Loan Exit Counseling

Loan Exit Counseling

Upon ceasing enrollment and prior to beginning repayment, federal Stafford and Graduate PLUS loan borrowers are required to complete an exit counseling session.  The exit counseling session provides information about borrower rights and responsibilities regarding loan repayment. 
 
There are several ways to complete the exit counseling requirement:

• In-person exit counseling sessions will be provided on Thursday, June 9 at 10:30 am and 1:30 pm at the Graduate Community Center. The sessions will cover repayment information for borrowers of federal Stafford, Graduate PLUS, Perkins and University long-term loans. Each session will last about an hour. Financial aid staff will be available to answer individual questions at the end of the presentation.
• Online loan counseling is available on the website of the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). We particularly recommend NSLDS Exit Counseling for borrowers of Federal Direct loans.

• Online exit counseling is available on the website of Northwest Education Loan Association (NELA) the Stafford/PLUS loan guarantee agency.  Go to the NELA Student Loan Transition Guide provided to you by Stanford University.

• Online exit counseling may be available on the website of individual Stafford/PLUS lenders. If you do not know the name of your lender, you can find it by using the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) website.

• You may contact the Financial Aid Office and ask that exit counseling materials be mailed to you.  You may contact our office by email at financialaid@stanford.edu or by phone at (650) 723-3058.

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.
 
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 the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). Please note that private (non-federal) education 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
            Federal Student Aid Ombudsman
            830 First Street, N.E.
            Washington, D.C.  20202-5144
            (877) 577-2575
            http://www.ombudsman.ed.gov/
 
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.