Financial Aid - Loans

Completed Student Loan Request Packets will be processed by the Official Reporting Date (ORD). Loan(s) awarded must be accepted by the student through the PJC student portal by ORD to prevent a drop for non-payment. A loan offer in a “pending” (not accepted) status will not prevent a drop for non-payment. 

Student borrowers are required to complete the Direct Loan Entrance Counseling (DLEC) session and a Master Promissory Note (MPN) on an annual basis or more frequently on a case-by-case basis. Afterwards, each student will meet in person with PJC financial aid staff to review and verify references. If references cannot be verified, the loan will be cancelled.

Students will have 30 days from ORD to complete the DLEC session and MPN. Both the DLEC and MPN will need to be completed before any accepted loan awards can be credited to the student’s billing account at PJC. If the DLEC and MPN are not completed within this time frame, the loan offer/acceptance will be cancelled and assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Loan disbursements occur in two payments each fall and each spring term. First disbursement will occur after ORD, and the second will occur after the last day to drop/withdraw. Students will typically receive one-half of the loan in each payment.

Paris Junior College defines the loan period based on the projected enrollment of the student. If a student receives loans from another school within the same loan period, then we must consider all loans received and certify only the remaining loan eligibility.

Disbursements to the business office and refunds of loan fund(s) to the student, may be delayed due to various start dates or non-traditional class formats in which the student is registered.

The U.S. Department of Education requires that a student participate in Federal Direct Loan Exit Counseling for a student who has taken out a Federal Direct student loan, or when a student withdraws, graduates, drops below half-time attendance or plans on transferring to another school.

PJC requires the student to complete counseling in group exit counseling sessions that will be offered at the end of each academic term (Fall, Spring and Summer).

If a student fails to complete Federal Direct Loan Exit Counseling, they will receive a letter directing them to the Federal Direct Loan Exit Counseling website.

After 30 days, if student still has not completed exit counseling the Financial Aid Office will send out an Exit Counseling Guide provided by the U.S. Department of Education. Every attempt will be made to assist the student in completing the exit counseling before he or she leaves campus. Holds will be placed on students’ accounts until they have completed exit counseling.

StudentAid.gov - Exit Counseling

Yes. Unlike Pell aid, which is a grant program, student loans must be repaid by the student!

For Federal Direct Student Loans, after you graduate, leave school, or drop below half-time enrollment, you have a six-month grace period before you must begin making payments.

Please note that loans in this deferment period may still be generating interest!

Forbearance is a temporary postponement of payments.

An example of this is the delayed repayment period while you are actively attending college. 

A loan servicer is a company that handles the billing and other services on your Federal Student Loan.

If you are having problems making payments on your loans, contact your loan servicer for repayment plans, student loan forgiveness, and more options.

If you don't pay your loan back according to the terms outlined in your Master Promissory Note (MPN), you can be placed in a default status by your loan servicer.

Students with loans in a default status are not eligible for additional federal financial aid at any institution until the default status is removed!

Defaulting on your loan will result in negative affects to your credit report. Additionally, the IRS can withhold tax refunds and require employers to garnish your wages in order to apply them to your outstanding loan balance.

Defaults can only be corrected by the loan servicer. The most common method for clearing a default status is to resume making payments on the loan through negotiated repayment plans.

You can find your loan servicer's contact information by reviewing your Master Promissory Note or by coontacting the Department of Education's Helpline at 1-800-433-3243.