Loan Repayment

Exit Counseling

Upon ceasing enrollment and prior to beginning repayment, you will be required to complete exit counseling if you have received any of the following:

  • Federal Direct Loan (Subsidized/Unsubsidized)
  • Federal Direct PLUS Loan for Graduate Students
  • Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program Loans
  • Federal Perkins Loan
  • Federal TEACH Grant
  • University Loan (Institutional loan from Stanford, e.g. Avery Loan)
Exit counseling will provide information about borrower rights and responsibilities regarding loan repayment. To determine how much you have received in federal loans and/or TEACH Grants, you should consult https://studentaid.gov/.

In addition, you can review all of the loans that you have borrowed at Stanford, including non-federal loans, by using the View Loan History function in Axess. On the MY AXESS page, find the Student Financial Snapshot section, and click on the View Loan History button. 

Loan Exit Counseling Sessions for June Graduates

In early June 2022, the Financial Aid Office and Student Financial Services held in-person exit counseling sessions for graduating students. The slides from these presentations are available for download here:

Online Exit Counseling

You can complete your exit counseling requirements online. The online process is different for each program.

  • Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized, Direct Graduate PLUS Loans, FFEL Loans, and TEACH Grants
    Go to https://studentaid.gov/ and sign in with your FSA ID. If you do not have an FSA ID, follow the prompts to create one. Click the link for Complete Counseling, then click the link for Exit Counseling. Follow the prompts to complete the loan exit counseling process, which covers both Direct and FFEL borrowers.  For TEACH Grant recipients there is another link for completing the separate TEACH exit counseling process.
  • Perkins and University Loans
    You will receive an email message from University Accounting Service (UAS) with information about how to complete the exit counseling process for these loan types. Questions about the exit counseling process for Perkins and University loans should be directed to UAS at (844) 870-8701 or https://www.uasconnect.com/.
    You do not need to notify the Financial Aid Office or Student Financial Services upon completion of your exit counseling requirement. However, you are welcome to contact our office with any follow-up questions.

Additional Resources

For questions about your individual student loans, you should contact your loan servicer.  To identify your loan servicer, you should consult https://studentaid.gov/.. Please note that private (non-federal) education loans and Stanford University loans are not included in NSLDS.

If you encounter difficulties with your lender, you may wish to contact the U.S. Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid Ombudsman. The Ombudsman provides borrowers with information and guidance to resolve concerns about their student loans. As an advocate, the Ombudsman can research problems and determine if you have been treated fairly. Here is the contact information for the Ombudsman’s office:

U.S. Department of Education
FSA Ombudsman Group
P.O. Box 1843
Monticello, KY 42633
(877) 557-2575
https://studentaid.gov/feedback-ombudsman/disputes/prepare#how-contact 

If you plan to re-enroll at Stanford or another college or university, please notify your loan servicer. You may need to complete an in-school deferment request to postpone repayment. You should continue to make monthly payments until you are officially notified of approval of your deferment request.

Updated on September 29, 2022 10:36 AM