US Federal Loans
Contents
Please be aware that as a School outside the USA, AECC will not automatically be advised that you wish to apply for aid. YOU must make contact with the Federal Aid Administrator.
Step 1
Visit http://StudentLoans.gov.
Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
To complete the FAFSA, you will need:
- your Social Security card and driver's licence
- your parents' Social Security number, if you are dependent
- your income tax return
- your parents' income tax return, if you are dependent
- Our OPE identification number: 03794400
- Our Federal Student Aid School Code: G37944
Step 2
Email the Federal Aid Administrator at AECC to let us know you have applied. We will reply with details of expected costs.
Step 3
You are required to complete entrance counselling for which information can be found at http://StudentLoans.gov.
Step 4
The next step is for YOU to email the following information to the AECC:
- Subsidized/Unsubsidized MPN ID number and/or Grad PLUS MPN ID number.
Step 5
The Federal Aid Administrator will process your application and let you know by email how much aid you are entitled to.
If you are eligible, the loan will be certified and your guarantor will be advised.
Once the loan application has been authorised, here at the College we may not hear anything until your first disbursement cheques arrive in September. You can to track the progress of your loan on-line or by contacting your loan company. It is important for YOU to stay in contact with your lender to ensure the process is going smoothly.
Please remember to:
1. Use your loan for educational purposes
2. Tell your lender of address changes
3. Tell your lender about course changes
4. Tell your lender about any changes
5. Open and read your student loan mail.
AECC and the US Department of Education Federal Family Education loan Program (FFELP) require that the student / borrower be a US citizen or a permanent resident in the United States. Federal Family Education Loan Program regulations require that the student / borrower be accepted onto a full-time degree. The student borrower must be continually enrolled on the specified degree program for the duration of the academic year.
In order to remain eligible, student / borrowers are required to be making 'Satisfactory Academic Progress'. This progress is determined by the Federal Aid Administrator based upon the information contained on the student's academic transcript as of the date of evaluation.
A change in status (failure to enrol, withdrawal, exclusion, or failure to progress academically) will result in a failure to meet the above definitions of Academic Progress and Enrolment Status (see below).
If a student does not meet eligibility requirements for Federal Family Education Loan funds your lender, guaranty agency and loan service organisation will be notified.
A student must be enrolled on a full-time degree awarding programme and taking the required credit load for full-time undergraduate or postgraduate degree courses (programmes).
In order to remain eligible, the student borrower must successfully complete each course with a passing grade for any assignments / examinations as defined and required for each course, and which equate to the number of credits earned. Failure, withdrawal, incomplete or other designations indicating a negative status for attempted courses are not considered successful completion. Courses that are repeated will be counted in the calculation of credits attempted and will be counted as credits earned when the student receives a passing grade. Students enrolled on the MChiro degree programme must achieve the minimum required passing grade in each unit taken at AECC.
You must make satisfactory academic progress in order to maintain federal aid eligibility and to receive your second disbursement.
Enrolment status will be continuously reviewed throughout the academic year.
Student loan eligibility will be reviewed during and at the end of each academic year.
Students who borrow under the Federal Family Education Loan Program are required to complete counselling before receiving loan proceeds from their first loan and again shortly before graduating or otherwise leaving school.
If you have recently applied for your first loan, you will need 'Entrance Counselling'.
If you are about to graduate or otherwise leave school, you will need 'Exit Counselling'.
The use of FFELP funds and Repayment of your Loan FFELP funds are specifically to cover the cost of education. The primary cost of education is tuition, followed by associated expenses. Each loan has a grace period of 6 months. This means that 6 months from the date of your graduate or that you cease to attend, you will be required to begin repayments. You must check with your lender for full details on the repayment of your loan.
There are 2 different types of Stafford loans: Subsidised and Unsubsidised. The Student Aid Report will determine which type you are eligible for.
Subsidised loans are available to students who demonstrate a financial need. Subsidised means that you are not responsible for interest that accrues on the loan while you are enrolled at least half-time at university.
Unsubsidised loans are available to students who do not qualify for other financial aid or to students who qualify for partial financial aid but require additional funds. With an unsubsidised loan you are responsible for all the interest that accrues on the loan while you are enrolled at university. The interest on this loan can be paid monthly while you are at university or deferred until after you graduate or stop attending at least half-time.
See http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/studentloans.jsp
Undergraduate Dependent Students Undergraduate Independent Students
1st Year $3,500 per year maximum $7,500 per year maximum of which $3,500 per year is subsidised
2nd Year $4,500 per year maximum $8,500 per year maximum of which $4,500 per year is subsidised
2nd Year $5,500 per year maximum $10,500 per year maximum of which $5,500 per year is subsidised
Aggregate maximum: $23,000 $46,000
Graduate Students Undergraduate Dependent Students
Annual Maximum $20,500 per year
Subsidised Maximum $8,500
Unsubsidised $12,000
Aggregate Maximum $138,500 including undergraduate loans
Please note that AECC accepts no responsibility whatsoever for the repayment of your loan.
It is your responsibility to repay your loan.
There is a 6-month grace period on Stafford Loans from the date you graduate or leave AECC, or drop below half-time status. Repayment begins at the end of the grace period. Please check with your lender for full details on repayment.
Further details on repayment and the payment of interest on your loan can be found on our Federal Loan Frequently Asked Questions page.
Remember that if you default on your loan (270 days or more delinquent), a report is made to all the national credit bureaus which could result in your not being able to obtain a credit card, a mortgage or a car loan. Your name will also be given to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) who may take your federal income tax refund, and your lender may possibly institute other action.
Further information on the consequences of defaulting on your loan can be found on our Federal Loan Frequently Asked Questions page.
If in doubt please contact your lender.
It is also your responsibility to:
- Notify your loan servicer of anything that affects your ability to repay your loan
- Notify your loan servicer of any changes in your status, including graduation, and any changes to your name, address, or telephone number
- Notify your loan servicer if you fail to enrol for the period covered by your loan
- Notify the Finance Office at AECC of any change in your address
Further information on your rights and responsibilities with regards to your loan can be found on our Federal Loan Frequently Asked Questions page.
If you withdraw or fail to attend your programme, you are required to inform the Registry at AECC, the Financial Aid Co-ordinator and your Guaranty Agency/Lender no later than five working days after withdrawal. Students who withdraw from their programme of study are required to inform the College in writing. Failure to attend after enrolment is deemed to be a withdrawal. Any "unearned" loan funds disbursed to you directly must be returned.
If you withdraw from your year of study, before and up to a point in time when 60% of your programme of study has been completed, the College is required in accordance with federal regulations, to return all loan funds disbursed on your behalf, to your Guaranty Agency or lender. FFELP students who withdraw from the course of study are not eligible for the refund of tuition, or indeed any fees or costs that have been drawn from FFELP funds.
The College is at liberty to request the immediate re-payment of any proportionate amount up to the certified aggregate annual loan amount, if your Lender, Guaranty Agency, or the US Government requires the College to return all of the FFELP funds certified in your name. This means that the entire loan amount certified for any one academic year, and any proportion of it which may have been returned to you as a credit balance by the College, must be returned to the College if the US Government or your Guaranty Agency or Lender (or regulations thereof) indicate that your loan funds are "unearned".
If you complete more than 60% of your course, you are not entitled to a refund as the College has maintained your study place, and allocated resources thereof for your academic progress. If you withdraw from your course of study at any point during the current academic year, your Lender and Guaranty Agency will be notified and you will be required to complete an Exit-Counselling session..