Federal Direct Loans (formerly referred to as Federal Stafford Loans) are awarded after your eligibility for grants, scholarships, Federal Work-Study (FWS) and any other awarded aid is considered. Your financial aid offer may include loans that are need-based and/or non-need based. Federal loans will be offered for the maximum amount the student is eligible to receive based on their grade level and lifetime borrowing to date.
Federal loans must be accepted online via your myUMBC account before they can be considered as payment toward your bill. For more information on how to accept loans online, please visit our Loan Acceptance page.
First-time loan borrowers will also need to complete a Master Promissory Note (MPN) and Entrance Counseling. Your MPN will remain valid for ten (10) years, which means there is no need for repeat borrowers to complete an MPN each year. You may decrease or cancel your loan(s) by completing a Loan Decrease/Cancel Request Form up to 14 days after the student receives the disbursement notification.
You can manage your loans by visiting Federal Student Aid. Here, you can view the total amount borrowed for all of your federal loans, your outstanding balances and the status of each of your loans. It is important to note that the data in this system is updated regularly and is accessible to guaranty agencies, lenders, and institutions determined to be authorized users.
Generally, a federal loan will be available throughout the academic year during which is was offered. However, depending upon the term to which you would like the funds to apply, priority processing and final deadlines do apply. For more information, please visit our Federal Loan Deadlines page.
Federal Direct Student Loan Disclosure Statements
Students receiving a Federal Direct Loan will receive a Disclosure Statement from the Federal Loan Origination Center for each new loan. The disclosure statement will provide comprehensive information about the types of loans, loan amounts, the loan period and anticipated disbursement dates. Save every Disclosure Statement for reference.
Learn More about Loan Options:
Need Based Loans
Federal Direct Subsidized Loan
Federal Perkins Loan
Non-Need Based Loans
Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan
Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan
Federal Direct Grad PLUS Loan
Other Loans
Alternative (Private) Educational Loans
More Loan Information
Maximum Allowable Loan Amounts for Federal Direct Loans
Federal Direct Loan Entrance Counseling
Federal Direct Loan Exit Counseling
Perkins Loan Entrance Counseling
Perkins Loan Exit Counseling