Loan Summary | Interest Rates & Origination Fees | Capitalizing Interest | How To Apply | Getting Your Funds | Paying Back Your Loan | Deferment | Federal Updates | Getting Help |
- New to financial aid? Start with the basics.
Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
Subsidized and unsubsidized loans are federal student loans for eligible students to help cover the cost of higher education at a four-year college or university, community college, or trade, career, or technical school. The U.S. Department of Education offers eligible students at participating schools Direct Subsidized Loans and Direct Unsubsidized Loans. (Some people refer to these loans as Stafford Loans or Direct Stafford Loans.)
Federal Direct loans do not require a credit check.
The information in your financial aid file may be disclosed to third parties as authorized under routine uses in the Privacy Act notices called "Title IV Program Files" (originally published on April 12, 2004, Federal Register, Vol 59 p. 17351) and "National Student Loan Data System" (originally published on December 20, 1994, Federal Register, Vol 59 p. 65532). Thus, this information may be disclosed to federal and state agencies, private parties such as relatives, present and former employers and creditors, and contractors of the Department of Education for purposes of administration of the student financial assistance program, for enforcement purposes, for litigation where such disclosure is compatible with the purposes for which the records were collected, for use by federal, state, local, or foreign agencies in connection with employment matters or the issuance of a license, grant, or other benefit, for use in any employee grievance or discipline proceeding in which the Federal Government is a party, for use in connection with audits or other investigations, for research purposes, for purposes of determining where particular records are required to be disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act, and to a Member of Congress in response to an inquiry from the congressional office made at your written request.
2023-2024 Academic Year
| SUBSIDIZED LOAN | UNSUBSIDIZED LOAN | |||
ELIGIBILITY | Undergraduates only | Undergraduate and graduate students | |||
Award based on federally defined need | Award not based on financial need | ||||
For Both Loans: U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and eligible non-citizens Enrolled at least half-time Maintain satisfactory academic progress (as defined by your school) Cannot be in default on a federal student loan | |||||
INTEREST | 5.49% rate charged for undergraduate students for loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2023. 4.99% rate charged for undergraduate students for loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2022.
No interest is charged while a student is in school at least half-time, during the grace period, and during deferment periods. | 5.49% rate charged for undergraduate students and 7.05% for graduate/ professional students for loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2023. 4.99% rate charged for undergraduate students and 6.54% for graduate/professional students for loans dibursed on or after July 1, 2022.
Interest is charged during all periods, even during the time a student is in school and during grace and deferment periods. | |||
LOAN FEES | For loans disbursed on or after October 1, 2022 and before October 1, 2023, the origination fee is 1.057%. | For loans disbursed on or after October 1, 2022 and before October 1, 2023, the orgination fee is 1.057%. | |||
REPAYMENT | Six-month grace period Standard Repayment term is 10 years. Extended Repayment term is 25 years. | Six-month grace period Standard Repayment term is 10 years. Extended Repayment term is 25 years. Interest accrual begins at disbursement but can be paid monthly or prior to capitalization. | |||
LIMITS PER ACADEMIC YEAR | Dependent Undergrad | Independent Undergrad | Dependent Undergrad | Independent Undergrad | |
1st Year | $3,500 | $3,500 | $2,000 | $6,000 | |
2nd Year | $4,500 | $4,500 | $2,000 | $6,000 | |
3rd & 4th Year | $5,500 | $5,500 | $2,000 | $7,000 | |
Post - Baccalaureate | $5,500 | $5,500 | $2,000 | $7,000 | |
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| Graduate | Graduate Health Professional | |
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| $20,500 Maximum | $47,167 Maximum | |
To Top You can view Direct Loan interest rates from previous years on the Federal Student Aid website.
Direct Loan Servicing capitalizes all unpaid interest:
- when repayment begins
- when a period of deferment ends
- when a period of forbearance ends
- annually, under the Income Contingent Repayment (ICR) plan, for borrowers whose payments do not cover their monthly interest accrual.
- Application Process
- Fill out the FAFSA
- Complete entrance counseling and a Master Promissory Note:
- Go to the Direct Loan website.
- Sign into Manage My Direct Loan using your Social Security Number, the last two letters of your last name, your date of birth and your FSA ID.
- If you do not have an FSA ID, the website will prompt you to create one. You can also review this PDF for instructions. Note that it may take up to three days for the system to verify your identity when you create a new FSA ID.
- Click on "Complete Entrance Counseling" (middle of the page).
- After completing entrance counseling, click on "Complete Master Promissory Note."
- Select "Type of Loan" and click on "Subsidized/Unsubsidized."
- Contact your School Financial Aid Office for further information and to complete any additional forms, if necessary.
CREDIT CRITERIA
A credit check is not required for Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans. However, all borrowers should read our information on Loans and Your Credit to learn about how student loans may affect their credit.
Loan funds are disbursed directly to your tuition student account generally in at least two installments.The loan funds are first used to pay for tuition and fees, room and board, and other school charges. If any money remains, you can receive a refund. For more information on refunds, please see the SFS Refunds page.
Learn more about repayment options for Federal Direct Loans here.
The maximum period for which a borrower may receive a deferment is determined in accordance with the Direct Loan Program regulations, and depends on the deferment type. Information about deferments is available on the Department of Education website. For more information about deferments, click here.
There are no federal updates at this time.
Comprehensive information is available on the U.S. Department of Education website. The StudentLoans.gov website offers Columbia students online services from start (during counseling) to finish (repayment). However, you should wait until you receive information from your school's financial aid office before attempting to use the StudentLoans.gov online functions.Please visit the My Federal Student Aid website to determine the servicer your loans have been assigned to.
The list of servicers and their contact numbers can be found here:
https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/repayment/servicers
If you have FFELP loans, check the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) for customer service contact information.