Federal Loan Repayment Information

All loans processed at Millersville University beginning with summer 2010, are processed through the US Department of Education.  The US Department of Education uses private companies to service the loans.  These are the companies you will need to contact regarding your loan repayments.

Currently, there are several different servicers of federal loans. Click here for a list of servicers and contact information. 

 

• To determine who your servicer is for each of your loans, click here and log into your account using your FSA user ID.
• Please note, if you borrowed federal loans prior to summer 2010, your servicer may be different than those listed above - the loans processed prior to summer 2010 were done under the FFEL Program with private lenders.

A Direct Consolidation Loan allows a borrower to consolidate (combine) multiple federal student loans into one loan. The result is a single monthly payment instead of multiple payments.

Make sure you carefully consider whether loan consolidation is the best option for you. While loan consolidation can simplify loan repayment and lower your monthly payment, it also can significantly increase the total cost of repaying your loans.

• Consolidation offers lower monthly payments by giving you up to 30 years to repay your loans. But, if you increase the length of your repayment period, you'll also make more payments and pay more in interest than you would otherwise.
• In fact, in some situations, consolidation can double your total interest expense. If you don't need monthly payment relief, you should compare the cost of repaying your unconsolidated loans against the cost of repaying a consolidation loan.
• You also should take into account the impact of losing any borrower benefits offered under repayment plans for the original loans.
• Borrower benefits from your original loan, which may include interest rate discounts, principal rebates, or some loan cancellation benefits, can significantly reduce the cost of repaying your loans. You may lose those benefits if you consolidate.
• Once your loans are combined into a Direct Consolidation Loan, they cannot be removed. That's because the loans that were consolidated have been paid off and no longer exist. Take the time to study the pros and cons of consolidation before you submit your application.

For additional information, go to: 

• Federal Student Aid Loan Consolidation 

The terms forgiveness, cancellation, and discharge mean the same thing, but they’re used in different ways.

• If you’re no longer required to make payments on your loans due to your job, this is generally called forgiveness or cancellation.
• If you’re no longer required to make payments on your loans due to other circumstances, such as a total and permanent disability or the closure of the school where you received your loans, this is generally called discharge.

You must repay your loans even if you don’t complete your education, can’t find a job related to your program of study, or are unhappy with the education you paid for with your loan. You also can’t claim that you have no responsibility for repaying your loan because you were a minor (under the age of 18) when you signed your promissory note or received the loan. However, certain circumstances might lead to your loans being forgiven, canceled, or discharged.

The list below is a quick view of the types of forgiveness, cancellation, and discharge available for the different types of federal student loans.

*FFEL Program loans and Perkins Loans may become eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness if they are consolidated into the Direct Loan Program.

In addition to the types of forgiveness, cancellation, and discharge shown above, you may also be eligible for discharge of your federal student loans based on borrower defense to repayment if you took out the loans to attend a school that misled you, or engaged in other misconduct in violation of certain state laws, and if the school’s act or omission directly related to your federal student loans or to the educational services that you paid for with the loans. 

If you have trouble making your education loan payments, contact immediately the organization that services your loan. You might qualify for a deferment, forbearance, or another form of payment relief. It's important to take action before you are charged late fees. For Federal Perkins Loans, contact your loan servicer or the school that made you the loan. For Direct and FFEL Program Stafford Loans, contact your loan servicer. If you do not know who your servicer is, you can look it up online.

• Deferment:

  You can receive a deferment for certain defined periods. A deferment is a temporary suspension of loan payments for specific situations such as re-enrollment in school, unemployment, or economic hardship. Click here to see a loan deferment summary chart. You don't have to pay interest on the loan during deferment if you have a subsidized Direct or FFEL, Stafford Loan or a Federal Perkins Loan. If you have an unsubsidized Direct or FFEL Stafford Loan, you're responsible for the interest during deferment. If you don't pay the interest as it accrues (accumulates), it will be capitalized (added to the loan principal), and the amount you have to pay in the future will be higher. You have to apply for a deferment to your loan servicer (the organization that handles your loan), and you must continue to make payments until you've been notified your deferment has been granted. Otherwise, you could become delinquent or go into default.

