Federal Undergraduate Loans

Annual amount: $400 to $5,500 per year, depending on your need

Aggregate Limits: $11,000 for a student who has not completed two academic years of undergraduate work. $27,000 for an undergraduate student who has completed two academic years and is pursuing a bachelor's degree.

Need-based/ subsidized? Yes. The federal government pays (subsidizes) the interest on your behalf during in-school, grace, and authorized deferment periods. You begin paying interest after you leave school, or when your grace/ deferment period ends.

Awarded and disbursed by: UCSD

Interest rate: 5% fixed

Loan fees: None

Repayment of principal and interest begins 9 months after your full-time or half-time enrollment ends.

To borrow the Federal Perkins Loan:

1. File your FAFSA and provide any requested documents before the deadlines.
2. UCSD notifies you of a Perkins loan.
3. Accept the award online using the Financial Aid tool.
4. Access your financial aid checklist to print and sign your Perkins Master Promissory Note and complete the loan information sheet. Return your promissory note to Student Business Services. These documents confirm your agreement to repay the loan.
   
   

   You may mail your original Perkins Loan Prom Note to:
   Student Business Services
   9500 Gilman Dr. Dept 0050
   La Jolla, CA 92093-0050

5. Complete online entrance loan counseling (first-time borrowers only) on TritonLink.
6. Loan funds will be credited to your UCSD student account (read more about how you get your money).

Other information:

• If you've been awarded federal work-study but don't plan to work, you may ask the Financial Aid Office in writing to switch your federal work-study to a Perkins loan (if funding is available).
• Addendum to Perkins Loan borrowers (PDF)

Annual maximum amounts for dependent undergraduates:

Annual maximum amounts for independent undergraduates:

Is the Federal Direct Subsidized Loan need-based? Yes. You must demonstrate financial need to qualify for a Subsidized Loan. The federal government pays (subsidizes) the interest on your behalf during in-school and authorized deferment periods. You begin accruing and paying interest after you leave school, or when your deferment period ends.

Depending on your financial need, you may not receive the maximum loan amount in a Subsidized Loan. However, you might still be able to borrow unsubsidized funds up to the total maximum annual loan amounts.

Is the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan need-based? No. You may borrow an Unsubsidized Loan regardless of your financial need. However, the federal government does not pay the interest. While you may defer the principal during in-school, grace, and authorized deferment periods, you're responsible for the interest upon disbursement. You may make voluntary interest and/or principal payments to your Repayment Servicer at any time prior to going into official repayment or you may allow the interest to accrue and be capitalized to your principal at the time of official repayment.

Funded and Disbursed by: The U.S. Department of Education through UCSD

Interest rates effective July 1, 2012 – June 30, 2013:

• Undergraduate Subsidized:  3.4%
• Undergraduate Unsubsidized:  6.8%

Interest rates effective July 1, 2013 – June 30, 2014:

• Undergraduate Subsidized and Unsubsidized: 6.8%

Loan fees: Loan origination fee of 1.0% effective for loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2012. 

Repayment of principal begins 6 months after you are no longer enrolled at least half-time.

Interest begins to accrue, for the unsubsidized loan, after the loan is disbursed. For subsidized loan, interest accrues after you are no longer enrolled at least half-time.

To borrow a Federal Direct Loan:

1. File your FAFSA and provide any requested documents.
2. UCSD offers you a Direct Loan.
3. Accept the award online using the Financial Aid tool.
4. Sign the electronic Master Promissory Note (eMPN). This document confirms your agreement to repay the loan.
5. Complete online entrance loan counseling (first-time UCSD borrowers only) on TritonLink (and not the Department of Education website).
6. Loan funds will be credited to your UCSD student account (read more about how you get your money).

Application: 

• Complete the Direct PLUS Loan Request Form in addition to filing the FAFSA.
  • 2012-13 Direct PLUS Loan Request Form (Use for Summer 2013 Request)
  • 2013-14 Direct PLUS Loan Request Form

Amount: The annual maximum equals the cost of attendance minus any need-based and non-need-based aid.

Need-based/ subsidized? No.

Funded by: The U.S. Department of Education (with funds from the U.S. Treasury)

Disbursed by: The U.S. Department of Education disburses funds directly to UCSD.

Interest rate: 7.9% fixed

Loan fees: Effective for loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2012 the loan origination fee will be 4.0%.

Repayment of principal and interest begins 60 days after the final disbursement of the academic year. Parents may request in-school deferments if at least one of these conditions apply:

• The student is enrolled at least half-time
• The student is in a grace period (6 months after the student is no longer atttending at least half-time)
• The parent is enrolled at least half-time

For parents borrowing the Parent PLUS Loan:

1. Request your Department of Education Parent PIN, if you do not have one.
   Please note the Parent PIN is not the same as the Student PIN. The Parent PIN acts as the electronic signature for the FAFSA and the Electronic Master Promissory Note.  You may obtain your PIN at http://www.pin.ed.gov.
2. Complete a Direct Parent PLUS Master Promissory Note (MPN) if you are a first time Federal Direct Parent PLUS loan borrower. The MPN is a legal document in which you promise to repay your loan(s) and any accrued interest and fees to the Department of Education. It also provides you with detailed explanation of the terms and conditions of your loan(s). If borrowing for more than one student, you’ll need to complete a separate MPN for each. To complete the MPN:
   1. Go to http://StudentLoans.gov.
   2. Click on the green "Sign In" box in the "Manage My Direct Loan" box in the upper left-hand corner.
   3. Enter the parent’s Social Security number, first two characters of the parent’s last name, parent’s date of birth, and Dept. of Ed. Parent PIN (see #1 above).
   4. Click on "Complete MPN."
   5. Click on "Parent PLUS" and continue with all instructions until you receive the “Thank you for submitting the MPN” message.
3. If the student and parent completed a FAFSA, submit the Direct PLUS Loan Request Form (see above) to our office by mail or fax.
   Important Note: To avoid processing delays, ensure both the borrower and student information you provide on the request form is an exact match to the information submitted on your Direct Parent PLUS Master Promissory Note. To ensure that the Parent PLUS loan funds are available by the registration fee deadline, we encourage you to submit your application at least 3 weeks prior to the deadline date.  Please refer to your student’s TritonLink Award Notification to determine how much you may be eligible to borrow.

Other information:

• Eligibility is limited to parents (with no adverse credit history) of a dependent student.
• Watch a short video on the PLUS Loan.
• If the Parent PLUS Loan is denied, contact the Financial Aid Office.