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Requirements for the Disbursement of Aid

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  Glossary

Stumped by an acronym? Wondering what "promissory note" means? Check our glossary of frequently used financial aid terms and phrases.



    
Receiving Your Financial Aid

What to Do With Your Award Notification

The award notification is for your records. Review your Award Notification and return it only for the following reasons:
  1. the Determining Factors in Section A are incorrect,
  2. you will receive other aid not listed on the front of the Award Notification (complete Section E of the Award Notification),
  3. you reduce or decline any award(s). (Complete Section G of the award notification.) If you decline a loan, do not return the loan promissory note to our office. (Declining aid for the current year will not affect your eligibility for financial aid in future years.),
  4. you were awarded for the academic year and will enroll for only one semester.
If the Determining Factors are not correct or if you receive other aid not listed on the front of your award notification, adjustments may need to be made to the aid that was awarded by the Office of Student Financial Aid. Most aid reductions are made in the following order: need-based student loans, Work-Study, need-based grants. However, need-based grants and scholarships could be reduced first if a student reduces registration hours.

If you have been awarded, but have not yet accepted the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loans (you have not completed a promissory note) and that loan is reduced, you will not be notified that we have reduced the loan. If you receive other aid not listed on the front of your Award Notification and it has been more than three months since the master promissory notes were printed, the loans may be cancelled. If you accept the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loans (you have completed and returned the Master Promissory Note) and that loan and/or other aid is reduced, you will recive a revised Award Notification and an explanation of why the aid was changed.

The Office of Student Financial Aid awards the maximum loan amount that you are eligible to borrow and these maximum amount(s) are listed on your Award Notification. We encourage you to carefully review your expenses and resources and borrow only what you need. The cost of attendance includes personal and transportation expenses; therefore, you may not need to borrow the full amount listed.

If you want to reduce or cancel the amount you have been awarded, you should complete the appropriate section on the back side of the Award Notification and submit it to the Office of Student Financial Aid. If you are reducing a loan, include the completed promissory note (if you received one). If you no longer have your Award Notification, you may obtain a copy via ISIS. (Find the heading Student Records, click on Financial Aid, then on Award Notification.) If you cancel or reduce your loans now and you decide at a later date that you need the loan or want the reduced amount of the loan to be reinstated, contact the Office of Student Financial Aid.

What to do With Promissory Notes for Loans

If you were awarded a Federal Perkins Loan, Nursing Loan, Health Professions Loan or a Law Foundation Loan and you accept the loan, complete the Consumer Credit Transaction (promissory) Note and Disclosure Statement and the Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, if you have not already done so.

If you were awarded a Federal Direct Subsidized Stafford/Ford Loan and/or a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford/Ford Loan and you accept the loan, complete the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program Note. This note is a Master Promissory Note (MPN) which makes it possible for students to borrow each year without completing a new promissory note. If you completed a MPN during a previous year for attendance at the University of Iowa, you will NOT receive new notes this year. The Master Promissory Note (MPN) can be completed electronically at http://dlenote.ed.gov which will speed up the process.

Detailed information regarding the gross amount of each disbursement, the applicable fees, the 1.5% interest rebate, and the net amount that will be disbursed to you will be included on a disclosure statement that you will receive from the Direct Loan Servicing Center either prior to or at the time of disbursement.

If you are an undergraduate student and you were awarded a PLUS Loan, your parent is the borrower. If your parent would like to borrow the Federal Direct PLUS Loan, they should not complete the Parent PLUS MPN electronically because we need additional information that is not available if the note is processed electronically. Request the paper Parent Direct PLUS MPN using one of the options below:

  • Complete Section F of the student's award notification and submit the award notification to the Office of Student Financial Aid. (The student's award notification is available on ISIS. Find the heading Student Records, click on Financial Aid, then on Award Notification).
  • Download the Request for PLUS Loan Promissory Note form (PDF document). Complete the form and submit it to the Office of Student Financial Aid. The PLUS MPN will be mailed to the parent.

If you are a graduate or professional student and you were awarded a PLUS Loan, click here for additional information. (Effective July 1, 2006, graduate and professional students are eligible to borrow PLUS Loans.)

Keep one copy of all promissory note(s) (and Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, if applicable) for your records. Immediately return the completed copy of the promissory note(s) (and Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, if applicable). You need only return pages 1 and 2 of the Federal Perkins Loan Promissory Note. Promissory notes cannot be faxed.

Return promissory notes (and Rights and Responsibilities, if applicable) to:
The University of Iowa
Office of Student Financial  Aid
208 Calvin Hall
Iowa City, IA 52242-1315

Stafford and PLUS Loan records are sent to the federal processor beginning mid-April, after promissory notes have been submitted to the Office of Student Financial Aid. Approval of the Stafford Loan(s) generally takes two to three weeks and approval for the PLUS Loan generally takes four weeks. PLUS Loan applications are subject to a credit check by the Federal Direct Loan Servicer, and some loan applications are denied due to adverse credit. The borrower will receive a letter from the Direct Loan Servicer if the loan is denied.

NEW BORROWERS: Entrance Loan Counseling is Required

If you have not previously borrowed under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Student Loan Program or the Federal Family Education Loan Program, you are required to complete entrance loan counseling on the Web before any funds will be disbursed.
 
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