Federal loans must be accepted online via your myUMBC account before they can be considered as payment toward your bill. Consider the Cost Calculator to help you determine the amount of loan you may want or need to borrow.
How do I accept my full Federal Stafford Loan offer?
You can accept your offered Stafford loans by logging into myUMBC and navigating to Finances. In the Financial aid section, you should select Accept/Decline Awards, then the aid year you wish to review.
You can check the box next to each Stafford loan you would like to accept. If you wish to accept all of your Stafford loan offers, you can also select ‘accept all’. Be sure to update totals and submit to finalize your loan acceptance.
Please note that Stafford loan offers are for the full academic year. Any amount you accept will be evenly split between the fall and spring semesters.
How do I accept part of my Federal Stafford Loan offer?
You can accept your offered Stafford loans by logging into myUMBC and navigating to Finances. In the Financial aid section, you should select Accept/Decline Awards, then the aid year you wish to review.
You can check the box next to each Stafford loan you would like to accept. The accepted field will then open and you can make adjustments to your loan amounts. You should then select update total and submit to finalize your loan acceptance.
Be sure to accept all or part of your Subsidized Stafford loan offer first before considering Unsubsidized Stafford loans.
Please note that Stafford loan offers are for the full academic year. Any amount you accept will be evenly split between the fall and spring semesters.
How do I decline the full amount of my Federal Stafford Loan offer?
You can decline your offered Stafford loans by logging into myUMBC and navigating to Finances. In the Financial aid section, you should select Accept/Decline Awards, then the aid year you wish to review.
You should check the box under decline then update totals and submit to finalize the decline of your Stafford Loan offers.
Can I reduce my Stafford Loan after I have accepted it?
It divided my loans between the fall and spring semester, but I want less for one semester. How can I update this?
Submit the Loan Decrease/Cancel Form to adjust the amount.
Check your alerts. Incomplete actions will prevent your loan from showing as anticipated aid and applying to your bill. If do not have any financial aid alerts, contact your financial aid counselor.
The alert will remain on your account until all offered Stafford Loans are accepted or declined. Once action is taken, please allow 2 business days for the alert to be removed from your account. If more than 2 business days pass and the alert is still visible, contact our office.
When will my Loan Increase/Reinstatement Request (or Loan Decrease/Cancel Request) be updated in myUMBC?
Please allow time for our staff to review your financial aid record and make your requested adjustment. Especially during peak times (primarily August, September, and January) it may take up to 4 weeks for the adjustment to be reflected. You will be notified by email when the adjustment is complete and visible in myUMBC.
What is the net amount? Why is it less than my accepted loan amount?
The Department of Education assesses an origination fee for each Stafford loan. This is a percentage of the total loan amount and is deducted prior to loan disbursement. This means the money applied to your bill 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.
Do I need to do entrance counseling and the Master Promissory Note (MPN)?
First time borrowers must complete both. The Entrance Counseling and MPN remain valid for 10 years. You will receive an alert if either or both steps must be completed. Your loans will not disburse until both items are completed.
Where can I find more information on my loan?