Federal Assistance

Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing (SFMC-CON) requires first time borrowers (at the College of Nursing) to participate in an online student loan entrance counseling session. The College of Nursing computer lab is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is located on the 2nd floor. If you choose not to come on campus, online student entrance counseling may be completed on any computer with Internet access.

Instructions

1. Access Website: Federal Student Aid website.
2. Log into the website.
3. Click "Complete Entrance Counseling" link
4. Be sure to review the Average Federal Indebtedness chart for SMFC-CON which you should have received with your financial aid notification offer packet.
5. If you have any questions, contact Michaela Cordes, Student Financial Aid Assistant, at (309) 624-9932.

Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing participates in the Direct Loan Program for all student/parent Federal Staford and PLUS Loan needs. The lender is the US Department of Education.

Please visit www.studentaid.gov to learn more about the Direct Loan Program. The Student Finance Office will work with you to avoid any disruption to student loan access.

If you have questions/concerns, please email the Student Finance Office contact us at (309) 655-4119 or (309) 624-9932.

If you will be borrowing loans for the first time at the College of Nursing, you will be required to complete the following:

1. A new Master Promissory Note (MPN). Please visit www.studentaid.gov .
2. Complete online loan entrance counseling which is the federal requirement that explains your rights and responsibilities associated with the Stafford Loan Program (instructions above). Please visit Department of Education website - entrance
3. The parent of a dependent student whose Parent PLUS loan application is determined to have adverse credit history and/or who has obtained an endorser must complete Parent PLUS Loan counseling offered by the Department of Education prior to receiving the loan.

The school's cohort default rate is the percentage of a school's borrowers who enter repayment on certain Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program or William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program loans during a federal fiscal year and default or meet other specified conditions during a 3-year period after the student starts repayment. Below is a comparison of the College of Nursing's (CON) 3-year cohort default rates to the national average.

• The award is solely based on the student's need.
• The maximum amount for 2025/2026 will be $7,395.
• Must file Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to be considered eligible.

For Fall 2025 Undergraduates

*Student Body Diversity data is based upon full-time enrollment at Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing as of the official reporting date in the Fall.

Subsidized

• Need based loan available to undergraduate students only.
• Students interest rate is fixed at 6.53% for loans first disbursed or certified between 7/1/2024 - 6/30/2025.
• The interest is subsidized by the Federal Government while the student is attending school.
• Repayment of the principal begins six months after the borrower drops below half-time study. The maximum repayment period is up to 10 years.
• Students may be charged a 1% federal loan origination fee. These fees are deducted prior to disbursement of funds.
• For subsidized loans disbursed after 7/1/2012-7/1/2014, student is not eligible for interest subsidy during the six-month grace period.
• A federal aid need analysis form (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) must be filed for eligibility to be determined.
• Loan funds will be electronically transferred to the student's account.

Unsubsidized

• Not based on financial need available to undergraduate and graduate students.
• For loans first disbursed or certified between 7/1/2024 – 6/30/2025 the interest rate is as follows
  • 6.53% for Undergraduate students
  • 9.08% Graduate students
• Students ineligible for (or ineligible for the full amount of) subsidized Federal Stafford Loans have an option to borrow unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans.
• Repayment of the principal of the loan begins six months after the borrower drops below half-time study. Repayment of the interest begins on the date the first disbursement of the loan is made. The maximum repayment period is up to 10 years.
• Students may be charged a 1% federal loan origination fee. These fees are deducted prior to disbursement of funds.
• A federal aid need analysis form (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) must be filed for eligibility to be determined.
• Loan funds will be electronically transferred to the student's account.

• The parent is the borrower for the dependent undergraduate student.
• The fixed interest rate is 9.08% for loans first disbursed or certified between 7/1/2024 – 6/30/2025.
• Parents may be charged a 4% federal loan origination fee. These fees are deducted prior to disbursement of funds.
• Loan proceeds will be electronically transferred to the student's Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing account.
• Repayment begins within 60 days after the last disbursement of the loan. As a result of new legislation, the Department of Education now offers a deferred repayment to their parent borrowers. The maximum repayment period is up to 10 years.
• The College of Nursing requests that a federal aid need analysis form (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) be filed in order for eligibility of a Federal PLUS loan to be determined.

• The graduate student is the borrower for this loan.
• The fixed interest rate is 9.08% for loans first disbursed or certified between 7/1/2024 – 6/30/2025.
• Students may be charged a 4% federal loan origination fee. These fees are deducted prior to disbursement of funds.
• Loan proceeds will be electronically transferred to the student's Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing account.
• Repayment begins within 60 days after the last disbursement of the loan. The maximum repayment period is up to 10 years.
• The College of Nursing requests that a federal aid need analysis form (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) be filed in order for eligibility of a Federal PLUS loan to be determined.

The purpose of "Exit Counseling" is to provide you with information about your rights and responsibilities with regard to your federal student loan(s). Whenever you drop below half time status (Undergraduate students 6 hours, Graduate students 4.5 hours) or withdraws from a semester, you must complete an exit interview even if you are planning to re-enroll for a future semester. Your six month grace period on any current loans starts the day you drop below half time status. Once your grace period is over, you will start repaying the loans you have borrowed. If you have federal loan history where you have already used your grace period, repayment on those loans starts immediately.

Upon notification of your drop to less than half time status or withdrawal, we will send exit counseling information to your home address. The contents of the packet are as follows:

• Cover letter - amount/type of student loans borrowed at College of Nursing
• Student Loan Exit Counseling guide
• Online Loan Exit Counseling instructions
• Copies of Loan Originations – for all loans borrowed at Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing
• Don't Risk Losing Your License
• Loan Consolidation Sheet
• Estimated Monthly Repayment Options