Whether you borrow a Direct, Perkins or Grad PLUS loan, you must carefully consider your responsibilities and rights as a student loan borrower. Borrowing a student loan can open doors of opportunities for pursuing a post-secondary education that would not otherwise be possible. However, borrowing more than you really need to finance your college education can also have the effect of dictating your career choices after graduation. Without a doubt, SDSM&T students have the potential to make above average incomes once they have graduated. However, students should always carefully consider the amount of loan funds they borrow throughout the course of their college education.
Students who borrowed student loans at some time during the course of their academic career (not just at SDSM&T) and graduated from SDSM&T with a Bachelors Degree during the 2010-2011 academic year, had an average federal student loan indebtedness of $26,408. If taking the full 10 years to repay and using the current maximum federal student loan interest rate of 6.8%, the monthly payments on this average indebtedness could be approximately $304 per month. You could borrow more or less than the average and it all depends on your situation and your commitment to borrow as little as possible. Consider your options carefully and make the right decision for you based on your career goals and future earning potential.
ENTRANCE LOAN COUNSELING
Direct Loan Entrance Counseling: If you are a first time Direct Loan borrower, you must complete Direct Loan Entrance Counseling before your Direct Loan can be applied to your account.
Perkins Entrance Loan Counseling: If you are a first time Perkins Student Loan borrower or you have not borrowed a Perkins Loan within the past 4 years, you must complete a Perkins Entrance Loan Counseling session before your Perkins Loan will be applied to your account.
Grad PLUS Entrance Loan Counseling: The U.S. Department of Education now requires that Graduate students applying for a Grad PLUS loan must now complete Entrance Loan Counseling specific to the Grad PLUS loan program. If you are a accepting a Grad PLUS loan and have not previously completed the Grad PLUS Entrance Counseling, you will need to click here and complete the counseling before any further loan funds can be disbursed to you.
EXIT LOAN COUNSELING
If you will be graduating from SDSM&T, are attending less-than half-time or have decided not to return next semester, you will need to complete an exit loan counseling session for each of the types of loans that you borrowed.
Stafford and/or Direct Exit Loan Counseling
Grad PLUS Exit Loan Counseling
By indicating that you will or have attended SDSM&T, we will receive an electronic notification that you have completed the entrance and exit loan requirements. It is also a good idea to retain the confirmation number or make a printout of the confirmation page for future reference.
