Your Loans

What is the difference between a subsidized and an unsubsidized loan?

A subsidized loan does not accrue interest that you are responsible for while in school. The government pays that interest for you. An unsubsidized loan will accrue interest while you are in school that you will have to pay for. If you are offered both a subsidized as well as an unsubsidized loan and are looking to reduce the amount you are borrowing, ALWAYS reduce your unsubsidized loan first.

How do I find my loan servicer?

Sign into studentaid.gov with your FSA ID. When you click view details will come up with a list of your loans. Click on a loan and it will give you all of the terms of that loan. Then, scroll down and you will see the contact information for your loan servicer.

Student Accounts Debt and Refund Letters

In August of 2015 the Office of Student Accounts began sending out Refund Letters to every student expecting a “refund” that resulted from loan borrowing. The Refund Letter encouraged students to apply some of the funds back to their semester charges and reduce their amount of loan borrowing. Of the 1,967 students contacted, over 9% reduced their loan borrowing eliminating over $292,000 of student debt!

The Office of Student Accounts also sends out an annual Debt Letter to students who have student loans. The Debt Letter provides an overview of student's loan borrowing to date and the anticipated monthly loan repayment amount after graduation based on total loan borrowing. The Debt Letter is an important communication tool that helps inform students about their loan borrowing.

Complete Your Financial Aid Exit Interview:

Complete your financial aid exit interview your last semester BEFORE you graduate! Go to studentloans.gov to complete your exit counseling. You will need:

• Your FSA ID username OR your email address
• FSA ID password (used when filing your FAFSA).

Directions: Log in, then click the first link in the list that comes up (Complete Counseling). Follow the prompts and you will be finished in around 30 to 45 minutes. After 48 hours have passed, call your financial aid counselor and they can verify that it has been successfully completed. If you do not know who your counselor is, you can find it in your brightspace account, or you can call (607) 436-2532 and a representative can give you their contact information.

"Get on Your Feet" Student Loan Forgiveness Program:

Governor Cuomo announced in January 2016 that the "Get on Your Feet" student loan forgiveness program is now accepting applications

To qualify, applicants must have earned an undergraduate degree from a college or university located in New York State on or after December 2014, have an adjusted gross income of less than $50,000, and be enrolled in the federal Income Based Repayment plan or Pay as You Earn plan. Recipients will have a maximum of 24 payments, equal to their monthly student loan repayment amount, paid on their behalf. Applications are accepted year round.

Check out this NPR story about lowering your student loan payments.