Federal Direct Loans

Federal Direct Loans are low-interest loans for students to help pay for educational expenses. These loans are offered to graduate and professional students enrolled in an eligible degree-seeking program and at least half-time at Mānoa (4 credits for graduate students and 6 credits for professional students).

• Unsubsidized Loan
• Grad PLUS Loan

Interest Rates

Federal Direct Loans have varying interest rates that are fixed for the life of the loan.

Interest on the Unsubsidized and PLUS Loans are not paid by the U.S. Department of Education and are the responsibility of the borrower. Interest will begin to accrue once the loan has been disbursed.

Interest rates for loans first disbursed on or after 7/1/2024 and before 7/1/2025 (interest rates on prior loans may be different):

• Unsubsidized Loan: 8.08%
• Grad PLUS Loan: 9.08%

Interest rates for loans first disbursed on or after 7/1/2023 and before 7/1/2024 (interest rates on prior loans may be different):

• Unsubsidized Loan: 7.05%
• Grad PLUS Loan: 8.05%

Loan Fees

In addition to the interest rate, Federal Direct Loans have a loan fee charge. The loan fee will be proportionately deducted from each loan disbursement. We deduct the fee before you receive any loan money, so the loan amount you actually receive will be less than the amount you have to repay. Loan origination fees for loans first disbursed on or after October 1, 2020:

• Unsubsidized Loan: 1.057%
• Grad PLUS Loan: 4.228%

Requirements for Federal Direct Loans

Prior to disbursement, there are additional loan requirements that must be completed. Review our Completing the Loan Process for more information.

When you apply for a Direct PLUS Loan, the Department of Education will check your credit history and is subject to approval. If you are found to have an adverse credit history, you may still borrow a Direct Grad PLUS Loan by getting an endorser or an approved credit decision appeal. An endorser is someone who does not have an adverse credit history and agrees to repay the Direct Grad PLUS Loan if you do not repay the loan.

If you are appealing/endorsing the Grad PLUS Loan due to adverse credit history, additional PLUS counseling must be completed by you at studentaid.gov in addition to completing the credit appeal/endorse process.

Borrowing Limits for Federal Direct Loans

Graduate/Law Students
Yearly Limit: $20,500 in Unsubsidized loan
Aggregate Loan Limit: $138,500 (maximum $65,500 may be subsidized. This limit includes Federal Direct Loans received for undergraduate study.)

Medical Students
Yearly Limit (2024-2025): 1st, 2nd, and 4th year students $44,944. 3rd year students 47,167
Aggregate Loan Limit: $224,000 (maximum $65,500 may be subsidized. This limit includes Federal Direct Loans received for undergraduate study.)

There are no set limits for Federal Direct PLUS Loans, but you may not request more than the cost of your education minus any other financial aid received, such as an Unsubsidized loan and/or grants and scholarships. The school will determine the actual amount that may be borrowed.

Other Loans

State Higher Education Loan

The State Higher Education Loan (SHEL) is offered to bona fide Hawai`i resident undergraduate and graduate students with financial need. The funds available for the SHEL are limited, so not all aid applicants can be offered the SHEL. Students must be enrolled at least half-time in an eligible degree-seeking program.

• Eligibility requirements:
  • Bona fide Hawai’i resident
  • Undergraduate and graduate students
  • Demonstrate financial need
  • Enrolled at least half-time in an eligible degree-seeking program with courses that are applicable to your UH Mānoa degree
• Interest Rate: 5% fixed
• Repayment Grace Period: 9 months (begins when the student drops below half-time enrollment, leaves school, or graduates)

Students who accept a SHEL will need to complete a promissory note packet. Promissory note packets are emailed to students via UH File Drop and must be mailed to our office. Packets will only be emailed after the student has accepted the loan on MyUH Services.

Private Loans

As you pursue your educational goals, we understand that meeting the cost of your education can be a major concern. Once you have exhausted your federal availability for financial aid, private loans are another option to fill in the gap between the offered aid and your total cost of attendance.

School Certified

• You must not have exceeded your cost of attendance.
• Interest accrues while in-school.
• Check with your lender for deferment options.
• To calculate the amount our office can certify, use the following:

Student’s Cost of Attendance
– Financial Aid & Additional Assistance
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
= Certifiable Loan Amount

Applications must be completed with your lender before our office is able to submit your information to the lender.

Non-School Certified

• You are able to borrow whatever your credit allocates.
• These loans tend to have a higher interest rate.
• May only be offered by a few lending institutions.
• Interest accrues while in school.
• Check with your lender for deferment options.
• Contact your lender to apply for this type of loan.

Federal Direct Loans

The Federal Direct PLUS Loan is a low-interest loan for parents of a dependent undergraduate student to help pay for educational expenses. You must be the student’s biological or adoptive parent or the student’s stepparent, if the biological or adoptive parent has remarried at the time of application.

