Student Loans Information

This is a need-based loan subsidized by the federal government. The advantage of the Direct Subsidized Loan is that no interest accrues as long as a student is registered for at least six credit hours.

Details & Criteria

• Need-based loan. 
• No interest while a student is registered for at least six credit hours. 
• Interest rates vary. For more information, visit  www.studentaid.gov
• Repayment and interest begins six months after a student drops below six credit hours.

Application Procedure

Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

If you list Ohio Dominican University on the application (school code 003035), we will receive your results electronically.

An Offer Letter will be sent to you after we receive your FAFSA results. If you are awarded a Stafford Loan on your Offer Letter, we will automatically process the loan for you. If you do not wish to borrow a student loan, just contact our office and we will cancel it. It's that easy. 

If you have never borrowed a student loan as an Ohio Dominican University student, you will need to complete an entrance counseling session before your loan is disbursed. This will give you all the information you need regarding your rights and responsibilities as a student loan borrower.

You can do this online at  Entrance Loan Counseling. 
 
 Loan Agreement

Also, if you are a first-time borrower, you will need to complete a  Master Promissory Note

No funds will be disbursed until the Loan Agreement has been completed. Don't forget that you must be enrolled for a minimum of six credit hours each semester in which you wish to borrow a Stafford loan. 

Maximum Loan Amount 
The maximum amount that may be borrowed is based on need and class rank. Refer to the chart below for details.

Details & Criteria

Details & Criteria

• Parents of dependent students may apply for this loan. 
• Repayment on the principal and interest traditionally begins as soon as the loan is fully disbursed, but deferment options are available.
• Interest rates vary. For more information, visit  www.studentaid.gov.
• The parent must pass a credit check to qualify for a PLUS Loan. See  Parent PLUS Loan Approval.

Loan Agreement
 
No funds will be disbursed until a  Master Promissory Note has been completed. Don't forget that you must be enrolled for a minimum of six credit hours each semester in which you wish to borrow a Federal PLUS loan.

Maximum Loan Amount

The maximum amount that may be borrowed is the student's cost of attendance minus other aid received. 

 

Important information for students planning to borrow a private education loan:

For information on private education loans (alternative loans), please see the FastChoice Website . 

The lenders and loan options presented were selected for the excellent terms and benefits they provide to borrowers. Our institution has worked with these lenders in the past, and previous borrowers had positive experiences working with them. 

To determine which lenders and loan options to present, we use strict criteria based on your interests and not those of our institution. We recognize only those lenders who provide you with exceptional customer service, excellent incentives (e.g., low interest rates, no origination fees, and loan principal reductions), timely processing, and electronic funds transfer capabilities when possible. 

All of the information provided on the Loan Options page is reviewed annually to ensure that the benefits that lenders offer continue to adhere to our criteria. Any loan options that no longer adhere to our criteria are removed, and new loan options that meet our criteria are added. At least three lenders will be presented to you at all times. 

You are free to select any lender and loan option, including those not presented. If you choose a loan option that is not presented, please follow the provided instructions to complete the application process. Application processing will not be delayed unnecessarily if you choose a loan option not presented. 

We maintain professional relationships with all lenders. Our officials are prohibited from accepting financial or other benefits in exchange for displaying lenders and loan options in FASTChoice.

These include: receiving compensation to serve on any lender board of directors or advisory boards; accepting gifts including trips, meals, and entertainment; allowing lenders to staff our institution's financial aid office; allowing lenders to place our institution's name or logo on any of their products; and owning lenders' stock (for those college officials who make loan decisions for our institution).

Get straightforward information about everything from choosing a student loan to getting out of debt to avoiding default and more at studentloanborrowerassitance.org. 

The Financial Aid Office at Ohio Dominican University is committed to the highest standards of professional conduct.

As active institutional members of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), the Financial Aid Office staff members prescribe and adhere to NASFAA’s “Statement of Ethical Principles” and “Code of Conduct."

Staff members are committed to providing our students and parents with unbiased loan and financial information. Taken together, these “rules” are intended to help guide financial aid professionals in carrying out their obligations, particularly with regard to ensuring transparency in the administration of the student financial aid programs, and to avoid the harm that may arise from actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest.

We invite you to contact the Financial Aid Office if you have any questions. 

