Federal Direct Loan Program

Applying for a Direct Loan at Craven Community College

A completed Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the first step in applying for a Direct Loan with Craven Community College: www.fafsa.ed.gov. After you have completed the FAFSA for the current academic year, and received an award notification from Craven Community College, you then need to complete ALL the following steps:

Go to https://studentloans.gov and
Sign in (You will need your FAFSA PIN to complete the loan information. If you do not have a PIN, or have forgotten it, go to www.pin.ed.gov)
1. Complete Undergraduate Entrance Counseling (on left hand margin)
2. Complete/sign a new Master Promissory Note (MPN) for Subsidized/Unsubsidized loans.
Visit https://www.nslds.ed.gov Click on Financial Aid Review.

Accept the terms, and log in using your FAFSA PIN. If you have received loans or grants in the past, your information will be displayed. Review your current outstanding loan amounts.

The amount displayed, plus interest, must be repaid in the future or it could be detrimental to your credit history. Applicants must remember loans have to be repaid and should borrow as little as possible.

You must print out this information and attach it to your loan request form.

NOTE: If you have not had any grants or loans, you will get a message stating “Your identifiers were not found”. Print this and attach to your loan form.

Complete the Financial Literacy counseling at http://mappingyourfuture.org.
Click on “Complete Online Counseling”, look under other counseling and click on “Financial Literacy”. Select “North Carolina” and then select “Craven Community College”.
Read the content and answer the questions. PRINT the confirmation page that appears after you fill out the student information form. Attach this confirmation page to the Direct Loan Request form.
Complete the Direct Loan Request Form: Direct Loan Request Form - (doc).
Mail the Direct Loan Request Form, Financial Literacy confirmation and the NSLDS information to:

Craven Community College
Attention: Susie Games - Financial Aid
800 College Court
New Bern, NC 28562

What Happens Next

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Once you complete the online entrance counseling, online Direct Loan Master Promissory Note and mail the Direct Loan Information Form to Craven, the financial aid office will check to make sure you are eligible to borrow and determine how much you can borrow. You will need to be attending at least 6 credit hours, your minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) needs to be a 2.0 and you need to pass two-thirds (67%) of the course work attempted. Please see the Satisfactory Academic Progress policy on Craven Community College’s website under Financial Aid & Scholarships and then click on Obligations and Information.
You will be able to see your Direct loan amount on WebAdvisor once it has been determined you are eligible to borrow and the amount you are eligible to receive. You will receive an email letting you know that your loan has been posted to your account and that you have 14 days to cancel all or part of your loan.
Loan checks will be mailed according to the "Important Dates" on our web site. If you are completing this process after the disbursement date listed on the “Important Dates”, your loan check will be issued after the 14 days you have to cancel all or part of your loan. You can check WebAdvisor to see when your check has been issued.
For the 2nd loan check – the financial aid office will verify your GPA, passing percentage and enrollment status to make sure you are still eligible for the Direct loan. The financial aid office will make sure you are attending at least 6 credit hours.
Taking a class that does not begin at the beginning of a term (for example, a B-term class beginning in the middle of a Term) will cause the loan disbursement to be delayed if the late start or B-term class is what makes the student 6 credit hours. If your attendance is not verified in a class, this could delay you receiving your loan check.
If you withdraw completely prior to the 60% point of the semester, you will owe a portion of the loan money you received to the college once you are notified. Loan repayment will begin according to the lenders’ guidelines.

*** STUDENT BORROWERS ARE REQUIRED TO COMPLETE EXIT COUNSELING
BEFORE LEAVING CRAVEN COMMUNITY COLLEGE ***

Before leaving Craven Community College, OR if you drop below 6 credit hours, you must complete the Exit Counseling at https://www.studentloans.gov.

At the end you will send confirmation to Craven Community College showing you have completed the Exit Counseling.

You may contact Susie Games at gamess@cravencc.edu if you have questions or you can make an appointment with a financial aid counselor by using our Financial Aid - Appointment Scheduler.

if you need an appointment to discuss how much you are eligible to borrow.

NOTE: The amount received in subsidized or unsubsidized loan is determined by your individual eligibility.

NOTE: Tuition, fees and books are deducted from any Grant or Loan check.

If you have any questions about your current or previous loan (your responsibilities, regulations, payment options, complaints, etc.) you may contact our lender or the Department of Education’s Loan Ombudsman at http://www.ombudsman.ed.gov/.

Need to know who services your loan or how much you have already borrowed, go to http://www.nslds.ed.gov/ for this information.

Remember – loans must REPAID – borrow wisely.

