Entrance Counseling

If you have not previously received a Direct Loan or Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL), the Federal Government requires you to complete entrance counseling at http://www.studentloans.gov to ensure that you understand the responsibilities and obligations you are assuming.

If you complete your entrance counseling to borrow a loan as an undergraduate student, then the entrance counseling fulfills counseling requirements for Direct Subsidized Loans and Direct Unsubsidized Loans.

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To complete Entrance Counseling as an undergraduate student, you will need:

1. Approximately 30 minutes to complete.

   • Entrance Counseling must be completed in a single session.

2. Your FSA ID

   • If you are a new user or have forgotten your FSA ID, go to http://fsaid.ed.gov. Students must log in using their own FSA ID to complete Entrance Counseling. Use of another person’s FSA ID constitutes fraud. Use only your own FSA ID information.

3. Name (s) of the school(s) you wish to notify of counseling completion

4. Useful Information to Have

   • Any details on your income, financial aid, and living expenses. Some of this information can be found in:

     • Your student account information

     • A copy of the award letter from your school’s financial aid office (if you have received it)

     • A listing of the current year tuition, fees, and other statistics for your school. Visit http://www.CollegeNavigator.gov

5. Setting Up the Exercise

   You must log in with your FSA ID at http://www.studentloans.gov to officially complete the counseling session. This is done by the following steps once logged in:

   1. Navigate and click the complete counseling menu option on the left side of the webpage.

   2. Locate where it says Entrance Counseling (required) and click the start button located to the right.

   3. Selecting your schools to notify

      1. On the left-hand side of the page choose your state from the dropdown list.

      2. Then in the search school by name type in your school name.

      3. Click the button labeled Notify this school

   4. On the right side of the page under select student type select the radio button next to I am completing entrance counseling to receive Direct Loans as an undergraduate student.

   5. Click continue and navigate through the following screens completing the entrance counseling and submit it.

   Parents borrowing a Direct PLUS Loan to pay for their child’s education are not required to complete entrance counseling.

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