LOANS

SPC only participates in theWilliam D. Ford Direct Loan Program.

Refer to the Online Catalog for detailed loan information.

Application Process for Federal Loans:

  1.  Complete the FAFSA, and provide any other requested documents in order to complete your Financial Aid file.  South Plains College will NOT award your loan until your financial aid file is complete.  

  2.  If you have not previously done so, complete Entrance Counseling.

  3.  Complete the Master Promissory Note online.

  4. Request a New Loan on TexanConnect.   Note: The Loan Request defaults to requesting loans for fall/spring/summer. Please uncheck any semesters that you do not plan to attend. 

Important:  

The Federal Government assesses an Origination Fee to all Direct Subsidized, Unsubsidized and PLUS Loans. This fee reduces the amount actually applied to the student account for each loan. The fee is currently 1.057% for all Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans originated before October 1, 2024. The fees may change for loans originated on or after October 1, 2024.

SPC will certify the loan for the requested amount or the maximum eligibility, whichever is less.

 

Loan Forms and Links

To request a loan--once you have read the information below, sign into TexanConnect.  Click on Financial Aid Counseling, from the Financial Aid Counseling drop-down menu, click on "Request a New Loan."

Note: The Loan Request defaults to requesting loans for fall/spring/summer. Please uncheck any semesters that you do not plan to attend.

If you have not previously done so, you must also complete Entrance Counseling and sign a Master Promissory Note:

 

Entrance Counseling

Master Promissory Note

 

When you leave SPC or drop below 6 hours in a semester, you must complete Exit Counseling:

Exit Counseling

 

Disability Discharge Acknowledgement Form

 

Annual Loan Limits -- SPC will award your maximum loan eligibility in accordance with the Department of Education eligibility formula for determining loan eligibility:

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Dependent      Independent
          (also Dependents whose parents are denied PLUS)
      Subsidized   Unsubsidized *  Total      Subsidized  Unsubsidized * Total   

Freshman:

 $3,500 $2,000 $5,500  $3,500 $6,000   $9,500 
Sophomore: $4,500 $2,000 $6,500   $4,500 $6,000   $10,500 
             
*Add subsidized amount if student's unmet need does not meet subsidized eligibility criteria.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

SPC will reduce your loan award if necessary to comply with the Department of Education eligibility formula if you are awarded additional aid after the original loan award.  A revised award letter will be available to review and sign on TexanConnect.

    • Freshman Level -- fewer than 30 credit hours earned.
    • Sophomore Level -- 30 or more credit hours earned.
    • Students who transfer from other colleges or universities will be subject to the loan limits for either a freshman or sophomore according to hours earned in their current program of study. Transfer hours earned in the student’s current program of study and included on the SPC transcript will be considered in determining grade level for the Federal Loan.
    • Loans for only one semester will be pro-rated if anticipated graduation date is less than one year away.
    • Loans will be disbursed once per semester.
    • Loans processed for multiple semesters (fall/spring, fall/spring/summer, spring/summer)- if after each term's loan disbursement, you have a credit balance after SPC charges are paid in full, SPC will direct deposit the balance to your bank account or a paper check will be mailed to you within 14 calendar days after Census Date of the semester. If the loan plus other aid awarded will not cover all tuition and fee charges, students must make payment arrangements to ensure enrollment is not dropped.  An installment contract is available on your TexanConnect.
    • Loans processed for one semester (fall only, spring only, or summer only) - if after the disbursement you have a credit balance after SPC charges are paid in full, SPC will direct deposit the balance to your or bank account or a paper check will be mailed to you within 14 calendar days after Census Date of the semester. If the disbursement plus other aid awarded will not cover all tuition and fee charges, students must make payment arrangements to ensure enrollment is not dropped.  An installment contract is available on your TexanConnect account. 

Basic Requirements:

    • Students must be enrolled and attending at least six (6) eligible hours in a term to receive a disbursement.  If it is determined that a student was not attending class at the time of disbursement, the loan will be canceled and SPC will bill the student for the resulting balance.
    • Loan disbursements will be canceled if a student drops below (6) eligible credit hours before Census Date for the semester. 
    • Students must be meeting the Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy.  
    • Students must meet all Federal general eligibility requirements.
    • No loan disbursements (subsidized, unsubsidized, or Parent PLUS) will be made for less than $100.

    For the Federal Student Loan Program, South Plains College follows a scheduled academic year.  At SPC, a scheduled academic year consists of consecutive Fall/Spring/Summer semesters.  Students who receive a maximum loan for any period during the award year will not have new loan award eligibility until the following Fall semester unless they advance a grade level. 

