Domestic Student Loan Options

Terms & Conditions 2023-2024

• Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
• Must be enrolled at least half-time (10 credits per term of credits required for your degree).
• Can borrow up to $33,000 maximum per academic year; $224,000 aggregate lifetime limit.
• Fixed interest rate of 7.05% -For prior year rates, please visit this Federal Student Aid page.
• The origination fee for loans disbursed prior to October 1, 2023 is 1.057%. This fee is automatically deducted from the loan prior to disbursement.
• Loan is unsubsidized, meaning interest begins accruing at disbursement and continues accruing during the school year. If you choose not to pay the interest while you are in school (and during grace periods and deferment or forbearance periods), your interest will be capitalized (that is, your interest will be added to the principal amount of your loan) when you begin repayment.
• Master Promissory Note (MPN) and Entrance Interview are required for disbursement and can be completed online.
• Exit Counseling is required for all graduating students as well as those whose enrollment falls below half-time status.

For more detailed information, visit the Federal Student Aid website.

How to apply for Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans

1. Complete the FAFSA and Harvard Chan School Financial Aid Application at MyFinaid.
2. Incoming students must be accepted into a degree-granting program before awards can be determined.
3. Students can be view their loan eligibility on the “Financial Aid Offer” Tab in MyFinaid once they have been accepted into their program and have viewed their Financial Aid Communication letter.
4. Students who have accepted their federal loans should wait to be instructed by our office on when to complete the necessary online loan documents (MPN and Entrance Interview) required for disbursement to the student term bill.

Terms & Conditions 2023-2024

• Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
• Must pass a credit check. Individuals who apply and are denied due to credit issues are eligible to obtain an endorser (co-signer) and reapply.
• Must be enrolled at least half-time (10 credits per term of credits required for your degree).
• The maximum PLUS loan amount you can borrow per academic year is the cost of attendance minus any other financial assistance you receive.
• Fixed interest rate of 8.05% -For prior year rates, please visit the Federal Student Aid site.
• The origination fee for loans disbursed prior to October 1, 2023 is 4.228%. This fee is automatically deducted from the loan prior to disbursement.
• Loan is unsubsidized, meaning interest begins accruing at disbursement and continues accruing during the school year. If you choose not to pay the interest while you are in school (and during grace periods and deferment or forbearance periods), your interest will be capitalized (that is, your interest will be added to the principal amount of your loan) when you begin repayment.
• A Master Promissory Note (MPN) and Entrance Interview are required for disbursement and can be completed online.
• Exit Counseling is required for all graduating students as well as those whose enrollment falls below half-time status.

How to Apply for the Direct Graduate PLUS Loan

• To apply for a Direct Graduate Plus Loan, please visit StudentAid.gov or follow the URL link: https://studentaid.gov/plus-app/grad/landing
• If you need to make changes to your loan, submit the Federal Loan Adjustment Request Form or contact our office at financialaid@hsph.harvard.edu.
• Graduate PLUS loan borrowers must also complete a Graduate PLUS loan promissory note and student loan entrance counseling. Both can be completed on https://studentaid.gov by going to https://studentaid.gov/mpn/ to complete the promissory note and https://studentaid.gov/entrance-counseling/ to complete the Graduate PLUS loan entrance counseling.

When considering which private loan to borrow, students should compare lenders and decide which factors are the most important to them. We encourage all prospective borrowers to review all their options and consider the following:

• Credit requirements
• Interest rate terms (ie: fixed or variable)
• Fees
• Repayment incentives for the borrower
• Total cost
• Deferment and forbearance options
• Repayment timelines and flexibility.

A list of lenders who responded to the University’s Request For Information and offer private education loans to domestic students may be found through the University’s Student Financial Service’s site. Harvard graduate and professional students are not required to use the lenders on this list.

To begin reviewing their responses and search for a lender, please follow these steps:

How to Apply for Private Loans

• Start at this page: Find a Private Loan: Harvard University Graduate & Professional Students and read the important information there.
• Review the information about Private Loan Options.
• Interested domestic students can search ELMSelect here: Interested Domestic Students.
• Once you have contacted a lender and been pre-approved for a loan, please complete the Preliminary Private Loan Request Form and submit it to the Office of Financial Aid.

Note: the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, like all of Harvard University, has no financial interest in your choice of private lender.