Program Details

The Federal Pell Grant Program is a high need grant program for undergraduate students. The amount varies based on the student’s EFC (expected family contribution) and academic status (full time, three-quarter time, half-time or less than half-time). A student must file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to determine eligibility.

Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant is supplemental funding for full-time Pell Grant recipients with remaining need. Funded by the federal government and requiring a match from the University, this is a small program and funds are committed very early in the funding process. Early completion of the financial aid paperwork is essential in receiving funds from this program.

The Federal TEACH Grant Program is for students who plan on being a full-time teacher in a high need field at a school serving low income students for at least four years within eight years of graduation. Recipients must have entrance counseling prior to the beginning of classes as well as a service agreement. Renewal criteria require a 3.25 institutional cumulative GPA.

High need fields are currently defined as 1.) Bilingual education and English language acquisition; 2.) foreign languages; 3.) mathematics; 4.) reading specialist; 5.) science; 6.) special education.

To determine if a school is designated “low income”, refer to the Department of Education’s annual Teacher Shortage Area Nationwide Listing.

Should a recipient fail to meet the requirements as a full time teacher, the grant reverts to an unsubsidized loan with interest accrual calculated from the day of disbursement.

State

The Access Missouri Grant

is a need-based State grant. Eligibility is determined by the FAFSA which must be on file with the Federal Processor by April 1 each year. The amount on an award for 2016 reflects the State Roster’s current award. If this amount should change, the University will send a revised Award Notice as soon as the MO Department of Higher Education confirms the new amount. Students must maintain a 2.5 grade point average for renewal. This program is available to full-time, undergraduate students for up to 10 semesters of undergraduate coursework.

The Marguerite Ross Barnett Award

is for students taking between six and 11 credit hours each semester who also work a minimum of 20 hours each week. The amount of the award varies based on the number of credit hours the recipient is taking. The University does not receive the roster of recipients or amounts until after the semester begins. At that point, the student receives a revised award letter which must be signed and returned along with Employment Verification.

Bright Flight

eligibility is determined by the results of the ACT test. Residents of Missouri who attend a school within Missouri and have a comprehensive ACT score in the top 3% for the State are eligible for this scholarship. For 2016/2017, the minimum score is 31. The student must be a full-time, accepted undergraduate.

Minority Teaching Scholarship

is designed to attract academically talented minority individuals into the teaching profession. Through this program, students enrolled in approved teacher education programs receive loans to assist with educational expenses. For students who meet all of the program’s obligations, the loans are forgiven through conversion to a scholarship (gift aid). Fill out an application form here.

Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford Student Loans

The following loans are available through the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program. Loan funds are borrowed directly from the Department of Education and repayment of loan funds is to the Department of Education. To be eligible, the student borrower must be enrolled at least half-time (six credit hours).

Federal Subsidized Direct Loan is available for undergraduate students with financial need, determined after the student completes the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. The subsidy in this program occurs when the government pays the interest that accrues while the student maintains academic progress toward a degree at a minimum of half-time student status.
Federal Unsubsidized Direct Loan is available for undergraduate and graduate students who have not established financial need when completing the FAFSA. The accrued interest while in school is not paid by the federal government. If the student does not make arrangements to pay, it is capitalized into the principle, thus increasing the amount the student borrows by the amount of interest that accrues. Interest statements are sent to the borrower semi-annually, at which time the borrower is given the option to pay the interest.

The federal government regulates the amount of funding a student is allowed to borrow each academic year. This is based on the student’s dependency status, student loan funds borrowed previously and academic level. Dependency status is determined by the FAFSA and academic level is determined by total number of credit hours earned in the student’s program of study.

Academic Level	Dependent	Independent
First Year (freshman)	$3,500	$9,500 (maximum $3,500 subsidized)
Second Year (sophomore)	$4,500	$10,500 (maximum $4,500 subsidized)
Third Year (junior)and beyond	$5,500	$12,500 (maximum $5,500 subsidized)
Graduate and Professional	N/A	$20,500 (unsubsidized)

The federal government also regulates the total amount a student can borrow. This is referred to as the aggregate limit. Aggregate limits are regulated by dependency status and degree.

