financial aid:  Student Loans

Student loans are low interest loans that students may borrow to help them meet their educational expenses.  Student loans must be repaid, unlike grants or scholarships.  Students begin making payments on student loans six months after graduating, stopping attendance, or beginning to attend less than half-time.  Students are encouraged to borrow only what they need to meet their educational expenses.

Student loans are Federal loans made to students by the U.S. Department of Education through the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program (Direct Loans).  Eligibility for Direct Loans is determined by the college and the U.S. Department of Education from the results of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Direct Loan Resources

• Department of Education PIN Web Site

• Direct Loan Overview

• What to Expect for Direct Loans

• Repaying Your Loans

• Repayment Plans & Calculators

• Direct Loan Consolidation

• Your Loan History at the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS)

• Budget Worksheets ( you will need Adobe Reader to access these worksheets, if you don't have Adobe Reader, please download it now)

Apply for a Federal Direct Loan

Step One:  Students must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the 2012-13 academic year and receive their results from the U.S. Department of Education.

Step Two:  Students must receive their official Financial Aid Award Notice from TCC and view their awards in the student information system (SIS) to verify that the awarding process is complete.

Step Three:  Students may begin the application process at the highlighted link below.  Students will be required to log into the Direct Loan web site using personal information and their Department of Education assigned PIN (same as FAFSA PIN).

• Once logged into the Direct Loan web site, students will select Complete Entrance Counseling and follow the instructions.

• Once Entrance Counseling has been completed, students will select Complete Master Promissory Note (MPN) and follow the instructions. 

• After both Entrance Counseling and the MPN have been completed, students will return to the highlighted link below to complete the Student Direct Loan Request.

If any one step (Entrance Counseling, MPN, or Direct Loan Request) has not been completed, the student loan request cannot be processed.

BEGIN DIRECT LOAN APPLICATION PROCESS

Direct PLUS (Parent) Loans

Parents who need to borrow must also log into the Direct Loan web site using their Department of Education assigned PIN and complete the Direct PLUS request process.  They must then return to the highlighted link above to complete the Parent Direct Loan Request.  PLUS loan eligibility is subject to credit worthiness.

If you have questions or need assistance, please visit any of the four campus financial aid offices or call the TCC Information Center at 822-1122.

TCC Financial Aid Contact Information
Chesapeake Campus		Portsmouth Campus
1428 Cedar Road		120 Campus Drive
Chesapeake, VA 23322		Portsmouth, VA 23701
Cynthia Hunter ~ CHunter@tcc.edu		Theresa Ruffing ~ TRuffing@tcc.edu
Phone ~ 757 - 822 - 5145		Phone ~ 757 - 822 - 2215
Norfolk Campus		Virginia Beach Campus
300 Granby St.		1700 College Crescent
Norfolk, VA 23510		Virginia Beach, VA 23453
Christine Damrose-Mahlmann ~ CMahlmann@tcc.edu		M Simmons ~ VBFinAid@tcc.edu
Phone ~ 757 - 822 - 1236		Phone ~ 757 - 822 - 7292

Note: Downloadable forms on this website require Adobe Reader. Acrobat Reader is free software which you MUST have to open and read pdf files.  If you do not have Acrobat Reader on your PC, download it from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html