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Office of Financial Aid

Office of Financial Aid home page
Week of April 5, 2010

Federal Loan Exit Counseling Online

For students that missed the group exit counseling sessions last week please complete the Federal Loan Exit Counseling Online on the National Student Loan Database System (NSLDS). Click here for the exit counseling on NSLDS: http://www.nslds.ed.gov/nslds_SA/. After you complete this requirement you can stop by our office to pick up your loan summary from NSLDS.

Direct Loans: Financial Aid Program Change

Illinois Institute of Technology currently participates in the Federal Family Education Loan program (FFEL), which allows students to borrow funds for school from private lenders (usually banks or credit unions). The Illinois Institute of Technology Downtown Campus  will be withdrawing from the FFEL lending program and begin participating exclusively in the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program (DL) for the 2010-2011 aid year beginning in the fall semester of 2010. This change will NOT affect any existing current year (2009-2010) loans.
 
Illinois Institute of Technology has decided to make this change because of the difficulties it has experienced in the FFEL program. For the last two years, many students have had to change their lender several times. Lenders have gone out of business or changed their processing systems, and others have suspended processing loans for our students. These changes have consistently occurred with very little notice or no notice at all, causing significant delays for students who receive funds from these lenders. As a result, it has been a struggle to maintain the timely delivery and availability of student loans.
 
In the Direct Loan Program (DL), students borrow directly from the U.S. Department of Education through their school. DL Subsidized, Unsubsidized and Graduate PLUS loans operate in essentially the same manner as in the FFEL program. Students receive the same interest rates (except Graduate PLUS, which has a lower interest rate than FFEL) and have similar repayment options. Payments are sent directly to the U.S. Department of Education’s servicer.Switching to Direct Loans will provide the following benefits:

  • Eliminates the uncertainty of lenders exiting the FFEL program.
  • Eliminates the need for reprocessing loans for students when lenders leave the program.   
  • Provides one lender and one payment (at the time of repayment) for new borrowers
  • Allows returning borrowers to consolidate FFEL loans with their Direct Loans at repayment
  • Provides a lower interest rate on the Grad PLUS loan.
  • Offers four repayment options for students.
  • Offers interest rate reductions for on-time payments. 
  • Allows students to participate in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

Because of this change, all students who borrowed loans in 2009-2010 and plan on borrowing federal loans in 2010-2011 will need to complete a new Federal Direct Loan Master Promissory Note (MPN) and Federal Direct Loan Entrance Counseling. Instructions for completing a new MPN and loan counseling will be on the Financial Aid Web <http://www.kentlaw.edu/depts/finaid>  site in late-March 2010.  We will announce via email and the Record Page when the new instructions are available.
 
We believe that using the Direct Loan Program is the best way to ensure that IIT Downtown Campus students receive their loan funds in a timely and efficient manner. For more information regarding the change to Federal Direct Loans, please read our Federal Direct Loans Q&A <http://www.kentlaw.edu/depts/finaid/Final%20DTC%20FAQs%20for%20Direct%20Lending.pdf> available online on the Financial Aid website <http://www.kentlaw.edu/depts/finaid> under Direct Loan Information.

New Requirements for the Private Loan

In compliance with Title Z, three disclosure statements will be sent to all students applying for private education loans. These forms will be sent out before the loan can be disbursed. Also, a self-certification form will need to be completed by the student or financial aid office.

New forms and procedures:

  1. Application Disclosure- You will receive this form as part of the online application process, before you fill out the application. If you apply by phone you will receive this disclosure within  3 days. This contains general information about ranges of rate, terms and fees.

  1. Approval Disclosure- You will receive this form after final approval of the loan by the lender and before the school certification request is sent to the school. It contains specific information about the approved loan, including the approved loan amount, rate and estimated repayment schedule. This disclosure statement must be accepted by you either by calling the lender or logging onto the lenders website. If you do not accept this Approval Disclosure within 30 calendar days of receipt the loan approval or the loan will be cancelled and you will have to reapply.

  1. Final Disclosure- You will receive this form after your Approval Disclosure is received by the lender. It contains previously disclosed on rate, fees, default, and repayment terms. It also gives you the 3 calendar days to cancel the loan prior to the first disbursement date.

    1. Rescission Period- This is your final opportunity to cancel the loan without penalty and gives you time to evaluate your needs for the private loan. You have 3 days after you receive your Final Disclosure. Your loan will not be disbursed until this period is over. The first date the loan can be disbursed is the 7th day from the date the lender mails the Final Disclosure.

  2. Self-Certification Form- Your lender will provide you with a blank Private Education Loan Applicant Self-Certification form. This contains details about federal loan availablility and encourages you to seek out federal loans before applying for federal loans. This form must be completed and signed by the applicant and returned to the lender before the loan can be disbursed. You have 180 days to complete this form back and send it back to the lender, or the loan will be cancelled. If you need help in completing the form please contact our office.

2010-2011 FAFSA Application Available

The 2010-2011 FAFSA application is available for completion. The priority deadline is April 15th. You can use this FAFSA on the web Worksheet to help with your FAFASA application. http://www.ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/attachments/FOTWWorkshEn1011.pdf

Also distribution of 2010-2011 Renewal FAFSA Reminders Begins January 15, 2010. Students who are renewal-eligible for 2010-2011 and who qualify for reminders by January 11, 2010 will be sent Renewal Reminder notifications. Eligible students who provided e-mail addresses on their 2009-2010 records will receive 2010-2011 Renewal Reminder e-mails. Renewal-eligible students whose records do not have valid e-mail addresses, or whose Renewal Reminder e-mails are returned as undeliverable, will be mailed 2010-2011 Renewal Reminder letters, provided there is a deliverable mailing address.

Using the myIIT Portal to view your Award

For information and instructions about logging into the myIIT portal to view your 2008-2009 financial aid award please click here.

REFUND CHECKS

Refund checks are generated by the Bursar's Office and are available to be picked up at their office (Room 290) approximately 5-7 business days after a credit has resulted in a student's account.

The Bursar's Office will send the student an email when a refund check is available.

Free Credit Report

Did you know that you are now able to receive a free credit report once every 12 months? We encourage students to review their credit reports annually to check for inaccuracies and identify any suspicious activity.

To receive your free credit report, please visit the following link: http://www.annualcreditreport.com. This central site allows you to request a free credit file disclosure, commonly called a credit report, once every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

Please be aware that other sites may advertise free credit reports, but this is the only site that is sponsored by the federal government and the three nationwide credit reporting agencies. Other sites may charge fees.

Office Hours - Suite #230

Monday-Thursday ~ 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Friday ~ 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m

Phone: (312) 906-5180 - Fax: (312) 906-5274


 

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