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Stafford and PLUS Loan Applications

The Stafford Loan is a federal loan for students and the PLUS Loan is a federal loan for parents. Before a Stafford Loan can be approved, you must file the FAFSA application and indicate on the form that you are interested in a student loan (the PLUS Loan does not require completion of the FAFSA). You may file the FAFSA by going to FAFSA on the Web. This site has a great deal of information to guide you through the application process including how to apply for a PIN number which will allow you to electronically sign your FAFSA application, as well as giving you access to other Department of Education sites which will help to track your financial information. Haverford's FAFSA code number is 003274.

You may borrow from any lender or guarantor you wish. We recommend you review the long list of lenders available through AES/PHEAA which includes some lenders with reduced up front costs.

PLEASE NOTE:  Some lenders are no longer participating in the Stafford and Plus Loan program and some have changed how they participate.  You should check with your lender to make sure they will continue to participate in the Stafford and/or PLUS program and that your loan will be processed through AES/PHEAA (any lender listed on the AES/PHEAA 2008-2009 lender lists will have loans processed through AES/PHEAA). If your lender will not process your loan through AES/PHEAA, you may choose another AES/PHEAA lender at our website as indicated above or you must make sure that any lender you choose which will not have your loan processed through AES/PHEAA mails or faxes a loan certification form to the Haverford College Financial Aid Office to allow us to process your loan. Do not assume your loan has been approved unless it is being processed through AES/PHEAA or your lender mails or faxes (fax #: 610-896-1338) a loan certification form to us.

If you have any questions about the processing of your loan, please contact Judy Adham in the Haverford College Financial Aid Office at (610)896-1350 or jadham@haverford.edu.

LIST OF LENDERS FOR STAFFORD AND PLUS LOANS:
AES KeystoneBEST Stafford and PHEAA KeystonePLUS Program have a large list of lenders including national lenders. To see the list click the "Stafford" or "PLUS" link in the next paragraph, then choose one of the types of loans on the left, and, finally, the lender list on the right.

TO APPLY FOR A STAFFORD AND/OR PLUS LOAN FROM AES/PHEAA:
AES/PHEAA provides information on Stafford or PLUS Loans including information on interest rates and annual loan limits. To apply for a loan through AES/PHEAA click "APPLY FOR A STAFFORD OR PLUS LOAN" link just below this section. A parent or student who lives in Pennsylvania or who is attending a Pennsylvania college (or whose child attends a Pennsylvania college) may choose a Stafford or PLUS Loan for Pennsyvlania students and families. If you are asked for Haverford's code number, please use 00327400. Note that Credit Unions normally require membership before they will approve a loan.

Once AES approves your loan, they will notify you in writing. Loans will be disbursed in installments, one-half each semester.

Please note that we will not be able to start processing loans for the next academic year until the beginning of July.

CLICK TO APPLY FOR A STAFFORD OR PLUS LOAN THROUGH AES/PHEAA

Federal Consolidation Loan

Educational loan consolidation is something like refinancing a mortgage: a borrower takes out one new loan to pay off one or more existing loans. A Federal Consolidation Loan allows student and parent borrowers to consolidate Federal Stafford Student Loan and Federal Parent PLUS Loans and follows a general pattern set by federal government. We would suggest that you use two sources for information on Federal Consolidation: (1) AES/PHEAA Federal Consolidation (1-800-338-5000) or (2) Federal Direct Consolidation (1-800-557-7392). AES is the agency in Pennsylvania approved by the federal government to process federal student loans and, since they do not consolidate loans themselves, their counselors can provide unbiased assistance and advice. Federal Direct Consolidation is operated by a contractor of the U.S. Department of Education.

Depending on the loans you want to consolidate and your future educational and employment plans, this process can be complicated. We feel it is best for you to talk to the people at these two agencies who are the experts in this field. One other suggestion we have is that, once you do decide to apply for consolidation, you be capable of receiving mail at your mailing address on a timely basis and you monitor the progress of the process your application to approval.

The consolidation process will require information on the remaining principle balance of your federal loans. Information on Stafford and PLUS loan principle balances is available from your lender or guarantor (if you took loans out from AES/PHEAA you use the number for the AES/PHEAA site above to speak to someone who can refer you to a source for this information). If you received a Federal Perkins Loan while attending Haverford, you may contact Barbara Wilson, Business Office-Student Accounts Coordinator (610-896-1251), for the principle balance of your Perkins Loans. (Note that Perkins Loans already have a fixed rate. You might want to speak to a Federal Consolidation counselor at AES about whether consolidating a Perkins Loan is best for you.)

Repaying Federal Student Loans

The most important source of information regarding the repayment of your student loan is your lender or the servicer of your loan. Many lenders do not service their own loans since it is often more economical to have a specialized company or agency do the billing and collection. Federal regulations require your lender to send you information on who you must deal with to repay your loan.

There are several sources of information on the Web you may wish to use. The Department of Education's Student Guide includes information on Borrower Responsibilities, Rights, Loan Deferment, and Loan Discharge/Cancellation and information on Loan Consolidation. The Department also provides a list of phone numbers and addresses of State Guarantee Agencies where you may obtain information on loan repayment and consolidation.  AES/PHEAA is the agency here in Pennsylvania which has information on contacts, various calculators for loans they service, and loan consolidation