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FinAid | Student Loans | Direct Loans vs. the FFEL Program

Federal education loans are available either through the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program ("Direct Loans") or the Federal Family Education Loan Program ("FFEL Program" or "FFELP"). The FFEL Program is sometimes referred to as the federally-guaranteed student loan program.

The choice of loan program available to a borrower depends on the college. About three quarters of colleges...

FinAid | Answering Your Questions | Glossary

The process of assembling a financial aid package.

Parent Contribution (PC)

An estimate of the portion of your educational expenses that the federal government believes your parents can afford. It is based on their income, the number of parents earning income, assets, family size, the number of family members currently attending a university and other relevant factors. Students who qualify as...

FinAid | Loans | Credit Scores

The recency, frequency and severity of credit activity also have an impact.

How do Federal Student Loans use Credit Scores?

The Stafford, Perkins and PLUS loans do not depend on your credit score. The Stafford and Perkins loans are available entirely without regard to your credit history. The PLUS loan, however, requires that the borrower not have an adverse credit history.

An adverse credit...

FinAid | Loans | Student Loan Consolidation

Consolidation Loans combine several student or parent loans into one bigger loan from a single lender, which is then used to pay off the balances on the other loans. They also provide an opportunity for alternative repayment plans, making monthly payments more manageable.

Consolidation loans are available for most federal loans, including Stafford, PLUS and SLS, FISL, Perkins, Health Professional...

FinAid | Loans | Repayment Plans | Income-Based Repayment

Income-Based Repayment

The Income-Based Repayment (IBR) is best for borrowers who are experiencing financial difficulty, have low income compared with their debt, or who are pursuing a career in public service .

Income-based repayment is intended as an alternative to income sensitive repayment (ISR) and income contingent repayment (ICR). It is designed to make repaying education...

FinAid | Student Loans | Student Loan Servicers

This section of FinAid provides information about student loan servicers. Servicers are companies that collect payments on a loan, respond to customer service inquiries, and perform other administrative tasks associated with maintaining a loan portfolio. Loan servicers disburse loans funds, monitor loans while the borrowers are in school, collect payments, process deferments and forbearances,...

FinAid | Loans | Student Loan Rehabilitation

Loan rehabilitation is a one-time opportunity to clear the default on a defaulted federal education loan and regain eligibility for federal student aid. If you redefault on the loan, you will not be able to rehabilitate the loan a second time. If a judgment has been obtained on the defaulted loan, it is not eligible for rehabilitation.

Consolidation of Defaulted Loans

After the borrower has made...

FinAid | Loans | Net Present Value

Net Present Value (NPV) is a way of comparing the value of money now with the value of money in the future. A dollar today is worth more than a dollar in the future, because inflation erodes the buying power of the future money, while money available today can be invested and grow.

The term constant dollars refers to the net present value relative to a fixed date. The term current dollars refers...

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