Loans

Federal Direct Stafford Loans – Subsidized and Unsubsidized

Direct Subsidized Loans:

  • Direct Subsidized Loans are available to undergraduate students with financial need.
  • The Office of Financial Aid determines the amount you can borrow, and the amount may not exceed your financial need.
  • The U.S. Department of Education pays the interest on a Direct Subsidized loan while you are in school at least half-time, for the first six months after you leave school (referred to as a grace period), and during a period of deferment (a postponement of loan payments).

Direct Unsubsidized Loans:

  • Direct Unsubsidized Loans are available to undergraduate and graduate students; there is no requirement to demonstrate financial need.
  • The Office of Financial Aid determines the amount you can borrow based on your cost of attendance and other financial aid you receive.
  • You are responsible for paying the interest on a Direct Unsubsidized Loan during all periods.
  • If you choose not to pay the interest while you are in school and during grace periods and deferment or forbearance periods, your interest will accrue (accumulate) and be capitalized (that is, your interest will be added to the principal amount of your loan).

Annual Loan Limits

Year Dependent Students (except students whose parents are unable to obtain PLUS Loans) Independent Students (and dependent undergraduate students whose parents are unable to obtain PLUS Loans)
First-Year Undergraduate Annual Loan Limit $5,500—No more than $3,500 of this amount may be in subsidized loans. $9,500—No more than $3,500 of this amount may be in subsidized loans.
Second-Year Undergraduate Annual Loan Limit $6,500—No more than $4,500 of this amount may be in subsidized loans. $10,500—No more than $4,500 of this amount may be in subsidized loans.
Third-Year and Beyond Undergraduate Annual Loan Limit $7,500—No more than $5,500 of this amount may be in subsidized loans. $12,500—No more than $5,500 of this amount may be in subsidized loans.
Graduate or Professional Students Annual Loan Limit Not Applicable (all graduate and professional students are considered independent) $20,500 (unsubsidized only)
 
 
Subsidized and Unsubsidized Aggregate Loan Limit		  
 

$31,000—No more than $23,000 of this amount may be in subsidized loans.

 $57,500 for undergraduates—No more than $23,000 of this amount may be in subsidized loans.
$138,500 for graduate or professional students—No more than $65,500 of this amount may be in subsidized loans. The graduate aggregate limit includes all federal loans received for undergraduate study.

Interest Rate

Loan Type Borrower Type Loans first disbursed on or after 7/1/23 and before 7/1/24 Loans first disbursed on or after 7/1/22 and before 7/1/23

Direct Subsidized Loans

Undergraduate

5.05%

4.99%

Direct Unsubsidized Loans

Undergraduate

5.05%

4.99%

Direct Unsubsidized Loans

Graduate or Professional

7.05%

6.54%

Loan Fees

Loan Fees for Direct Subsidized Loans and Direct Unsubsidized Loans
First Disbursement Date Loan Fee
On or after Oct. 1, 2020, and before Oct. 1, 2024 1.057%
On or after Oct. 1, 2019, and before Oct. 1, 2020 1.057%

Federal Direct PLUS Loans

Direct PLUS Loans:

  • New student and parent borrowers must apply and complete the Master Promissory Note (MPN) and Entrance Counseling before a PLUS loan can be added to the financial aid award. The PLUS loan will be automatically added to the financial aid award for borrowers with a previously approved PLUS loan.
  • The borrower must not have an adverse credit history.    Note:  PLUS loans which are approved through the reconsideration process or require an endorser due to adverse credit history, require special loan counseling that is available on the Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid website; StudentAid.gov. This requirement applies to both graduate students and parent(s) of a dependent student.
  • The maximum loan amount is the student’s cost of attendance (determined by the school) minus any other financial aid received.

To receive a Direct PLUS Loan, you must

  • be a graduate or professional degree student enrolled at least half-time at an eligible school in a program leading to a degree or certificate, or be the parent (biological, adoptive, or in some cases, stepparent) of a dependent undergraduate student enrolled at least half-time at a participating school; and
  • meet the general eligibility requirements for federal student aid. If you are borrowing on behalf of your child, your child must also meet these requirements.

Interest Rates - These are fixed interest rates for the life of the loan.

