Loans

Received a new award notice with a loan on it?  Read below!

Southwestern College participates in the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program. Direct loans are simple. You borrow directly from the federal government via an authorized Direct Loan Servicer they assign to you, and have a single contact for everything related to the repayment of your loans. You will have online access to your account information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at Student Aid Page and can choose from several repayment plans that are designed to meet your needs.

If you received an aid eligibility notice that includes loans, you are responsible for reading the information on these pages.  Pay particular attention to the section "Applying for a Loan."  Failure to follow these instructions may result in delays or a loss of eligibility.  

Loan cancellation

Federal Direct Loan borrowers have the right to cancel or reduce all or a portion of their Federal Direct Loan and have their loan proceeds return to the holder of the loan.  Students must notify the Financial Aid Office within 14 days of the loan(s) being credited to their SWC accounts by completing the Direct Loan Cancellation Form on our Financial Aid Forms page.  Students wishing to return any portion of their loan(s) after this period would need to contact their loan servicer about making payments.   

How to be prepared for repayment:
1.  Know your next payment due date by logging into your service’s website.
2.  Set up your auto-draft payments so you don’t miss a payment in the future.
3.  Remember that ECMC Solutions can help you determine the best path forward with all of your repayment options.

Due to the outbreak of coronavirus/Covid-19, student loans were automatically placed into forbearance (relief from making monthly payments).  This relief ended on August 29, 2023.  For more details, please see Coronavirus and Forbearance Info for Students, Borrowers, and Parents.

Southwestern College has partnered with Solutions at ECMC to answer all of your student loan repayment questions. Solutions is a service of the non-profit organization ECMC and is dedicated to helping students manage educational loans. Their resources are available to you free of charge. To contact a Solutions Student Loan Repayment Advisor, ECMC email or web chat, or call them at 1-877-331-3262.