Loans are one component of financial aid. Students can borrow monies for educational purposes from a lender of their own choosing. Depending on the type of loan that you are eligible for, some are credit based while others are not. Types of loans that are offered are Stafford loans, private loans and PLUS loans.

Master Promissory Note
The Master Promissory Note is mandatory for any and all Stafford loans to be disbursed to the school into the student account. It is essentially a contract between the student and the lender. The lender agrees to give you a Stafford loan at the federally mandated interest rate for educational purposes, and you agree to repay the loan after you graduate from college or you are less than half-time (six credit hours for undergraduate students, five credit hours for graduate students) or you quit school for more than one semester. The standard time frame for repayment is approximately 10 years. Some lenders, however, stretch this time frame into as many as 30 years. This varies with the lender; you will need to contact your lender for the specifics.

NSLDS
NSLDS stands for the National Student Loan Data System. This is a module where students can see how much they have borrowed. Students can also access the amount of Pell grants they have received. NSLDS is a good resource in keeping track of how much loan monies were borrowed. The table below lists loans limits mandated by the federal government: