Federal Direct Student Loans

Maximum borrowing amounts

• Loan Fees: A bank/loan fee will be assessed at 1.057% of the total accepted gross Unsubsidized loan amount for loans originated on or after October 1, 2020.
• Interest: Interest begins accruing for the borrower when funds are disbursed. The interest rate for the 2024-2025 year will be fixed throughout repayment at 8.08%. View the interest rates on federal student loans first disbursed before July 1, 2024.
• Grace Period: Each borrower has a six-month grace period for the Federal Direct Unsubsidized loan. The grace period must be exhausted before the borrower is eligible for deferment or forbearance.
• Repayment: Borrowers using a standard repayment plan have up to 10 years to repay this loan. There are many repayment plan options to research and consider. Each borrower will go into repayment six months following graduation, withdrawal, or reducing to less than half-time enrollment status unless the borrower qualifies for an economic hardship deferment.

Maximum borrowing amount

Students may borrow up to the full financial aid offer (cost of attendance) less any Unsubsidized funds received or other qualifying financial assistance.

• Creditworthy: Approval of your Grad PLUS or private loan is contingent upon not having an adverse credit history. ATSU will provide instructions within your financial aid offer on how to provide consent to check for adverse credit history. If you are a new Grad PLUS borrower (never borrowed Grad PLUS at ATSU), a new consent form must be completed. If at any time a new Consent to Obtain Credit is required, a student will be notified via their ATSU email address. This includes those that have borrowed Grad PLUS in the past.
• Loan Fees: A bank/loan fee will be assessed at 4.228% of the total accepted gross Grad PLUS loan amount for loans originated on or after October 1, 2020.
• Interest: Interest begins accruing for the borrower when funds are disbursed. The interest rate for the 2024-25 year will be fixed throughout repayment at 9.08%. View the interest rates on federal student loans first disbursed before July 1, 2024.
• Repayment: Borrowers using the standard repayment plan have up to 10 years to repay this loan. There are many repayment plan options to research and consider. Deferment and forbearance are available during post-graduate training.

Receiving your loan money

Direct Unsubsidized loan or a Direct Grad PLUS student loan money disbursement dates are dependent on the student’s program.

For Direct Unsubsidized and Direct Grad PLUS student loans, funds are transferred electronically to the student’s account. Students may view their account information within the Anthology Student Portal, which can be found in the my.ATSU.edu portal.

Student loan funds that exceed the amount due to ATSU is called a Title IV credit balance. This credit balance is promptly provided to the student via direct deposit or by check. To set up direct deposit, submit the ATSU Authorization for Direct Deposit Form, which can be found in the ATSU Portal, to Student Accounts. For students that utilize lenders that will not wire money to ATSU will receive their financial aid through a co-payable check.

Post-withdrawal Disbursements

Every ATSU student who matriculates earns a portion of the Title IV, HEA funds from day one. Each student who withdraws before the Title IV funds are disbursed, and has requested loan funds will be offered a post-withdrawal disbursement notice in writing within 30 days of when ATSU determined the student withdrew. Please note:

• Enrollment Services will remind the student these are federal loans and must be repaid.
• Students will be discouraged from borrowing any more than is necessary, and may even suggest the student cancel the loan completely.
• Students will be required to confirm how much, if any, of the post-withdrawal disbursement the student desires. If a student does not respond within 30 days of the notification, no disbursement will be issued to the student.
  
• All post-withdrawal disbursements will be made as soon as possible, but no later than 180 days from when ATSU determined the student withdrew.
  

Returning loan money

Borrowed too much

Enrollment Services strongly encourages students to plan ahead, budget responsibly, and take only the loan money needed. However, if a student overestimated and borrowed too much loan money, that student may write a check to ATSU for the amount they would like returned to the lender. Enrollment Services will return the funds on the student’s behalf and request that the fees and interest charges be waived; however, this waiver is not guaranteed. ATSU will assist with the return within 30 days of the disbursement date.

Enrollment changes

Changes to a student’s enrollment (adding or dropping a course, dropping below half-time status, or program withdrawal) will require a review of the financial aid offer. In the instance where a return of Federal Direct Student Loan money is required, ATSU will follow the Return of Title IV Funds Policy, found in the University Catalog financial information section.

