Student Aid Reference Desk | Loan Counseling

As a consequence of participating in the Title IV loan programs, institutions must provide counseling and other disclosures to their students who borrow. The content, forma...

As a consequence of participating in the Title IV loan programs, institutions must provide counseling and other disclosures to their students who borrow. The content, format, and timing of counseling are described in law and regulation.

Related terms: Perkins Loan Program; Direct Loan Program

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As a consequence of participating in the Title IV loan programs, institutions must provide counseling and other disclosures to their students who borrow. The content, format, and timing of counseling are described in law and regulation.

Related terms: Perkins Loan Program; Direct Loan Program

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Academic Year Administrative Capability Audit and Program Review Cash Management Cohort Default Rate (CDR) Consumer Information Cost of Attendance (COA) Direct Loans Disbursement Enrollment Status Expected Family Contribution (EFC) Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Program (FSEOG) Federal Work-Study Program (FWS) Financial Responsibility of Institutions Institutional Eligibility Loan Counseling Misrepresentation Need Analysis Overawards and Overpayments Packaging Payment Period Pell Grant, Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant (IASG), and Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship (CFHS) Perkins Loan Program Professional Judgment (PJ) Program Eligibility Program Participation Agreement (PPA) Recordkeeping Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4) Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Student Eligibility TEACH Grant Third-Party Servicers Verification Written Arrangements

Statutory Authority

Web URL U.S. Code, Title 20—Education Chapter 28—Higher Education Resources and Student Assistance Subchapter IV—Student Assistance > Part D—William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program §§ 1087a et seq Program authority [HEA §§ 451 et seq]

Web URL U.S. Code, Title 20—Education Chapter 28—Higher Education Resources and Student Assistance Subchapter IV—Student Assistance > Part E—Federal Perkins Loans § 1087cc–1 Student loan information by eligible institutions [HEA § 463A]

Web URL U.S. Code, Title 20—Education Chapter 28—Higher Education Resources and Student Assistance Subchapter IV—Student Assistance > Part G—General § 1092 Institutional and financial assistance information for students [HEA § 485]

Web URL 34 CFR 674.16

Web URL 34 CFR 674.42

Web URL 34 CFR 682.604

Web URL 34 CFR 685.304

See also Subtopics for more specific references.

PDF 2022-23 FSA Handbook, Vol. 2, August 2022

PDF 2022-23 FSA Handbook, Vol. 6, July 2022

Publications, Articles & Other Resources

Web URL A Case Study of Undergraduate Debt, Repayment Plans, and Postbaccalaureate Decision-Making Among Black Students at HBCUs

(Journal of Student Financial Aid)

Casualties of College Debt

(The Institute for College Access and Success)

PDF Effective Counseling, Empowered Borrowers: An Evidence-Based Policy Agenda for Informed Student Loan Borrowing and Repayment

(Trellis Company)

Web URL Borrowers Discuss the Challenges of Student Loan Repayment

(The Pew Charitable Trusts)

PDF Engaging Student Borrowers: Results of a Survey of Financial Aid Professionals

(Trellis Company)

PDF Informed or Overwhelmed? A Legislative History of Student Loan Counseling with a Literature Review on the Efficacy of Loan Counseling

(Trellis Company)

Web URL Leveraging Guided Pathways to Improve Financial Aid Design and Delivery

(Journal of Student Financial Aid)

PDF Sources of Referral in Student Financial Counseling

(Journal of Financial Therapy)

PDF Student Debt and the Class of 2019

(The Institute for College Access and Success)

PDF Student Loan Counseling Challenges and Opportunities

(Federal Reserve System)

Web URL Student Loan Counseling: Does the Federal Mandate Give Borrowers Necessary Financial Skills?

