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St. Cloud State University

St. Cloud State University

Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid
Types of Financial Aid

Loans

Loan Code of Conduct

St. Cloud State University values the integrity in the actions of its employees and expects them to comply with all applicable laws, regulations, and University policies in performance of their duties according to the highest standards of honesty and integrity. The Student Loan Code of Conduct applies to:

  1. all employees of the University who have any responsibility with respect to education loans; and
  2. all employees of the University who are employed in the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid.

The complete Student Loan Code of Conduct may be found at: http://www.stcloudstate.edu/financialaid/documents/Code_Conduct.pdf

Federal Loans

The federal loan program requires students and parents (for dependent students) to apply for financial aid with the FAFSA. Students must be enrolled at least half-time (6 credits) to qualify for federal loans. There are three types of federal loans: Perkins, Direct, and Parent Loan to Undergraduate Students (PLUS).

Private Loans

Many banks and credit unions provide educational loan options, commonly referred to as private loans. These loans may have higher interest rates than federal loans and generally should be considered as a borrowing option after you have considered federal loans..

You may wish to review a list of some lenders that offer private loans. Please note that should you decide to borrow under the private loan program, you may select any lender of your choosing and are not required to select one from this list of lenders.

Bessie E. Campbell Short-Term Loan

A short-term loan for St. Cloud State University students who have unexpected, temporary educationally related expenses. Allowable educational expenses include tuition, fees, books, supplies, room, board, and transportation.

Loan Entrance Counseling

Required of all first-time borrowers under the federal Direct loan. Loan funds will not be disbursed until you have completed loan entrance counseling. If your loan funds arrive at the University before you have completed loan counseling, the funds will be held for ten days and then returned to the lender if loan counseling has not been completed.

Loan Exit Counseling

Required of all borrowers under the federal Perkins, federal subsidized Direct, and federal unsubsidized Direct loan programs.  Federal regulations require that you complete loan exit counseling once you graduate, withdraw, or drop below a half-time (6 credits) enrollment level.

Loan Terminology

Now that you have decided to borrow, what do all of those terms mean? It is important for you to know and understand what they mean to make sure you are an informed borrower. For complete lists of loan terms, visit the Get Ready For College site.