• Direct Loan Programs
• Perkins Loans
• Consolidation - Post Graduation

SMU knows you may need financial assistance to complete your education. You and your parents must make informed decisions about borrowing money. This guide will provide information about the Federal Direct Stafford, Federal Direct Parent PLUS and the Federal Direct Graduate/Professional PLUS loan programs along with additional information for borrowing from a private or alternative educational loan source and post graduation consolidation. Loan details and applications are included.

Federal Direct Loans are funds borrowed from the U.S. Department of Education.* The funds must be repaid, with interest, after you are no longer a student.  Most federal loans are awarded to students based on completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Your financial need and grade level determine the types and amounts of loans you receive. The only federal loan that is not awarded when you apply for aid is the Federal Direct PLUS Loan; a separate application is needed to apply for this loan (see below for links to more information about the Federal Direct PLUS Loan programs).  All federal loans are need-based, except the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan and the Federal Direct PLUS Loans. 

SMU encourages students to maximize your borrowing by using all federal loan options before borrowing from private/alternative loan sources.

Federal Student Financial Aid Penalties for Drug Law Violations

A federal or state drug conviction can disqualify a student for FSA funds. The student self-certifies in applying for aid that he is eligible; you’re not required to confirm this unless you have conflicting information.

Convictions only count if they were for an offense that occurred during a period of enrollment for which the student was receiving Title IV aid—they do not count if the offense was not during such a period. Also, a conviction that was reversed, set aside, or removed from the student’s record does not count, nor does one received when she was a juvenile, unless she was tried as an adult.

The chart below illustrates the period of ineligibility for FSA funds, depending on whether the conviction was for sale or possession and whether the student had previous offenses. (A conviction for sale of drugs includes convictions for conspiring to sell drugs.)                                                    

 
If the student was convicted of both possessing and selling illegal drugs, and the periods of ineligibility are different, the student will be ineligible for the longer period.

SMU will provide any student who becomes ineligible for Title IV aid due to a drug conviction a clear and conspicuous written notice of his loss of eligibility and the methods whereby he can become eligible again.

A student regains eligibility the day after the period of ineligibility ends or when he successfully completes a qualified drug rehabilitation program or, effective beginning with the 2010–2011 award year,  passes two unannounced drug tests given by such a program. Further drug convictions will make him ineligible again.

Students denied eligibility for an indefinite period can regain it after successfully completing rehabilitation program (as described below), passing two unannounced drug tests from such a program, or if a conviction is reversed, set aside, or removed from the student’s record so that fewer than two convictions for sale or three convictions for possession remain on the record. In such cases, the nature and dates of the remaining convictions will determine when the student regains eligibility. It is the student’s responsibility to certify to you that she has successfully completed the rehabilitation program; as with the conviction question on the FAFSA, you are not required to confirm the reported information unless you have conflicting information.

When a student regains eligibility during the award year, you may award Pell, ACG, National SMART, TEACH, and Campus-based aid for the current payment period and Direct and FFEL loans for the period of enrollment.

NSLDS

Loan Reporting

All federal student loans obtained by a student or parent are reported to and tracked on the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS).  NSLDS loan records are accessible to all authorized NSLDS users, including schools, student loan guaranty agencies, lenders, federal agencies, and other authorized users. 

Alternative and private education loan information is not reported to NSLDS.

Accessing NSLDS

*Beginning 2010-2011, SMU participates in the Federal Direct Loan program. We do NOT process Subsidized or Unsubsidized Stafford Loans or PLUS Loans through private lenders. Click here for more information about the transition to Direct Lending.