Online Stafford MPN
When you apply for a Federal Stafford Loan, you must choose a lender from whom you would like to borrow. In many cases, this will likely be the lender you will use for your entire educational career. You will complete an online “Master Promissory Note” in the first year you borrow, which will essentially set up a Federal Stafford Loan “line of credit” for you at the lender of your choice. Then, in subsequent years, we will notify you of your maximum Stafford Loan eligibility, you will respond by accepting the maximum or some smaller amount, and we will electronically certify that year’s loan with the lender you chose in your first year.
Before You Get Started
To complete the Master Promissory Note you need:
- Your Social Security Number.
- Your driver's licsense.
- A current email address. (optional, but helpful)
- The name, address and phone number of two references living at separate addresses. One of the references may have the same address as the borrower.
- Your Department of Education PIN (for use with the FAFSA) if you wish to sign your MPN electronically. If you do not have your PIN you may request it at www.pin.ed.gov. (Not required for those wishing to print out and sign their MPN.)
How to Choose a Lender
Federal guidelines regulate most of the features of the Federal Stafford Loan program. However, as lenders compete for your student loan business, there can be differences between lenders, in the form of fee reductions and other cost reductions during repayment. At the bottom of this page is a link to a list of preferred lenders developed by the Financial Aid Office at St. Olaf. You are welcome to choose any lender that participates in the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP), not just the ones that appear on our list. We have chosen to put these lenders on our preferred list based on the excellent service they provide to borrowers, including state-of-the-art loan servicing and on-line access to your student loan account. We have also chosen lenders who offer significant benefits to borrowers in the form of up-front fee reductions, and other additional possible savings during repayment.
Points to consider as you choose a lender:
- If you currently have student loan debt, you may want to continue to borrow from the same lender to simplify your repayment process.
- Some lenders retain ownership of your loan throughout the life of the loan. Other lenders may sell your loan to a secondary market. The terms of the loan may not remain the same if the loan is sold. For the lenders on the St. Olaf preferred list, we have received written assurances from the lender that the terms of your loan will remain the same if the loan is sold. If you choose a lender that sells their loans, you should contact them to make sure the borrower benefits will stay in place.
- The holder of your loan may utilize a servicer to handle the paperwork associated with repayment of your loan. For most of the lenders St. Olaf recommends, the servicer will be Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation or Education Assistance Corporation.
- There are “up-front fees” associated with borrowing the Federal Stafford Loan—default and origination fees that are deducted up front from the proceeds of the loans. Fees will range from 0-4% and will be deducted from the proceeds of the loan.
- There are also “back end benefits” associated with borrowing the Federal Stafford Loan. These are discounts or rebates offered during repayment of the loan. For some lenders, these benefits are “automatic” (e.g., you are always eligible for the benefit as long as you are in good standing) and for other lenders, the benefits are “earned” (e.g., you must make a certain number of on-time payments to receive the benefit). Automatic benefits are more predictable, and based on current industry standards, you are more likely to receive them than earned benefits. If you do choose a lender who offers earned benefits, once you have left St. Olaf, you will need to take special care to make sure all payments and other paperwork are submitted to the lender within their on-time requirements, or you may lose the advertised discounts. In some cases, you also may not receive a benefit if you prepay the loan within a certain time frame. Be sure to read the fine print!
St. Olaf Preferred Lender List/Complete Your Master Promissory Note
