To receive a student loan you must file a FAFSA for the appropriate aid year, accept your loan offer on your financial aid award on the student portal, complete Loan Entrance Counseling at Home | Federal Student Aid if you are a first time student loan borrower, and finally complete a Master Promissory Note (MPN) at Home | Federal Student Aid using your FSA ID to log in. You must be enrolled and attending at least half-time (6 credit hours) to receive a loan disbursement. Loan Entrance Counseling is an online course that informs you of your loan options and repayment requirements.
Please contact Dianne Chan at Dianne.Chan@pikespeak.edu or 719-502-2299 if you have any questions about completing the online loan counseling
session.
Current interest rates on loans disbursed between July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2022 are:
Current interest rates on loans disbursed between July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023 are:
Please Note: interest rates generally increase or decrease every July 1.
Student loans can have a much lower interest rate than private loans and sometimes the interest is deferred while students are in school. Keep in mind that any money you borrow needs to be repaid. PPSC is a participant in the Federal Direct Loan Program in which students borrow Stafford Loan funds directly from the U.S. Department of Education rather than from a lender.
Must have demonstrated financial need based on EFC
Must be enrolled in at least 6 credit hours
Meets Financial Aid eligibility requirements
Does not accrue interest while student is enrolled in at least 6 credit hours
Requires repayment after graduating, ceasing enrollment, or drops below half-time enrollment
Must complete the Master Promissory Note (MPN) and Entrance Loan Counseling through D2L Online PPSC Portal to receive
Does not require demonstrated financial need
Must be enrolled in at least 6 credit hours to receive
Meets Financial Aid eligibility requirements
Accrues interest immediately after disbursement
Requires repayment after graduating, ceasing enrollment, or drops below half-time enrollment
Must complete Master Promissory Note (MPN) and Entrance Loan Counseling through the D2L Online PPSC Portal to receive.
Enrolled in at least 6 credit hours
Meets Financial Aid eligibility requirements
Parents must complete the PLUS Master Promissory Note and submit the PLUS Loan Request Form.
$3,500
Dependent students can request an additional $2,000 unsubsidized loan per year.
Independent students can request an additional $6,000 unsubsidized loan per year.
$4,500
Dependent students can request an additional $2,000 unsubsidized loan per year.
Independent students can request an additional $6,000 unsubsidized loan per year.
$5,500
Dependent students can request an additional $2,000 unsubsidized loan per year.
Independent students can request an additional $7,000 unsubsidized loan per year.
$57,500 for an Independent Student
$31,000 for a Dependent Student
No more than $23,000 may be in subsidized loans
As a loan recipient, you can expect a few things to happen after graduation, dropping below half-time enrollment, leaving PPSC, or transferring to a new institution:
You will want to work out payment options with your servicer, but below is a sample loan repayment plan to give you an idea of what to expect:
| Sample Loan Repayment Schedule | ||
| With interest Capitalization (interest not paid while in school) | Without Interest Capitalization (interest paid while in school) | |
| Original Loan Balance | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Capitalized Interest | $4,800 | **$0.00 |
| Current Loan Balance | $14,800 | $10,000 |
| Interest Rate | 6.8% | 6.8% |
| Maximum Term | 120 Months | 120 Months |
| Level Repayment Schedule Installments | ||
| 119 Months | $170.32 | $115.08 |
| 1 Month | $169.09 | $114.24 |
| Total Repayment Interest | $5,637.17 | **$3,808.76 |
| Total Repayment Amount | $20,437.17 | $13,808.73 |
| ** **It is beneficial for borrowers to make their interest payments because the loan will disclose at a lower balance. In this comparison, the monthly installment is $55.24 less and the total repayment at the end of the life of the loan is a savings of $1828.41 in interest. |
Be aware: Student loans are generally not dischargeable in bankruptcy!
On April 6, 2022, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced an initiative—called “Fresh Start”—to help eligible borrowers in default.
Fresh Start will continue through one year after the COVID-19 payment pause ends.
You can regain student aid benefits:
If you’re not sure whether your loans qualify, you can call the Default Resolution Group at 1-800-621-3115 (TTY for the deaf or hard of hearing 1-877-825-9923).
We are reviewing defaulted borrowers for Fresh Start Eligibility. This is a manual review and may take time to update the records of all eligible borrowers. Some borrowers will need to complete a Fresh Start Acknowledgement:
Once the signed acknowledgement is received, the default hold will be removed and the student will be reviewed for aid awarding.
For more and updated information please visit Federal Student Aid.
A Cohort Default Rate (CDR) is the percentage of a school’s borrowers who enter repayment on student loans during a federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30) and default prior to the end of the next two federal fiscal years (3-Year CDR). The United States Department of Education releases official cohort default rates once per year for schools participating in the Title IV student financial assistance programs.
A college’s Cohort Default Rate (CDR) measures the percentage of their federal student
loan borrowers who defaulted on their student loans within a specified period of time
after entering repayment. Colleges with high CDR rates are subject to lose future
eligibility for federal Title IV aid, to include Pell grants and federal Subsidized
and Unsubsidized student loans.
*3YR Official CDR rate for FY2019 is the most recent rate provided by the Department
of Education. These are borrowers who entered repayment of their student loans between
Oct. 1, 2018 and Sept. 30, 2019 and subsequently defaulted prior to Sept. 30, 2021.
Here at Pikes Peak State College, the official rate is 3.1%. This includes 2,489 borrowers
in repayment during the 2019 fiscal year. Those students were tracked over a three-year
period and 78 of them defaulted on their student loans. (With the pause of student
loan repayments, there is a nationwide decrease in the 3-year CDR since borrowers
are not required to make payment.) For reference, the national 3YR Official CDR rate
fell to 2.3% from 7.3%.
