Federal Direct Student Loan Program

Laurel Ridge Community College participates in the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program, offered through the Department of Education. Please Note: Laurel Ridge CC does not automatically post loans, you must complete all the required steps to request one.

Federal Stafford loans are monies that a student borrows.
Federal Direct PLUS loans are monies that a parent borrows to assist their undergraduate student.

IMPORTANT: Both loans are financial obligations that must be repaid with interest.

Loan Application Priority Dates

Fall	July 30^th
Spring	November 30^th
Summer	April 15^th
Applications are accepted after these dates – Please be prepared to make other arrangements to pay for your institutional charges. Once the loan is approved and awarded, you may be eligible for a refund.

Federal Loan Limits

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OB3) introduces new federal loan limit provisions that may affect how much students and parents can borrow through federal student loan programs. These changes include updates to annual and lifetime borrowing caps and may vary by loan type and academic program.

Students and families should review the revised limits carefully to understand how future borrowing eligibility may be impacted. Detailed information about the updated loan limits is provided below.

OB3 includes legacy protections to ensure that current borrowers are not adversely impacted by changes to federal student loan programs(click here to learn more).

Borrower Type	Undergraduate				Parent PLUS
		Subsidized	Unsubsidized	Total
Annual Limit	Dependent Less than 30 credits*	$3,500	$2,000	$5,500	$20,000
	Dependent More than 30 credits*	$4,500	$2,000	$6,500
	Independent Less than 30 credits*	$3,500	$6,000	$9,500
	Independent More than 30 credits*	$4,500	$6,000	$10,500
Aggregate Limit	Dependent	$23,000	$8,000	$31,000	$65,000**
Aggregate Limit	Independent	$23,000	$34,000	$57,000	$65,000**
Lifetime Limit	$257,500**				N/A

*credits earned at and/or transferred to Laurel Ridge CC.

**without consideration of any amounts repaid, forgiven, cancelled, or otherwise discharged.

For the Loan Request Form & to learn more about Stafford & PLUS Loans click the menus below:

Please Note: Federal Loans are not to be used as a mechanism for securing enrollment for a student who files their FAFSA late.

Apply for a Federal Stafford Loan

Students

Read through all the information below, the Loan Request Form is at the bottom.

Federal Stafford Loans are intended to help students and families offset the rising cost of college tuition and appropriate counseling must be completed prior to the certification of a Federal Stafford Loan. Students may not borrow more than the cost of their education minus other financial aid awarded them.

Laurel Ridge Community College is a direct lending school and the loan is available through the Federal Direct Loan Program with the U.S. Department of Education. Information regarding the loan will be submitted to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), and will be accessible by guaranty agencies, lenders, and schools determined to be authorized users of the data system.

You may choose to pay interest on your Direct Unsubsidized loan while you are in school. If you choose not to pay the interest while you are in school, the interest will be added to the unpaid principal amount of your loan. This is called “capitalization,” and it can substantially increase the total amount you must repay. Paying the interest as it accrues on your loan while you are in school or during the grace period will save you money. This is also true if you pay any interest that accrues during periods of deferment or forbearance.

If you are interested in seeking a private/alternative loan, review lenders that have worked with Laurel Ridge previously here.

Requirements to Qualify

Completed FAFSA on file with Laurel Ridge CC
- Must not be defaulted on prior loans
- Must not be maxed out on lifetime amount.
Enrolled in at least 6 financial aid eligible credits.
Must be meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
Complete all Steps to Apply(below)
Complete Exit Loan Counseling Session upon graduation or withdraw.
- Repayment begins six months after a student leaves school because of graduation, other reasons, or drops below half-time level.

The Financial Aid Office must approve all federal loans and reserves the right to refuse loan applications due to academic deficiency or evidence that a student may have difficulty managing loan debt.

Types of Loans

Types of Stafford Loans:

Direct Subsidized Loans are loans made to eligible undergraduate students who demonstrate financial need to help cover the costs of higher education at a college or career school. This means the U.S. Department of Education will pay the interest charges on this type of loan as long as the student is enrolled at least half-time (six or more credits) and during a six-month period following enrollment (grace period) as well as during periods of approved deferment. At the end of the grace period, repayment of the loan will begin and interest begins to accrue to the student borrower. *150% Direct Loan Interest Subsidy Limit Law*
Direct Unsubsidized Loans are loans made to eligible undergraduate, graduate, and professional students, but eligibility is not based on financial need.

Schedule Of Reduction

Beginning 2026-27 Award Year: Less-Than-Full-Time Loan Adjustments

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OB3) includes provisions that affect federal student loan eligibility and borrowing amounts for students enrolled less than full-time. This adjustment is referred to as the Schedule of Reduction (SOR).

Students who plan to enroll part-time should review the information below to understand how these changes may affect their federal loan options.

Schedule Of Reduction Dependent Student – Freshman Year *$5,500 is the Annual Loan Eligibility Maximum*
Registered Fall Hours	Registered Spring Hours	Percentage of FT Enrollment	Final Annual Loan Amount
15	15	30/24= 125%	$5,500
12	12	24/24= 100%	$5,500
9	15	24/24= 100%	$5,500
9	9	18/24= 75%	$4,125
6	6	12/24= 50%	$2,750
3	12	15/24 = 63%	$3,465*
12	3	15/24 = 63%	$2,750**
3	3	6/24 = 25%	$0
Student would receive $0 for fall and $3,465 in spring. They can borrow up to full final annual amount as spring is the last term of the Scheduled Academic Year. *Student would receive $2,750 in fall and $0 in spring. They can only receive 50% of eligible loan amount in fall.