  • Military Service Deferment: 

An active duty military deferment is available to borrowers in the Direct, FFEL, and Perkins Loan programs who are called to active duty during a war or other military operation or national emergency. This deferment is available while the borrower is serving on active duty during a war or other military operation or national emergency or performing qualifying National Guard duty during a war or other military operation or national emergency and, if the borrower was serving on or after Oct. 1, 2007, for an additional 180-day period following the demobilization date for the qualifying service.

• • Post-Active Duty Student Deferment:

A Direct, FFEL, or Perkins Loan borrower who is a member of the National Guard or other reserve component of the U.S. Armed Forces (current or retired) and is called or ordered to active duty while enrolled at least half-time at an eligible school, or within six months of having been enrolled at least half-time, is eligible for a deferment during the 13 months following the conclusion of the active duty service, or until the borrower returns to enrolled student status on at least a half-time basis, whichever is earlier.

• • Economic Hardship Deferment:

A Direct, FFEL, or Federal Perkins Loan borrower may qualify for an economic hardship deferment for a maximum of three years if the borrower is experiencing economic hardship according to federal regulations. The Summary of Loan Deferment Conditions chart here shows Stafford and Perkins Loan deferments for loans disbursed on or after July 1, 1993. For information on deferments for loans received before that date, Direct Stafford Loan, FFEL, and PLUS Loan borrowers should contact their loan servicer.

• • Forbearance:

Forbearance is a temporary postponement or reduction of payments for a period of time because you are experiencing financial difficulty. You can receive forbearance if you're not eligible for a deferment. Unlike deferment, whether your loans are subsidized or unsubsidized, interest accrues, and you're responsible for repaying it. Your loan holder can grant forbearance in intervals of up to 12 months at a time for up to 3 years. You have to apply to your loan servicer for forbearance, and you must continue to make payments until you've been notified your forbearance has been granted.

• Other Forms of Payment Relief

  Although you're asked to choose a repayment plan when you first begin repayment, you might want to switch repayment plans later if a different plan would work better for your current financial situation. Under the Federal Family Education Loan Program, you can change repayment plans once a year. Under the Federal Direct Student Loan Program, you can change plans any time as long as the maximum repayment period under your new plan is longer than the time your Direct Loans have already been in repayment. Go to the Repayment Plans and Calculators section to learn more about options available to you to repay your loans.

Source: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program was created to encourage individuals to enter and continue to work full-time in public service jobs. Under this program, you may qualify for forgiveness of the remaining balance due on your eligible federal student loans after you have made 120 payments on loans under certain repayment plans while employed full time by certain public service employers.

Only non-defaulted loans made under the William D. Ford Direct Loan Program^SM are eligible for loan forgiveness. The Direct Loan Program includes the following types of loans:

• Federal Direct Stafford Loans (Direct Subsidized Loans)
• Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loans (Direct Unsubsidized Loans)
• Federal Direct PLUS Loans (Direct PLUS Loans)- for parents and graduate or professional students
• Federal Direct Consolidation Loans (Direct Consolidation Loans)

Although loan forgiveness under this program is available only for loans made and repaid under the Direct Loan Program, loans made under other federal student loan programs may qualify for forgiveness if they are consolidated into a Direct Consolidation Loan. Therefore, only payments made on the Direct Consolidation Loan will count toward the required 120 monthly payments.

The 120 required payments must be made under one or more of the following Direct Loan Program repayment plans:

• Income-Based Repayment (IBR) Plan
• Income Contingent Repayment Plan
• Standard Repayment Plan with a 10-year repayment period
• Any other Direct Loan Program repayment plan, but only payments that are at least equal to the monthly payment amount that would have been required under the Standard Repayment Plan with a 10-year repayment period may be counted toward the required 120 payments.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program Questions and Answers (Q&As) 

For additional information on PSLF, check out the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program Q&As. The Q&As are grouped into four categories: General Information, Eligible Loans, Qualifying Payments, and Qualifying Employment. The answers are dated and, as new questions are added or a previous response is updated, we will include a new date.

Go to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness fact sheet for more information on the terms and conditions of the program and to understand what types of public service jobs qualify.

Source: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/

 

In accordance with U.S. Department of Education regulations (HEOA 489 amended HEA Sec.485B), Millersville University and the Office of Financial Aid acknowledges to students and parents that when the student enters into an agreement regarding a Title IV (HEA) loan, i.e.: Direct Stafford Loan and Direct Parent PLUS Loan that the loan will be submitted to NSLDS (National Student Loan Data System) and accessible by authorized agencies, lenders, and institutions.