Loans

To be eligible for the subsidized Direct Federal Loan, a student must show need and be enrolled at least half- time. The government subsidizes the loan by paying the interest for the student during periods of at least half-time enrollment. Freshman students may be eligible for up to a maximum of $3,500, and sophomores may borrow up to $4,500. The repayment period begins 6 months after the student is no longer enrolled at least half-time. Interest will accrue during those 6 months and will be payable by the student rather than subsidized by the federal government.

The interest rate varies depending on the first disbursement date of the loan. For Direct Subsidized Loans that first disbursed on or after July 1, 2025 and before July 1, 2026 the interest rate is 6.39% fixed.

The terms of the unsubsidized Direct Federal Loan are identical to those of the subsidized Federal Direct Loan with two exceptions-a student is not required to show need for the unsubsidized Federal Direct Loan and interest is the student's responsibility from the beginning. The government does not pay interest for the student. Subsidized loan eligibility reduces available unsubsidized limits. Independent students could have up to $4,000 of additional eligibility above the $3,500 for level-one students and $4,500 for level-two students.

The interest rate varies depending on the first disbursement date of the loan. For Direct Subsidized Loans that first disbursed on or after July 1, 2025 and before July 1, 2026 the interest rate is 6.39% fixed.

The PLUS loan is available to parents of dependent students to help meet remaining costs of education. Maximum eligibility is total cost of attendance minus financial aid or $20,000, whichever is less. Parents must have a good credit history to qualify.

The interest rate varies depending on the first disbursement date of the loan. For Direct Plus Loans that first disbursed on or after July 1, 2025 and before July 1, 2026 the interest rate is 8.94% fixed.

Payments begin within sixty (60) days from the date of the final disbursement, with a $50 minimum payment per month. The parent borrower may prepay the whole or any part of the loan at any time without penalty OR may defer payments if the student is attending school at least at half time status. Parents must complete a PLUS application and PLUS Master Promissory Note on studentaid.gov. If a parent is denied the PLUS loan, the student will have their unsubsidized loan offer increased up to an additional $4000.00.

One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) (H.R.1) changes effective July 1, 2026.

On July 4, 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) (H.R. 1) was signed into law, bringing with it several significant changes to federal student aid programs. Most provisions take effect on July 1, 2026 unless otherwise noted.

Federal Loan Programs For undergraduate students, there have been fewer substantial changes to federal direct loan eligibility or loan limits than expected. While an earlier version of the bill sought to eliminate subsidized loans for undergraduate students, the final law does not include this provision. Undergraduate students will continue to be able to receive subsidized loans, which is great news for our students that demonstrate financial need. There are, however, some substantial changes to loans for graduate and professional students, as well as the Parent PLUS loan, which is a loan open to parents of dependent undergraduate students. See a summary of loan program changes for undergraduate students below.

• Loan proration for less-than-full-time enrollment: Federal student loan amounts must now be prorated in direct proportion to the percent of full-time that the student is enrolled. This applies to both graduate and undergraduate students. For example, if a student attends half-time, they would only be entitled to half of their total loan eligibility for that term. Previously, students would be entitled to their full loan eligibility as long as they attended at least half-time.

• Parent PLUS loans: The law implements a $20,000 per year cap per dependent student, and a $65,000 aggregate borrowing limit per dependent student. Previously, parents could borrow up to the full cost of attendance for their students and there was no aggregate limit.

• Lifetime borrowing cap on all federal loans: The law implements a $257,500 borrowing cap on all federal student loans, excluding borrowed Parent PLUS loan amounts, with a legacy provision included for current borrowers to borrow under current limits for the remainder of their expected time to credential.

You must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid to be considered for a student loan. The Financial Aid Office staff will process your award, which often includes your loan eligibility amounts. You will be able to view your award and accept or decline aid on My Northeast. If loans are not included in your aid package, contact the Financial Aid Office. You still may have eligibility. Once you know what your eligibility is you must complete the following:

1. Accept or decline the loan(s) on My Northeast or by returning a paper award letter. Indicate the amount(s) you wish to borrow for the year.
2. Complete a Direct Loan Master Promissory Note (MPN) at https://studentaid.gov/. The MPN is a legal document in which the borrower promises to repay the loan and any accrued interest and fees to the Department of Education. It also explains the terms and conditions of the loan. This only needs to be done when you apply for your first Direct Loan at Northeast.
3. Complete online Direct Loan Entrance Counseling at https://studentaid.gov/
4. Complete the Annual Student Loan Acknowledgment at https://studentaid.gov/asla/

Northeast will be notified once you have completed your Direct Loan Master Promissory note, Loan Entrance Counseling, and the Annual Student Loan Acknowledgement, and we will certify your loan request for the amount that you accepted in your award notification.

On subsidized Direct Student Loans, the U.S. Department of Education pays (subsidizes) the interest while the borrower is in school at least half time. A student has a grace period of 6 months after they graduate, leave school, or drop below half-time status before they must begin repayment on the loan. Interest will accrue during these 6 months and will be payable by the student rather than subsidized by the federal government.

The interest rate of the Direct Federal Subsidized Student Loan for 2023-2024 is 5.50% fixed.

For an unsubsidized Direct Student Loan, the borrower is responsible for paying the interest that accrues. The student does not have to pay any principal, but can either pay the interest as it accrues or it will be capitalized (i.e., added to the principal loan balance later). A student has a grace period of 6 months after they graduate, leave school, or drop below half-time status before they must begin repayment on the loan.

