signed a promissory note. In many cases, default can be avoided by submitting a request for a deferment, forbearance, or cancellation and by providing the required documentation before reaching the point of default. The consequences of default are severe. Your school, the lender or agency that holds your loan, the state, and the federal government may all take action to recover the money, including notifying national credit bureaus of your default. This affects your credit rating for a long time. For example, you might find it very difficult to borrow money from a bank to buy a car or a house. In addition, the U.S. Department of Education might ask the Internal Revenue Service to withhold your U.S. individual income tax refund and apply it to the amount you owe, or the agency holding your loan might ask your employer to deduct payments from your paycheck. Also, you’re liable for expenses incurred in collecting the loan. If you decide to return to school, you’re not entitled to receive any more federal student aid. Legal action might also be taken against you.

Eligible Noncitizen

You must be one of the following to receive federal student aid:

• U.S. citizen
• U.S. national (includes natives of American Samoa or Swain’s Island)
• U.S. permanent resident who has an I-151, I-551, or I-551C (Alien Registration Receipt Card)

If you’re not in one of these categories, you must have an Arrival-Departure Record (I-94) from the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) showing one of the following designations in order to be eligible:

• “Refugee”
• “Asylum Granted”
• “Indefinite Parole” and/or “Humanitarian Parole”
• “Cuban-Haitian Entrant, Status Pending”
• “Conditional Entrant” (valid only if issued before April 1, 1980)

If you have only a Notice of Approval to Apply for Permanent Residence (I-171 or I-464), you aren’t eligible for federal student aid.

If you’re in the United States on an F1 or F2 student visa only, or on a J1 or J2 exchange visitor visa only, you’re not eligible for federal student aid. Also, persons with G series visas (pertaining to international organizations) are not eligible.

NOTE: Citizens and eligible noncitizens may receive loans from the FFEL program at participating foreign schools.

Citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau are eligible only for Federal Pell Grants, FSEOGs, or Federal Work-Study. These applicants should check with their schools’ financial aid offices for more information.