How to Apply for a Federal Stafford Loan and/or Parent Plus Loan 2006-2007

Welcome to Gogebic Community College’s education loan processing program.

If you have completed the 2006-2007 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and will be enrolled at least half time at GCC, you may be eligible for a Federal Stafford Loan.

If you have previously borrowed a Federal Stafford Loan while attending GCC, we recommend that you continue to borrow with the same lender. This will eliminate the need to complete a new Master Promissory Note (MPN), and will simplify repayment of your loans once you leave school.

If you are a first-time borrower at GCC, we encourage you to choose a lender from our preferred lender list for the smoothest and most efficient loan process. Please see our Borrower Benefits brochure. If you have used another lender in the past, it is to your advantage to continue using that lender. We will continue to process applications for other lenders.

New borrowers must complete an Entrance Interview before the loan can be disbursed. The Web address to complete the Entrance Interview online is http://www.mapping-your-future.org/. We encourage you to complete the entrance interview before coming to campus. Additional information will be sent to you at a later date.

Your MPN remains active for 10 years, which means you may not have to complete it again during your educational career at GCC as long as you continue to borrow with the same lender. Each year, you must complete a FAFSA and Federal Stafford Loan Request Form to determine your student loan eligibility.

Please read the enclosed information which explains how to go on-line to fill out your MPN as well as information regarding the entire loan process. Your loan cannot be used to pay your tuition/fees until your lender has processed your MPN and we have received your Federal Stafford Loan Request Form.

If you have any questions about our student loan procedures, please feel free to call the GCC Financial Aid Office at 906-932-4231 or 1-800-682-5910, ext. 206.

IMPORTANT: The Federal Stafford Loan Request Form must be completed and returned to the GCC Financial Aid Office before your Federal Stafford Loan can be certified and you must also complete an MPN on-line.

 

Application Procedures

Federal Stafford Student Loan

Returning students who have already completed an MPN

  1. You must complete the Federal Stafford Loan Request Form and return it to the GCC Financial Aid Office.
  2. The Financial Aid Office will use your MPN from the previous year to certify your loan.

Freshman or first-time borrowers at GCC

  1. You must complete the Federal Stafford Loan Request Form and return it to the GCC Financial Aid Office.
  2. Scroll down to the bottom of this page and click on a lender. Your lender choice must be the same lender that you submitted on your Federal Stafford Loan Request Form. If you choose a different lender, your student loan cannot be processed until you contact the GCC Financial Aid Office and declare one lender.
  3. Follow the instructions on the lender’s web site. We recommend that you do the electronic signature and the electronic MPN for faster processing. If you do not access your MPN in a timely manner, your lender will print and mail the application to you along with instructions to help you complete the process. If you complete a paper MPN, the MPN is mailed back to the lender. It does not come back to GCC.
  4. If your lender is not one of our five preferred lenders, you must contact the lender to determine the procedures for filling out and submitting your MPN.
  5. Many students never submit the MPN and, therefore, are not eligible to receive their student loans. Don’t let this happen to you. Fill out your MPN today and mail GCC your Federal Stafford Loan Request Form. Student loans may take up to four weeks to process.

Federal Parent PLUS Loan

  1. The borrowing parent must complete the Federal PLUS Request Form and return it to the GCC Financial Aid Office.
  2. Scroll down to the bottom of this page and click on a lender. The lender choice must be the same lender that the borrower submitted on the Federal PLUS Request Form. If a different lender is chosen, the PLUS loan cannot be processed until the GCC Financial Aid Office is contacted and one lender is declared.
  3. Follow the instructions on the lender’s web site for the PLUS application. If parents do not pass the credit check, they should contact GCC’s Financial Aid Office to discuss various alternative loan opportunities.
  4. If parents do not want to borrow through one of our five preferred lenders, they must contact the lender to determine the procedure for filling out and submitting the MPN.
  5. Parents can request a paper MPN from their lender if they are unable to fill one out on- line. The MPN is then returned to the lender for processing. We strongly recommend that all processing takes place on-line for faster distribution of the loan proceeds.

E-sign is available to speed up and simplify your entire loan application process. With E-sign, you can apply for your loan and submit an electronic signature online. This allows you to cut through the paper chase and avoid lengthy waiting times in the traditional paper process. The E-sign process mirrors the checks and balances used in the paper process to verify identity so your privacy is just as secure. It is recommended that you print a copy of your MPN for your records.

If your lender choice is Associated Bank, National City or U.S. Bank, please click on Federal Stafford Loan to fill out your student loan MPN and click on Federal PLUS Parent Loan if your parents will be filling out a PLUS MPN. If your lender choice is Wells Fargo or LaSalle Bank, click on the individual lender links to fill out your student and parent MPN’s.

Associated Bank
   
National City
   
U.S. Bank
  

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