Student loans are available to help offset educational expenses for the specific academic
period. Borrowing through student loans should be your last alternative. You should
exhaust all other resources of financial assistance, including scholarships, state
grants, and work-study employment before applying for a student loan. Applying for
a student loan too early may limit or exclude you from receiving grants/scholarships.
A Direct Stafford Loan is a federal loan program available to undergraduate students
depending on eligibility.
To apply for a Direct Stafford Loan:
- Determine amount of student loan needed to meet educational expensesAccept all or
part of the student loan on My NWACC Connection.
- Complete Direct Stafford Loan Entrance Counseling at www.StudentLoans.gov
- Complete a Direct Stafford Loan Master Promissory Note (MPN) at www.StudentLoans.gov
- Enroll in and attend at least six credit hours towards selected degree or certificate
at NWACC
- Students who do not need the offered loans should decline on My NWACC Connection.
Allow approximately one hour to accept your loans, complete loan counseling and complete
the eMPN.
(Approximately 20 to 30 minutes to complete Direct Stafford Loan Entrance Counseling
AND approximately 30 minutes to complete the Direct Stafford Loan electronic MPN.)
You will be asked to give information which will include:
- Your permanent address
- Telephone number Driver's license number and state
- Email address (if you have one)
- Two references who have known you for at least 3 yrs (names, addresses, telephone
numbers)
What Next?
- Students who receive a Direct Stafford Loan must complete Direct Stafford Loan Exit
Counseling at www.studentloans.gov before leaving school or dropping to less than half-time status.
- Student loan borrowers must repay the Direct Stafford Loan even if the student does
not complete the academic program, is dissatisfied with the education received or
is unable to find employment after leaving NWACC. Information regarding repayment
options including income-sensitive and income-based options is available at www.studentloans.gov. A loan calculator can also be found at the following website www.finaid.org/calculators/loanpayments.phtml.
- The student's individual federal aid history including loan holder contact information
can be found at www.nslds.ed.gov. It is recommended that students contact their loan holder immediately upon graduation
or dropping to less than half-time status.
Students who need additional funds after considering the feasibility of The Direct
Stafford Loan or students who are ineligible for federal aid, may need to apply for
a private loan. It is NWACC's recommendation that our students apply for a Federal
Direct Stafford Loan prior to an Alternative Loan as it is in the student's best interest.
The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-35) (HEOA) added section
128(e)(3) to the TILA to require that before a private educational lender may consummate
a private education loan for a student in attendance at an institution of higher education,
the private education lender must obtain the completed and signed Self-Certification
Form from the applicant. The Federal Reserve Board's Final Regulations published
on August 14, 2009 incorporate this new requirement at 12 CFR 226.48(e). Many lenders
of private loans will provide the Self-Certification Form to the student borrower.
The form is also available here in pdf format:
Private Education Loan Self-Certification in PDF Format:
For more information and to apply for alternative loans, go to www.elmselect.com.
To view the information:
- School Search - for NorthWest Arkansas Community College
- Select Program - ‘Undergraduate' if you are the student or ‘Parent Loans' if you
are the parent or other individual taking out the loan on the student's behalf