Students who are enrolled in American institutions of higher
education, i.e. colleges, universities and / or qualified
trade schools, may be eligible for a Stafford Loan to aid
them in paying for their education. Formerly known as the
Federal Guaranteed Student Loan program, Congress changed
the name of this loan in 1988 to honor Senator Robert
Stafford for his work in the area of higher education.
There are five basic Stafford Loan requirements: 1. You must complete and file a Free Financial Aid
Application Form (FAFSA).
This form is completed online at
http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/
This form is filled out every year and your answers will
determine if you are eligible for federal student financial
aid.
Fill out this form at the earliest possible moment. FAFSA
has online tutorials to help guide you through this process.
The FAFSA is made up of questions about your finances and
those of your parents or family. This information is entered
into a formula, which determines the Expected Family
Contribution (EFC).
The student will receive a summary of the FAFSA responses,
which is called a Student Aid Report (SAR) . This usually
arrives 3-4 weeks after completing the FAFSA. Look this over
very carefully and make sure the answers are correct. You
must fall under the guidelines your school has set for
financial need.
Your school receives a copy of your SAR (now called an ISIR)
electronically and this is used to determine if you will
require financial aid.
In 1-2 weeks after you get your SAR, you will receive a
financial aid award from your school. This will tell you how
much aid you are eligible for and if this will be in the
form of work-study, loans, grants, etc. Mark which forms of
financial aid you will accept and return this to your
school’s financial aid office.
You're not finished , you MUST fill out a promissory note in
order to receive a Stafford Loan. 2. You must be a United States Citizen, permanent
resident, or eligible non-citizen. U.S. citizen
A permanent resident must have an I-151, I-551, or I-551C
(Alien Registration Receipt Card
An eligible non-citizen must have an Arrival-Departure
Record (I-94) from the INS which with one of these
designations: refuge, asylum granted, indefinite parole
and/or humanitarian parole, Cuban-Haitian Entrant – Status
Pending, or conditional entrant 3. You must be enrolled at least half time. Your
school determines how many credit hours amount to half time
enrollment. 4. You cannot be in default on any education loan or
owe a refund on an education grant.
Remember, you cannot apply for the Stafford Loan until you
have received your award letter. The award letter may
indicate your eligibility but you still must apply and fill
out a promissory note.
A subsidized Stafford Loan is awarded based on financial
need. This means you will not be charged interest on your
loan before you begin to pay it back or if you have been
given a deferment.
Unsubsidized Stafford Loans are not based on financial need.
