Financial Aid

Borrowing is only the beginning of a student loan.

Keep track of what you owe, know when repayment begins, and contact your loan servicer early if you have questions or trouble making payments.

You do not have to borrow the full amount you were offered.

If you want to increase, decrease, or cancel a student loan before it is paid out, submit a Loan Change Request through CCC Financial Aid.

Your request is subject to your remaining eligibility.

You may return all or part of a federal student loan within 14 days after it is paid to you.

During this period, you may return the money to CCC. Financial Aid will send the funds back to the U.S. Department of Education.

After the 14 days, the loan cannot be changed. You are allowed to make payments while you are in school to reduce or pay off your loan instead.

Contact Financial Aid as soon as possible if you want to return loan funds by emailing financial.aid@coconino.edu or calling (928) 226-4110

People leave school for many reasons. Whether you graduated or just need to take a break, when you drop below half-time you are required to complete loan exit counseling. Exit counseling explains your loan balance, repayment responsibilities, repayment options, and what happens next.

Complete Loan Exit Counseling when you:

• Graduate
• Leave CCC
• Withdraw from school
• Drop below half-time enrollment (6 credit hours)

Direct Subsidized and Direct Unsubsidized Loans

Direct Subsidized and Direct Unsubsidized Loans generally have a six-month grace period after you:

• Graduate
• Leave school
• Drop below half-time enrollment

You normally do not have to make payments during this six-month period. Use this time to review your loans, find your loan servicer, and choose a repayment plan. 

Parent PLUS Loans Are Different

Parent PLUS Loans do not have the same automatic six-month grace period as student Direct Loans.

Parent borrowers may be able to request a deferment while the student is enrolled at least half-time and for six months after the student graduates, leaves school, or drops below half-time.

Parents should contact their loan servicer for information about their repayment date and deferment options.

After a federal student loan is paid out, CCC does not collect your monthly loan payments.

Your loan servicer handles billing, payments, and repayment questions for the U.S. Department of Education. Loan servicers are companies that the government contracts with to manage peoples’ student loans. 

Sign in to StudentAid.gov to see:

• Your federal student loans
• Your current balance
• Your loan servicer
• Your loan interest rates
• Your repayment information 

Federal student loan repayment options can change over time. The options available to you depend on your individual loan history, including:

• The types of federal loans you have
• When your loans were first paid out
• How much you owe
• Whether you have consolidated your loans
• Whether you have Parent PLUS Loans
• Your income and family size for plans that use income to determine payments

Some repayment plans use a fixed monthly payment and are designed to pay your loan off within a set number of years.

Other plans may calculate your payment using your income and family information. Payments under these plans may change as your income or household information changes.

Not every borrower qualifies for every repayment option.

Do not look only at the monthly payment when you are deciding what payment plan to sign up for. A plan with a lower monthly payment may give you more room in your budget, but it may also keep you in repayment longer or increase the total amount you pay.

Consider:

• Monthly payment
  Can you realistically afford the payment each month?
• Length of repayment
  How long will you be making payments?
• Total cost
  How much will you repay in principal and interest over time?
• Changes in income
  Would you benefit from a payment that may adjust based on your income?
• Loan forgiveness
  If you are working toward a federal loan forgiveness program, make sure your repayment choice meets that program’s current requirements.
• Future borrowing or consolidation
  Taking out additional loans or consolidating existing loans can sometimes change the repayment options available to you.

Use the Federal Student Aid Repayment Calculator to see the current repayment plans available for your federal loans. Make an informed choice once you have considered all of your repayment options. If your circumstances change in the future, contact your loan service provider as soon as possible to learn about other potential options.

Here are some helpful online tools to help you determine how much you will owe and what repayment options will work for you. The tools work best if you log into the Federal Student Aid site with your FSA ID credentials.

• Understanding Repayment FAQ
• Repayment Plans
• Repayment Estimator
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness
• Loan consolidation
• Deferment/forbearance eligibility
• Pick a loan repayment plan
• Understanding Loan Delinquency and Default Consequences

Parent PLUS Loans have different repayment rules from loans borrowed by students, and repayment choices may be more limited.

Parent borrowers should use the Federal Student Aid Repayment Calculator or contact their federal loan servicer to see the current options available for their loans.

Yes. Paying toward an unsubsidized loan while you are in school may reduce the amount of interest that builds up before repayment begins.

Once your loan has been paid out, payments are made through your federal loan servicer rather than CCC.

If you return to an eligible school and enroll at least half-time, your federal student loans may qualify for an in-school deferment.

A deferment temporarily postpones required payments when you meet federal eligibility requirements. If you’re enrolled in an eligible college or career school at least half-time, in most cases your loan will be placed into a deferment automatically.

If your servicer needs proof of your CCC enrollment, you can access enrollment verification through myCCC.

A federal student loan becomes delinquent when a required payment is not made on time.

If missed payments continue for 270 days, the loan will eventually go into default, which can have serious financial consequences. Your non-payment will get reported to credit bureaus, your wages may be garnished, and your debt is accelerated. This means that instead of being due one payment at a time, your loan is due all at once. 

Ignoring your student loans is the worst option. If you are in or approaching default, contact your loan service provider to find out what options are available to you. 

Do not ignore a payment you cannot afford.

Contact your loan servicer as soon as possible. Depending on your loans and circumstances, you may be able to:

• Change your repayment plan
• Apply for a payment based on your income
• Request a deferment (temporary payment pause where interest may or may not  grow, depending on your loan)
• Request a forbearance (temporary payment pause where interest continues to grow)

A different repayment plan may provide a more affordable long-term payment than temporarily postponing payments.

Use Federal Student Aid’s current repayment tools and your loan servicer to review the options available to you.

CCC partners with Inceptia, a nonprofit organization that provides free student loan repayment support.

Inceptia may contact you while you are in your grace period or if you begin falling behind on your student loan payments. The Inceptia counselors are there to help you with every step by staying in touch with you via phone calls, letters, and/or emails. They will not be collecting money from you. Inceptia’s nonprofit purpose is to help you find answers to your questions and solutions to your issues. We encourage you to visit Inceptia’s Student Loan Knowledge HQ website or call +1 (855) 471-1615

Their counselors can help you:

• Understand your repayment options
• Prepare for payments
• Work through repayment problems
• Find the right next step if you are having trouble paying

Inceptia does not collect your loan payments.

Make sure your contact information is current with both CCC and your federal loan servicer.

Watch for messages about:

• Your grace period
• Your first payment
• Changes to your repayment plan
• Missing payments
• Required actions on your account

Do not ignore messages from your federal loan servicer.

Contact CCC Financial Aid if you have questions about your CCC loan history, loan changes, or exit requirements.

For questions about a loan that is already in repayment, contact your loan servicer.

CCC Financial Aid
Phone: (928) 226-4219
Email: finaid@coconino.edu