Student Loans

Information and Instructions

If you file a FAFSA, your financial aid package will most likely include Federal Direct Student Loans. These loans are taken out in the student’s name, and do not require repayment while you are enrolled at least half time in a degree or program. Once you begin repaying the loans, the standard repayment term is 10 years. Student and parent loan funds will not be credited to your account until all necessary applications and promissory notes have been completed by you and/or your family. Before your federal loans will be disbursed, you must complete Entrance Counseling (for first-time borrowers) and sign a Master Promissory Note (MPN) through https://studentaid.gov/.

For undergraduate students who graduated between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023, the average amount of Federal Loan Debt from Saint Michael’s (for those who borrowed Federal Loans) was $21,837. This debt does not include any state or private loans. Approximately 67% of undergraduate students in that graduating class borrowed under either federal or private loan programs while at Saint Michael’s College.

Click here to read about federal student loan basics

Subsidized Federal Direct Student Loan

  • This loan is issued to the student by the federal government.
  • You must file a FAFSA and demonstrate financial need to qualify.
  • The government will pay the interest while you’re enrolled, and during your post-graduation grace period.
  • **For the 2023-2024 academic year, the fixed interest rate is 5.50%. The federal government prior to disbursement subtracts an origination fee of 1.057%.
  • The full-year loan award will disburse in 2 segments, one in each semester after the add/drop period.
  • Repayment is deferred until six-months after graduation, you drop below half-time enrollment or are no longer enrolled at the college.*
  • Additional information about this loan can be found here.

Unsubsidized Federal Direct Student Loan

  • This loan is issued to the student by the federal government.
  • You must file a FAFSA to qualify.
  • You will pay all the interest, although you can have the payments deferred until after graduation.
  • **For the 2023-2024 academic year, the fixed interest rate is 5.50%. The federal government prior to disbursement subtracts an origination fee of 1.057%.
  • The full-year loan award will disburse in 2 segments, one in each semester after the add/drop period.
  • Repayment is deferred until six-months after graduation, you drop below half-time enrollment or are no longer enrolled at the college.*
  • Additional information about this loan can be found here.

*Exit Counseling
All Direct Student Loan borrowers who graduate, drop below half-time or cease enrollment are required to complete exit counseling. The online exit counseling can be completed at https://studentaid.gov/. When a student graduates, drops below half-time enrollment or withdraws, exit counseling information is either sent by email or mailed to the student.

**Interest rates and origination fees for the upcoming academic year are determined by the federal government in late spring of each year.

Borrowers can view their borrowed federal student loan data by accessing https://studentaid.gov/ with their FSA ID.

Federal Perkins Loan

The Federal Perkins Loan program has ended and no new Perkins Loans may be made after September 30, 2017. If you have questions regarding an existing Federal Perkins Loan, please contact our office.