Interest Rate

The Federal Direct PLUS Loan has a varying interest rate that is fixed for the life of the loan. Interest on the PLUS Loan is not paid by the U.S. Department of Education and is the responsibility of the borrower. Interest will begin to accrue once the loan has been disbursed.

Interest rate for loans first disbursed on or after 7/1/2024 and before 7/1/2025:

• Direct Parent PLUS loan: 9.08%

Interest rate for loans first disbursed on or after 7/1/2023 and before 7/1/2024:

• Direct Parent PLUS loan: 8.05%

Loan Fee

In addition to the interest rate, the Federal Direct loan has a loan fee charge. The loan fee will be proportionately deducted from each loan disbursement. We deduct the fee before you receive any loan money, so the loan amount you actually receive will be less than the amount you have to repay. Loan origination fees for loans first disbursed on or after October 1, 2020:

• Direct Parent PLUS loan: 4.228%

Requirements for Parent PLUS Loan

Prior to disbursement, there are additional loan requirements that must be completed. Review our Completing the Loan Process for more information.

When you apply for a Direct Parent PLUS Loan, the U.S. Department of Education will check your credit history and is subject to approval. If you are found to have an adverse credit history, you may still borrow a Direct Parent PLUS Loan by getting an endorser or an approved credit decision appeal. An endorser is someone who does not have an adverse credit history and agrees to repay the Direct Parent PLUS Loan if you do not repay the loan.

If you are appealing or endorsing the Parent PLUS loan due to adverse credit history, additional PLUS counseling must be completed by you at studentaid.gov in addition to completing the credit appeal/endorse process.

If you are found to have an adverse credit history and do not appeal/endorse the Parent PLUS loan then the student may request to increase the Subsidized and/or Unsubsidized loan.

In addition, parents and their dependent child must be U.S. citizens or eligible non-citizens, must not be in default on any federal education loans or owe an overpayment on a federal education grant.

Borrowing Limits for Federal Direct Loans

There are no set limits for Federal Direct PLUS Loans, but you may not request more than the cost of the student’s education minus any other financial aid received, such as a Subsidized loan, Unsubsidized loan, and/or grants and scholarships. The school will determine the actual amount that may be borrowed.

Loan Exit Counseling, Repayment, and Deferment for Federal loans

You are required to complete Loan Exit Counseling. The purpose of exit counseling is to ensure you understand your student loan obligations and are prepared for repayment.

Loan repayment plans options may be arranged directly with your loan servicer(s). You may find your loan servicer(s) information online via studentaid.gov.

Repayment for Subsidized loans, Unsubsidized loans, and Grad PLUS loans will begin 6 months after you graduate, fall below half-time enrollment, or leave school. Repayment for Parent PLUS loans will begin immediately after the loan has been fully disbursed, unless a deferment has been requested by the borrower.

If you were previously in repayment and are returning to school with at least half-time enrollment, you may request to defer your loan repayment with your loan servicer. If you need an In-School Deferment form, you may visit our Forms page.

You may prepay at any time without penalty and decrease the interest, but if you fail to make any loan payment as agreed or fail to submit the proper deferment or cancellation form, the total loan may become due and payable immediately, and legal action could be taken against you.

For more information on the different repayment plans and how to calculate your monthly payments, go to Repayment Plans.

Loan Consolidation

When you begin repayment on your student loans, you may consider consolidating your loans. Consolidation allows you to pay off some or all of your existing student loans by combining them into a single, large loan. Any consolidation loan is likely to significantly increase the total amount of interest that you will be required to pay. If you are able to meet your current monthly repayment obligations, it may be best for you to avoid consolidation.

Loan Forgiveness

If you teach elementary or secondary school you may be eligible for special deferment options and, in some cases, cancellation of a portion of your student loan debt. Eligibility requirements are available at the Department of Education.

• For Federal Stafford loan deferment or cancellation, contact your lender for application forms.
• For Federal Perkins loan deferment or cancellation, contact the school where you borrowed your loan; or the school’s Perkins servicing agency.

Defaulting on Student Loans

If you cannot make a loan payment, contact your lender immediately to make arrangements. Failure to contact your lender will result in your loan going into a default status. If you default on your loan payment, you will be penalized. Future Financial Aid requests will be denied until your loan default status is cleared with the U.S. Department of Education. Student loan borrowers in default do have options to repay their loans. Information is available from the Department of Education Manage Loans page.

FSA Student Loan Ombudsman

The Federal Student Aid Ombudsman of the U.S. Department of Education helps resolve disputes related to federal student loans.

Contact information for the FSA Student Loan Ombudsman’s Office:

• Via On-line Assistance
• Via Telephone: 877-557-2575 (toll free)
• Via Fax: 202-275-0549
• Via Mail:

  U.S. Department of Education
  FSA Ombudsman Group
  830 First Street, N.E., Mail Stop 5144
  Washington, DC 20202-5144

SHEL Repayment

Please contact the Loan Collection Office for repayment information.