Types of Loans for Students

Subsidized Loans:

  • Eligibility based on financial need as determined by the FAFSA
  • Must be enrolled in at least 6 eligible credit hours in an awarded term to receive a disbursement for that term
  • No interest charged while in school at least half-time

Unsubsidized Loans:

  • Not based on financial need
  • Must be enrolled in at least 6 eligible credit hours in an awarded term to receive a disbursement for that term
  • Interest charged from the time the loan is disbursed

 

Types of Loans for Parents

PLUS Loan (Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students) 

  • Not based on financial need
  • Student must be enrolled in at least 6 eligible credit hours
  • Interest charged from the time the loan is disbursed
  • Credit check required for the parent borrower  

For a parent to request a loan, the parent needs to sign into studentaid.gov using the parent’s FSA ID, not the student’s. On that site, the parent needs to apply for a Parent PLUS Loan and electronically sign a Master Promissory Note (MPN).

Please Note: 

The Federal Government assesses an Origination Fee to all Parent PLUS Loans. This fee reduces the amount actually credited to the student’s account for each loan. The fee is currently 4.228% for all Direct Loans originated before October 1, 2024.  The fee may change for loans originated on or after October 1, 2024.

  

Loan Terms and Conditions, and Repayment:

When it comes time for students to repay their Federal Direct Student Loans, they will need to speak to their individual loan servicers about repayment options.  There are several repayment plans:  standard, extended, graduated, income contingent, income based, and pay-as-you-earn.  How much a student pays and how long it takes to repay loans will vary depending on a student’s chosen repayment plan.  Consolidation loans also have varying repayment plans.

 South Plains College has partnered with Panhandle Plains Higher Education Foundation (PPHEF) to help borrowers with repayment options. PPHEF is not a loan servicer, but is an advocate to help borrowers avoid defaulting on their student loans.

Borrowers can contact PPHEF at 877-629-3669 or https://pphef.org/.https://pphef.org/img/logo.png

The following is a link to the U.S. Department of Education's Direct Loan Simulator webpage.  This webpage can estimate repayment amounts under each of these different plans, as well as providing other services. 

The sample Student Loan Repayment Chart can be used to estimate loan repayment under the standard repayment plan.  It is for estimating purposes only.

                                Student Loan Repayment Chart

6.8% Fixed Interest Rate

          Amount

Borrowed

       Monthly

   Payment

Numberof

Months

              Total

 Interest

              Total

Repaid

   $500

 $50

  11

       $16

$516

 $1,000

 $50

 22

      $64

$1,064

 $3,500

 $50

 90

     $971

$4,471

 $4,500

 $52

120

  $1,714

$6,214

 $8,000

 $92

120

$3,048

$11,048

$10,000

$115

120

 $3,810

$13,810

$12,000

$138

120

 $4,572

$16,572

$15,000

$173

120

 $5,714

$20,714

$20,000

$230

120

 $7,619

$27,619

$23,000

$265

120

$8,762

$31,762

$31,000

$357

120

$11,810

$42,810

$40,000

$460

120

$15,239

$55,239

$46,000

$529

120

$17,524

 $63,524

$50,000

$575

120

$19,048

 $69,048

$57,500

$662

120

$21,905

  $79,405

This Standard Repayment Plan chart can be used to estimate student loan payments. Figures have been rounded to the nearest whole dollar and represent minimum payments at 6.8% over a maximum of 10 years, and do not include interest that may accumulate during periods of deferment or forbearance. Lower balances may take less than 10 years to repay at the minimum payment of $50. This chart is for estimating purposes only. 

 

Complete information on understanding repayment, repayment options and the importance of repayment can be found at https://studentaid.gov/h/manage-loans.

 

Privacy Act Disclosure Notice

The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C.552a) requires that the following notice be provided to you.  The authority for collecting the information requested for a Direct Loans or Direct Parent PLUS Loan is 451 et seq. of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended.  The information in your file may be disclosed to third parties as authorized under routine uses in the Privacy Act notices called “Title IV Program Files” (originally published on April 12, 1994, Federal Register Vol. 59 p. 17351) and the “National Student Loan Data System” (originally published on December 20, 1994, Federal Register, Vol.59 p.65532).  Thus, this information may be disclosed to the federal and state agencies, private parties such as relatives, present and former employers and creditors, and contractors of the Department of Education for purposes of administration of the student financial assistance program, for enforcement purposes, for litigation where such disclosure is compatible with the purposes for which the records were collected, for use by federal, state, local, or foreign agencies in connection with employment matters or the issuance of a license, grant, or other benefit, for use in any employee grievance or discipline proceeding in which the Federal Government is a party, for use in connection with audits or other investigations, for research purposes, for purposes of determining whether particular records are required to be disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act, and to a Member of Congress in response to an inquiry from the congressional office made at your written request.  Because we request your social security number (SSN), we must inform you that we collect your SSN on a voluntary basis, but section 484(a)(4) of the HEA (20 U.S.C. 1091 (a)(4)) provides that, in order to receive any grant, loan, or work assistance under Title IV of the HEA, a student must provide his or her SSN.  Your SSN is used to verify your identity, and as an account number (identifier) throughout the life of your loan(s) so that data may be recorded accurately.

 

 

Types of Financial Aid


Managing Financial Aid


Other Information