Degree	Dependent	Independent
Undergraduate	$23,000	$57,500 (maximum $23,000 subsidized)
Graduate or Professional	N/A	138,500 (includes loans borrowed as undergraduate)

Federal Subsidized/Unsubsidized Direct Loans borrowed for undergraduate work and disbursed before July 1, 2015 have a fixed interest rate of 4.29%. Unsubsidized loans for undergraduate and graduate work will have a fixed interest rate of 5.84%.

The student loan program charges a loan fee on each loan disbursement. This fee is currently 1.068% of the gross loan amount but may change for any loans disbursed on or after October 1, 2016. A master promissory note (MPN) and entrance counseling are required for students borrowing for the first time at Maryville University. These steps can be completed online at http://www.studentloans.gov.

Repayment of the federal student loan program begins six months after graduation or six months after dropping below half-time enrollment. This time period, beginning with your last date of half-time attendance, is called the “grace” period and upon it’s completion, monthly repayment begins. During this time, information will be sent regarding repayment of student loan funds directly to the borrower.
The federal government offers several different types of repayment options:

Repayment Plan	Eligible Loans	Monthly Payment and Time Frame	Quick Comparison
Standard Repayment Plan	Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans Subsidized and Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans all PLUS loans	Payments are a fixed amount of at least $50 per month. Up to 10 years	You’ll pay less interest for your loan over time under this plan than you would under other plans.
Graduated Repayment Plan	Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans Subsidized and Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans all PLUS loans	Payments are lower at first and then increase, usually every two years. Up to 10 years	You’ll pay more for your loan over time than under the 10-year standard plan.
Extended Repayment Plan	Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans Subsidized and Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans all PLUS loans	Payments may be fixed or graduated. Up to 25 years	Your monthly payments would be lower than the 10-year standard plan. If you are a: Direct Loan borrower, you must have more than $30,000 in outstanding Direct Loans. FFEL borrower, you must have more than $30,000 in outstanding FFEL Program loans. For example, if you have $35,000 in outstanding FFEL Program loans, and $10,000 in Direct Loans, you can use the extended repayment plan for your FFEL Program loans, but not for your Direct Loans. For both programs, you must also be a “new borrower” as of Oct. 7, 1998. You’ll pay more for your loan over time than under the 10-year standard plan.
Income-Based Repayment Plan (IBR)	Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans Subsidized and Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans all PLUS loans made to students Consolidation Loans (Direct or FFEL) that do not include Direct or FFEL PLUS loans made to parents	Your maximum monthly payments will be 15 percent of discretionary income, the difference between your adjusted gross income and 150 percent of the poverty guideline for your family size and state of residence (other conditions apply). Your payments change as your income changes. Up to 25 years	You must have a partial financial hardship. Your monthly payments will be lower than payments under the 10-year standard plan. You’ll pay more for your loan over time than you would under the 10-year standard plan. If you have not repaid your loan in full after making the equivalent of 25 years of qualifying monthly payments, any outstanding balance on your loan will be forgiven. You may have to pay income tax on any amount that is forgiven.
Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan	Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans Direct PLUS loans made to students Direct Consolidation Loans that do not include (Direct or FFEL) PLUS loans made to parents	Your maximum monthly payments will be 10 percent of discretionary income, the difference between your adjusted gross income and 150 percent of the poverty guideline for your family size and state of residence (other conditions apply). Your payments change as your income changes. Up to 20 years	You must be a new borrower on or after Oct. 1, 2007, and must have received a disbursement of a Direct Loan on or after Oct. 1, 2011. You must have a partial financial hardship. Your monthly payments will be lower than payments under the 10-year standard plan. You’ll pay more for your loan over time than you would under the 10-year standard plan. If you have not repaid your loan in full after you made the equivalent of 20 years of qualifying monthly payments, any outstanding balance on your loan will be forgiven. You may have to pay income tax on any amount that is forgiven.
Income-Contingent Repayment Plan	Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans Direct PLUS Loans made to students Direct Consolidation Loans	Payments are calculated each year and are based on your adjusted gross income, family size, and the total amount of your Direct Loans. Your payments change as your income changes. Up to 25 years	You’ll pay more for your loan over time than under the 10-year standard plan. If you do not repay your loan after making the equivalent of 25 years of qualifying monthly payments, the unpaid portion will be forgiven. You may have to pay income tax on the amount that is forgiven.
Income-Sensitive Repayment Plan	Subsidized and Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans FFEL PLUS Loans FFEL Consolidation Loans	Your monthly payment is based on annual income. Your payments change as your income changes. Up to 10 years	You’ll pay more for your loan over time than you would under the 10-year standard plan. Each lender‘s formula for determining the monthly payment amount under this plan can vary.

