What happens if I don't do loan exit counseling?
Federal law requires exit counseling for borrowers with federal student loans. If you don't complete exit counseling, your school may withhold your official transcript and diploma. You will still be able to walk at graduation, but you won't be able to receive a copy of your diploma.
Your school will require you to sign the exit interview, and if you do not sign it, the school may: Place holds on your student account so that you cannot register for classes again. Place holds on your student account so that your transcripts will not be released to you.
Entrance counseling is required for all first-time student Direct Subsidized Loan, Direct Unsubsidized Loan, and Direct PLUS Loan borrowers. Entrance counseling is not required for parent Direct PLUS Loan borrowers.
Yes, you must complete exit counseling when you withdraw, drop below half-time enrollment, or leave school for any reason. Who do I contact if I need help with exit counseling? Contact your school's financial aid office for help with completing exit counseling.
You may also use the Exit Counseling Guide for reference. Generally, the grace period (after graduating, before you begin repayment) is: 6 months for Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans.
Federal regulations and UCI policy require that if you've taken out a student loan to help pay for school, you must complete exit counseling before you graduate or drop below 6 units. It's to ensure you know your rights and responsibilities as a student loan borrower.
A: Whenever your enrollment drops below half-time (6 credit hours) or you graduate from a program, you are required to complete an exit counseling session as an obligation of your student loan(s).
You can check your Entrance Counseling completion history by logging in to StudentAid.gov using your FSA ID and clicking your name in the top right corner.
How Long Will it Take? Entrance Counseling takes about 30 minutes to complete and it must be completed in a single session.
Capitalized Interest (Capitalization)—Unpaid interest that has been added to the principal balance of a federal student loan. Future interest is charged on the increased principal balance, and this may increase the amount of your monthly payment and the total amount you repay over the life of the federal student loan.
Will my loans be forgiven if I haven't graduated yet?
The Department of Education offers several student loan forgiveness programs. You may qualify for these programs even if you didn't graduate. The most popular and widely known forgiveness program is the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, better known by its acronym PSLF.
For most federal and private student loans, interest starts accruing as soon as the money is disbursed to your school to pay for your tuition and other costs.
For most federal student loan types, after you graduate, leave school, or drop below half-time enrollment, you have a six-month grace period (sometimes nine months for Perkins Loans) before you must begin making payments. This grace period gives you time to get financially settled and to select your repayment plan.
Exit counseling is a crucial step for students graduating or taking a leave of absence with Federal Direct Student Loans. It helps students understand their loans, repayment options, and timing.
If you have questions about repayment plans, the first place to go for help is to contact the company hired by the Department of Education to manage your account: your student loan servicer. Not sure who that is? Go to studentaid.gov, locate your account dashboard, and scroll down to the “My Loan Servicers” section.
Understanding Default
For a loan made under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program or the Federal Family Education Loan Program, you're considered to be in default if you don't make your scheduled student loan payments for at least 270 days.
* This “period of time” is called the “Grace Period”. The Grace Period is 6 months for students who borrowed federal student loans from the Direct or FFEL loan programs (also known as Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans).
Interest Accrues During a Forbearance
If you get a forbearance, you're still responsible for the interest that accrues while you're not making payments. After your forbearance ends, you'll pay off your accrued interest through normal monthly payments.
The main distinctions for exit counseling references are: Must have three references, with one being your closest living relative. Each reference must be at least 21 years old.
| State | Average Debt |
|---|---|
| State California | Average Debt $37,162 |
| State Colorado | Average Debt $37,103 |
| State Connecticut | Average Debt $35,588 |
| State Delaware | Average Debt $38,373 |
When taking out student loans What do you call the signed agreement to pay them back?
A promissory note is a legal contract in which a borrower agrees to repay a loan according to the terms and conditions of the loan.
Pay More than Your Minimum Payment
Paying a little extra each month can reduce the interest you pay and reduce your total cost of your loan over time. Continue to make monthly payments even if you've satisfied future payments, and you'll pay off your loan faster.
When your unpaid interest capitalizes, it increases the outstanding principal amount due on your loan. Then your interest is recalculated based on that higher principal balance, increasing the overall cost of your loan.
When you're finished, a record of your completion will be sent to the schools you selected, and you can then receive your loan money. Keep in mind that you cannot save and leave an incomplete session; you must complete entrance counseling in one sitting.
To complete Exit Counseling, you will need:
20-30 minutes of uninterrupted time to complete the session. Your Federal Student Aid PIN (if you do not have a Federal Student Aid PIN, visit https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa/filling-out/fsaid).
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