Activating Your Loans

Who is Eligible to Activate a Loan?

If you are eligible for a student loan at Clatsop, you will receive an Estimated Loan Request with your Award Letter after your FAFSA and all required items have determined your eligibility.  You must also be enrolled  at least half-time to be eligible for loans.  The Estimated Loan Request will state the type and estimated amount of loan that you are being offered. If you do not wish to borrow a loan, do not complete the Loan Request.  If you do wish to borrow, you may take out the maximum loan(s) you are offered or a lesser amount than offered by requesting it on the Loan Request form.  For your loan application to be considered complete you must submit a completed Estimated Loan Request, a Master Promissory Note (MPN), Entrance Counseling and Borrower's Rights & Responsibilities by the Loan Application Deadlines below.  You can find instructions on completing these items as you read through this site under How Do You Activate Your Loan Offer. 

2012-2013 completed Loan Requests will not begin to be processed until August 1.

Loan Requests received after these dates will not be processed until the student has registered for the following term (Winter or Spring) and the term has begun.  A student must be enrolled and attending in the term for which they request a loan.

How Much Can You Borrow?

That depends.  There are two types of Federal Direct Stafford Loans, Subsidized and Unsubsidized.  Eligibility is based on loan period, dependency status, budgetary need and annual and aggregate maximums. Your Estimated Loan Request will state your individual eligibility and type of loan(s) you are offered.  Loans will be processed at actual eligible amount as of day of certification.  If you are offered a student loan, you have the following options on your Estimated Loan Request:

• accept the full amount for All loans offered
• accept the full amount offered for an individual loan (subsidized* or unsubsidized)
• accept an offered loan, but request a lower amount
• decline the loan by not returning paperwork to "activate" it
• decide at a later date (check term deadlines above)

*Subsidized eligibility is always calculated for you prior to Unsubsidized, as it is the least expensive loan option available since you are not responsible for interest until you actively enter repayment.

Your loan period is generally the current/next term for which you meet the loan application deadline through the end of the academic year.  Retroactive eligibility may only be considered for consecutive terms where satisfactory academic progress was earned.  An updated Award Letter will be issued reflecting loan awards by type and term.  The net amount will be divided into term disbursements and applied to your student account.  To request a partial or full cancelation, submit a written request to the Financial Aid Office within 14 days of when the funding is applied to your student account.  Clatsop does not participate in PLUS or alternative loan programs.

Is My Loan Eligibility Subject To Change During the Year?

YES!  Your loan eligibility may be subject to change throughout the year if you change enrollment status, terms of attendance, your cost of attendance changes, you receive additional educational funding from another source or agency, you fail to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress guidelines, or other situations that may change your eligibility. If you do not have a loan activated, you will receive a new Estimated Loan Request with any revised Award Letter notification.  If you do have a loan activated and the change decreases your loan eligibility, your loan will be decreased and you will receive notification.  If you do have a loan activated and the change increases your loan eligibility, you will see a new Estimated Loan Request attached to your revised Award Letter notification listing the increase.  If you wish to borrow the increase, you will have to complete the new Estimated Loan Request.  Loans will not automatically be activated and certified for the increased amount without the signed Loan Request verifying you want the increased loan amount.

When Will You Receive Your Loan Funding?

That depends.  CCC can only disburse funds to your student account after we are notified by USDE that your accepted MPN and Entrance Counseling is on file as well as your completed Estimated Loan Request.  You will be notified when your loan has been activated and certified through your MyCCC account with an anticipated date of disbursement.  The loan amounts on your Award Letter will reflect the gross amount borrowed but loan fees of .5% will be automatically deducted leaving your actual dollar amount slightly less.  Your net loan disbursement will be divided over the number of terms of your loan period (or by two disbursements required for a single-term loan) and applied to your student account as early as the dates below or the following Friday after you have received Award Letter notification:

How Do I Receive My Funding?

Once all tuition, fees, etc. have been paid on your student account, a check will be disbursed for the remaining balance of your account.  Other than initial disbursement dates above, CCC disburses checks throughout the term on Fridays.  Checks are disbursed in the Student Account Office in the Student Services Center and you will need to check their posted office hours.  You will need to have a completed Attendance Verification (.pdf, 56 KB) form and photo ID anytime you have funding to pick up during a term. Attendance Verification forms must be submitted within 5 days of the instructor's signature or they will not be accepted.  They can be found online or in the Student Services lobby.

Borrower Rights and Responsibilities Highlights:

• Only borrow as a last resort to meet real, educational needs.  Debt can add up fast.
• A great reference for managing your loans and repayment is Federal Student Aid Repayment Information and Fastweb's Repaying Student Loans Quick Reference Guide (.pdf, 499 KB).
• Consider not only your current need, but also your realistic career goals, how much you expect to earn and estimated debt load and repayment burden before you borrow.  Debt can add up fast.  The following information is a useful guide to undergraduate (through a Bachelor's degree) borrowing:

If you have determined that you need a student loan to meet your educational expenses while attending CCC after reviewing above information, you may now proceed by following the steps to activate your loan offer.

How Do You Activate Your Loan Offer?

Note- Processing of student loans for 2012-2013 

will not begin until August 1, 2012.  

Clatsop participates in the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program. Please read how to activate your loan offer depending  on if you are a Direct Loan Borrower or a Returning Clatsop Direct Loan Borrower under the two separate headings below.  These steps will also provide additional information on student loans and you should refer to Federal Direct Stafford Loans for more detailed information on student loans.  Follow all instructions and submit your completed Estimated Loan Request to the Financial Aid Office for processing.

