Loan Repayment

Exit Counseling

Upon ceasing enrollment and prior to beginning repayment, you will be required to complete exit counseling if you have received any of the following:

  • Subsidized/Unsubsidized Stafford or Graduate PLUS loan through the Direct Loan (DL) and/or Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) programs
  • Federal TEACH Grant
  • Federal Perkins loan
  • University loan (Institutional loan from Stanford, e.g. Avery Loan)

Exit counseling will provide information about borrower rights, responsibilities regarding loan repayment, and review the TEACH Grant service requirements. To determine how much you have received in federal loans and/or TEACH Grants, you can use the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) to track your funds.


Exit Counseling Sessions for June Graduates

On June 11, 2015, the Financial Aid Office and Student Financial Services provided three in-person sessions where graduating students learned about their rights and responsibilities as loan borrowers. The presentations from these sessions are available for download here:


Online Exit Counseling

If you were unable to attend one of the in-person sessions, you should complete the exit counseling requirement online. The online process is different for each program.

  • Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized (Stafford) and Graduate PLUS Loans

    Go to https://studentloans.gov/ and sign in with your FSA ID. If you do not have an FSA ID, follow the prompts to create one. Click the link for Complete Counseling, then click the link for Exit Counseling. Follow the prompts to complete the exit counseling process, which covers both DL and FFEL borrowers.
    If you borrowed Stafford and/or Graduate PLUS loans from a bank or credit union through the FFEL program, your lender or servicer may offer its own online exit counseling process. You can find the name and contact information for your lender via the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) website.

  • Perkins and University Loans

    You will receive an email message from University Accounting Services with information about how to complete the exit counseling process for these loan types. Questions about the exit counseling process for Perkins and University loans should be directed to the Student Services Center.

  • TEACH Grants

    Go to the NSLDS Exit Counseling web page. In the section titled TEACH Grant Exit Counseling, click the Start button, then follow the prompts to complete the exit counseling process.

You do not need to notify the Financial Aid Office upon completion of your exit counseling requirement. However, you are welcome to contact our office with any follow-up questions.


Additional Resources

For questions about your individual student loans, you should contact your lender or the current holder of your loan.  To determine the holder of your loan, you should consult NSLDS. Please note that private (non-federal) education loans and Stanford University loans are not included in NSLDS.

If you encounter difficulties with your lender, you may wish to contact the U.S. Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid Ombudsman. The Ombudsman provides borrowers with information and guidance to resolve concerns about their student loans. As an advocate, the Ombudsman can research problems and determine if you have been treated fairly. Here is the contact information for the Ombudsman’s office:

U.S. Department of Education
FSA Ombudsman Group
830 First Street, N.E., Mail Stop 5144
Washington, D.C.  20202-5144
(877) 557-2575
http://studentaid.gov/repay-loans/disputes/prepare

If you plan to re-enroll at Stanford or another college or university, please notify your lender. You may need to complete an in-school deferment request to postpone repayment. You should continue to make monthly payments until you are officially notified of approval of your deferment request.

Updated on July 27, 2015 8:04 AM