Here at UNK we know it's our people who make the biggest difference. In the lives of our students, to our peers, to the people of Nebraska.
Students aren’t just another number at UNK. They’re treated as individuals with different learning styles, needs and expectations. Here, we know the individual students and help them based on their individual needs.
At UNK, faculty and staff care about the process of education. They present materials in a meaningful way and meet face-to-face with students as much as possible.
While there are many different types of student loans, the most common for UNK are Federal Loans through the Direct Loan Program. However, other types of loans exist that are not made available through the Department of Education; these types of loans are referred to as "Private Student Loans." Below you will find more information about the various types of loan programs, their requirements, and how to choose the right option for you.
The most common types of student loans that are awarded to students are Federal Direct Loans. There are two types of Federal Direct Loans; Federal Direct Subsidized Loans and Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans. A 1.059% loan origination fee will be charged on both types of loans.
Students may accept the amount of Federal Direct Student Loans that they have decided to borrow by logging into MyBLUE. Students do not have to accept the full amount of the loans, and may enter any partial amount that is decided to be borrowed. A borrower may also contact the Office of Financial Aid to reduce the amount of loan that has been accepted.
In short, Federal Direct Subsidized Loans have slightly better terms to help out students with financial need.
Overview of Federal Direct Subsidized Loans:
Overview of Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans:
*Note: Interest payments to a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan do not have to be made while in school. However, the Office of Financial Aid does encourage these borrowers to begin making the interest payments in order to minimize the total debt owed when finishing school. Making the interest payments keeps the loan debt from inflating beyond the original principle amount borrowed.
Current Rates: Interest Rates for Federal Direct Loans borrowed July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2021:
Federal Direct Loan Rates
→ Subsidized Undergraduate Loans: 2.75% fixed
→ Unsubsidized Undergraduate Loans: 2.75% fixed
→ Unsubsidized Graduate Loans: 4.30% fixed
Entrance Loan Counseling
Students who are borrowing a Federal Direct Student Loan for the first time* are required to complete Entrance Loan Counseling and a Master Promissory Note before the loan can be disbursed out to his or her account. Students may access the entrance loan counseling session on the Department of Education's StudentAid.gov website. Once you complete this online session, the Financial Aid office is notified. If you want to check to see if your confirmation has been received in our office, please review your MyBLUE To Do List. Once this requirement has been met, it will be removed from your checklist.
*If you borrowed a Federal Direct Loan as an undergraduate, you should have already completed the Entrance Loan Counseling and Master Promissory Note.
Master Promissory Note
As you begin to borrow for your educational expenses, it is important that you are aware of the loan's terms and conditions. These stipulations govern the rights and responsibilities you have as a borrower. When you sign the Master Promissory Note (MPN), you enter a legal and binding contract according to the terms and conditions listed therein.
Exit Loan Counseling
If you have borrowed student loans to help pay for your education and you either apply for graduation from UNK, withdraw from classes, or drop below half-time enrollment, you will be notified of opportunities to attend an Exit Loan Counseling session. Exit Loan Counseling is required for students graduating from UNK. If you will be graduating from UNK and have not yet completed the Exit Loan Counseling session, you will see a reminder on your “To Do List” on MyBLUE. Once you have completed a group counseling session or an online counseling session, the reminder will be removed from your “To Do List.” The purpose of Exit Loan Counseling is to help you become well prepared and knowledgeable regarding the repayment of the student loans you have borrowed.
Aggregate Limits per grade level |
Federal Direct |
Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans |
Independent* |
Total** |
FR (0-27 credits) |
$3,500.00 |
$2,000.00 |
$4,000.00 |
$5,500.00 |
SO (28-57 credits) |
$4,500.00 |
$2,000.00 |
$4,000.00 |
$6,500.00 |
JR (58-88 credits) |
$5,500.00 |
$2,000.00 |
$5,000.00 |
$7,500.00 |
SR (89+ credits) |
$5,500.00 |
$2,000.00 |
$5,000.00 |
$7,500.00 |
Pre-Masters |
$5,500.00 |
$ 0.00 |
$7,000.00 |
$5,500.00 |
*If a student is classified as an independent student as determined by the FAFSA or if the Parent PLUS Loan was denied, he or she would receive the specified additional amount of Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan eligibility depending on grade level.
**This total amount does not include the extra amount of Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan a student may qualify for if independent or if the Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan was denied. To get the total amount for these students, add the number in the independent column for their grade level to the total in their grade level.
The annual aggregate amount of loan a graduate student may qualify for each year is $20,500.00. The lifetime aggregate amount of loan a graduate student may borrow is $138,500.00*.