Interest Rate for Direct PLUS Loans
First Disbursement Date Interest Rate
On or after July 1, 2023, and before July 1, 2024 8.05%
On or after July 1, 2022, and before July 1, 2023 7.54%

Loan Fees

Loan Fees for Direct PLUS Loans
First Disbursement Date Loan Fee
On or after Oct. 1, 2020, and before Oct. 1, 2024 4.228%
On or after Oct. 1, 2019, and before Oct. 1, 2020 4.228%

Direct loan requirements, MPN, Entrance Counseling and Endorser Addendum, must be completed on line at StudentAid.gov before the funds can be disbursed.

Entrance Counseling

The goal of entrance counseling is to help you understand what it means to take out a federal student loan and the seriousness and importance of repaying the loan. The U.S. Department of Education requires entrance counseling for all students taking a Direct Loan.

You must complete entrance counseling before the first disbursement of your loan. Direct Loan entrance counseling may be completed online at https://studentaid.gov/app/counselingInstructions.action?counselingType=entrance.

Loma Linda University Institutional Loans

Loma Linda University has various types of Institutional Loans which are available to both undergraduate and graduate students. The majority of the loans are awarded based on financial need and submission of all student requirements.  Additional requirements may be needed before the loans can be awarded.  Check student requirements periodically to confirm no additional documents are needed. 

Additional Loan Requirements:

  • No loan defaults
  • Must be enrolled at least half time each quarter for disbursement (some loans may require full time enrollment)
  • Enrolled in an accredited degree or certificate program
  • Completed promissory note
Loma Linda University Institutional Loans
Loan Name Loan Rate Grace Period
School specific loans A range of 5% to 9% depending on the specific loan A range of 3 to 12 months depending on the specific loan
Example: LLU Nursing General Loan 8% 6 months

Private Loans

The choice of a lender for your private student loan is yours. Private loans are funded through banks and other private lending institutions. We recommend you only consider private loans after maximizing any federal student loans for which you may already qualify. Federal student loans, unlike private loans, are required by law to provide a range of flexible repayment options including, but not limited to, income-based and income-contingent repayment plans, as well as loan forgiveness benefits, that other student loans are not required to provide. Since the Department of Education does not regulate private student loans, their terms and conditions can vary widely. Private loans typically also require a credit-worthy co-signer. The LLU Office of Financial Aid has opted to use FASTChoice, a loan comparison service, offered free of charge to schools and lenders, by the Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation. FASTChoice helps you determine your best loan option(s) by providing detailed information on the various loans, as well as the terms and benefits offered by different lenders. Go to FASTChoice to search and compare private loan options. Should you decide to apply for a private loan, be patient and respond quickly to all requests from your lender to ensure prompt receipt of your funds. After your loan is approved, the lender will contact us to certify the loan. Once we confirm your eligibility, we will certify the amount of your loan and return an electronic response to your lender. After final loan approval, your lender will send funds to us for disbursement to your student account. We attempt to process private loans as quickly as possible, but we must allow for the "right to cancel" period to expire. In accordance with the Higher Education Opportunity Act, you have three days to cancel your loan after you receive your final disclosure. Please allow for those three days, plus up to seven additional days for processing.

Right to Cancel Loans

Before your loan money is disbursed, you may cancel all or part of your loan at any time by notifying the Financial Aid Office (FAO).  After your loan money has disbursed, there are two ways to cancel all or part of your loan:

1. You may notify the FAO (within certain timeframes). You may tell the FAO that you want to cancel all or part of your loan within 14 days after the date you are notified of your right to cancel all or part of the loan, or by the first day of the payment period, whichever is later.  You may submit a completed Request to Change – Aid Adjustment form to the FAO, which will allow you to cancel all or partial amounts of a loan.

If you ask to cancel all or part of your loan within the timeframes described above, the FAO will return the cancelled loan amount to your servicer. Requests made after 30 days will result in the reduction or cancellation of subsequent disbursements of the loan, if future disbursements exist.  After the final disbursement of the loan, and if a credit exists on your student account, requests to cancel or reduce a Direct Loan disbursement may be processed at the discretion of the FAO if received after 30 days but within 120 days of the last disbursement.

2. You may return all or part of your loan directly to your servicer. Within 120 days of the date your loan funds are disbursed (by crediting the loan money to your student account, by paying it directly to you, or both), you may cancel all or part of your loan by returning all or part of the loan money to  your servicer. Contact your servicer for guidance on how and where to return your loan money.  To determine your Direct Loan Servicer, go to the Federal Student Aid/ website. 

You do not have to pay interest or the loan fee on the part of your loan that is cancelled or returned within the timeframes described above. Your servicer will adjust your loan amount to eliminate any interest and loan fee that applies to the amount of the loan that is cancelled or returned.