Loans are funds borrowed that a student and/or parent will be required to be pay back with interest.  The William D Ford Direct Loan Program utilizes Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans to assist students and families with their educational expenses.  Below you will find information for a better understanding of the Direct Loan program.

 

In order to be offered a Direct Loan, students must complete the items below.  If parents are interested in a Parent PLUS loan, the student must have competed the items listed below in addition to the parent responsibilities.

 

STUDENTS:

  • Must submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to determine eligibility.  If you have not submitted your FAFSA, please complete a FAFSA now.
  • Must be a US Citizen or eligible non-citizen
  • Must be enrolled in 6 credit hours in an eligible program.
  • Must maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA and 67% completion rate.  See Satisfactory Academic Progress for more information.
  • CANNOT be in Default on any previous student loans.  If you are in DEFAULT on previous student loans please log into the National Student Loan Data System to determine how you can resolve this issue.

 

PARENTS:

  • Your dependent student must have submitted a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
  • The student must be considered a dependent on the FAFSA.
  • The student must be enrolled in 6 credit hours.
  • Parent must be a US Citizen or eligible non-citizen
  • Parent must be the biological parent, adoptive parent or in some cases a step-parent. Parents must request the Direct PLUS Loan at StudentLoans.gov
  • If parents are eligible for the Direct PLUS Loan, then you will be required to complete a Direct PLUS Loan Master Promissory Note (MPN)

 

Based on Federal law, the school decides how much a student can borrow in a Direct Loan.  The most that a student can borrow in subsidized and unsubsidized Direct loans annually is equal to the student’s cost of attendance (budget) minus other estimated financial assistance, without going over the maximum amounts permitted for the student’s academic level. 

Subsidized loans are need based loans for undergraduate students. The U.S. Department of Education pays the interest while students are enrolled in school and during the 6 month grace period after leaving school.  Unsubsidized loans are not need based and the student is responsible for paying the interest accrued.  Student can pay the interest while in school or allow it to be added to the principal amount borrowed.


A student’s academic level is determined by the number of hours credited towards their current degree.  Freshman level is considered 0-29 hours and Sophomore level is considered 30+ hours.  Since Hill College is a two-year college there are no third year and beyond award levels. 

 

Dependent Award Table
Dependent Student Freshman
(0-29 hours)		 Dependent Student Sophomore
(30+ hours)
$5500 Annual maximum $6500 Annual Maximum
No more than $3,500 of this amount can be in subsidized funds No more than $4,500 of this amount can be in subsidized funds

 

Independent Award Table
Independent Student Freshman
(0-29 hours)		 Independent Student Sophomore
(30+ hours)
$9,500 Annual Maximum $10,500 Annual Maximum
No more than $3,500 of this amount can be in subsidized funds. No more than $4,500 of this amount can be in subsidized funds.











 

 

 

Interest rates for Direct Loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2021 and before July 1, 2022.

Direct Subsidized and Direct Unsubsidized Loans for Undergraduate students:  3.73%

Direct PLUS Loans for Parents:  6.28%

 

Loan fees for Direct loans disbursed on or after 10/1/2020 and before 10/1/2022.

Most federal student loans have loan fees that are a percentage of the total loan amount. The loan fee is deducted proportionately from each loan disbursement you receive while enrolled in school. This means the money you receive will be less than the amount you actually borrow. You are responsible for repaying the entire amount you borrowed and not just the amount you received.

 

Direct Subsidized and Direct Unsubsidized Loans for Undergraduate students disbursed on or after 10/1/2020 and before 10/1/2022 will have a loan fee of 1.057%

Direct PLUS Loans for Parents disbursed on or after 10/1/2020 and before 10/1/2022 will have a loan fee of 4.228%.

For more information about interest rates and loan fees see the Federal Student Aid website.  

 

Once the loan amount has been offered, you have an opportunity to accept, reduce or decline that student loan in MyHC. There will be times a student will need to borrow loan funds, we strongly encourage you to only borrow the amount truly needed. 

If you previously declined a student loan or need to borrow additional funds, students must complete the Direct Loan Change Request form. We must have this form completed and signed by the student. Once completed you must turn the form into one of the Student Loan Coordinators within Student Information Services.  

Student Loan Coordinators

Jessica Crawford                                                                                                       
Hill County Campus                                                                                     
254.659.7631                                                                                                           
jcrawford@hillcollege.edu   

                                                                         
Kirsten Morrow
Johnson County Campus
817-760-5632
kmorow@hillcollege.edu

Exit Counseling

Students begin repaying loans 6 months after graduating, dropping below 6 credit hours or leaves Hill College.  The 6 month grace period begins the day after one of those qualifying events.  Federal regulations require the student complete Exit Counseling on the Federal Student Loan website.  You will need your FSA ID and password.

Cohort Default Rates

Cohort default rates are issued in September of each year by the Department of Education.  These rates are determined by the number of students that entered repayment as of October 1 through September 30 and monitored for two years ending on the September 30.  For example, students that entered repayment on October 1, 2014 through September 30, 2015 were monitored from October 1, 2014 through September 30, 2017.  A Direct Loan is considered in default when a student has not made their scheduled loan payment for at least 270 days.

Most Recent Cohort Default Rates for Hill College:

  • FY 2017 Cohort Default Rate: 9.6
  • FY 2016 Cohort Default Rate: 9.2
  • FY 2015 Cohort Default Rate: 7.3

These rates are published by the Department of Education.  FY 2018 will be issued September 2021.

Percentage of students that borrowed for the following years:

  • 2016-2017  26%
  • 2017-2018  23%
  • 2018-2019  17%

These percentages are based on total student counts provided by the Office of Institutional Effectiveness at Hill College.

Most recent national Cohort Default Rates:

  • FY 2016  10.1%
  • FY 2015  10.8%
  • FY 2014  11.5%

These rates are published by the Department of Education.

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