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FEDERAL STAFFORD LOANS RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES TAKE THE PROPER STEPS FOR FINANCIAL AID
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Please complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to be eligible for financial aid. You must do this each year you are enrolled in classes. Funding available to students includes the federal Pell Grant, SMART Grant, Academic Competitiveness Grant, Federal Supplemental Grant, federal Stafford loans, the South Carolina Tuition Grant and the Limestone College National Guard Grant. A limited number of Extended Campus Scholarships are available. Students must be enrolled full time with a cumulative GPA of 3.75. Please see the Academic Catalog for details. Questions and Answers How will I pay for college? The federal government offers financial aid in the form of need based grants and loans to help you pay for your college education. South Carolina also offers education grants to residents who are attending colleges within the state. What is the difference between a grant and a loan? A grant is based on need or academic achievement and is money given to you by the federal or state government when you complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). You do not have to repay grants. Loans are offered by the federal government and must be repaid by the student. Subsidized loans are based on need as determined by completing the FAFSA. The federal government pays the interest on these loans while the student is in school. Unsubsidized loans are also available and the student is charged interest on these loans while he/she is in school. Monthly payments on these loans must begin 6 months after the student leaves school or drops below 6 credit hours in a semester. How do I start the financial aid process? Applying for financial aid is easy, and it's free. All you have to do is complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Parents and student complete a FAFSA together for dependent students. The FAFSA is available electronically at FAFSA on the Web. The web address is www.fafsa.ed.gov. You must first apply for a PIN* number via the internet. This PIN number acts as your electronic signature when submitting the FAFSA electronically. Access your FAFSA data on the internet When should I fill out the FAFSA? You must complete the FAFSA each year that you are enrolled in school to remain eligible for grants and loans. To be eligible for the South Carolina Tuition Grant, you must complete and submit the FAFSA before June 30. Remember to add the Title IV code for Limestone College so that your form is sent to us. That code is 003436. What happens next? The Central Processor calculates your eligibility for financial aid and sends the results to the Financial Aid Office at Limestone. If all information is complete, the Financial Aid Office will notify you of your financial aid award. Sometimes, students are selected for a process called Verification. What is Verification? Each year the federal government selects a group of FAFSA applications for verification. When your FAFSA application is chosen for verification, the Financial Aid Office will ask you for additional documentation. Generally, this information includes: Signed copy of Federal 1040 tax form for the previous year *If during processing the federal government discovers conflicting information, Limestone College will ask you to provide copies of additional documentation to determine your eligibility for federal aid. After all information is verified, a financial aid award is made and sent to the student. What about my loans? When you receive your financial aid award, you will be asked to accept or decline your financial award. You should select a lender; then, sign and return a copy of the financial aid award letter to the Financial Aid Office. The Financial Aid Office will process your loan(s). If you are a first-time borrower, you will receive a Promissory Note to sign from your lender. Before your loan funds can be disbursed, you must sign and return the Promissory Note to the lender and complete Entrance Counseling. Entrance Counseling is required by the federal government and explains your rights and responsibilities as a borrower of federal loans. You can complete the Entrance Counseling at www.mapping-your-future.org. To follow the progress of your loan(s), you may access the website www.elmresources.com. This website will tell you when your loan(s) are scheduled to be disbursed to the school. As a first time loan borrower at Limestone College, when you receive federal Stafford loans as part of your financial aid award, you will be asked to choose a lender and sign a Master Promissory Note that is good for 10 years*. You may go online to your lender’s website and complete the Master Promissory Note electronically. The lender then notifies Limestone College that you have completed the loan process and the college will certify your eligibility for the correct loan amount to that lender. *If you have borrowed loans and signed a Master Promissory Note previously, let us know at financialaid@limestone.edu and we will certify your correct loan amount with that lender. You must complete Entrance Counseling to finalize the process. If you have borrowed within the last 10 years at Limestone College, you will not have to sign a new Master Promissory Note. Your correct loan amount will again be certified with your lender and will be processed. If you wish to decline any federal Stafford loan you have been awarded, please contact us at financialaid@limestone.edu. An Entrance Counseling Session is required if you are a first time borrower at Limestone College. This must be done before any refunds can be disbursed to you. You must do this only once when you begin borrowing federal Stafford loans at Limestone College. The Financial Aid Office has created a link to Mapping Your Future for your convenience. Exit Counseling is required of all federal Student Loan borrowers who graduate or stop attending Limestone College. The Financial Aid Office has created a link to Mapping Your Future for your convenience. When can I get my loan refund? For Extended Campus students, loan(s) are set up to disburse 4 times during the academic year. The disbursement date is the day that money leaves the lender and comes to the Financial Aid Office. Financial Aid receives a confirmation report within two or three days that the money has been sent. The Financial Aid Office then has 10 days to manually process the funds and send the report to the Business Office. Once the Business Office receives the report, your loan(s) will be posted to your student account within 20 days. Refund checks are sent to students on the 15th and 30th of each month. Example: Disbursement Date: October 6 |
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