Important News About Student Loans

If called to active duty, the student will need to make sure that his/her finances are being handled appropriately in his/her absence. Please make sure the following areas are attended to before leaving: 

Financial Aid

Students who are called into active military service may have questions concerning financial aid currently being received and the application process when reentering after active duty.
Students have only a limited amount of time between notification that they are being called to active duty and their report dates. To ensure that all concerns about financial aid are handled, please contact:

Veteran's Assistance Office
Swen Parson Hall 245K
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, IL 60115
Phone: 815-753-0691
Fax: 815-753-9475
E-mail: veteransassistance@niu.edu

Loan Information

When called to active duty, it is important to make arrangements for student loans. Contact the student loan officer to make arrangements regarding the loan.

Deferment Information

You can receive a deferment for certain defined periods. A deferment is a temporary suspension of loan payments.  You don’t have to pay interest on the loan during deferment if you have a subsidized FFEL(Federal Family Education Loan) or a Direct Stafford Loan or a Federal Perkins Loan. If you have an unsubsidized FFEL or Direct Stafford Loan, you’re responsible for the interest during deferment. If you don’t pay the interest as it accrues (accumulates), it will be capitalized (added to the loan principal), and the amount you have to pay in the future will be higher. You have to apply for a deferment with your loan servicer (the organization that handles your loan), and you must continue to make payments until you’ve been notified that your deferment has been granted. Otherwise, you could become delinquent or go into default.

It's important to take action before you are charged late fees. For Federal Perkins Loans, contact your loan servicer or the school that made you the loan. For FFEL Loans, contact the lender or agency that holds your loan. For Direct Loans, contact the Direct Loan Servicing Center at www.dl.ed.gov or 1-800-848-0979 or 1-315-738-6634. TTY users should call 1-800-848-0983.

• Military Service Deferment
  An active duty military deferment is available to borrowers in the FFEL, Direct Loan, and Perkins Loan programs who are called to active duty during a war or other military operation or national emergency. This deferment is available while the borrower is serving on active duty during a war or other military operation or a national emergency, performing qualifying National Guard duty during a war, other military operation, or a national emergency, and if the borrower was serving on or after Oct. 1, 2007, for an additional 180-day period following the demobilization date for the qualifying service.
• Post-Active Duty Student Deferment
  An FFEL, Direct Loan, or Perkins Loan borrower who is a member of the National Guard or other reserve component of the U.S. Armed Forces (current or retired) and is called or ordered to active duty while enrolled at least half-time, or within six months of having been enrolled at least half-time, is eligible for a deferment during the 13 months following the conclusion of the active duty service, or until the borrower returns to enrolled student status on at least a half-time basis, whichever comes first.

Tuition

A student who withdraws from the university because his/her military reserve unit has been called into active duty will receive a full refund of payment made for tuition. The assessment made for required student fees will be pro-rated except for the health insurance fee. Charges for room and board, if living in university residence halls, will be pro-rated according to check-out date.

After tuition and fees and room and board (if living in university residence halls) charges have been adjusted and any refund due has been determined, a refund check will be sent to the student at his/her permanent address.

It should be noted that, if the student has received financial aid, the university may be required to refund to the source of that aid.

To request a refund of payments made for tuition (and fees and room and board, if living in university residence halls), please contact:

The Vice President for Student Affairs & Enrollment Management
Altgeld Hall 208
Phone: 815-753-1573
E-mail: Student_Affairs@niu.edu

A copy of the student’s military orders must accompany the request for refund.

Important information for troops and their families

With the National Guard and Ready Reserves being called to active duty and U.S. troops being deployed or reassigned to other duty stations, student loan repayment may be one of the issues on the minds of soldiers and their families.

To avoid becoming delinquent on your student loans, consider the following tips:

• Make sure you have information on all your student loans. Student loans can be hard to keep track of, especially if you attended different schools or used different lenders or loan programs. Review your records, contact your school(s), and locate all your student loans (www.loanlocator.org).
• Consider a deferment or forbearance. Your deployment, activation, or reassignment may create a situation in which you need to delay repayment of your student loans. Deferment and forbearance are two important tools that allow you to adjust or postpone your loan payments (www.mappingyourfuture.org). Your lender may grant a forbearance without a specific request from you if they have documentation showing you are subject to a military mobilization.
• Provide your loan holder with authorization to correspond with your family or representative while you're away from home. Most loan holders will require written authorization to speak to someone other than you about your loan.
• If you are required to continue making payments, consider electronic payment options, such as online payments or electronic debit. Electronic debit is a service that allows your bank to automatically deduct your monthly loan payments from your checking or saving account and forward it to your loan holder for processing. Some loan holders even offer interest rate discounts if you use electronic debit!
• Will this deployment impact your family budget? Calculate a budget online (www.mappingyourfuture.org) to determine how you will manage your money during this time.

Loan Relief

The U.S. Department of Education has issued guidance about loan relief for student loan borrowers. Provisions apply to borrowers who:

are members of the National Guard or Ready Reserves who are called to active duty for more than 30 days.
OR
are active members of the Armed Forces who are reassigned to other duty stations for more than 30 days.

If you have loans in an in-school, grace period, or in-school deferment status, you may have that loan status extended for up to three years during your active duty service. If you have defaulted student loans, you may not be required to make payments during your active duty service.

If your loans are in repayment status, you may be granted a deferment for up to one year during your active duty service. You continue to be responsible for interest that accrues on your student loans while on active duty (though you can choose to have the Interest added to your loans to be paid later).

Contact your loan holder for more information. Also, you may want to inquire if your military unit has someone designated to assist you with student loan questions.

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