How to Apply for a Student Loan
A loan of reasonable size is considered by Thomas Aquinas
College to be a resource that is available to you. The Financial
Aid Office, therefore, expects you to obtain a loan before
seeking other financial aid from Thomas Aquinas College.
You may take a student loan from any source other than your
parents. It is assumed that your parents are making a maximum
effort to pay tuition, room and board and, as such, will
not be in a position to provide a loan as well.
Most students prefer to take advantage of government-sponsored
student loan programs which offer beneficial terms. For
instance, U.S. citizens, or eligible non-citizens, who can
demonstrate financial need as determined by the federal
need analysis may be eligible for a subsidized or unsubsidized
Stafford Student Loan.
At present, Thomas Aquinas College expects U.S. students to borrow
$3,000 each year during their freshman and sophomore years and
$4,500 each year during their junior and senior years, for a total
loan balance of $15,000 by the time you graduate.* This amount
is considerably less than the maximum loan amount available and
considerably less than the average student loan indebtedness of
students attending other four-year, private colleges.
If you are not eligible for a Stafford Student Loan, there are
still many other resources available, such as many alternative
student loan products provided by individual banks. If you have
any questions about these loan products or our student loan procedures
in general, please call Greg Becher, Director of Financial Aid,
at (800) 634-9797, extension 5936.
If you prefer to borrow your student loan from the Stafford Student
Loan program, and you haven't completed a loan application in a prior
year, the Financial Aid Office expects you to complete a Stafford Student
Loan application on-line. You can complete a Stafford Student Loan
application by visiting the website of any participating lender.
Our Recommended Lender List (see link below) contains the names of
several lenders who charge no origination fees and offer excellent customer
service to student borrowers. Some lenders also offer interest
rate incentives for automatic payment arrangements and/or timely payments.
You are more than welcome to use a lender that is not on the list,
if you wish. If you intend to borrow from a source other than the
Stafford Student Loan program, the appropriate forms should be obtained
from the lender during the spring or summer.
Recommended Lender List for Stafford Student Loans
Recommended Lender List for Parent PLUS Loans
Canadian students are responsible for obtaining the appropriate
loan application materials from the Canada Student Loan Program.
Some provinces offer provincial student loans as well. Students
from Canada should complete their loan application as early as
possible in the summer or fall so that they can negotiate the
first half of their loan no later than December of the school
year. Information regarding the Canada Student Loan program can
be obtained by calling the Canada National Student Loan Service
Centre, Private Institutions Division (NSLSC) at (866) 587-7452
or online at www.canlearn.ca.
*Students from outside the U.S. are asked to borrow an equivalent
amount in U.S. dollars, although it is evenly distributed over
the four years.
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