Loans

There are many private alternative loan options available. Please choose from the list of links for various loan opportunities.

Federal Direct Loan Borrowers
(Including Parent PLUS and Grad PLUS)

Signing Your Direct Loan Master Promissory Note Electronically (eMPN)

Students who are borrowing a Federal Direct Loan for the first time and have already received a Financial Aid Award letter must complete a Master Promissory Note.

Graduate students who are borrowing from the Federal Direct Loan program AND the Federal Direct Grad PLUS program MUST complete a Master Promissory Note for each loan program.

Parents who have completed the Federal Direct PLUS application and are borrowing a PLUS for the first time, must complete a Master Promissory Note if they have already received credit approval.

In order to complete this process, you will need your personal FAFSA PIN. For further instructions and to obtain a PIN and/or sign your MPN, please visit www.dlenote.ed.gov. Signing your MPN is a 10-step process and will require at least 30 minutes to complete

There is no need to submit a copy of your MPN to the Financial Aid Office. We will receive electronic notice that the MPN has been signed and is valid. At that time, your Federal Direct Loan or Federal Direct PLUS Loan will be scheduled for disbursement.

ALL students who are borrowing a Federal Direct Loan for the first time at the University of Rochester must also complete an online Entrance Counseling session. Please see Direct Loan Entrance Counseling below. (Entrance Counseling is not a requirement for parents borrowing from the Federal Direct PLUS Loan program.)

Federal Direct Loan ENTRANCE COUNSELING

All first-time borrowers at the University of Rochester must complete loan entrance counseling before loan proceeds can be credited to your student account. This entrance counseling session will take approximately 25-30 minutes.

In the entrance counseling session, you will learn:

  • your rights and responsibilities as a borrower
  • information on interest rates, expenses, repayment plans and other important details about borrowing
  • who to contact with questions

Click to begin the "Direct Loan Entrance Counseling" (www.dlssonline.com)

Note - you may attempt to pass the quiz three times. After your third attempt, you must contact the Loan Coordinator at the Financial Aid Office to set up an in person session.

After completing the entrance interview quiz we will be notified by the U.S. Department of Education within approximately one week that you have completed entrance counseling.

Federal Direct Loan EXIT COUNSELING

All students who have borrowed Federal Direct Student Loan program while at the University of Rochester must complete a loan exit counseling session during the last semester prior to graduation or when the student falls below half time status. This is a federal requirement for all Direct Loan recipients. This loan exit session will take approximately 30 minutes to complete.

If you do not complete a loan exit counseling session your University of Rochester diploma will be held until this requirement has been completed.

In the exit counseling session, you will learn:

  • Your rights and responsibilities for repayment
  • Your repayment options
  • how to defer your loans while in graduate school
  • who your loan servicer is and how to contact them

In order to complete Exit Counseling online, you will need your FAFSA PIN. If you have forgotten your PIN, go to http://www.pin.ed.gov/ for the PIN retrieval process.

Click to begin the "Direct Loan Exit Counseling" (www.dlssonline.com)

After completing the exit interview quiz we will be notified by the U.S. Department of Education within approximately one week that you have completed exit counseling.

Federal Perkins Loan Borrowers

Perkins Electronic Master Promissory Note

Students who are borrowing a Federal Perkins Loan for the first time and have already received a Financial Aid Award letter must complete a Master Promissory Note.

In order to complete this process, you will need your personal FAFSA PIN. Click to begin the "Perkins Electronic Master Promissory Note" (https://www.acs-education.com/CS/Jsp/cpsesign/welcome.jsp)

There is no need to submit a copy of your MPN to the Financial Aid Office. We will receive an electronic notice that the MPN has been signed and is valid. At that time, your Federal Perkins Loan will be scheduled for disbursement.

Perkins ENTRANCE COUNSELING

All first-time borrowers at the University of Rochester must complete loan entrance counseling before loan proceeds can be credited to your student account. This entrance counseling session will take approximately 25-30 minutes.

In the entrance counseling session, you will learn about:

  • Your rights and responsibilities as a borrower
  • Information on repayment, interest rates and other important details about borrowing
  • Whom to contact with questions

Click to begin the "Perkins Loan Entrance Counseling" (https://www.fc.campusoncall.com/cgi-bin/home.pl?campus=urriver)

Perkins/Nursing/University Loan EXIT COUNSELING

All students who have borrowed a Federal Perkins Student Loan or Federal Nursing Loan or any University Loan while at the University of Rochester must complete a loan exit counseling session during the last semester prior to graduation or when the student falls below half time status. If you do not complete the Perkins / Nursing / University loan exit counseling session, your University of Rochester transcript will be held until this requirement has been completed. This loan exit session will take approximately 30 minutes to complete.

In the exit counseling session, you will:

  • learn your repayment terms and conditions
  • how to defer your loans
  • who your loan servicer is and how to contact them

Click to begin Perkins/Nursing/University Loan Exit Counseling..

After completing the Perkins/Nursing/University loan exit counseling, we will be notified shortly afterward via an electronic report that you have completed the session.

Alternative Student Loans

Some students and families choose to use alternative loans to cover a portion of the cost of education not already paid for by the financial aid that students are receiving. Before using alternative loans, students should pursue the federal loan programs for which they are eligible. Through the Direct Loan program, students can borrow Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans, parents can borrow PLUS loans, and graduate students can borrow Graduate PLUS loans. These loans often offer lower interest rates and fees than alternative loans. If you have not applied for these sources, please contact the Financial Aid Office, so that we can explain these opportunities further.

If you choose to pursue an alternative loan, be sure to compare the costs associated with various loans before completing an application. Interest rates, fees, repayment periods, and other benefits can vary significantly between loans. While many educational loans are available with no fees and interest rates less than 10%, other programs exist with fees of over 5% and interest rates over 14%. These higher rates can result in you paying thousands of dollars in additional costs. Take the time to compare.

If you've borrowed through an alternative loan program before, staying with the same loan program is often the best choice. If you've never borrowed, here are some websites that we are aware of that provide comparative information. (If you select a loan through a comparative website, be sure to also go to the lender's website to make sure you are getting the most up-to-date information about the loan).

The University of Rochester does not maintain a preferred lender list. As such, the University has no agreements or relationships with any lenders and does not receive any benefit, financial or otherwise, from the use of alternative loans by students. For more information about the University's policies, please see our Student Loan Code of Conduct.