Tag Archives: Student Loans

Default Prevention, Loan Information

Default Prevention and Responsible Borrowing

Approximately 13.7% of NOVA students borrowed a student loan in 2014-2015 to help finance their educational expenses according to data compiled by NOVA’s Office of Institutional Research.  While this is a relatively low percentage of the student population, the college is committed to encouraging responsible borrowing and reducing the number of students who default on their loans.

By partnering with Inceptia, we have assisted over 1,300 former NOVA students in getting all of their delinquent student loans back into good standing within the last four months.  The efforts of the Default Prevention Committee have also helped reduce the college’s Cohort Default Rate (CDR) from 13.6% in FY2011 to 12.0% in FY2012 (the two most recent periods for which data is available).  This indicates a reduction in the percentage of NOVA borrowers defaulting on their student loans within three years after entering repayment.

Per federal regulations, students must complete the Master Promissory Note (MPN) and Entrance Counseling at www.studentloans.gov before receiving a Federal Direct Stafford Loan, and they must complete Exit Counseling upon leaving school.  Borrowers are also encouraged to use NOVA’s Loan Planning Form to review their loan histories, determine the impact of additional borrowing, and to start planning how they will repay their student loans.

General Information, Loan Information

Be Proactive with Your Student Loans: Prepare for Repayment

NOVA Financial Aid wants to ensure that you know how to find the status of your student loans and the contact information for your loan servicer(s) in case you have questions about loan repayment.

If you have not already done so, it is important to prepare to repay your student loans. Check with your loan servicer if you aren’t sure how or when to make a payment. You are responsible for staying in touch with your servicer and making your payments, even if you do not receive a bill. Many borrowers choose to have their loan servicers electronically debit loan payments from their banks each month in order to help prevent missing payments and becoming delinquent on student loans.

If you ever have difficulty making a loan payment, you should contact your loan servicer before the payment is late. You might qualify for deferment, forbearance, or a different repayment plan that can temporarily postpone or reduce the amount that you must pay. In order to see what options are available for your situation, you would need to call your loan servicer.

You may look up the contact information for your loan servicer by logging into your “My Federal Student Aid” portal at www.studentaid.gov. Click on the log in button in the upper right corner at www.studentaid. gov and enter your information to log in. If you do not know your 4-digit financial aid PIN, you may click on the “Forgot your PIN” link to request a duplicate PIN. Once you log in, scroll down to view your federal student loan history. Click on each of your loans to view the contact information for your current servicer. Different loans could have different servicers, especially Perkins loans. You should call your loan servicer today if you have any questions about repaying your student loans, including any options that may be available for you.

More information is available at www.studentaid.gov > Repay Loans.

Check out this short video for more information: http://cheapscholar.org/2013/11/26/student-loan-repayment-101-video/