Loan Programs
Long-term educational loans are the primary source of financial assistance. Nearly 85% of Cardozo students receive some kind of loan. Federal Stafford, Federal Graduate PLUS, Cardozo, and private loan programs ensure that virtually every student who needs financial aid for tuition and/or living expenses can receive it.
It is recommended that you visit Cardozo's Debt Management webpage for helpful information on budgeting, loan repayment (including Income Based Repayment and Pay As You Earn), loan forgiveness (including Public Service Loan Forgiveness and Cardozo's LRAP), and other important financial aid details.
*PLEASE NOTE* - Federal student loans can only be administered during the current academic year! Eligible students can receive federal students loans up to the last day of the academic year! However, it is strongly recommended that students do not wait until the last day of the semester / academic year to accept or apply for student loans. Please inquire with Student Finance regarding deadlines.
Federal Stafford Loans
- Unsubsidized: As of July 1, 2012, graduate students are eligible to receive only unsubsidized Stafford loans! Subsidized Stafford loans are no longer available to Graduate Students.
- In-School Deferment.
Interest
- Interest Rate: Stafford loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019, will have a fixed interest rate of 6.595%.
- Interest Rate: Stafford loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020, will have a fixed interest rate of 6.08%.
- Interest begins acrruing at disbursement.
- Stafford loans disbursed during the specified dates above will be fixed for the life of the loan (during school and repayment).
- Interest rates are scheduled to reset every July 1st based on the 10-Year Treasury Note Index plus a set add-on.
Origination Fee
- Origination Fee: A 1.059% fee is deducted by Direct Loans on any new loan disbursed on or after October 1, 2019 through September 30, 2020. Example: a $20,500 Stafford loan will net $20,283. Please keep this fee in mind while budgeting! To use Cardozo's origination fee calculator, click HERE (Please Note: You will need Adobe Acrobat).
Repayment
- Repayment: Automatic 6 month grace period following graduation. Borrowers will have several federal repayment plan options, including Income Based Repayment and Pay As You Earn, as well as loan forgiveness opportunities through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and Cardozo's LRAP.
- Students are required to be enrolled in at least 6 credits per semester (Half-Time Status) while in a degree seeking program.
- Students must meet the citizenship requirement (U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident).
- Students can not currently be in default on any federal student loan!
- You must have completed a FAFSA and received a Student Aid Award Letter from the Office of Student Finance before you can accept your Stafford loan.
STEP 1: Click HERE to complete your Direct Loan Entrance Counseling and Direct Loan Stafford Loan Master Promissory Note.
First time Stafford loan borrowers are required to complete the Entrance Counseling and Master Promissory Note. A completed Entrance Counseling satisfies the federal requirement for the Stafford and Graduate PLUS loan! If you have completed a Stafford Loan MPN with Direct Loans within the last 10 years, you may not be required to complete a new MPN. It is your responsibility to check with Direct Loans. Your Stafford loan cannot be officially processed until both of these requirements are completed!
- Sign In
- Clink on the "Complete Counseling" link
- Select the "Entrance Counseling" option, and then click Start
- Once you have completed your Entrance Counseling, return to the main menu
- Click on "My Account" on the left hand side of website
- Click on the "Complete Master Promissory Note" link
- Click on the "Subsidized/Unsubsidized" link
- Complete the Master Promissory Note
Federal Graduate PLUS Loans
Terms:
-
In-School Deferment.
Interest
- Interest Rate: Graduate PLUS loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019, will have a fixed interest rate of 7.595%.
- Interest Rate: Graduate PLUS loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020, will have a fixed interest rate of 7.08%.
- Interest begins acrruing at disbursement.
- Graduate PLUS loans disbursed during the specified dates above will be fixed for the life of the loan (during school and repayment).
- Interest rates are scheduled to reset every July 1st based on the 10-Year Treasury Note Index plus a set add-on.
Origination Fee
- Origination Fee: A 4.236% fee is deducted by Direct Loans on any new loan disbursed on or after October 1, 2019 through September 30, 2020. Example: a $15,000 Graduate PLUS loan will net $14,365. Please keep this fee in mind while budgeting! To use Cardozo's origination fee calculator, click HERE (Please Note: You will need Adobe Acrobat).
Repayment
- Repayment: Automatic 6 month grace period following graduation. Borrowers will have several federal repayment plan options, including Income Based Repayment and Pay As You Earn, as well as loan forgiveness opportunities through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and Cardozo's LRAP.
- One or more debts with a total outstanding balance greater than $2,085 that are 90 or more days delinquent as of the date of the credit report, or that have been placed in collection or charged off as defined in the regulations during the two years preceding the date of the credit report.
- Debt discharged in bankruptcy during the past five years.
- Evidence of a default, foreclosure, repossession, tax lien, wage garnishment, or write-off of a Title IV debt during the past five years.
If your credit is denied, you will be immediately notified by Direct Loans through the online application process. You will also receive notification from the Direct Loan Servicer (via email and mail). If you would still like to pursue obtaining a Graduate PLUS loan, please choose from the following options:
- You may try to have a credit status override completed by the servicer. Please contact the Direct Loan Servicer at 1-800-557-7394 and Equifax (their credit bureau) at 1-800-685-5000.
- You may provide documentation to the Direct Loan Servicer if you have extenuating circumstances. Your request for a Grad PLUS will be reviewed again by the servicer.
- You may have a third party endorser co-sign the Grad PLUS application with you. In this case, please contact the Direct Loan Servicer at 1-800-557-7394.
*NEW* If your credit was originally denied, and then your Grad PLUS was approved by any of the three methods above, you will be required to complete an additional PLUS Counseling by visiting HERE. Log in and click on the "Complete PLUS Conseling" link.
STEP 1: Click HERE to complete your Graduate PLUS Loan Application
- Sign In
- Click on the "Request a Direct PLUS Loan" link
- Scroll down and click on the "Graduate PLUS" link
- Complete the Graduate PLUS Loan Application
- Applicants must include a dollar amount on the Graduate PLUS loan application! Select the "I would like to specify a loan amount" option, and then input the amount that you would like to borrow within the "Loan Amount Requested" box. DO NOT select the "maximum Direct PLUS Loan amount" option! To help determine the amount that you may need to apply for, please refer to your financial aid award letter and the Tuition and Expenses section of the website for Cardozo's estimated cost of attendance. Continuing students can view their financial aid account and cost of attendance budget on Banner Self-Service: www.yu.edu/myyu. Please feel free to visit our Financial Aid Tutorial Videos for assistance on accessing your financial aid account and cost of attendance budget. Please also use Cardozo's Student Loan Origination Fee Calculator by clicking HERE (Please Note: You will need Adobe Acrobat).
- Complete all of the required fields and submit the application
- Do Not Log Out of the studentloans.gov website! Proceed to Step 2!
- Click on "My Account" on the left hand side of website
- Click on the "Complete Master Promissory Note" link
- Click on the "Graduate PLUS" link
- Complete the Master Promissory Note
Cardozo YU Loans
- Interest free while the student is in school and during the 9 month grace following graduation
- Interest Rate: Fixed 5%
- Interest will start accruing once the student enters active repayment (approximately 9 months following graduation)
- Repayment may be up to 10 years
ACCEPTING THE CARDOZO YU LOAN: To accept the Cardozo YU loan, you will need to sign a hard-copy promissory note in Cardozo's Office of Student Finance. You cannot accept the Cardozo YU loan online! The Office of Student Finance will notify you once your promissory note is available for you to sign in our office.