If a repayment plan is not chosen, the standard repayment plan will be used. However, the borrower may change repayment plans after repayment begins.

Students may access a loan repayment calculator to estimate monthly loan repayment: https://studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/understand/plans/

Two borrower benefits are available in the Federal Direct Loan Program:

Deferment allows a borrower to temporarily postpone loan payments while enrolled in at least six credit hours. Subsidized loans do not accrue interest while in deferment, but unsubsidized loans do accrue interest.
Forbearance allows a borrower to temporarily postpone or reduce loan payments when in economic hardship. Both subsidized and unsubsidized loans accrue interest in forbearance.

Federal student loans become delinquent when the account is not paid for 270 days or nine months. After 270 days, the loan account is considered in default. Defaulted loans have serious consequences, such as the following:

The entire unpaid loan balance becomes due.
Loan default will be reported to national credit bureaus, negatively impacting the borrower’s credit history.
Wages can be garnished.
Borrower loses eligibility to use all other federal student aid programs.
Borrower will no longer be eligible for deferment or forbearance options.
If the Department of Education cannot collect payment, the loan will be turned over a debt collection agency. A debt collection agency will charge collection fees that will have to be paid by the borrower.

If there are ever concerns about making loan payments, contact your loan servicer. You can get information about your federal loan servicer online at http://www.nslds.ed.gov.

Graduate (PLUS) Loan

The William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program offers a Graduate PLUS Loan for students participating in a graduate program at least half-time. The loan is based on credit-worthiness of the graduate student. Loan funds are borrowed directly from the Department of Education and repayment of loan funds is to the Department of Education.

To apply for the Graduate PLUS Loan, the student must be registered in at least six credit hours and contact the Financial Aid Office to request that the loan be added to the Notice of Financial Aid Award. This award letter must be signed and returned to the Financial Aid Office.

A graduate student may borrow funds to cover balances not paid by the student’s other financial aid. This can include both direct costs (tuition, fees, on-campus housing) and/or indirect costs (transportation, books, supplies).

The William D. Ford Graduate PLUS Loan has a fixed interest rate of 6.84%.

The Graduate PLUS Loan Program charges a loan fee on each loan disbursement. This fee is currently 4.272% of the gross loan amount. For example, if the gross loan amount is $1000, then the loan fee is $42. This means $958 will be electronically disbursed to the borrower’s student account. However this fee may change for loans disbursed on or after October 1, 2016.

Before loan funding can be disbursed to the student account on the anticipated disbursement date, a Master Promissory Note (MPN) must be completed. This is the legal contract between the borrower and the Department of Education indicating the loan will be paid. The MPN can be completed online at http://studentloans.gov.

Repayment of the Graduate PLUS Loan Program begins 60 days after all disbursements for the loan period have been made. Repayment will begin while the student is in school. There is no grace period, but the borrower may be eligible for an in-school deferment. After deferment ends, the first payment will be due within 45 days.

To review the payment plans offered for PLUS loans, refer to the chart above. Most but not all of the plans offered for non PLUS loans are available but not all. The chart will make clear the difference.