The interest rate of the Direct Federal Unsubsidized Student Loan for 2023-2024 is 5.50% fixed.

Your student must complete the financial aid application process (FAFSA) in order for you to be considered for a Direct Parent PLUS loan. To borrow a Direct Parent PLUS loan for a student, the parent must be the student's biological or adoptive mother or father. A stepparent is also eligible to borrow a PLUS loan if his/her income and assets were taken into account when calculating the Student Aid Index (SAI) on the FAFSA. A legal guardian is not considered a parent for federal purposes. The student must be attending at least half time and maintain satisfactory academic progress. Parent borrowers wishing to apply for a Direct Parent PLUS Loan must complete the following:

1. The student is awarded a Federal Parent PLUS loan and needs to accept award on My Northeast account.
2. Direct Parent PLUS Loan Application at https://studentaid.gov/. Available after May 1 each year.
3. Direct Parent PLUS Loan Master Promissory Note (MPN) at https://studentaid.gov/. The MPN is a legal document in which the borrower promises to repay the loan and any accrued interest and fees to the Department of Education. It also explains the terms and conditions of the loan. In most cases, one MPN can be used for loans that a parent receives over multiple academic years although a new PLUS Loan Application must be filed for each school year. The parent who completes the PLUS Loan MPN must be the same parent who completes the PLUS Loan Application.
4. Complete the Annual Student Loan Acknowledgment at https://studentaid.gov/asla/

The Financial Aid Office at Northeast will be notified once you have completed the MPN, PLUS Loan Application, and the Annual Student Loan Acknowledgment. We must receive this notification before any PLUS loan funds can be disbursed to your student's account.

PLUS Loan counseling is required for borrowers with an adverse credit history who are nonetheless determined to be PLUS Loan eligible because of meeting the extenuating circumstances provision or obtaining an endorser. Counseling can be completed https://studentaid.gov/.

The interest rate of the Federal Parent PLUS Loan for 2023-2024 is 8.05% fixed.

Payments are made to the U.S. Department of Education for both Direct Student Loans and Direct Parent PLUS Loans.

Students do not have to start repayment of Direct Student Loans until six months after they graduate or they fall below half-time status. However, payments may be made at any time towards your loan. Your loan servicer will provide information about repayment and will notify you of the date loan repayment begins.

The repayment period for all Parent PLUS Loans begins on the date the loan is fully disbursed, and the first payment is due within 60 days of the final disbursement. Parent PLUS Loan borrowers whose loans were first disbursed on or after July 1, 2008, may choose to have repayment deferred while the student for whom the parent borrowed is enrolled at least half-time and for an additional six months after that student is no longer enrolled at least half-time. Interest that accrues during these periods will be capitalized if not paid by the parent during the deferment. Your loan servicer will provide information about repayment.

The U.S. Department of Education's National Student Loan Data System^SM (NSLDS^SM) provides information on your federal loans including loan types, disbursed amounts, outstanding principal and interest, and the total amount of all your loans. To access NSLDS, go to https://nslds.ed.gov.

If you're not sure who your loan servicer is, you can look it up on https://nslds.ed.gov or call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243; TTY 1-800-730-8913). To see a list of Federal Student Aid servicers for the Direct Loan Program and for FFEL Program Loans purchased by the U.S. Department of Education, go to the Loan Servicer page.

On August 2, 2011, Congress passed the Budget Control Act of 2011, which put into place automatic federal budget cuts, known as the “sequester.” While this law does not otherwise change the amount, terms, or conditions of your Direct Federal Loan or the Direct Plus Loan (for both parent and graduate student borrowers) it does increase the loan fees on these loans whose first disbursement is on or after October 1, 2020 and before October 1, 2021. The loan fee for Direct Subsidized Loans and for Direct Unsubsidized Loans is 1.057%. The loan fee for Direct Plus Loans is 4.228%.

Direct Student Loans are disbursed at the beginning of each term, half in the fall and half in the spring.

A cohort default rate (CDR) is an accountability metric for US colleges that are eligible for federal Pell Grants and student loans. It measures the percentage of a school's borrowers who enter repayment on federal student loans during a federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30) and default in the next three years. The United States Department of Education (ED) releases official cohort default rates once per year. Schools that have a CDR above 30% for three consecutive years or above 40% for one year lose access to federal student loans and Pell Grants.

The FY 2021 cohort default rate was officially released on September 25, 2024. It was calculated using the cohort of student loan borrowers who entered repayment between October 1, 2020 and September 30, 2021 and who defaulted between October 1, 2020 and September 30, 2023. The FY 2021 cohort default rate was significantly impacted by the pause on federal student loan payments that began on March 13, 2020. During this pause borrowers with Department of Education held student loan were not required to make any payments, and no borrowers entered default.

In 2024-2025, 31 percent of Northeast students accepted student loans. Our institutional default rates are:

The federal government requires students loan borrowers who graduate, withdraw or drop below half time status to complete student loan exit counseling. The purpose of exit counseling is to help you understand your rights and responsibilities as a student loan borrower. Also, you will need to contact your loan servicer to update your contact information and setup a repayment plan.

Loan Exit counseling can be completed online at https://studentaid.gov/.

Your loan history and loan servicer information can be found at https://studentaid.gov/exit-counseling

For more information check out the Exit Counseling Guide for Direct Loan Borrowers

Please visit https://finaid.org/loans/privateloan/ for alternative funding options.