As a federal loan borrower, you are entitled to certain rights and responsibilities. It is important to be aware of these and consequently, we have provided a selection of such rights and responsibilities below. For details, please read the information below which was excerpted from The Student Guide 2012-2013, published by the U.S. Department of Education.
Rights
- You have the right to a grace period before your repayment period begins. Your grace period begins when you leave school or drop below half time status, and lasts six months.
- Your lender must give you a loan repayment schedule that states when your first payment is due, the number and frequency of payments, and the amount of each payment.
- You must be notified when the loan is sold if the sale results in making payments to a new lender or agency. Both the old and new lender or agency must provide this notification and must provide the identity of the new lender or agency holding the loan, the address to which the borrower must make payments, and the telephone numbers of both the old and new lender or agency.
- You have the right to prepay any part of your loan at any time without penalty. Please contact your lender for payment instructions.
Responsibilities
- You must repay your loans according to the terms of the Master Promissory Note (MPN).
- Think about what your repayment obligation means before you take out a loan. If you do not repay your loan on time or according to the terms in your MPN, you may go into default, which has serious consequences and will affect your credit rating.
- You must make payments on your loan even if you don’t receive a bill or repayment notice. You must also make monthly payments in the full amount your repayment plan has established. Partial payments do not fulfill your obligation.
- If you apply for a deferment or forbearance, you must continue to make payments until you’re notified the request has been granted. If you do not, you may go into default. You should keep a copy of any request form you submit, and you should document all contacts with the organization that holds your loan.