(American Action Forum)

PDF Student Loan Counseling: Perceptions and Impacts

(Consumer Interests Annual)

PDF The Effect of Reduced Student Loan Borrowing on Academic Performance and Default: Evidence from a Loan Counseling Experiment

(Annenberg Institute at Brown University)

PDF Understanding and Promoting Student Financial Wellness: A Report from the Financial Wellness Learning Collaborative

(Trellis Company)

Web URL What Accounts for Gaps in Student Loan Default, and What Happens After

PDF Student Loans and Health-related Financial Hardship

(Journal of Student Financial Aid)

Additional information schools may provide

PDF 2022-23 FSA Handbook, Vol. 2, Ch. 6, August 2022

Web URL FSA’s Default Prevention Resource Information Page

PDF A Time To Every Purpose: Understanding and Improving the Borrower Experience with Online Student Loan Entrance Counseling

(Trellis Company)

PDF Above and Beyond: What Eight Colleges Are Doing to Improve Student Loan Counseling

(Trellis Company)

Web URL Crushing Debt or Savvy Strategy? Financial Literacy and Student Perceptions of their Student Loan Debt

(Journal of Student Financial Aid)

PDF Effective Counseling, Empowered Borrowers: An Evidence-Based Policy Agenda for Informed Student Loan Borrowing and Repayment

(Trellis Company)

PDF Engaging Student Borrowers: Results of a Survey of Financial Aid Professionals

(Trellis Company)

PDF Informed or Overwhelmed? A Legislative History of Student Loan Counseling with a Literature Review on the Efficacy of Loan Counseling

(Trellis Company)

Web URL Investing in Education: Impact of Student Financial Stress on Self-Reported Health

(Journal of Student Financial Aid)

Direct Loan entrance (initial) counseling

PDF A Time To Every Purpose: Understanding and Improving the Borrower Experience with Online Student Loan Entrance Counseling

(Trellis Company)

PDF Above and Beyond: What Eight Colleges Are Doing to Improve Student Loan Counseling

(Trellis Company)

PDF Effective Counseling, Empowered Borrowers: An Evidence-Based Policy Agenda for Informed Student Loan Borrowing and Repayment

(Trellis Company)

Web URL Leveraging Guided Pathways to Improve Financial Aid Design and Delivery

(Journal of Student Financial Aid)

Borrowers subject to entrance counseling

Direct Subsidized or Unsubsidized Loan

Web URL 685.304(a)(1)

PDF 2022-23 FSA Handbook, Vol. 2, Ch. 6, August 2022

Grad PLUS Loan

Web URL 685.304(a)(2)

PDF 2022-23 FSA Handbook, Vol. 2, Ch. 6, August 2022

Content of counseling

Web URL Crushing Debt or Savvy Strategy? Financial Literacy and Student Perceptions of their Student Loan Debt

(Journal of Student Financial Aid)

PDF Engaging Student Borrowers: Results of a Survey of Financial Aid Professionals

(Trellis Company)

Direct Subsidized or Unsubsidized Loan

Web URL 685.304(a)(6)

PDF 2022-23 FSA Handbook, Vol. 2, Ch. 6, August 2022

Grad PLUS Loan

Web URL 685.304(a)(7)

PDF 2022-23 FSA Handbook, Vol. 2, Ch. 6, August 2022

Documentation

Web URL 668.24(c)(1)(v)

Web URL 685.304(a)(9)

PDF 2022-23 FSA Handbook, Vol. 2, Ch. 6, August 2022

Format of counseling

Web URL 685.304(a)(3), (4)

PDF 2022-23 FSA Handbook, Vol. 2, Ch. 6, August 2022

PDF Engaging Student Borrowers: Results of a Survey of Financial Aid Professionals

(Trellis Company)

Web URL Leveraging Guided Pathways to Improve Financial Aid Design and Delivery

(Journal of Student Financial Aid)

Quality assurance plan alternative

Web URL 685.304(a)(8)

PDF 2022-23 FSA Handbook, Vol. 2, Ch. 6, August 2022

Reasonable availability of individual with Title IV expertise

Web URL 685.304(a)(5)

Repayment option counseling in default prevention plans

Web URL 668.217(a)(1)(iii)

