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, 2026 and before July 1, 2027 the interest rate is 6.52% 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, 2026 and before July 1, 2027 the interest rate is 6.52% 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, 2026 and before July 1, 2027 the interest rate is 9.07% 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 $4,000.00.

Student loans can help cover educational costs, but borrowing wisely is crucial. Loans must be repaid with interest, and missed payments can damage your credit and hinder future borrowing. Before borrowing, Northeast encourages you to explore the tips and tools here to manage student loan debt and plan for your financial future.

After you graduate, leave school or drop below a half-time (six credit hours) status, your loan(s) enters a grace period. This one-time grace period lasts for six months. Your repayment period begins the day after your grace period ends. Your first payment will be due once your repayment period begins.

Your loan servicer will notify you with information about repayment. When it comes to repaying your student loans, you can select a repayment plan that is right for your financial situation. Generally, you'll have from 10 to 25 years to repay your loans.

View detailed information about repayment plans, simulate loan repayment and view servicer information.

Calculate How Much You Need to Borrow

Before borrowing, it’s helpful to estimate your costs for the semester so you know exactly how much you need. Use the links below to calculate your specific expenses, including tuition, housing, and meal plans. By understanding these costs upfront, you can make smarter borrowing decisions and avoid taking out more money than necessary.

• Cost of Attendance
• Campus Housing Rates
• Campus Meal Plan Rates 

Understanding Your Student Loan Options

Choosing the right loan is key to managing education costs. Each loan type has different terms, rates, and requirements. The links below offer an overview of each option, including factors to consider when deciding between federal and private loans.

• Types of Loans
  • Federal Direct Loans
  • Federal PLUS Loans
• Federal Interest Rates and Fees | Federal Student Aid
• Federal Loans vs. Private Loans

Repayment Plans

You have options when it comes to repaying your loans. Several repayment plans are available to suit different income levels and goals.

• Some plans offer lower monthly payments based on your income.
• Others are structured to help you pay off your loan faster with fixed monthly payments.

Use the Loan Simulator to explore your options. If you have a Direct Student Loan, contact your loan servicer. 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).

Delinquency

If you stop making payments on your student loan, your account will become delinquent. A delinquent loan can result in late fees, affect your credit, and prevent you from receiving future financial aid funding.

Default

Defaulting on a federal student loan happens after 270 days of missed payments and can severely damage your credit, trigger wage garnishment or tax refund seizure, and limit housing or job opportunities. It can also cause you to lose access to federal aid and repayment options while increasing your total loan balance.

If you’re having trouble making payments or have questions about your loans, contact your servicer or the Financial Aid Office right away. We’re here to help you find solutions before default becomes a risk.

Options after Default

• You can pay your loan in full. This is the fastest way to resolve your defaulted loan status.
• You can rehabilitate a loan by making nine voluntary, consecutive monthly payments on time. During rehabilitation, you can regain eligibility for financial aid after making six voluntary, consecutive monthly payments on time.
• You can consolidate by combining all your federal education loans. Consolidating is an option as long as the loans are currently in a grace period or repayment status.

Federal Student Aid Videos

• Responsible Borrowing
• How To Prep for Student Loan Repayment

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.

For undergraduate Federal Loan Programs, fewer significant changes have been made to Direct Loan eligibility and limits than originally anticipated. 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 Parent PLUS, which is a loan open to parents of dependent undergraduate students. See a summary of loan program changes for undergraduate students below.

• 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.

• Loan proration for less-than-full-time enrollment: Beginning July 1, 2026, Federal Direct Loans will be prorated based on the number of credits in which a student is enrolled. This process is called the Schedule of Reductions (SOR).

Similar to the Pell grant, students are offered the maximum amount of Federal Direct Loan funding per year based on full-time enrollment. See below for an enrollment guide detailing the number of credits in which a student must be enrolled/academically engaged to be considered full-time for financial aid purposes.

With the new Federal Direct Loan proration requirement, full-time students will receive the full amount of their annual loan offer. If a student is enrolled less than full-time, they will not be eligible to receive the full-time amount of loans offered to them. Instead, Northeast will calculate the amount of loan funding the student is eligible to receive based on the number of credits in which they are enrolled.

Annual Federal Direct Loan Limits

Dependent Student

 Independent Student

Starting with the 2026-227 award year, Direct Loan amounts for students who are not full-time for the full academic year will need to be adjusted based on enrollment.

Less than Full-Time Formula for Loan Reduction

number of credit hours enrolled for academic year

number of credit hours considered full time for that academic year for the program of study     x 100

= reduced annual loan limit percentage (rounded to nearest whole percentage point)

Loan Reduction at the time of Disbursement: At the time of loan disbursement, the student's loan will be reduced based on the number of credits enrolled, even though they may have been awarded as a full-time student.

Loan Reduction Calculation Example

A dependent first-year student can borrow up to $5,500 in federal student loans for the school year. Student plans to take 12 credit hours in the Fall and 12 credit hours in the Spring, which makes them a full-time student.

• Full-time for the year = 24 credits (12 Fall + 12 Spring)
• Loan is disbursed in two equal payments:
  • Fall: $2,750
  • Spring: $2,750
  • Total: $5,500

The student was enrolled in 12 credits in the Fall and withdrew from some coursework and completed 6 credits. The recalculation will be as follows:

Fall: 12 credits at time of disbursement – completed 6 credits

Spring: 12 credits (expected)

Total: 18 credits

Percent of credits completed: (18 / 24) x 100 = 75%

Reduced Loan Eligibility
Academic Year Eligibility x Percent Credits Completed
$5,500 x 75% = $4,125 (maximum loan eligibility for the academic year)

Impact to Spring Disbursement

Fall disbursement for $2750.00

Spring disbursement was reduced to $1375 to not exceed the maximum annual loan limit based on enrollment

Reminders

Half-time Enrollment: Students must be enrolled for at least a half-time load of financial aid-eligible classes to receive a Federal Direct Loan in any given semester. The minimum number of credits per semester to be considered half-time is 6 credits.

Talk to Financial Aid: If you plan to drop a class it could impact future disbursement contact the financial aid office for guidance

Dropping below half-time can trigger repayment: Students have to be enrolled in 6 or more credit hours to remain at an in-school loan deferment status.

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 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/

Northeast will be notified once you have completed your Direct Loan Master Promissory Note and Loan Entrance Counseling, 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.

For Direct Subsidized Loans that first disbursed on or after July 1, 2026 and before July 1, 2027 the interest rate is 6.52% 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.

For Direct Subsidized Loans that first disbursed on or after July 1, 2026 and before July 1, 2027 the interest rate is 6.52% 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/.

For Direct Plus Loans that first disbursed on or after July 1, 2026 and before July 1, 2027 the interest rate is 9.07% 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 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.

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.

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, 2026. 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 on the third week of the term for the fall and spring semesters. During the summer, loans will be disbursed on the second week of the term.

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 2022 cohort default rate was officially released on September 22, 2025. It was calculated using the cohort of student loan borrowers who entered repayment between October 1, 2021 and September 30, 2022 and who defaulted by September 30, 2024. The FY 2022 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.