The Student Loan Revolution: Incoming Students

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR ME?

This means good things for you! Entering the Federal Student Loan market now means that you are starting with a clean slate. The advatage of starting out with the Direct Loan Process includes these benefits:

• Serial Master Promissory Notes (MPN) : When you get a loan with the Department of Education, by default you sign a serial MPN. A serial MPN is good for 10 years which means that each Federal Stafford Loan you get can be under one Master Promissory Note. Each year you can simply tell on your Financial Aid Acceptance Form that you want your loan and how much (up to the maximum you are eligible for). Sign your serial MPN once and you won't have to sign it again as long as you remain enrolled at NESCom!
• Step-By-Step Application Process! Students in previous years chose a lender and then had to figure out how to apply for the loan. Schools did all they could to help students understand the different application processes but with so many of them, financial aid counselors couldn't learn them ALL inside and out. Now that all Federal Student Loans have JUST ONE APPLICATION PROCESS you can trust that your financial aid office will confidently be able to help you troubleshoot the process if you ever get stuck!
• One-Stop-Shop at www.studentloans.gov ! Often, in the past students had to choose a lender, complete their application, sign their Master Promissory Note, and complete Online Entrance Counseling all on different websites. With the Direct Lending Program all of those components are built into www.studentloans.gov as well as some other tools and resources that you will find helpful along the student loan path.

HOW DO I APPLY FOR MY LOAN STEP-BY-STEP?

1. Accept your loan(s). Complete and return your Financial Aid Acceptance Form to accept your Federal Stafford Loans.
2. Retrieve your FAFSA PIN. You will need your PIN used to sign your FAFSA to begin the loan process. If you have forgotten or are having trouble with your PIN please refer to the PIN site.
3. Log onto the Direct Lending Site: Visit StudentLoans.gov. Under “Manage my Direct Loan” click the green “Sign In” button. MAC USERS NOTE: Students who tried using Safari to sign in could not see the green “sign in” button. If you experience this please try again using FireFox or another browser.
4. Complete the application: Once logged in, click on “Complete MPN” on the left hand side of the page. From there, choose “Subsidized/Unsubsidized.” Once you are redirected to the application page, it will ask for “Personal information.” Enter your information and click “Continue” at the bottom.
5. Complete Reference Information: Section 2 of the application asks for name, address, phone number, and relationship of 2 references. Complete both boxes of information and click “Continue.”
6. Read your Terms and Conditions: Section 3 is broken down into Sections D-H. Once you have read through each section a green checkmark will appear at the top right hand corner of the box indicating which sections you have read through. Section F outlines your Master Promissory Note. It is very important to read through all of this information and print a copy for your records. When you have read through all sections click the box that indicates you have reviewed the information and that you acknowledge it is true and correct.
7. Edit Incorrect Information: As a part of Section 3 (Terms and Conditions) you have the opportunity to correct any errors before “signing.” To edit simply click the “Edit” button at the top right hand corner of each section. If all information is correct proceed to step 8 below!
8. Sign the Master Promissory Note (MPN). If all information is correct, put your Name, Middle Initial, and Last Name in the fields at the bottom of the page and click “Sign”.
9. Receive confirmation email from the Department of Education: The email address you list in the application will receive confirmation if the application has been successfully submitted. If you do not receive this email please contact us at financialaid@nescom.edu .
10. Complete Online Entrance Counseling. If you are a first time borrower at NESCom, you are required to complete entrance counseling. Once you have finished signing your MPN stay logged into StudentLoans.gov. Click on “Complete Entrance Counseling” on the left hand side of the page.
11. Notify the Financial Aid office. Send an email to our Financial Aid office with your name and “MPN and Entrance Counseling Completed” in the subject line.