Web URL Part 668, Subpart N, Appendix A

Direct Loan and Stafford Loan exit counseling

PDF A Time To Every Purpose: Understanding and Improving the Borrower Experience with Online Student Loan Entrance Counseling

(Trellis Company)

PDF Above and Beyond: What Eight Colleges Are Doing to Improve Student Loan Counseling

(Trellis Company)

PDF Effective Counseling, Empowered Borrowers: An Evidence-Based Policy Agenda for Informed Student Loan Borrowing and Repayment

(Trellis Company)

PDF From Passive to Proactive: Understanding and Improving the Borrower Experience with Online Student Loan Exit Counseling

(Trellis Company)

Web URL Leveraging Guided Pathways to Improve Financial Aid Design and Delivery

(Journal of Student Financial Aid)

Content of counseling

Web URL 682.604(a)(2)

Web URL 685.304(b)(4)

PDF 2022-23 FSA Handbook, Vol. 2, Ch. 6, August 2022

Description of student rights and responsibilities regarding exit counseling

Web URL 668.42(c)(6)

Documentation

Web URL 668.24(c)(1)(v)

Web URL 682.604(a)(4)

Web URL 685.304(b)(7)

Format of counseling

Web URL 682.604(a)(1)

Web URL 685.304(b)(2), (3)

Web URL 685.304(b)(6)

PDF 2022-23 FSA Handbook, Vol. 2, Ch. 6, August 2022

Web URL Leveraging Guided Pathways to Improve Financial Aid Design and Delivery

(Journal of Student Financial Aid)

Provision to ED of skip-tracing-related information gathered in exit counseling from borrower

Web URL 668.24(c)(1)(v)

Web URL 685.304(b)(5)

Student fails to complete

PDF 2022-23 FSA Handbook, Vol. 2, Ch. 6, August 2022

Student Loan Ombudsman

Web URL 685.304(b)(4)(vii)

Web URL GEN-13-11

PDF 2022-23 FSA Handbook, Vol. 2, Ch. 6, August 2022

Timing

Web URL 682.604(a)(1)

Web URL 685.304(b)(1)

PDF From Passive to Proactive: Understanding and Improving the Borrower Experience with Online Student Loan Exit Counseling

(Trellis Company)

Perkins Loan exit counseling, repayment information, and subsequent disclosures

Content

Web URL 674.42(b)(2)

PDF 2022-23 FSA Handbook, Vol. 6, Ch. 3, July 2022

PDF 2022-23 FSA Handbook, Vol. 6, Ch. 5, July 2022

Disclosure of repayment information

Web URL 674.42(a)

PDF 2022-23 FSA Handbook, Vol. 6, Ch. 3, July 2022

Disclosures during grace periods

Web URL 674.42(c)

PDF 2022-23 FSA Handbook, Vol. 6, Ch. 5, July 2022

Documentation

Web URL 668.24(c)(1)(v)

Web URL 674.42(b)(4)

PDF 2022-23 FSA Handbook, Vol. 6, Ch. 3, July 2022

Format of counseling and general requirement

Web URL 674.42(b)(1)

Web URL 674.42(b)(3)

PDF 2022-23 FSA Handbook, Vol. 6, Ch. 3, July 2022

Provision to ED of skip-tracing-related information gathered in exit counseling from borrower

Web URL 668.24(c)(1)(v)

PDF 2022-23 FSA Handbook, Vol. 6, Ch. 5, July 2022

Student Loan Ombudsman

Web URL 674.42(b)(2)(xi)

Web URL GEN-13-11

PDF 2022-23 FSA Handbook, Vol. 6, Ch. 5, July 2022

Timing

Web URL 674.42(b)(1)

PDF 2022-23 FSA Handbook, Vol. 6, Ch. 3, July 2022

Student access to loan and other aid history

Web URL Electronic Announcement, 5/6/14

Web URL Investing in Education: Impact of Student Financial Stress on Self-Reported Health

(Journal of Student Financial Aid)

TEACH Grant counseling

See top list entry for TEACH Grant

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