Student Loans

A low-interest loan that must be repaid and is based on financial need and grade level. Students must be enrolled part-time (6 semester hours for undergraduate students and 5 semester hours for graduate students). The government pays the interest for the student while they are in school.

Not based on need. Unlike the Subsidized loan, students (not the government) are responsible for paying the interest while in school, during the six-month grace period, and during periods of authorized deferment. Loan repayment begins 6 months after you leave school at variable interest rates with up to 10 years to repay.

Direct Loan Maximums(1)		Annual Limits
Dependent Undergraduates(2)	Subsidized	Total (Subsidized and Unsubsidized)(3)
First Year	3,500	5,500
Second Year	4,500	6,500
Third Year and Beyond	5,500	7,500
Independent Undergraduates (and dependents whose parents are unable to borrow under the Direct PLUS Program)
First Year	3,500	9,500
Second Year	4,500	10,500
Third Year and Beyond	5,500	12,500
Graduate and Professional Students	8,500	20,500

1. Certain health professional students may qualify for higher limits.
2. All undergraduate annual loan limits agree subject to proration.
3. If the borrower does not show financial need for a Direct Subsidized Loan, or has reached their aggregate limit in Direct Subsidized Loans, the borrower may receive up to this entire amount in Direct Unsubsidized Loans assuming he or she has remaining eligibility for the loan.

Credit-based loans for parents who may borrow up to the cost of attendance per year, for each child who is a dependent undergraduate student and is enrolled at least part-time. With a fixed interest rate of 8.5% accrual begins at disbursement. Repayment starts 60 days after the first loan check has been disbursed.  For more information regarding a Direct PLUS Loan, please go to Federal Student Aid's Direct Loans information for Parents website.  Before we can originate a PLUS loan, the student must have a completed FAFSA on file.

Credit-based loans for graduate students enrolled at least half-time (in at least 5 credit hours a semester). They may borrow up to the cost of attendance minus all other financial aid received.  With a fixed interest rate of 8.5% accrual begins at disbursement.  Repayment starts 60 days after the first loan check has been disbursed.   Before we can originate a Graduate PLUS loan, the student must have a completed FAFSA on file and already applied for the maximum eligibility of Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loans.  To apply, you may go to StudentLoans.gov.

Please work with the Office of Student Financial Services to determine estimated dates of loan disbursements. Funds will be received in two disbursements for the loan period.  A loan period may be the academic year which will have one disbursement in the Fall and one in the Spring.  If the loan period is for only one semester, there will still be two disbursements; one at the start of the semester and the other halfway through the semester.  (Please refer to the disbursement schedule for the anticipated dates.)  

If you're a first-year undergraduate or a first-time borrower at our institution, you must complete entrance counseling and your first disbursement can't be made until 30 days after the first day of your enrollment period. 

To be eligible for the funds at the time of disbursement, a student must not be in a pre-claim status and must meet the credit hour enrollment requirement for their academic level. 

For the Federal Direct Loans, students must have a completed MPN on file with the Department of Education, and a completed Entrance Counseling session prior to loan disbursement. 

Disbursement rosters will only be received once a week – every Monday.  Once the funds have been applied to your account (click here to check your account), the Office of Student Financial Services per federal regulations has 14 days to issue the student/parent a refund from any excess funds received of the total bill.  For more information on refunds, please contact the Office of Student Financial Services at (573) 681-5278.  Refund information is also available online at: Refund Information.

A private loan is a non-need-based lending program designed to assist in educational and living expenses based on a student's credit history.

List of possible lenders: FAST Choice

Preferred Lender Selection & Criteria

Many private lending organizations offer loan funds to assist students with their educational and living expenses. Sometimes referred to as 'alternative' loans, these non-need-based programs help bridge the gap between the total cost a student incurs to attend LU and the funding being received from federal, state and other financial aid programs.  For some private loan programs, principal and/or interest payments can even be deferred until after the student graduates or otherwise drops to less than half-time enrollment status.

You're strongly encouraged not to borrow private educational loan aid unless absolutely necessary. This is because such loans normally have a higher total cost than federal loans. Although a great many private loan programs exist, we've selected a few as our preferred lenders and they are listed on our Private Loan Lender List which is available online. Since there are many from which to choose, Lincoln University does not endorse any particular program for our students.

Please be advised that a student borrows private educational loan funds in his/her own name. However, a creditworthy co-signer is usually required if the student does not have a positive credit history. In addition, the private educational loan funds a student may receive combined with his/her federal, state and other assistance, cannot exceed the Cost-of-Attendance assigned for the loan period.

Additional Information about private loans: Blog from lendedu

Note: We ask that all lenders who send us Private Loan funds, sign our Student Loan Code of Conduct.

Currently, Lincoln University has five lenders on our Preferred Lender List:

1. Citizens One (808140)
2. Commerce Bank (513979)
3. Discover Student Loans (831312)
4. Sallie Mae (900905)
5. Wells Fargo EFS (807176)

                    A comparison of the lenders may be completed on FASTChoice. 

We have selected them for the following reasons:

1. The students have minimal, if any (depending on the lender), fee charges associated with the loan.
2. To offer wider options to the student, as far as lender benefits and repayment options.
3. They offer extensive customer service capabilities to help the student through the lifetime of the loan.
4. Historically, students have requested to use these lenders.
5. Some have branch locations in our service area.
6. Their loans can be processed electronically through LU's computer system and ELM Network websites which allows the student real-time access to monitor status of their loans.
7. Their loan funds are electronically transferred through our normal EFT processes (ELM NDN or lender ACH) which allow funds to be applied to their account quicker compared to processing a paper check for endorsement.
8. Processing their loans does not require LU to process student loans outside of our normal procedures i.e. through batch processing and minimal manual intervention, which allows a quicker turnaround time for funds to be applied to the student's account. 

We review the lender's Request for Information (RFIs) annually beginning January for each upcoming academic year. Academic years start in August and run through July. The RFIs are reviewed by the Student Aid & Scholarship Committee.

 Resources for students regarding private or "alternative" loans:

How to Select a Lender for Your Student Loan

Choosing a Lender

Private Loans