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Loan Counseling

Entrance Counseling Required for New Borrowers

All first time borrowers must complete Entrance Counseling, and a Master Promissory Note prior to disbursement of funds at www.StudentAid.gov. You will need your FSA ID to complete both requirements. Entrance counseling ensures that you are aware of your rights and responsibilities as a borrower. After a brief tutorial, you are required to pass a quiz which will be forwarded to Shepherd University.

Financial Awareness Counseling

Financial Awareness Counseling provides tools and information to help you understand your financial aid and assist you in managing your finances. This is a great resource for anyone currently paying for or planning to pay for higher education. You will need your FSA ID along with details on your income, financial aid and living expenses. Please visit  www.StudentAid.gov to get started!

Exit Counseling Required for Borrowers

If a student has borrowed through any loan program at any institution, they are required as part of their loan agreement to complete Exit Counseling when they cease to be at least a half time student.

Federal Student Aid recipients will receive an electronic notification on the requirement to complete exit loan counseling at the www.StudentAid.gov website. If the student did not complete the online exit counseling, the university will send the PDF version of the Exit Counseling Guide for Federal Student Loan Borrowers via email to the student borrower within 30 days after the University learns that the student borrower failed to complete the exit counseling as required.

Each Direct Subsidized or Unsubsidized loan borrower and graduate student Direct PLUS loan borrower who is in the final term of the program of study will receive an electronic notification to complete exit counseling.

For administrative withdrawals, the university ensures that exit counseling is conducted within 30 days of the date the university determined the student has withdrawn.

Exit Counseling provides important information in preparation for repayment of Direct Subsidized, Direct Unsubsidized, or Graduate or professional Direct PLUS loans and the borrower’s rights and responsibilities. It includes information on the average anticipated monthly repayment amount, available repayment plan options, description of the consequences of default, availability of the information in the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), and other information to successfully repay the federal student loans. The borrower may use the Federal Student Aid office Repayment Estimator to see the estimated monthly and total payments including the repayment plan  options for which he may be eligible.

The borrower’s rights include the following:

The borrower’s responsibilities are the following: