Rights

As a student borrower, you are entitled to:

• A copy of your repayment schedule and a detailed information about your interest rates, fees, balance owed and repayment options;
• To a six month grace period before your repayment period begins;
• A standard repayment period of at least ten years.

As a student borrower, you have the right to:

• Be notified if your lender sells or transfers your loan and have new servicer contact information provided to you
• Prepay part of or your entire loan at any time without penalty
• Defer repayment for specific time period, if you qualify
• Request forbearance
• Have your loan obligation canceled if you die or become totally and permanently disabled.

Responsibilities

Acceptance of an educational loan requires:

• That you provide complete and true information on all of your loan documents.
• That you notify your lender if you change:
  • Schools
  • Name, address or telephone number
  • Social security number
  • Enrollment status (e.g. withdrawal, graduation or enrolled less than half time)
• That you repay your loan on time and in full even if you:
  • Do not graduate or complete your program of study
  • Are unable to secure employment
  • Are dissatisfied with the education you received
• You must make payments on your student loan even if you don't receive a bill or repayment notice. If you have not received a billing schedule, please contact your loan service provider.
• You must communicate with your loan service provider if you are having trouble making payments. You may be able to reduce or postpone your payments.

Grace Period

The federal student loan "grace period" begins the day after you graduate, leave school, or drop below half-time enrollment. The grace period for all Federal Stafford loans is six months. During the grace period on a subsidized loan, you don't have to pay any principal, and you will not be charged interest. During the grace period on an unsubsidized loan, you don't have to pay any principal, but you will be charged interest. You can either pay the interest or it will be capitalized (added to your principal loan balance, thus increasing the amount you'll repay).

Repayment

Approximately 30-45 days from the last day of your grace period, your first payment will be due. You will receive a repayment schedule during your grace period that will disclose payment amounts, due dates and the period of time you will be paying. For more information click here

Consolidation

Stafford loan consolidation allows a borrower with multiple student loans to refinance them into a single loan with one interest rate and repayment schedule. The interest rate for the consolidation is the "weighted average" of the interest rates on the loans being consolidated and is fixed for the life of the loan.

For more information about loan consolidation under the Federal Direct Loan Program:
www.loanconsolidation.ed.gov
1-800-557-7392

Deferment

A deferment is a period in which a borrower is allowed to postpone payments on the loan principle. The interest accrues and is capitalized if the borrower has an unsubsidized Stafford Loan. You are required to make payments on your Stafford loan until all deferment documentation is complete and has been approved by your loan service provider. The following types of deferment are available:

• at least half-time study at an eligible school
• studying in an approved graduate fellowship or rehabilitation program for the disabled
• unemployed (up to three years)
• experiencing economic hardship (up to three years)

Forbearance

Should you become financially unable to make monthly payments, you may be able to to delay or reduce monthly loan payments because of financial hardship for a short period of time at the discretion of your loan service provider.

For more information about repayment click here.

Consequences of Default

If you fall 270 days behind on your loan payments, your default will be reported to the national credit bureau and you may be subjected to any or all of the following consequences:

• Action taken by a collection agency
• Garnishment of wages
• Withholding of federal tax refund
• Loss of federal student aid eligibility
• Difficulty obtaining other credit

To avoid default, make sure your lender always has your current address, and contact the loan service provider if you are having trouble making payments. Your lender may be able to grant you forbearance or make other arrangements to keep you from defaulting.

For more information about default click here.

Debt Management

Developing good financial health while in college will help you manage your student loan debt when you leave school. Healthy money management while in school involves setting goals and developing and following a budget that will help you meet your goals.

Please feel free to visit: www.direct.ed.gov/BudgetCalc/budget.html for a comprehensive budget calculator.

For more information about managing your debt click here.

Additional Information

Please contact you loan service provider for more information regarding Stafford loan repayment. Most UCCS students that borrowed loans prior to August 2010 are serviced with Nelnet. If you borrowed a Stafford loan starting August 2010, your loans will be serviced by the Department Of Education's Direct Loan Program.

Nelnet can be reached online at www.nelnet.com or by telephone at 1-888-486-4722.

The Direct Loan servicer can be reached online at: www.direct.ed.gov or by telephone at 1-800-848-0979

If you would like to know how many loans you have and who your lenders are, please visit the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) website at: www.NSLDS.ed.gov