SU College of Law
 
    Federal Graduate PLUS Loans are a good alternative to variable interest rate private educational loans. Graduate PLUS Loans have a fixed interest rate of 8.5%, a repayment term of 10 years (up to 25 years with extended repayment), and no payments due while in-school.
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SUMMER 2008 FINANCIAL AID APPLICATION
Students who plan to enroll in courses during the summer may apply for student loans to help cover the cost of tuition and other educational expenses. If you are not taking classes this summer you are not eligible for student loans. 

To begin the application process complete the 2008 Summer Financial Aid Application and submit it to the College of Law Financial Aid Office, Suite 340 White Hall. After you submit the application, wait for notification from the Financial Aid Office regarding your eligibility for Federal Stafford and Federal Graduate PLUS Loans.

BAR LOAN INFORMATION FOR THIRD YEAR STUDENTS
If you will be graduating in December 2007 or May 2008, you may be interested in applying for loan to help with your bar related expenses. Click here to print a Bar Loan Pre-Application and then submit the completed Pre-Application to the College of Law Financial Aid Office to begin the process.
 
Some students may be able to utilize remaining academic year loan eligibility and borrow additional money through a fixed rate Federal Graduate PLUS loan rather than pursue a private, variable interest rate Bar Exam Loan. Both the Federal Graduate PLUS loan and the private Bar Exam Loans are credit-based, and students must meet their lender's minimum credit requirements for final approval of these loans. After you submit the attached Pre-Application to the Financial Aid Office, we will reply to you with information on the loan type for which you may be eligible.
 
Please be aware that Bar Loans are disbursed directly to students on or around April 1, 2008. If you are registering for a review course and need an earlier disbursement for bar review course registration fees, please indicate so on the Pre-Application and an early partial disbursement will be approved for up to $3,000. 

If you are not graduating in December 2007 or May 2008 please wait for further information from the Office of Financial Aid before applying for a Bar Exam Loan.

important Loan Repayment facts
A Student Loan Repayment meeting was held on October 9, 2007. The handouts are available for you to read or print. Click on the following links to open the documents:
3Ls are encouraged to review their federal loan balances by logging into the National Student Loan Data System. The summary will include all federal loan debt incurred at law school and undergraduate school but will not include private educational loan debt. Your original lender or loan servicer(s) will have the most complete and accurate information. To obtain information on private loan debt incurred during law school, students may contact the Financial Aid Office or go to http://www.annualcreditreport.com/ to view your entire credit history with each of the three major credit reporting agencies. Your credit report will include educational debt and non-educational consumer debt information.

A message to December 2007 and May 2008 graduates:
Federal Graduate PLUS loan payments and Federal Consolidation Loan payments may become due 15 to 45 days after graduation if you don't request a "Loan Deferment" from your lender. Contact your lender at least a month prior to the last day of classes if you need to postpone repayment of your loans for 3 to 6 months after graduation. Missing a loan payment could prevent you from receiving interest-lowering repayment incentives offered only to students with a record of on-time payments.

Please read our flyer on Loan Repayment Facts Class of 2008 and contact your lender soon. 

Federal stafford loan interest rate
Federal Stafford Loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2006 have a fixed rate of 6.8%

Federal Stafford Loans originally disbursed between 7/1/98 and 6/30/06 have a variable interest rate that recalculates every July 1st.  The interest rate for these variable rate loans during the period 7/1/07 and 6/30/08 is:

6.62%. (in-school and in-deferment)
7.22%. (in-repayment)


Debt Management
The cost of attending a professional graduate program represents a significant financial commitment. Students are encouraged to utilize personal resources and reduce expenses whenever possible. Borrow only the minimum amount necessary to meet your educational expenses.

Most lenders’ web sites have student loan repayment calculators. We strongly recommend that you keep track of your total educational debt and forecast the monthly repayment amounts that will be due.  Mapping Your Future (http://mapping-your-future.org/) has a helpful student loan calculator in which students may estimate the size of monthly loan repayment amounts and the annual salary required to manage them. Click here to access their student loan calculator. 

MAINTAINING GOOD CREDIT
Private, credit-based student loans must be approved by the lender. If you are planning to borrow from a private, credit-based loan program, we strongly encourage you to review the status of your credit history now. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com to obtain a free credit report online. 

AnnualCreditReport.com is the only site authorized by Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union. Everyone is entitled to a free credit report every 12 months on this site. For a fee, you may also obtain a copy of your credit score by calling one of the three credit agencies listed below: