Loans

Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans

PLUS Loans

A Federal Direct Loan is a form of financial aid that is borrowed and must be repaid with interest. Loans are available to students and parent(s) to help meet the cost of education after all other funding options have been exhausted.         

Students must be enrolled in a minimum of six credit hours that meet Program Objective Enrollment Compliance (POEC) to be considered for a loan. Initial amounts may be adjusted if your graduation term falls within your loan period.

Learn About Your Loan Debt and Repayment Options

Do you want to know what Broward College is doing to prepare you for loan repayment?

Broward College will provide the following information annually to our students receiving loans:

  • An estimate of the total amount of loans.
  • An estimate of the potential loan repayment amount, including principal and interest.

This information is available through myBC. Once a student signs on to myBC, an alert will appear requesting a review of their financial aid loan information. The next alert will display the current loan debt as reported to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). The student is requested to review and confirm the information reported from NSLDS. This confirmation is stored in the student's records.

Note: This information will not be displayed for students with no prior loan history.

General Loan Details

The National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) is the U.S. Department of Education's central database for student aid. NSLDS tracks your loans through their entire life cycle; from aid approval to closure. The site displays information on loan amounts, outstanding balances, loan statuses, and disbursements. Information regarding your Federal Direct Loans will be submitted to NSLDS. If you have borrowed from multiple institutions, you will be able to use NSLDS to review your total indebtedness. You may access this information to learn about your loan debt and repayment options by logging in with your FSA ID and password.

The loan repayment calculator provides an estimate of the size of your monthly loan payments and the yearly salary required to manage them. Just enter your loan balance, interest rate, and term of your loan. You will receive an estimated monthly payment along with how much total interest you will pay over the life of the loan. Students are encouraged to use the repayment estimator as they enter repayment for the first time or as they are exploring repayment options.

Borrowing responsibly is borrowing only what you need to pay your educational expenses and what you can realistically afford to repay when you leave school. Federal Student Aid Estimator provides tools and information to help you understand your financial aid and assist you in managing your finances. Details on your income, financial aid, and living expenses are needed to provide more accurate budgeting information. Topics included in the session are Understand Your Loans, Manage Your Spending, Plan to Repay, Avoid Default, and Make Finances a Priority.

Exit Counseling provides important information to help prepare you to repay your student loan(s). If you graduate, withdraw, or drop below half time (five credits or less), and have borrowed a Federal Direct Loan, Broward College requires that you complete exit counseling. The goal of exit counseling is to remind you of your rights and responsibilities as a student loan borrower. You may access the exit counseling by logging in with your FSA ID and password.

Although not required by the Department of Education to have a default prevention plan in place, the Financial Aid Services Office at Broward College makes significant efforts in the areas of default prevention and debt management.

Broward College's three-year cohort rates can be accessed at the Department of Education site.

Broward College has teamed up with ECMC Solutions to provide free assistance with your federal student loans. Please reach out to them by calling 1-877-331-3262 or by visiting the ECMC site.

Loan Limits, Interest Rates, and Fees

Annual loan limits are determined by class (freshman, sophomore, etc.) and dependency status

Annual Loan Limits
Academic Level Dependent Independent
Freshman (0-30 credits) 3,500 ($2,000 Unsubsidized) 3,500 ($6,000 Unsubsidized)
Sophomore (31-60 credits) $4,500 ($2,000 Unsubsidized) $4,500 ($6,000 Unsubsidized)
Junior and Senior (61 credits or more) $5,500 ($2,000 Unsubsidized) $5,500 ($7,000 Unsubsidized)

Aggregate loan limits are the maximum loan amounts a student can receive throughout their academic career. Once the aggregate loan limit is met, the student becomes ineligible for Federal Direct Loans.

Aggregate Loan Limits
Subsidized Loan Limit Unsubsidized Loan Limit Combined Loan Limits
Dependent $23,000 $8,000 $31,000
Independent $23,000 $34,500 $57,500

The interest rate varies depending on the type of loan and the first disbursement date of the loan. The table below provides interest rates for loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2022.