Determining Loan Request Amount

Cost of tuition(Current Tuition & Fees)
+ Textbooks(if you need them. Not sure? Use Bookstore website.)
+ Living expenses (if you have any)
+ Loan Fee (See Loan Request Form)
Loan Amount

Steps to Apply

Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) prior to requesting a Federal Direct Student loan.
Complete the Master Promissory Note (MPN) for Undergraduates. Complete once, good for 10 years at Laurel Ridge.
Complete Entrance Counseling (EC). This must be completed every year.
Complete the Federal Direct Loan Request Form(below) then return to the Financial Aid Office.

2025-26 Federal Direct Loan Request Form

Apply for a Federal Direct PLUS Loan

Parents

The Federal Direct PLUS Loan program is a non-need-based source of loan funds for the parent(s) of dependent students. Federal Direct PLUS Loans may be used in conjunction with Federal Direct Stafford Loans.

Direct PLUS Loans are loans made to graduate or professional students and parents of dependent undergraduate students to help pay for education expenses not covered by other financial aid. Eligibility is not based on financial need, but a credit check is required. Borrowers who have an adverse credit history must meet additional requirements to qualify.

Each year, parents of dependent students may borrow an amount not to exceed the cost of attendance less any financial aid (including Federal Direct Stafford Loans).

A Master Promissory Note is required.

Repayment begins 60 days after the final disbursement is made unless the parent borrower makes other arrangements with their lender to defer repayment. The Federal Direct PLUS Loan on the undergraduate level is only available to parents.* Guardians are ineligible. A credit check is performed on all parental borrowers, and pre-approval is required.

*An eligible parent is defined as the biological or adoptive parent of an undergraduate student. In some cases, a step-parent may be eligible to apply for a PLUS loan. While the custodial parent completes the FAFSA form, a non-custodial parent may be the parent who applies for the PLUS loan. However, the amount eligible to borrow will be based off of the custodial parent’s FAFSA form results.

PLEASE NOTE: This loan is in the parent’s name and the parent will be responsible for repayment of the loan. The loan cannot be transferred to the student.

2025-26 Federal Parent PLUS Loan Request Form

Appeal to Apply for Federal Loans without Parent Information

This appeal is used when you have indicated your parent(s) cannot and/or will not provide their financial information for completion of your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Although the U.S. Department of Education allows a student to indicate a parent’s refusal to provide this information, the student can only exercise this option if supporting documentation is submitted to substantiate this claim.

This appeal form provides guidelines for the process of requesting a review of your situation. The burden of collecting, reviewing, and making a ruling on the claim is placed on each individual student aid office. All appeals will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and the reason for the decision must be documented in the student’s file. The decision of the financial aid office is final and cannot be appealed to the U.S. Department of Education.

Steps to Appeal

In order to get the loan in place, you will need to complete the following steps:

Complete the Master Promissory Note(MPN) for Undergraduates. The MPN is your agreement to re-pay the loans when required.
Complete Entrance Counseling(EC). Takes about 30 minutes to complete, just to make sure you understand how loans work.
Complete the Federal Direct Loan Request Form(Click Apply for Federal Direct Loan above then scroll to the bottom). This is where you tell us the amount you are requesting and for what specific semester/year.
Complete the Appeal to Apply for Federal Loans without Parent Info Form
A statement signed and dated from one or both of the student’s parents specifically stating that the parent(s):
- Have ended financial support to the student, and;
- They refuse to provide financial support to the student during the award year; and
- They refuse to complete the parental section of the student’s FAFSA form. (The parent is not required to provide a reason for refusing to complete the FAFSA).
- The student’s name, date of birth and student ID number must be provided in the statement.

Submit the Loan Request Form, Loan Appeal Form, and signed statement to [email protected] for processing. Please monitor your Messages in SIS for an update once processed.

Need to Adjust Your Loan?

If you need to increase, decrease, or cancel your student loan, please complete and return the Direct Loan Adjustment Form to the Financial Aid Office.

Students have the right to cancel or reduce all or part of the student loan prior to the first day of the semester or within 14 days of notification of disbursement of the loan by submitting a written statement to the Financial Aid Office or by completing a Federal Direct Student Loan Adjustment Form as soon as possible before disbursement. A parent may not decline a student loan.

Legacy Protections for Current Students

For students with a disbursed federal loan before July 1, 2026

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OB3) includes legacy protections to ensure that current borrowers are not adversely impacted by changes to federal student loan programs. These provisions outline how current borrowers will be treated under the new law. Borrowers should review the information below to understand which protections may apply to them and how prior borrowing or repayment activity may be affected moving forward.

Who Qualifies?

If you were already enrolled in your academic program and have a disbursed federal loan before July 1, 2026, you may be able to continue borrowing under the current federal loan rules. This is known as legacy protection.

To continue borrowing under the current rules, you must:

Be enrolled in your academic program as of June 30, 2026
Have received at least one Federal Direct Loan disbursement for that same program before July 1, 2026
Remain continuously enrolled in that same academic program

If you meet all of these requirements, you may continue using the current borrowing rules.

Note: Legacy eligibility for the Federal Parent PLUS loan is not based on the parent borrower. It is determined by the student meeting the above criteria.

If you qualify for legacy protection, you may continue:

Borrowing Graduate PLUS loans, if you were previously eligible
Borrowing Parent PLUS loans with no annual or lifetime limit
Using the current lifetime loan limits

You will lose eligibility for legacy protection if you:

Withdraw from your program or stop attending for any reason (Example: medical resignation)
Transfer to a different institution (transfer students do not qualify)
Take longer than the expected time to complete your program

The Legacy Protection time limit is whichever is shorter: three years or the remaining time left in the student’s program based on how much they have already completed.

If you take an approved leave of absence that meets federal requirements, it does not count as withdrawing or stopping enrollment. In that case, you may still maintain your legacy eligibility.