If a repayment plan is not chosen, the standard repayment plan will be used. However, a borrower may change plans after repayment begins.

There is no penalty for early repayment or making more than the minimum monthly payment.

Students may access a loan repayment calculator to estimate monthly repayment: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/DirectLoan/calc.html

Two borrower benefits are available in the Federal Direct Loan Program:

Deferment allows a borrower to temporarily postpone loan payments while enrolled in at least six credit hours.
Forbearance allows a borrower to temporarily postpone or reduce loan payments when in economic hardship.

If there are ever concerns about making loan payments, contact your loan servicer. You can get information about your federal loan servicer online at http://www.nslds.ed.gov/.

Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS)

The William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program offers a Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS). The borrower is a credit-worthy parent of the dependent student. Loan funds are borrowed directly from the Department of Education and repayment of loan funds is to the Department of Education. The need to make the additional step of selecting a bank and going through its lending procedures is unnecessary as the process is administered through the University.

To apply for the parent loan, the student must be registered in at least six credit hours. If a PLUS loan is not included with the original student award, contact the Financial Aid Office to request a loan amount be calculated and added to the Notice of Financial Aid Award.

A parent may borrow funds to cover balances not paid by the student’s financial aid. This can include both direct (tuition, fees, on-campus housing) and indirect costs (transportation, books, supplies).You can access a PLUS Worksheet under the worksheets link to assist in calculating the amount of loan funds that will be needed. To begin the process, one parent completes the online application at www.studentloans.gov (Select: “PLUS Request Process” then select “Request a PLUS Loan”). You will be able to provide the amount of the loan that is being requested. When the application is submitted, an immediate response regarding the status of the credit check will be provided. The PLUS Loan can be divided into two loans if it is necessary for a family to have a loan for each parent; however, there cannot be joint borrowers on a PLUS loan.

The William D. Ford Federal PLUS loan has a fixed annual interest rate of 6.84%.

The parent loan program charges a loan fee on each loan disbursement deducted from the gross disbursement amount. This fee is currently 4.272% but may increase for any loans disbursed on or after October 1, 2016. Before loan funding can be disbursed to the student account on the anticipated disbursement date, a Master Promissory Note (MPN) must be completed. This is the legal contract between the borrower and the Department of Education indicating the loan will be repaid. The MPN can be completed online at www.studentloans.gov.

Repayment of the federal parent loan program begins sixty days after all disbursements for the loan period have been made. This means parents begin loan repayment while the student is still enrolled in school usually in late March or early April following the student’s first semester. Parents also have an option to request deferment of the loan while the student is enrolled at least halftime. Parent borrowers should contact their servicer to get information regarding the process to request deferment.

Repayment plans for Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students or listed above.

If a repayment plan is not chosen, the standard repayment plan will be used. However, the borrower has the opportunity to change repayment plans after repayment begins. There is no penalty for early repayment or making more than the minimum monthly payment.

Borrowers can access a loan repayment calculator to estimate monthly repayment: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/DirectLoan/calc.html

Three borrower benefits are available in the Parent Loan Program:

Deferment of the loan payments can be requested while the student is enrolled at least halftime. Parent borrowers should contact their servicer to get information regarding the process to request deferment. After deferment ends, the first payment will be due within 45 days.
If the parent borrower is enrolled as a half-time student, he or she may defer payment on the Parent Loan. Deferment allows the borrower to temporarily postpone loan payments while enrolled.
Forbearance allows a borrower to temporarily postpone or reduce loan payments when in economic hardship.
The PLUS loan cannot be transferred to another borrower including the student or another parent. The loan will always be in the parent borrower’s name.

If there are ever concerns about making loan payments, the borrower should contact the loan servicer. Borrowers can get information about the federal loan servicer online at http://www.nslds.ed.gov/.

Informative Websites

Mapping Your Future
This site has information for both undergraduate and graduate students looking for information about career options and financial aid resources within their state. To help with financial strategies, students looking for loan options can find useful information about loans, including anticipated payments based on amounts borrowed and suggested ceilings based on anticipated earnings.