Over-awards

When an over-award occurs, Enrollment Services will review the student’s financial aid file. Adjustments are normally made by reducing a subsequent loan disbursement. Upon rare occasions, a student must write a check to the lender to repay an over-award. Students with an over-award will be contacted by Enrollment Services with details on how the over-award must be returned.

Request more loan money

Students who have not accepted all of their financial aid offer or utilized all of their Work-Study can send an email request to enrollmentservices@atsu.edu. Please include the net amount you wish to borrow (actual total amount you wish to receive) to expedite the review process. Enrollment Services will review your request and reply via your ATSU email address.

Cost of Attendance (COA) Appeal

Enrollment Services recommends scheduling a one-on-one meeting with a member of our financial aid advising team when students have exhausted their student loan eligibility for the academic year and are experiencing a significant financial crisis due to unexpected expenses that result in the inability to meet academic expectations.

If the decision is made to submit a Title IV Cost of Attendance (COA) Appeal, it must detail the situation and expenses by including supporting documentation for the amount requested for consideration.

A program budget or cost of attendance (COA) is prepared annually as required by Department of Education regulations. The expenses included are based on what is needed for the student to attend school and may only consider costs for a single student. There are times that unusual or extenuating circumstances arise during an enrollment period that generate expenses not covered in the COA. Students may request an increase in their COA by reporting these expenses with supporting documentation for consideration. All submitted expenses must be incurred during the enrollment period and guaranteed prior to the last date of that period. Visit the University’s academic calendar for enrollment dates for each program and year in school.

Expenses eligible for consideration include, but are not limited to:

• Tuition and fees: Tuition and fee charges that are not covered by your COA are eligible for consideration.
• Child daycare costs: Costs associated with childcare must directly correlate to a student’s ability to attend school required activities. Billing statements and/or receipts must be provided.
• Unplanned/emergency medical or dental expenses: Request for an increase to cover costs associated with unplanned medical or dental expenses should be required for a student and eligible for coverage by the student’s health insurance policy. Elective, preventative and cosmetic procedures do not qualify. Student is required to provide a letter from the healthcare provider documenting the required medical or dental need and expense (including procedure dates, any payments made, and/or estimated cost after insurance).
• Unexpected transportation expenses: Requests for reimbursement of unexpected transportation costs must be for a vehicle that a student uses to attend school-related activities. Invoice and/or receipts must be provided with this request. Expenses related to the purchase or lease of a vehicle are not eligible for consideration.
• Program required travel expenses: Costs incurred for travel must be for the student only.
• Other: Special circumstances that create an unexpected financial need that do not fit into one of the categories above may also be submitted. Examples may include required board programs not already covered, higher health insurance costs due to student-specific situation, etc. Documentation supporting the financial need must be provided.

Expected Family Contribution (EFC)/Student Aid Index (SAI) Appeals

Need-based loan offers take into consideration the Expected Family Contribution (EFC)/Student Aid Index (SAI), which is calculated using data on a student's FAFSA. ATSU offers non-need based loans, and the EFC/SAI does not impact the amount of loans offered. ATSU is approved to offer Federal Work-Study which is a need-based program. Students that file a request to adjust their EFC/SAI will be denied if the change will not result in the student receiving or becoming eligible for need based programs.

Submission of COA or EFC/SAI Appeals

Decisions of the professional judgement committee are final and cannot be appealed to ATSU or the U.S. Department of Education.

Students may login to the ATSU portal to access the secure online request process through the Student Forms tile, located under Enrollment Services.

Federal financial aid regulations require an institution administering Title IV financial aid to report credible fraudulent financial aid activity committed against federal student aid programs to the U.S. Department of Education. Please see the ATSU Student Handbook, Appendix B, Code of Behavioral Standards.

According to the United States Department of Education regulations (34CFR 668.16 and 668.34 and October 29, 2010, Final Federal Register), all students receiving federal financial assistance must meet and maintain satisfactory academic progress (SAP). SAP is a set of standards students must maintain to receive federal financial assistance. SAP standards, criteria for reestablishing eligibility for federal financial assistance, and SAP appeal information may be found in the University Catalog financial information section.

Entrance counseling

Students must complete entrance counseling upon matriculation at ATSU before any loan funds will be disbursed. If the student has previously completed it at a graduate or professional level, the student will not need to complete it again.