Direct Student Loan Borrower 
Complete the following steps and submit copies of all to the Financial Aid Office if you wish to process and activate your loan(s).  This process can take 2-3 weeks and you will be notified by mail when your loan has been activated.

• Note that if you are a first time borrower and a first time freshman, you will have a 30 day delay in the disbursement of your loan(s) the first term you borrow. (This will be the first Friday after 30 days from the first day of the term as listed in the above chart.)

After notification that your loan has been activated, you will need to have a completed Attendance Verification Form (.pdf, 56 KB) and a photo ID to pick up your check in the Student Account Office in the Student Services Center.

You will need to be prepared to enter the following information:

•  Social Security Number
• Federal PIN (This site requires you to use your PIN.  If you don't have a PIN, you can request one at the PIN website)
• Contact information for 2-3 personal references (needed information includes address and phone number-these references should be people who will know how to contact you in 10 years)

1. Entrance Counseling: Go to www.studentloans.gov follow the instructions to complete the on-line Entrance Counseling.  This takes approximately 20 to 30 minutes to complete.  Note that you must complete Entrance Counseling every academic year you borrow.

• Click "Entrance Counseling".
• Participate in interactive sessions that includes a short quiz after each section.
• Review your "Borrower Rights and Responsibilities."
• Click "Submit" and print confirmation page for your records.
• Notification of successful completion will be sent electronically to school.

2. Master Promissory Note (MPN): Go to the www.studentloans.gov and follow the instructions to complete the electronic Master Promissory Note (MPN). If you need help with your MPN, you may call 1-800-557-7394.  The MPN takes approximately 30 minutes to complete.

• Complete all personal information.
• Complete all school and loan information.
• Complete all reference 1 and 2 information.
• Review the Term and Conditions section thoroughly.
• Confirm the information and edit if needed.
• Electronically sign by entering your name and clicking on "Sign."
• After your signature is authenticated, review the HTML version of your MPN before submitting.  Close that window and click continue.
• You can view and print a PDF version of your MPN. 
• Notification of successful completion will be sent electronically to school.

Remember, by signing an MPN you are agreeing to pay back any Direct Loans that you borrow for your education.

Note: In rare cases or in excess of 10 years, the MPN that you previously completed my be closed.  In this case, you will need to go to the Federal Student Aid site and follow the instructions to complete a new MPN.

3. Borrower’s Rights and Responsibilities: Print out, sign and submit this Borrower’s Rights & Responsibilities checklist. (This is required for borrowing in 2011-2012 but will no longer be required for student's borrowing in 2012-2013.)

4. Estimated Loan Request: If eligible, a Loan Request will show on your MyCCC financial aid account.  Print and carefully complete all items, sign and submit if you wish to borrow.  Be sure you have correctly completed your Entrance Counseling and MPN which should transmit electronically or you may attach.  Do attach the Borrower's Rights & Responsibilities.  An incomplete Loan Request will be returned to you and not processed so please complete carefully. Processing may take 2-3 weeks.

Returning Clatsop Direct Student Loan Borrower
If you have previously borrowed a loan under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program at Clatsop, you are a returning borrower. This means you already have previously completed the Entrance Counseling and electronic Master Promissory Note. You only need to submit the following:

1. Estimated Loan Request: If eligible, your Loan Request will show on your MyCCC financial aid account.  Print and carefully complete all items, sign and submit if you wish to borrow.  An incomplete Loan Request will be returned to you and not processed so please complete carefully.  Processing may take 2 to 3 weeks.

2. Entrance Counseling: Go to www.studentloans.gov follow the instructions to complete the on-line Entrance Counseling.  This takes approximately 20 to 30 minutes to complete.  New for Fall 2012 borrowers-Entrance Counseling will now be required to be completed each academic year you borrow at CCC.

•Click "Entrance Counseling".
•Participate in interactive sessions that includes a short quiz after each section.
•Review your "Borrower Rights and Responsibilities."
•Click "Submit" and print confirmation page for your records.
•Notification of successful completion will be sent electronically to school.

Other Loan Information:

Dependent Care Costs:  If you have Dependent Care costs due to attending college that are not paid by another agency, you can submit a Dependent Care Expense Request for review. This may increase the amount of student loan that you are offered in order to assist you in paying your dependent care expenses while in attendance. You would need to complete and submit a Dependent Care Expense Form for review and submit with your initial Loan Request.

Second-Year Student : If you receive a Loan Request, you may be eligible to increase the subsidized amount of loan or total amount of loans you may borrow if you are a second year student. To qualify as a second year student you must be able to show that you have at least 45 required credits toward your declared two year associate degree. Required credits mean the credits that are actually listed on the checklist. To have this reviewed, you will need to meet with your advisor to complete a Degree Checklist listing all of your completed classes toward your degree and it must be signed off by your advisor.  This should be submitted with your initial Loan Request. After review, you will be notified if it changes your type of loan or loan amount. See the front desk in Student Services to pick up a Degree Checklist.

Loan Cancelation: You have the right to cancel all or any part of your loan prior to receiving funds by submitting a completed Loan adjustment form to the Financial Aid Office. After receipt of loan funds, but before 120 days, you may return the full amount of the loan funds you received to the Business Office or to the Department of Education and incur no loan fees or interest charges.

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