Accepting Loans

Subsidized and Unsubsidized – First Time Borrowers
Subsidized and Unsubsidized – Continuing Borrowers
PLUS Loan Borrowers
Perkins Loan Borrowers
health Professions Student Loan (HPL) Borrowers

First-Time Loan Borrowers:

Before you borrow a Federal Direct Student Loan for the first time, you must complete an electronic “Entrance Interview.”  This Entrance Interview is a loan borrower’s major source of information on the loans being borrowed and is an invaluable tool for students.  The federal government requires that when you borrow, you complete this “Entrance Interview” before your loan may be disbursed.  The Entrance Interview is completed on-line from any computer with internet access. For students without access to a computer, we have a Loan Center at L.I.U., just outside of our office, where computer stations are set up and counselors are available to help you during office hours.

The Entrance Interview is available on the U.S. Department of Educations – Direct Loan Servicing Online website (www.dl.ed.gov).  As part of loan counseling, it is recommended that you also investigate all forms of grant aid that may be available.  Visit the U.S. Department of Education’s Student Aid on the Web (www.studentaid.ed.gov) for information on grants from other states.  Once you enter this site click on Funding, and scroll down until you reach the “State Aid” section.  For your convenience, we have also provided a handy list of State Higher Education Agencies in Appendix A of this publication.  You should also be aware that once you complete your Entrance Interview, financial aid counselors are available to answer any questions you may have regarding borrowing educational loans.  You may also visit our office’s website (www.brooklyn.liu.edu/financialaid) for more information on educational loan borrowing. If an Entrance Interview is not completed in a timely manner The Office of Student Financial Services will be forced to cancel any Federal Direct Student Loans you may have been awarded.

Electronic Process: 

YOU MUST KNOW YOUR PIN to electronically complete your Master Promissory Note (MPN.)  This PIN is your Personal I.D. Number that was sent to you via mail or e-mail by the federal government after you completed the FAFSA or Renewal FAFSA. To apply for a PIN or retrieve a lost PIN go to www.pin.ed.gov.
 
To begin the electronic process access the U.S. Department of Education’s Direct Loan Servicing Online site at www.dl.ed.gov and proceed to the “Entrance and Exit Counseling.”  Once you complete your “Entrance Counseling” make sure you add “Long Island University – Brooklyn Campus” and proceed to Step 4 where you should print a copy of your “Borrower Rights and Responsibilities” for your records. The University will receive an electronic record that you completed the entrance interview within 72 hours.  This confirmation along with your Master Promissory Note (MPN) will allow us to disburse your loan to your account.

You may now proceed and electronically “sign” your MPN.  (Reminder:  If you want to accept ALL of the Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans that appear on your Financial Aid Award Notice, go directly to the Federal Direct Loan Website at http://dlenote.ed.gov.  If not, see the “Requesting Loan Adjustments and Cancellations” and stop by this Office for a loan “adjustment.”)

When completing your MPN, along with your PIN, you must also have the names and full addresses of two references (who don’t live in the same household) and your driver’s license number, if applicable.  Once you “sign” an MPN, it is not necessary to sign any further notes for additional Federal Direct Student Loans taken through your attendance at the University (barring special circumstances – i.e. bankruptcy or more then one year of borrowing inactivity.)  The original MPN is archived with the federal government’s Common Origination and Disbursement agency (COD) and becomes part of your permanent file.  All future disbursements are charged to the original MPN.  COD will send you a “Disclosure Statement” for every new loan, every year a loan is borrowed.

For some additional information you need to know as part of your “Entrance Interview” counseling, including your “Rights & Responsibilities” as a borrower click here (.PDF file).  Samples of the information that is included on the Internet site are also provided in print for your convenience.

Continuing Borrowers (Borrowers Who Signed a Master Promissory Note in a Previous Academic Year):

If you are a continuing student who borrowed from the Federal Direct Student Loan Program within the last year, you do not have to sign a new master promissory note.  Instead, you just have to register for a minimum of six credits, and your loan(s) will automatically be processed.  As long as you want the loan(s) for the exact amount that appears on your award notice, you don’t need to do anything.  Your loan(s) will be electronically updated to the Bursar’s Office to assist with your bill clearance.  Once you get your bill from the University, you may go the Bursar’s Office for bill clearance.

Unless we hear from you, the loan(s) appearing on your financial aid award notice will be processed and disbursed by COD, the federal agency for loans, and they will send you a “Disclosure Statement” for each loan that was disbursed.  This will occur for all students registered for at least 6 credits, who were offered Federal Direct Student Loans in their financial aid award notices for the 2006-2007 academic year.

PLUS Loan Borrowers:

If your parent wishes to borrow from the PLUS Loan Program, he/she must electronically sign a Master Promissory Note and will need his/her own federal PIN to do so.  Requesting a PIN can be done over the Internet atwww.pin.ed.gov.  When your parent has completed and submitted the information requested, he/she will be mailed or e-mailed a PIN and can proceed to electronically sign a Master Promissory Note (MPN) at http://dlenote.ed.gov.  Once a note is received, a credit check will take place and, if approved, the loan process continues.  If the loan is denied, the parent borrower may seek an endorser (co-signer).  As previously indicated, because of electronic limitations, only one parent may request a PLUS Loan for any portion of the 2006-2007 academic year. 

