C.U. Boulder Office of Financial Aid

The Process |

Graduation

Financial Aid Information for Graduating CU-Boulder Students

If you received an email from us directing you to this page, or you're graduating and found your way here on your own, then congratulations! Here’s a list of some important things we think you should know:

If your plans changed and you are not going to graduate, please read Financial Aid for Future Terms.

If you're receiving a degree, but you will still be enrolled at CU-Boulder next term, please read Financial Aid for Future Terms.

If you are graduating and moving on, please read Next Steps for CU-Boulder Graduates below.

If you are interested in loan consolidation (if you have student loans, you should be), please follow this link to our Loan Consolidation page

Next Steps for CU-Boulder Graduates

If you borrowed any student loans, hopefully you have kept careful track of them. While at CU-Boulder, you probably had either a Subsidized or an Unsubsidized Stafford loan, or a combination of the two, through the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program. You may have also had a Federal Perkins loan from CU, or even an alternative student loan through a bank or private lender. Your federal PIN is now an important tool for you to have in order to effectively manage your loan accounts. Both of the web pages identified on this page will require you to use your federal PIN. If you don’t have one, or if you’ve forgotten yours, go to www.pin.ed.gov.

To identify what loans you have borrowed, first check your own records and account statements. After looking over those, go to www.nslds.ed.gov to see what the Department of Education’s central database has for your Stafford and Perkins loan balances. Unfortunately, alternative student loans are not included in this database. You’ll have to rely on your own information for those.

Do you have Stafford loans through the Direct Loan Program? If so, go to www.dlservicer.ed.gov and follow the Exit Counseling link. The Direct Loan program will notify us that you have reviewed the exit counseling material, and you will have the information you need to manage you loan accounts properly. At www.dlservicer.ed.gov you can also view your Direct Loan balances, select repayment options, and make online payments.

If you have Perkins Loans from CU, you should visit the University Loan and Debt Management Office website for information on your Perkins loan and to complete an online exit interview at www.colorado.edu/bursar/sdm/sdminfo.html, or call 303-492-5571 for information.

If you have an alternative loan through a private lender, you will need to refer to your account statements for contact information. It’s also very important that you contact all your lenders with updated address and phone number.

Financial Aid for Future Terms

If you are planning on receiving financial aid at CU-Boulder for future terms, you may or may not be eligible to do so. If you have had a change of plans and you are not graduating, then complete the Financial Aid Graduation Form and return it to our office.

If you are graduating, you will only be eligible for financial aid at CU-Boulder for future terms if you are continuing in a new degree program. If you are pursuing a second major in your current degree program and wish to receive continued financial aid funding you must be admitted to that program for an upcoming term; continuing a previously declared second major does not qualify you to receive continued financial aid. If you have been accepted into a new degree program, complete the Financial Aid Graduation Form and return it to our office. If you are not eligible for additional aid, but maintain at least half-time enrollment, your loans may still be eligible for in-school deferment. Go to: www.dlservicer.gov and follow the Exit Counseling link for more information.

Repayment

You will receive notifications from the Direct Loan Servicer about repayment and of the date your loan repayment begins. You are, however, responsible for beginning repayment on time, even if you don’t receive this information. Update your address with the Direct Loan Service Center at 800-848-0979. Their website is www.dlservicer.ed.gov.

The Federal Perkins and Federal Stafford loans have a grace period. After you graduate, leave school, or drop below half-time enrollment, please review our policy on enrollment levels. You have a nine month grace period for Perkins loans and a six month grace period for Stafford loans before repayment begins. You are allowed only one grace period per loan. For example, taking a semester off from school may count toward your one-time grace period if the "time out" is greater than six months. In this case, your repayment will begin upon graduation.

PLUS (Parent) Loan repayment begins 60 days after the last disbursement, usually in March of the fall/spring academic year. Remember, however, that interest begins accruing on the amount of the first disbursement at the time it is credited to your university bill.

You are eligible for a deferment (payments are postponed) on Stafford and Perkins loan payments as long as you are enrolled at least half time or for circumstances that include, but are not limited to, active military duty, Peace Corps, teaching in a designated Department of Education teacher shortage area, etc. You may be charged interest during the deferment. For more information, contact the Direct Loan Service Center at 800-848-0979.

If you are temporarily unable to meet your repayment schedule but are not eligible for a deferment, you may be eligible for a forbearance (payments temporarily postponed due to a serious hardship) for a limited and specified time. Please contact the Direct Loan Service Center at 800-848-0979 or the Perkins Loan office at 303-492-5571 to find out if you qualify for a forbearance.

Perkins Loan Repayment Options

The monthly payment amount depends on the size of your debt and the length of your repayment period. Typically the repayment is over 10 years. A $5,000 loan currently requires 120 payments of $53.06 per month for a total repayment of $6,363.40 ($1,363.40 in interest).

Stafford Loan Repayment Options

The Federal Direct Stafford Loan program offers four repayment plans:

Standard Repayment - you pay a monthly fixed amount for up to 10 years.
Extended Repayment - extends your repayment over a longer period, generally 12 to 30 years depending on your loan amount.
Graduated Plan - initial payments are lower and then gradually increase, usually every two years. Repayment period ranges from 12 to 30 years.
Income Contingent Plan - monthly payment is based on your annual income, family size, and loan amount. As your income increases or decreases, so does your repayment amount.

For more information on repayment options, you can obtain a copy of the Direct Loans Repayment Book available from the Direct Loan Service Center, 800-848-0979 or www.dlservicer.ed.gov.

PLUS (Parent) Loan Repayment Options

Parents may choose from three of the repayment plans described above:

Standard Repayment
Extended Repayment
Graduated Repayment

The Income Contingent Repayment Plan is not an option for Federal Direct PLUS (Parent) Loan borrowers. In certain circumstances, parents can receive a deferment or forbearance on their loans.

Loan Consolidation

Each year you accept a Stafford or PLUS loan, it is considered an individual educational loan. For example, if during your educational career, you accept 4 Stafford loans and 1 Perkins loan, you will have borrowed 5 loans total. Consolidation is a way in which a student or parent borrower can combine several educational loans into one. This makes it easier to manage loans by reducing both paperwork and multiple payments. For more information, contact the Direct Loan Consolidation Center at 800-557-7392 or visit them online at loanconsolidation.ed.gov. We also have a consolidation page.

You can find more information about repaying loans at studentaid.ed.gov.