Graduate Loans

Domestic students who have submitted a FAFSA and who would like to borrow a federal direct student loan for the upcoming academic year can submit a request on NetPartner: From the Menu, select Online Fillable Forms.

Loan requests will be processed after financial aid applications are complete and have been reviewed. Once the loan is processed you will receive an email directing you to NetPartner to review and accept all or any portion of the loans offered.

Annual Borrowing Limits

The annual maximum loan amount for graduate students is $20,500 or the difference between Cost of Attendance and all other aid, whichever is less. Students must maintain satisfactory academic progress in order to maintain their eligibility to borrow.

Aggregate (Lifetime) Borrowing Limits

Graduate students have a lifetime limit of $138,500 in Stafford Loans. This includes both undergraduate and graduate borrowing.

The interest rate is fixed for the life of the loan. The rate of a loan is based on when it first disburses. Interest does not accrue on subsidized loans while in school whereas it does for unsubsidized loans. The rate below applies to loans for graduate level students only. 

The Department of Education charges origination fees on Direct Loans. Fees are deducted from Direct Loan amounts; therefore, disbursements to tuition accounts are a bit less than the loan amounts being borrowed. A loan's fee rate is based on when it first disburses. 

First-Time Borrowers

On or after you receive your finalized award letter beginning May 1, go to https://studentloans.gov and complete:

1. Entrance Counseling (this provides information about your rights and responsibilities as a borrower) and
2. Master Promissory Note (not required if previously completed under the Direct Loan Program)

Smith will be notified electronically after you have completed these requirements.

Loan proceeds are applied to the student's account in two disbursements, one each semester.

• Credit balances are automatically refunded to graduate students. Refunds are processed on a weekly basis beginning one week before the start of classes in the fall and spring semesters.
• We recommend setting up direct deposit with the Payroll Office for faster, easier access to refunds.
• Refunds should be expended with caution, as they are meant to cover expenses over an extended period.
• If financial aid or charges are revised due to course changes or withdrawal, all or part of a refund may be due back.

Refund warning: A loan will not pay out if any requirements are owed. And it can take up to three weeks from the time they are satisfied for them to be received and coded to accounts for the loan to disburse and, if the loan overpays an account, for the surplus to be refunded, as these are all weekly processes. Therefore, if you are relying on a refund from this loan, be sure to satisfy any owed requirements three weeks before funds are needed.

Loan repayment begins after separation from school (graduation, withdrawal, leave of absence) or dropping below half-time enrollment and a grace period. 

The grace period is a period in which payments are not due and which lasts for six months unless reduced or depleted due to a previous separation from enrollment.

Subsidized loans disbursed prior to July 1, 2012 and after July 1, 2014 do not accrue interest during the grace period. Unsubsidized loans and subsidized loans disbursed between July 1, 2012 and July 1, 2014 do accrue interest during the grace period.

The monthly payment amount is based on the amount borrowed and the payment plan that you select. If a payment is not selected, the default plan is the standard plan with a 10-year repayment period. Payments may not be less than $50 per month; therefore, the standard plan could be less than 10 years depending on the amount borrowed.

Students who have borrowed through the Federal Direct Loan programs are required to complete exit counseling if they are no longer enrolled at least half-time. Smith College will be notified electronically when this requirement has been completed.

https://studentloans.gov

The interest rate is fixed for the life of the loan. The rate of a loan is based on when it first disburses. Interest does not accrue on subsidized loans while in school whereas it does for unsubsidized loans. The rate below applies to loans for graduate level students only. 

​The Department of Education charges origination fees on Direct Loans. Fees are deducted from Direct Loan amounts; therefore, disbursements to tuition accounts are a bit less than the loan amounts being borrowed. A loan's fee rate is based on when it first disburses. 

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The maximum loan amount is the Cost of Attendance minus any other financial aid the student receives.

Loan proceeds pay directly to the student's tuition account.

1. Request your borrowing limit by sending e-mail, to loanhelp@smith.edu
2. Decide how much to borrow
3. Apply for lender approval at https://studentloans.gov
4. Complete a Master Promissory Note (MPN) at https://studentloans.gov
5. Complete Graduate PLUS Entrance Counseling at https://studentloans.gov

1. PLUS Loan requests are transmitted to Smith
2. Credit-approved loans are reviewed for Smith approval
3. Approved loans are originated (created in our system and transmitted to the Department of Education). The Department of Education then sends disclosures about the newly created loans directly to borrowers.
4. Originated loans linked to valid MPNs disburse on a weekly basis, but not earlier than 10 days before the start of each term.
5. The department assigns disbursed loans to servicers (companies that will manage the loans). Servicing includes, but is not limited to, billing, payment processing, deferment requests, etc.

Repayment of the loan begins six months after the student leaves Smith College, graduates or ceases to be enrolled at least half time. The six-month time frame is considered the grace period.

You can estimate your monthly loan repayments using the Federal Loan Calculator.

Students who have borrowed through the Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan program are required to complete exit counseling if they are no longer enrolled at least half-time. Smith College will be notified electronically when this requirement has been completed.

https://studentloans.gov