Federal Direct Loans

Entrance Counseling

All federal Direct loan borrowers are required to complete an entrance counseling requirement.  We recommend that you complete this requirement online. The entrance counseling session provides you with information about your rights and responsibilities as a borrower. After reading the information, you will be quizzed on your knowledge. 

Note: If you completed the entrance counseling requirement in a prior academic year at Stanford, you do not need to complete the requirement again.

The Stanford Financial Aid Office will be notified when you have completed your online entrance counseling.  You will not receive any disbursements of your federal Direct loan until you have completed your entrance counseling requirement.  To complete the requirement, follow these steps:

Completing Entrance Counseling (EC)

1. Go to the Federal Student Aid website.
2. Locate and select "Log In" button.
3. Log in using your FSA ID.  If you forgot your FSA ID, go to retrieve your username.
   
4. Find the dropdown list for COMPLETE AID PROCESS.  Select "Complete Entrance Counseling."
5. Click on "Start" to begin the Entrance Counseling.
6. To notify the correct school, choose CALIFORNIA as the state and STANFORD UNIVERSITY.
7. Click on "Notify This School"
8. Next, select the appropriate button under "Select Student Type," then click Continue.

9. Follow the prompts to complete the entrance counseling process. The Stanford Financial Aid Office will be notified upon completion of your entrance counseling.

   If you have questions about the Entrance Counseling process, contact the Stanford Financial Aid Office.

   NOTE: If you have not already done so, please also complete your federal Direct loan Master Promissory Note (MPN).