The Federal Loan (Direct Loan) program offered at USAHS are subsidized and unsubsidized Federal Stafford loans
1. Subsidized Stafford Loans (formerly GSL) are available in the maximum amount of $8,500 per year, with a cumulative maximum of $65,500, including the unpaid balance of any undergraduate subsidized loans.
2. Unsubsidized Stafford Loans. are available in the maximum amount of $12,500 per year. Unsubsidized Stafford Loans are to be used for tuition first, then Room/board and other related costs.
The maximum outstanding total subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford Loan debt is: $138,500 for a graduate or professional student (including loans for undergraduate study). No more than $65,500 of this aggregate amount may be in the form of subsidized loans. The loan amounts counted towards these maximums include any outstanding amounts borrowed in the form of Stafford Loans or Supplemental Loans for Students program.
Budget Control Act, beginning July 1, 2012
- Eliminates the in-school interest subsidy for graduate and professional students. The total Stafford loans available for students remains at $20,500, but unlike now, qualifying students do not pay interest on $8,500 of the total Stafford loan amount while in school, thus it is subsidized by the government, students do pay (accrue) interest on the $12,000 while in school. The change will be they all pay (accrue) interest on the total 20,500 once the loan is disbursed.
- Direct Loan Repayment Incentives: Repayment incentives were also eliminated in the final package.
- For Stafford loans, the up-front rebate incentive was equal to 0.5 percent of the loan amount and applied toward the 1 percent loan origination fee. When/if we participate in Grad Plus loans in the future; the up-front interest rebate incentive was 1.5 percent applied toward the 4 percent origination fee for those loans.
- An interest rate reduction of 0.25 will continue to be provided to a borrower who agrees to automatically debit electronic payments.
If you apply for Federal Student Aid through the Stafford program, and you are requiring more than the annual maximum the Stafford Loan ($20,500) provides to assist with cost of attendance; you will need to apply for alternative financing.
Austin Campus Students notification
Applicants for the Austin,Texas campus need to be aware that the Austin Campus has not been approved to receive federal financial aid. The University of St. Augustine is in the process of applying to the U.S. Department of Education for approval to offer federal financial aid, but does not anticipate that the Department of Education will act on the application to offer financial aid until after the beginning of the Fall, 2012 term. While the University’s programs in St. Augustine, Florida and San Marcos, California are currently approved to offer federal financial aid under Title IV programs, there can be no guarantee that approval will be received for the Austin, Texas program.