Exit counseling

All students who received any federal loans while attending ATSU must complete online exit counseling upon graduation, withdrawal, or dropping below half-time status.

Your Loan Information Published by the Department of Education

Institutions are required to provide information published by the Department of Education to students at any time that information regarding loan availability is provided. The publication includes information about the rights and responsibilities of students and institutions under Title IV, HEA loan programs. Federal loans are submitted to the National Student Loan Data System, housed on the StudentAid.gov website, and are accessible by guaranty agencies, lenders, and institutions determined to be authorized users of the data system. Comprehensive information on the terms and conditions of federal loans and of the borrower’s responsibilities can be found on the Department of Education’s website. Student borrowers reserve the right to submit feedback at any time to the Department of Education.

FA Code of Conduct

In order to ensure that ATSU maintains the highest ethical standards, each staff member at ATSU who has loan-related responsibilities will not:

• Enter into revenue-sharing arrangements with lenders.
• Accept gifts of more than nominal value from lenders, guarantors and loan servicers.*
• Receive compensation for consulting services to lenders.
• Assign lenders to any borrowers.
• Refuse to certify a loan based on the borrower’s choice of lender.
• Participate in opportunity pools with lenders.
• Permit lender staff to assume school call center or financial aid office staff functions.
• Receive compensation for private loans.
• Serve as advisory board members for compensation, except for reasonable expenses incurred as a result of that service, such as travel expenses.

The following items are not considered “gifts” for this purpose:

• Brochures, workshops or training related to loans, default prevention or financial literacy.
• Food, refreshments, training or informational material furnished as part of a financial aid professional training session.
• Borrower benefits provided by the lender to all students at the institution.
• Entrance and exit counseling, as long as the school controls the counseling, and such counseling does not promote the products or services of any specific lender (GEN-08-12, p. 70).
• Philanthropic contributions that are not made in exchange for loan volume.

FAFSA Verification

Each year, applications for federal student aid are selected for verification by the Central Processing System (CPS) in order to confirm the accuracy of the data listed on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). All applications selected will be verified for students receiving need-based funding (Federal Work-Study), who are in certain verification classifications, or for whom professional judgment is performed.

If verification is required and you used the IRS Data Retrieval Tool when you completed your FAFSA electronically (and you have not amended your tax return), you will not need to request a tax return transcript from two years prior. (You may go to www.fafsa.gov and choose to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool even if you didn’t use it on your initial FAFSA.) If you are unable or choose not to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, you must request an IRS tax return transcript and send it to our office.

Until verification is complete, you cannot receive any federal need-based aid (Federal Work-Study). Required documentation must be received prior to the end of your academic year, in order to receive federal need-based student aid.

After your application has been verified, ATSU will process any necessary corrections based upon the documentation received. The award process will then proceed, and you will receive an email containing information and instructions for accessing your electronic award letter. In the event a correction must be made as a result of the verification, you will receive notification from CPS of the change to your Student Aid Report. You will also receive email notification from Enrollment Services within 10 business days if your financial aid award offer must be changed.

Enrollment Services does have a referral policy, as required by the federal government, in the event of an actual or suspected case of fraud or abuse. Students who willfully submit fraudulent information will be investigated, and all cases must be reported to the proper authorities. Fraudulent situations will be reported to the hotline of the Department of Education’s Inspector General.

If you have any questions regarding the verification process, please feel free to call us at 660.626.2019, or email enrollmentservices@atsu.edu.

Tips to consider:

• Develop a realistic budget to live by and stick to it.
• Keep good records. Maintain all loan material in a single location.
• Review your credit report yearly and learn the importance of your credit rating.
• Limit the number of credit cards that you carry.
• Pay your credit card balances off each month if at all possible.
• Be smart about your loan choices.
• Borrow only what you need.
• Check interest rates to select the best loan
• Know your repayment and the deferment/forbearance options
• Read information about your loan choices
• Learn about different repayment options, such as Income-Based Repayment, Pay as You Earn, etc.
• Students must repay all loans according to the terms in the promissory note. Understanding repayment of federal loans

The ATSU Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine programs are proudly accredited by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA). As part of earning and maintaining approval with this prestigious association, ATSU commits to educating students through counseling on financial aid and general debt management. All ATSU DO students must complete at least two debt management opportunities prior to graduation that allow the University to track your attendance, time watched, and overall completion of the offerings.

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