In addition to the above, parents must provide the Office of Student Financial Services with a printed copy of their MPN once it has been signed.  This is necessary in order for a credit check to take place and any actual disbursements to be made with the Common Origination and Disbursement agency (COD) of the federal government.  A printed copy of the MPN must be handed in with the “Request to Decline or Adjust a Loan” from located here (.PDF File) - The box marked “My parent would like to borrow a PLUS loan” should be checked and the amount of PLUS loan being requested for the academic year should be indicated.  Both the parent and student should sign the form.  The maximum amount for the PLUS loan is the amount indicated on the 2006-2007 Financial Aid Award Notice.  To find out if the PLUS loan has been disbursed, check with the Bursar’s Office 30-days after submitting the PLUS documents

If your parent borrowed a PLUS loan from L.I.U. in the prior year he/she does not need to sign a new MPN unless an endorser was used.  A copy of last year’s MPN can be printed from http://dlenote.ed.gov and should be submitted with the completed “Request to Decline or Adjust a Loan” form for the process described above.  However, if an endorser was used with that loan, a new MPN is required.

Requesting Loan Adjustments and Cancellations:

Students and parents may request that the University make an adjustment and/or cancellation of a loan but must do so within specific time periods.  Adjustment and cancellation requests must be made within 30 calendar days of the loan’s first disbursement (to the student’s account).  These requests are contingent upon approval by the Bursar’s Office, and apply to all loans in the Federal Direct Student Loan Program/PLUS Loan Program.   Students and/or parents may of course contact the federal loan processor themselves to adjust or cancel loans after that date.

If you would like to reduce your loan(s), or to decline one or all of them, simply fill in the “Request to Decline or Adjust a Loan” form on the back cover of this booklet and bring it to the Office of Student Financial Services.  You can decline one loan while accepting another, borrow less than the amount offered, or request any combination of offered loans.  Visit this Office with the completed form indicated above, and state your intention to decline all or part of your loan(s) before you clear your bill.  You may want to discuss bill clearance with Bursar’s Office before making any final decisions.

Federal Perkins Student Loan Program: 

This is a low (5%) fixed interest rate federal loan for full-time undergraduate and graduate students exhibiting financial need.  This loan becomes repayable nine months after graduation or termination of at least half-time studies.  No interest is charged until that time. Recipients of this loan must complete a separate Federal Perkins Loan Entrance Interview and electronically sign a promissory note for that loan.  This can be done by visiting www.brooklyn.liu.edu/CB-EMPN.  Promissory notes are invalid after one year of no activity so we recommend that students who have questions about their need to sign a new note contact this office.

health Professions Student Loans (HPL):

This federal loan is for full-time pharmacy majors who provide parental income information. It is repayable at 5% interest one year after graduation or immediately upon termination of pharmacy studies (whether undergraduate or graduate) with no interest being charged until that time. Students changing their major mid-year may lose eligibility for the HPL loan for the entire year.  You must manually complete and sign the appropriate promissory note and “Entrance Interview - Borrowers Rights and Responsibilities Acknowledgment” form, provided by this Office.

titleernative Loan Program:

If you find that you need funding beyond the limits of the Federal Direct Student Loan Program, you may wish to consider the titleernative Loan Program.  These loans are not guaranteed by the federal government and are considered private loans.  You must complete the FAFSA in order for this Office to certify your titleernative loan.   To apply for an titleernative loan, you (and a recommended co-signer) must demonstrate that you are credit worthy, or have an acceptable FICA score.  Many lending institutions sponsor titleernative loans, and many allow for electronic filing and approval.  Generally, decisions are made on this type of loan within 72 hours of application filing.  This Office will help you in this process and must determine for you the maximum loan amount you will be allowed to borrow without interrupting your eligibility for your other financial aid awards.

            Once an application is submitted, the following takes place:

• Your electronic Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or Renewal FAFSA is reviewed to determine the maximum amount of titleernative loan funding you can request.
  
  
• This Office electronically or manually certifies your application by providing your cost of education, and required disbursement dates
         
• When your lender receives the application, it will be reviewed and a credit check of the applicant and/or co-signer is performed.
            
•   If your loan is approved, a notification will be sent to you (by the lender), and a check will be mailed to the Bursar’s Office. 
  
• Once your loan proceeds arrive at the University, a second review of eligibility is made by this Office confirming your continued eligibility for the loan.

NOTES:  Only titleernative loans that have been approved or disbursed may be used for bill clearance by the Bursar’s Office.  titleernative loans that are borrowed for semesters that have passed may require additional information such as letters from the Bursar’s Office certifying indebtedness, and from the Registrar’s Office regarding your attendance in those past terms.  Also, if you are a dependent student and wish to pursue an titleernative loan, you must submit a letter to this Office from your parents stating that they decline the PLUS loan so that you can borrow an titleernative loan.