NASFAA - Statement of Ethical Principles 

NASFAA's Statement of Ethical Principles provides that the primary goal of the institutional financial aid professional is to help students achieve their educational potential by providing appropriate financial resources.

To this end, this Statement provides that the financial aid professional shall: 

• Be committed to removing financial barriers for those who wish to pursue postsecondary learning. 
• Make every effort to assist students with financial need. 
  Be aware of the issues affecting students and advocate their interests at the institutional, state, and federal levels. 
• Support efforts to encourage students, as early as the elementary grades, to aspire to and plan for education beyond high school. 
• Educate students and families through quality consumer information. 
• Respect the dignity and protect the privacy of students, and ensure the confidentiality of student records and personal circumstances. 
• Ensure equity by applying all need analysis formulas consistently across the institution's full population of student financial aid applicants. 
• Provide services that do not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, disability, age, or economic status. 
• Recognize the need for professional development and continuing education opportunities. 
• Promote the free expression of ideas and opinions, and foster respect for diverse viewpoints within the profession. 
• Commit to the highest level of ethical behavior and refrain from conflict of interest or the perception thereof. 
• Maintain the highest level of professionalism, reflecting a commitment to the goals of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.

NASFAA - Code of Conduct for Institutional Financial Aid Professionals 

An institutional financial aid professional is expected to always maintain exemplary standards of professional conduct in all aspects of carrying out his or her responsibilities, specifically including all dealings with any entities involved in any manner in student financial aid, regardless of whether such entities are involved in a government sponsored, subsidized, or regulated activity.

In doing so, a financial aid professional should: 

• Refrain from taking any action for his or her personal benefit. 
• Refrain from taking any action he or she believes is contrary to law, regulation, or the best interests of the students and parents he or she serves. 
• Ensure that the information he or she provides is accurate, unbiased, and does not reflect any preference arising from actual or potential personal gain.
• Be objective in making decisions and advising his or her institution regarding relationships with any entity involved in any aspect of student financial aid. 
• Refrain from soliciting or accepting anything of other than nominal value from any entity (other than an institution of higher education or a governmental entity such as the U.S. Department of Education) involved in the making, holding, consolidating or processing of any student loans, including anything of value (including reimbursement of expenses) for serving on an advisory body or as part of a training activity of or sponsored by any such entity.
• Disclose to his or her institution, in such manner as his or her institution may prescribe, any involvement with or interest in any entity involved in any aspect of student financial aid. 

The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 legislated requirements which prohibits a conflict of interest with the responsibilities of an officer, employee, or agent of the school regarding Title IV loans. 

The term “employees” refers to any of the school’s officers, employees and agents who are employed in the Financial Aid Office or who have responsibilities with respect to student loans or who have responsibilities with respect to student loans related to Title IV education loans or private loans for educational purposes.

The Code of Conduct establishes that: 

• Employees shall not enter into any revenue-sharing arrangement with any lender where the lender provides or issues a Title IV loan to the student or student’s family in exchange for the school recommending the lender or the lender’s loan products in exchange for a fee or material benefit including profit or revenue sharing that benefits the school or a school’s employee or agent. 
• Employees shall not solicit or accept any gift in the form of a gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan, service, transportation, lodging, meals, reimbursement, or other item having a monetary value of more than a nominal amount from a lender, guarantor, or servicer. 
• Employees must not accept any fee, payment, or other financial benefit (including the opportunity to purchase stock) from a lender as compensation for any type of consulting arrangement or other contract to provide services to a lender or on behalf of a lender. 
• The school shall not request or accept funds from any lender for private education loans including funds for an opportunity pool loan to it students in exchange for the school providing promises of a specified loan number or volume or a preferred lender arrangement for educational loans. 
• Employees shall not assign, through award packaging or other methods, a first-time borrower’s loan to a particular lender or refuse or delay processing of a loan based on the borrower’s selection of a lender or guarantor. 
• Employees shall not accept or request any assistance with call center or financial aid office staffing from any lender except as allowed by law. 
• Employees who serve on an advisory board, commission, or group established by a lender, guarantor, or group of lenders or guarantors, shall be prohibited from receiving anything of value from the lender, guarantor, group of lenders or guarantors. However, the employee may be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in serving on the advisory board, commission, or group.