Loan counseling is required by the government for all Federal student loan programs. The process explains your rights and responsibilities as a borrower of Federal funds.
There are two types of loan counseling, and they take place at different stages of the loan process. Students must complete entrance counseling prior to receiving Federal loan funds for the first time. Ideally, this should be done at the time of application.
Exit counseling is required upon leaving school (withdrawing, graduating, or transferring to another school) and/or dropping below half-time enrollment status. Students who are taking a temporary Leave of Absence are still required to complete the Federal exit counseling. Upon returning to school, the student can re-enter the "in-school deferred" status.
Federal Stafford Loan
ENTRANCE and EXIT counseling are both online: http://mappingyourfuture.org/oslc/
*New borrowers: complete ENTRANCE counseling (select from the list)
*Students who are graduating or withdrawing: complete EXIT counseling.
The exit session will also ask you to complete a budget to plan your repayment and other expenses.
For the exit session, you will need:
Federal Perkins Loan
New borrowers: Perkins Loan entrance counseling is *not* available online at this time.
You will be asked to sign and return a paper copy of the Perkins Rights & Responsibilities page to fulfill the entrance requirement. This form will be mailed to you.
Students who are graduating or withdrawing: You will receive an e-mail from University Accounting Services with a linked request to complete online EXIT counseling for the Federal Perkins loan. You will need the same information noted above.
University Accounting Services site for your Perkins Loan Exit
