Stafford Student Loan News

Golf is a solitary game. One fleeting mental lapse and your round will blow up quicker than Kirstie Alley off Jenny Craig. It’s just you against the course. Sometimes that’s how it can feel in the student loan world as well. Many feel alone and unsure of the correct process. Some ask themselves, am I doing the right thing? Well, I’m here to serve as your student loan caddy and dissolve some of that stress and tame those insecurities. You’ll be swinging with confidence in no time. I’ll help you strategize your assault on the student loan course, and get your round under par. So put that karaoke microphone down and step back from your off pitch rendition of Neil Diamond’s “Solitary Man.” You are no longer alone.

I will start by telling you what I have told thousands of students, parents, guardians, and financial advisers over the past year, complete your FAFSA! It all starts with your Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Without this you have nothing. Would you walk up to the tee box with your sand wedge on a 500 yard par 5? I didn’t think so. So don’t start now. The FAFSA is the single most important document you can complete for federal financial aid. Below is an overview of how the process works from tee to green.

1. Complete your Free Application for Federal Student Aid FAFSA which gets sent to the Department of Education.

2. The DOE creates a Student Aid Report (SAR) on your behalf based off your FAFSA and sends this to the school(s) you designate. This process generally takes 7-10 business days.

3. The school will then send out an awards letter to you outlining the financial aid you are eligible for. That aid may include scholarships, grants, and federal loans.

4. You then complete a Stafford Loan application where you will sign a Master Promissory Note agreeing to pay back the loan after school. Please note, some schools are Direct Loan Schools or William D. Ford schools as they are also known. If you attend a Direct Loan School you will need to contact your school’s financial aid office for further instruction on how to complete your federal loan application.

5. The lender will send a certification letter to the school’s financial aid office within 48 hours of your successful completion of your Master Promissory Note. The school then certifies your enrollment and lists the amount of your federal loan (the amount is based on your Expected Family Contribution total from your SAR).

6. The funds get disbursed to the school.

7. Begin the repayment process 6 months after you graduate or take a leave of absence from school.

So there you have it. Never again will you be made the fool. Never again will you be referred to as “Tin Cup”. The tiger roar is now alive and well within. So go for the green. Go for the glory. Seize the moment. Wait, what’s that sound? I think I hear some chirping. Yes I do. Another birdie.