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Financial Aid:
Entrance Counseling

If you have not previously received a Direct Loan or Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL), the Federal Government requires you to complete entrance counseling at studentloans.gov to ensure that you understand the responsibilities and obligations you are assuming.

If you complete your entrance counseling to borrow a loan as an undergraduate student, then the entrance counseling fulfills counseling requirements for Direct Subsidized Loans and Direct Unsubsidized Loans.

Completing Entrance Counseling for Undergraduate Students – What You Need:
  • Time: Allocate around 30 minutes to complete the counseling in one sitting.
  • FSA ID: If you’re creating or retrieving your FSA ID, visit fsaid.ed.gov. It’s crucial to use your personal FSA ID for the process. Using someone else’s FSA ID is fraudulent.
  • School Notification: Have the names of the schools you want to notify about your counseling completion.

Useful Information to Gather:

  • Details about your income, financial aid, and living expenses. You might find this information in:
    • Your student account details.
    • Your financial aid award letter, if available.
    • School tuition, fees, and other costs at CollegeNavigator.gov.

 

Steps to Complete the Counseling:
  1. Visit studentloans.gov and log in with your FSA ID.
  2. Click on the “Complete Counseling” option on the left.
  3. Find “Entrance Counseling (required)” and click “Start”.
  4. To notify your schools:
    • Select your state from the dropdown list on the left.
    • Type your school’s name in the search bar.
    • Click “Notify this school”.
  5. Under “Select student type” on the right, choose “I am completing entrance counseling to receive Direct Loans as an undergraduate student.”
  6. Click “Continue” and follow the prompts to complete and submit your entrance counseling.


Note: Parents applying for a Direct PLUS Loan for their child’s education do not need to complete entrance counseling.

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