Federal Direct Stafford Loans
The Federal government provides educational loans to Graduate students who are U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or eligible non-citizens and have not defaulted on a federal student loan. Graduate students who are matriculated in a degree-granting program and enrolled at least half-time (5-8 credits) for each semester in which seeking assistance may apply.
Federal Stafford Direct Unsubsidized loan is the primary type of loan available and offered to each student who completes a FAFSA and meets the eligiblity requirements. The maximum loan limit per award year/period is $20,500 determination of eligiblity is based on student's cost of attendance, enrollment plans and housing status. The interest rate is fixed at 6.8%.
Federal Loan Disbursement Fees charged for 2013-2014 are as follows:
| Direct Loan | ||
| Program | Fees prior to 7/1/2013 | Fees after 7/1/2013 |
| Unsubsidized Stafford Loan | 1.0% | 1.051% |
| Graduate PLUS Loan | 4.0% | 4.204% |
Federal Unsubsidized Direct Stafford Loan is available for students
- The federal government does not pay the interest on the borrower's behalf at any time.
- The borrower is responsible for all interest that accrues and can choose to either pay the interest while in school or add any deferred interest to the principal balance of the loan "capitalization". When interest is capitalized, the principal balance will be increased by the amount of unpaid interest.
- Loan fees are deducted from loan proceeds prior to the disbursement of funds and borrowers are responsible for repayment of all such fees.
Apply for the Federal Direct Stafford loan now if you are a first-time borrower to the Direct Loan program.