*This amount includes what the student has borrowed as a graduate student and as an undergraduate student.
An important note on Federal Direct PLUS loans:
Effective beginning in the 2020-21 academic year, parents and dependent students will not see their parent PLUS loan eligibility listed on their financial aid award at UNK. PLUS loans are still an option for parents and students, but due to higher interest rates and origination fees on these loans, the UNK Financial Aid Office encourages parents and dependent students to consult with a Financial Aid Counselor if either are seeking additional loan eligibility for college expenses.
Federal Direct PLUS Loans are part of the Federal Direct Loan Program and as such are financed by the federal government. PLUS Loans are borrowed by parents of dependent students as a way to help finance education expenses. The Cost of Attendance minus all other financial assistance as determined by the school is the maximum that may be borrowed. Unless the borrower specifies deferred payments in the loan request, repayment begins after the full loan has been disbursed. The interest rate is fixed at 5.30% for the 2020-21 academic year. Interest is charged during all loan periods, starting on the date of the loan’s first disbursement. An origination fee of 4.236%, will be deducted from the borrowed principal and the resulting net loan will be applied to the student account.
If a parent would like to apply for PLUS Loan funding, he or she may do so by:
The Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan enables graduate students to borrow additional loan from the U.S. Department of Education to help pay educational expenses. This loan is a more expensive loan with significantly higher interest rates and origination fees, and as such is federally available to a student only after exhausting all other Federal Direct Student Loan eligibility within a school year. An applicant’s credit is checked by the Department of Education to determine eligibility for this loan.
Some general terms are as follows:
Contact the UNK Office of Financial Aid for more details and for information regarding the application process for this loan by phone at (308) 865-8520.
The Federal Student Aid website, StudentAid.gov, is the U.S. Department of Education's (ED's) central database for student aid. Studentaid.gov receives data from schools, guarantee agencies, the Federal Direct Loan program, and other Department of Education programs. This website is a one-stop location to access almost anything related to federal financial aid.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION LOAN SERVICING CENTERS INFORMATION
Dept of Ed/Nelnet |
Borrower Contact Information Phone: 888.486.4722 TDD/TTY: 888.486.4722 Overseas: 303.696.3625 Web: www.nelnet.com |
Dept of Ed/Navient |
Borrower Contact Information Phone: 800.722.1300 TDD/TTY: 877.713.3833 Overseas: 317.570.7397 or 888.272.5543 Web: www.navient.com |
Dept of Ed/Great Lakes |
Borrower Contact Information Phone: 800.236.4300 TDD/TTY: 800.236.4300 Overseas: 608.246.1700 Web: www.mygreatlakes.org |
Dept of Ed/FedLoan Servicing (PHEAA) |
Borrower Contact Information Phone: 800.699.2908 TDD/TTY: 800.722.8189 Overseas: 717.720.1985 Web: www.myfedloan.org |
OSLA Servicing |
Borrower Contact Information Phone: 866.264.9762 Web: www.osla.org |
CornerStone |
Borrower Contact Information Phone: 800.6631662 |
ESA/EdFinancial Services |
Borrower Contact Information Phone: 855.337.6884 Web: www.edfinancial.com |
MOHELA
|
Borrower Contact Information Phone: 888.8664352 TDD/TTY: 636.532.5189 Web: www.mohela.com |
Granite State - GSMR |
Borrower Contact Information Phone: 800.303.8353 Web: www.gsmr.org |
VSAC Federal Loans |
Borrower Contact Information Phone: 888.307.8722 Web: http://www.vsac.org/pay/student-aid-options/loans/federal |
Direct Loan Consolidation Department |
Borrower Contact Information Phone: 800.557.7392 |
UNK uses the ELM Select Tool to provide a historical listing of Private Student Loan lenders students have borrowed from over the past two years. UNK does not recommend any specific lender, but provides this list as a resource and a service to students seeking loan aid above and beyond their federal student loan eligibility. As a borrower, you may use any lender you choose. The lender does not have to be one that appears on this list. You may do a more extensive search for Private Student Loan lenders online or otherwise and UNK will process your loan with any lender you choose to utilize.
The ELM Select Tool allows you to compare the terms of several Private Student Loan lenders including: interest rates, cosigner requirements, repayment length and other important loan information to help with your borrowing decision. Please take these next steps to access our historical listing of Private Student Loan lenders.
As an important note, students pursuing private educational loans must sign an Applicant Self-Certification form and submit this form to the private lender before the loan may be disbursed. We have linked this self-certification form above for your convenience.