Important

Please read the information below on Direct Loans

The financial aid office will review your application and post to your account what you are eligible to receive. Please check WebAdvisor to see when your loan has been posted. You may contact Susie Games at gamess@cravencc.edu if you have questions.
If you need an appointment to discuss how much you are eligible to borrow, you can make the appointment at our Financial Aid Appointment Scheduler on our website.
NOTE: The amount received in subsidized or unsubsidized loan is determined by your individual eligibility.

IMPORTANT
PLEASE READ THE INFORMATION BELOW ON DIRECT LOANS

Federal Direct Loan Program

The Federal Direct Loan Program includes subsidized and unsubsidized loans and Federal PLUS Loans to parents. A subsidized loan means that the borrower is eligible for federal interest benefits and the interest on the loan is paid by the Federal Government while the borrower is enrolled and attending college at least half time. An unsubsidized loan means that the borrower is not eligible for this benefit. Applicants must remember loans have to be repaid and should borrow as little as possible. Students must complete a FAFSA, student loan application and participate in entrance and exit counseling. Loan repayment generally begins six months after the student ceases to be enrolled at least half time. As a borrower, you are obligated to repay the loan in accordance with the lenders’ guidelines. You must repay the loan even if you do not complete your program of study.

General Information

Annual limits for (Subsidized Loan)

First year students (0-29 hours earned) $3500.00
Second year students (30 or more hours earned) $4500.00

Your maximum eligibility for a subsidized loan may be less based on your Effective Family Contribution (EFC) figure, other financial aid and scholarships received. Your maximum subsidized loan will be determined when you complete the steps listed above.

In Addition, dependent students may borrow an additional unsubsidized loan of $2,000.00 and independent students may borrow an additional unsubsidized loan of $6,000.00.

Please remember it is extremely important for students to borrow wisely.

Depending on the student's financial need, as determined by the US Department of Education and the Financial Aid Office, the requested loan amount may include subsidized and unsubsidized loans.

The total amount of loan debt (both subsidized and unsubsidized) you can accumulate as an undergraduate student is:

Dependent students $23,000.00
Independent Students $46,000.00

All student borrowers are required to complete Federal Direct Loan entrance counseling. To complete entrance counseling, student borrowers should go to http://www.studentloans.gov.
The Federal Direct loan is made in “multiple disbursements.” Normally, the student borrower will receive two equal disbursements, one during each regular enrollment period (Fall and Spring). Different circumstances may alter the disbursement dates, so check with the Financial Aid Office if you have any questions.
First time, first year borrowers, those students attending Craven Community College for the first time who have not previously received a Federal Direct loan, may not receive their first loan disbursement until they have been enrolled at Craven Community College for at least thirty days.
Student borrowers must be maintaining Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP), as defined by Craven Community College, to receive a loan check. This means a student has to maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average with Craven of a 2.0, pass two-thirds (67%) of the course work attempted (course work attempted includes withdrawals, automatic withdrawals, incompletes and repeated courses) and complete degree requirements within 150% of the published program length for a full-time student.
See Satisfactory Academic Progress section of the financial aid site to get more information concerning SAP.
It is the student borrower’s responsibility to notify the school of any change in his/her address.
Student borrowers have a six month grace period from the day the student graduates, drops below half time or withdraws completely from school, before repayment begins. If the student returns to school before six months have elapsed, he/she will once again have a six-month grace period when enrollment is terminated.
If the student borrower withdraws completely prior to the 60 percent point of the semester, he or she will owe a portion of the loan money received to the college once notification is received. Repayment will begin according to lender guidelines.
Direct Loan Exit Counseling is required once the student borrower drops below halftime, withdraws from all classes, or graduates. Exit counseling is designed to prepare a student for repayment of his/her student loans and help him/her with personal financial management. To complete exit counseling, students should go to http://www.studentloans.gov.
A student borrower will need to be attending at least six (6) credit hours to be eligible to receive a loan check. Taking a class that does not begin at the beginning of a term (For example, a B-term class beginning in the middle of a Term) will cause a student’s loan disbursement to be delayed if the late start or B-term class is what makes the student 6 credit hours.
Applicants must remember that loans have to be repaid and should borrow as little as possible. Loan repayment generally begins six months after the student ceases to be enrolled at least half time. As a borrower, you are obligated to repay the loan in accordance with the guidelines. You must repay the loan even if you do not complete you program of study.

If you need to know who services your loan or how much you have already borrowed, go to www.nslds.ed.gov for this information.

Remember – loans have to be repaid – borrow wisely.