Stafford Loan Counseling

• Entrance Loan Counseling
• Exit Loan Counseling
• Online Resources & Calculators

Stafford Entrance Loan Counseling is a federal requirement. It assures that students understand their rights and responsibilities before borrowing from the Federal Direct Stafford Loan Program. Please complete the following steps.

1. Allow 20-30 minutes to read all the information and take the quiz.
   
   
2. Go to website: https://www.dl.ed.gov
   
3. Read all the pop-up boxes carefully.
   
   
4. You will be required to take a quiz, and then log into the Direct Loan Servicing website. You can use either your Department of Education Personal Identification Number (PIN) or your name, Social Security number, and date of birth. You should have received your PIN after completing your FAFSA form and being found eligible for financial aid. You may register for a new or replacement PIN at the U.S. Department of Education PIN Site www.pin.ed.gov.
   
   
5. You must answer all the questions in order to continue beyond the quiz page. You will need to answer 7 out of the 10 questions correctly. If you do not, you will have the option to take the quiz again.
   
   
6. You may also choose to review the site before retaking the quiz. Please note that each time you take the quiz there will be a new set of questions.
   
   
7. If you are not able to answer 7 out of the 10 questions correctly after three attempts, you should contact your financial aid administrator to complete your entrance-counseling session.
   
   
8. Once you have passed the entrance-counseling quiz, the system will display the quiz results and allow you either to log in with a PIN or enter your student information. The system will then display your Direct Subsidized Loan and Direct Unsubsidized Loan Rights and Responsibilities as a borrower. You should print this page for your records. You may be required to provide a signed copy to the Whitworth Financial Aid Office. Go to the Entrance Counseling Welcome Page to retrieve your quiz results and your rights and responsibilities should you need to print additional copies of this information.

Financial aid counselors are available in the Whitworth Financial Aid Office on the first floor of McEachran daily from 9-4:30 (through the noon hour) to answer questions and address concerns related to borrowing through the Stafford Student Loan Program.

Stafford Exit Loan Counseling
Best wishes as you leave Whitworth University. As you complete the required exit counseling steps below, remember that you will be given information about your Direct Stafford Loans as well as any FFELP loans you may have. Direct Stafford Loans are borrowed through the Federal Government; FFELP Stafford Loans are borrowed from private lenders. Please allow 30 to 40 minutes to read all the online information and take the quiz at the end of the session.

1. Go to website: www.dlservicer.ed.gov
   
   
2. You will need your Social Security number and the PIN code you received when you processed your FAFSA form. If you don't have a PIN or have forgotten your number, you may request one from that site. It will take 10 days for you to receive it. The PIN is required because this website gives you specific information about your loan(s).
   • Check your account balance.
   • Check your account status.
   • Pick a payment due date.
   • Pick a payment plan.
     
     
3. Click on the hypertext throughout the session to review important information.
   
   
4. You will be given three chances to complete the quiz. You must answer seven of 10 questions correctly to pass the quiz. If you are unable to pass the quiz, please write down the questions you missed and bring them to the Whitworth Financial Aid Office to be reviewed with a counselor.
   
   
5. After completing the counseling session and quiz, follow the steps at the end of the quiz to ensure that we are informed that you have completed exit counseling.
   
   
6. For your records, please print the "Rights and Responsibilities Checklist" at the end of the quiz.

If you have questions about your loan(s) once you are out of school, contact the appropriate holder. The Direct Loan Service Center's number is 800.848.0979. You will be given information about all your loans and contact information for your loan servicing centers while going through the exit counseling on the web. If we can be of assistance, please give us a call at 509.777.3215 or 800.533.4668. Updated information about direct loans is always available at: www.ed.gov/directloan.

Be sure to keep all your loan records in one file that is easy to locate.