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 Stafford)
  • 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. In Axess, open the My Finances menu and select Financial Aid, then View Loan History.  

Loan Exit Counseling Sessions for June Graduates

The Financial Aid Office provided loan exit counseling presentations, in person and over Zoom, for graduating students in June 2026. Here are pdf versions of the presentations for each loan type:

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/exit-counseling and sign in with your FSA ID. If you do not have an FSA ID, follow the prompts to create one. Click on the appropriate blue “start” button (undergraduate or graduate/professional). Follow the prompts to complete the loan exit counseling process, which covers both Direct and FFEL borrowers. TEACH Grant Exit Counseling may be completed at the following link: https://studentaid.gov/teach-exit-counseling (Click on the “blue start” button once arriving to this page).
  • Perkins and University Loans
    You will receive an email message from Educational Computer Systems Inc. (ECSI) 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 ECSI at (888) 549-3274 or https://heartland.ecsi.net.

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 offices with any follow-up questions.

Additional Resources

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

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 1854
Monticello, KY 42633
(800) 433-3243
https://studentaid.gov/feedback-ombudsman

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 June 15, 2026 10:31 AM