Interest Rates
Interest Rates for Direct Loans First Disbursed on or after July 1, 2023, and before July 1, 2024
Subsidized Unsubsidized Direct Parent Plus
5.50% 5.50% 8.05%

Federal Direct Loans have loan fees that are a percentage of the total loan amount. The loan fee is deducted from each loan the borrower receives; meaning, the amount that is received will be less than the amount borrowed. The borrower is responsible for repaying the full amount of the loan. The table below provides the loan fees for loans first disbursed on or after October 1, 2020 and before October 1, 2023

Fees
Fees for Direct Loans first disbursed on or after October 1, 2020 and before October 1, 2024
Loan Type Borrower Type Loan Fee
Direct Subsidized and Direct Unsubsidized Loans Undergraduate 1.057%
Direct PLUS Loans Parents of Dependent Students 4.228%

Parent Plus Loan FAQS

Biological or adoptive parents may borrow a parent PLUS loan. A stepparent may also borrow a parent PLUS loan if the stepparent is currently married to the student's parent.

Legal guardians or foster parents cannot borrow a parent PLUS loan. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, or other relatives cannot borrow a parent PLUS loan unless they have legally adopted the student.

The parent should request the loan from the Apply for a Parent PLUS Loan page. The student is unable to request the loan on behalf of the parent. The parent must use the same FSA ID that was used to sign the FAFSA to request the loan.

PLUS Master Promissory Note (MPN) for Parents is also required for all parents determined eligible for a Parent PLUS loan.

A credit check will be performed during the application process. Eligibility for a Parent PLUS loan does not depend on the borrower's credit score or debt-to-income ratio. However, the borrower cannot have an "adverse credit history."

Credit history is considered "adverse" if the credit check determines that any of the following conditions exist:

  • Current delinquency of 90 or more days on more than $2,085 of total debt
  • More than $2,085 in total debt in collections or charged off in the past two years
  • Default, bankruptcy discharge, foreclosure, repossession, tax lien, wage garnishment, or write-off of federal student loan debt in the past five years

If a parent has an adverse credit history, the parent may still borrow a parent PLUS loan by submitting a successful appeal to the Department of Education documenting extenuating circumstances or by obtaining an endorser (co-signer) who does not have an adverse credit history.

Please see below for more information regarding the options for a parent with adverse credit history.

An endorser is someone who agrees to repay the Direct PLUS Loan if the borrower (the parent) fails to make satisfactory repayment or defaults on the loan. The endorser cannot be the student of the parent who is applying for the loan.

In addition to providing their personal information, the endorser will need the following:

  • An FSA ID
  • The last name of the borrower who was denied the parent PLUS loan
  • An endorser code or award ID of the parent PLUS loan that will be co-signed
  • The names and contact information for two references

The endorser must complete the endorser addendum through the Endorse a Direct PLUS Loan page after the borrower has received a credit denial as a result of their Parent PLUS Loan Application.

The interest rate is 8.05% and the origination fee is 4.228%.

The student of the approved parent will initiate the 2023-2024 Parent PLUS Loan Request online. A valid email address for the approved parent will need to be provided at the start of the request form. This email address will be used to contact the parent to complete their portion of the form.

Once the student and parent complete the form, it will be sent to the Financial Aid Office for processing. Processing may take up to 14 business days. The loan may be tracked through the student's myBC.

Please be advised that we have stopped processing Parent PLUS Loans for the 2022-2023 year.

Broward College disburses all Federal Student Aid, including loans, after class attendance has been verified for each session in a term.

Disbursement typically occurs 4-6 weeks after classes have begun. Loans covering two semesters are disbursed in two separate and equal amounts.

Parents will be asked to authorize the disbursement of PLUS Loan funds to their students.

Broward College has the right to deny any student Federal Student Aid when fraud is suspected. The student will be responsible for repayment to the school should the loan be canceled and debt is incurred.