Federal Direct Loans

Federal Direct Subsidized Loans are loans made to eligible undergraduate students demonstrating financial need to help cover educational costs.

The Federal government pays the interest while you are in school and during a short period after school.

Federal Direct Subsidized Loans go into repayment 6 months after you cease to be enrolled at least half-time or have graduated from TSC. All maximum loans must be split over two semesters within 7 months. After a 7-month loan period, borrowers are eligible for a new loan.

Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans are loans made to eligible undergraduate, graduate, and professional students, but eligibility is not based on financial need. This loan can replace the Student Aid Index (SAI).

You must pay the interest while in school or have the interest capitalized into the loan for repayment after graduation.

Dependent students may borrow up to $2,000 in Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans per academic year.

What is a Federal Direct Student Loan

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.

TSC requires the student to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and to have a valid Institutional Student Information Report (ISIR) or Student Aid Report (SAR) on file with the Financial Aid Office to process a PLUS loan.

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. Tuition and fees are not deferred for students awarded Federal Direct PLUS Loans. Dependent students whose parent(s) are denied the Parent’s Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) may be eligible to borrow up to an additional $4,000 per academic year in this program.

• Federal Parent’s Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS)
  • Parents who demonstrate appropriate creditworthiness are eligible to borrow a low-interest loan, for their student, up to the cost of education less any financial aid received. TSC requires the student to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and to have a valid ISIR (Institutional Student Information Report) or SAR (Student Aid Report) on file with the Financial Aid Office to process a PLUS Loan. Tuition and fees are not deferred for students awarded PLUS Loans.
• Independent Students or Students Whose Parent(s) Is Denied the PLUS Loan
  • Independent students, or students whose parent(s) are denied the Parent’s Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS), may be eligible to borrow up to an additional $6000 per academic year in this program, split over two or three terms.

What is a PLUS Loan?

Federal Direct Loans are financial aid awards requiring repayment of the borrowed amount plus interest. Out-of-State students are only offered the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan for the Fall and Spring terms. To be eligible for any loan, the student must:

1. Complete the FAFSA at StudentAid.gov and be awarded a financial aid package
2. Accept or partially accept the loan awards you would like to use
3. Complete the Master Promissory Note and Entrance Counseling at StudentAid.gov
4. Enroll in at least six credit hours in courses required to complete your TSC degree program.
5. Meet the Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress for Financial Aid (SAP). The SAP requirement does not apply to a First-Time-In-College student for the first enrolled semester. You are encouraged to review your degree audit to determine if your classes are required to complete your degree program. Degree audits may be viewed in Workday under TSC Academics > My Academics > View My Academic Progress.

Students who are awarded any Federal Direct Loan are not required to borrow the money; however, students who choose to accept the loan(s) must complete the Master Promissory Note (MPN) and Entrance Counseling online at StudentAid.gov.

The link to complete the Master Promissory Note (MPN) and Entrance Counseling will appear as an "Action Item" in your Workday "My Tasks". 

Federal Direct Loan funds may not be used to defer tuition and fees until the MPN and Entrance Counseling Action Items have been completed. 

The Master Promissory Note must be completed each academic year, whereas Entrance Counseling is completed only once. Students who decline any loan must do so in Workday or notify the Financial Aid Office at: [email protected].

Your loan awards will be split into three equal payments: Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters. If you choose to revise the loan awards into two equal payments (omitting one semester), you must complete a Federal Direct Loan Request Form in Workday under TSC College Forms > Financial Aid.

Applying for a Federal Direct Loan

How to Accept/Partially Accept/Decline Loan Awards

1. Login to your Workday account using your TSC student credentials
2. Select the "TSC Financial Aid" app
3. Academic Unit: select "Tallahassee State College"
4. Award Year: select the award year
5. Select the orange "OK" button
6. Select "Accept/Decline Awards"
7. Under the "Decision" field (far right), select the hamburger symbol (three horizontal lines)
8. Choose your decision (Accept, Accept Partial: must enter amount in Amount Accepted field, or Decline)
9. Complete steps 8 & 9 for ALL offered award terms (Fall, Spring, Summer)
10. Select the orange "OK" button
11. Select the orange "Done" button

Do I need to accept my student loan on my Financial Aid offer?

Disbursement of loan funds occurs once all requirements are met below.

Find disbursement dates here.

An origination fee is deducted from the Federal Direct Loan before the loan is credited to your student account. To estimate the actual loan amount, you should reduce the gross amount awarded by 1.057% for Federal Direct Loans and 4.228% for Federal PLUS Loans. Any unpaid tuition and fees will be deducted before you receive a refund.

• First-time borrowers must complete Entrance Counseling before TSC credits the first Stafford Loan to the student’s account, even if the student completed Entrance Counseling at another institution.
  • The link to complete the Master Promissory Note (MPN) and Entrance Counseling will appear as an "Action Item" in your Workday "My Tasks", or you may complete the requirement online at StudentAid.gov.
• Students who attend multiple sessions within a semester cannot receive any loan disbursement until attendance is verified in 6 eligible credit hours.
• Federal regulations require TSC to delay payment of Federal Direct Loans to first-time college borrowers for 30 days from the start of class.
  • Affected students should note this delay in payment and make appropriate financial arrangements.
• Students who accept a Federal Direct Loan for one semester only will receive two equal disbursements:
  • One at the start of the session.
  • One near the mid-point of the session, as required by Federal regulation.
• Students with excess loan funds remaining after deducting tuition and fees may be granted a textbook voucher to charge educational materials at the TSC Bookstore, online or on campus, against their loan.
  • The student must have accepted the loan in Workday and completed the Master Promissory Note and Entrance Counseling requirements before a textbook voucher can be issued.

Loan Entrance Counseling

How do I complete the Master Promissory Note for Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loans?

Exit Counseling

Before leaving TSC, all graduates and students not returning to TSC who borrowed a Federal Direct Loan must complete Exit Counseling online at StudentAid.gov.

Loan Exit Counseling

Repayment of Federal Direct Loans

Students and parents can pay toward a Federal Direct Loan anytime by working with the student’s federal loan servicer. Students can view loan information and make a payment from the student’s account dashboard on StudentAid.gov. The Department of Education has a Loan Simulator to help you make decisions about your student loans and can be used to find a repayment plan.

Student Loan Repayment