Graduate & Professional Loans

Graduate and professional students have several specific loan options. You may be familiar with some of them if you used financial aid as an undergrad. Some types of aid are available to all graduate and professional students, while others are reserved for students in specific paths.

Whatever your area of study, completing the FAFSA should be something you do every year.

Be sure you’re aware of the annual and lifetime loan limits. The aggregate lifetime limit applies to all loans of that type, whether for undergraduate, graduate, or professional study.

FAFSA Application

New Student FAFSA Deadline: Jan. 31
Current Student FAFSA Deadline: Nov. 30

**Please Note: Effective for the 23-24 academic year – Accepting/Declining of offered loans will open in mid-July! Visit our Accepting Loans page for more information and details about that process.**

WSU’s 3-year Cohort Default Rate:

0.5%

Every 3 years, the US Department of Education informs institutions of the loans that have gone into default and provides them with their Cohort Default Rate – the percentage of student loans in default during the 3 years. All Family Education Loans (FFEL) and/or William D. Ford Federal Direct Loans are used as part of this rate calculation.

Loan limits

Type of loan	Annual Loan Limit	Lifetime aggregate limit
Unsubsidized Direct Loan for Graduate Students	$20,500	$138,500
Unsubsidized direct student loan for medical students	$40,500	$224,000
Unsubsidized direct loan for Pharmacy students (9-month program)	$33,000	$224,000
Unsubsidized direct loan for Pharmacy students (12-month program)	$37,167	$224,000
Unsubsidized direct loan for Veterinary students (9-month program)	$40,500	$224,000
Unsubsidized direct loan for Veterinary students (12-month program)	$47,167	$224,000
PLUS Loan for Graduate Students	Amounts vary widely. They should not exceed the total cost of attendance including other types of assistance. This loan requires good credit.
Loan for Health Professions	This loan is based on the EFC criteria, the FAFSA delivery date, and the current level of HPL funding. Amounts granted vary according to availability.
Private / Alternative Loans	Amounts vary widely. They should not exceed the total cost of attendance including other types of assistance. This loan requires good credit.
See current student loan interest rates

Borrowing responsibly

As a borrower, you have rights and responsibilities; be sure you understand both.

It costs money to borrow money. Before applying for a loan, determine how much you’ll be able to afford to repay by estimating:

What you can expect to earn after graduation
What your monthly loan payments will be
How much you must have for other living expenses

Borrow only what you can comfortably repay within that budget.

Know the true cost of your loans by keeping track of how much you borrow as well as the additional amount you owe in interest and other fees. If possible, pay the interest on unsubsidized loans to avoid capitalization. Also, keep in mind that the longer you take to repay your loans, the more interest you will pay.

See current student loan interest rates

Graduate PLUS loans

Graduate or professional students can borrow up to the total annual cost of attendance, less any other aid they may be receiving, including any Federal Direct Loans. This loan is not based on the income or asset information you provided on the FAFSA.

Eligibility requirements

Complete the FAFSA. Your eligibility for federal subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loans must be determined before you can apply.
Meet the credit eligibility requirements.
You must be enrolled at least half time.
Complete the loan counseling requirement.

See complete requirements
FAFSA application

If a PLUS Loan is denied

A student who is denied a Direct Graduate PLUS Loan because of adverse credit information has certain rights and options. The student may take the following actions to see if the loan may still be approved:

Appeal the credit decision: Appeal directly to Federal Direct Loan (FDL) Program. They can be contacted at 1-800-557-7394 (Option 3) for more information.
Add an endorser (co-signer) to the loan: Obtain a credit-worthy endorser (co-signer). An endorser is someone who does not have an adverse credit history and agrees to repay the loan if the student is unable to repay it. The endorser may not be the student. An Endorser Addendum must be completed by the loan co-signer, and submitted to the Federal Direct Loan program for processing. For instructions, please contact Direct Loan Applicant Services at 1-800-557-7394 (Option 3). A parent with an endorser must complete the MPN each year.

In either of the above cases, it is a requirement that the student 1) Contact our office to let us know if they are pursuing one of the above options, and 2) Complete PLUS Counseling at studentaid.gov before the loan funds can be disbursed to the student.

How to add an endorser to a PLUS loan

The endorser agrees to repay the Direct PLUS Loan if you do not repay it. The endorser cannot be the student on whose behalf you are borrowing.

The endorser takes these steps

Create an FSA ID and sign in at studentaid.gov.
Click on “Endorse a Direct Plus Loan.”
Enter the loan ID.
The loan ID can be found in the denial email received from the Department of Education. The ID starts with the student’s SSN followed by “P17G0380000” and ending in the number of PLUS Loans sent to Department of Education. If a student has been offered multiple PLUS Loans, the Loan ID will end in “1”, “2”, etc. (example: SSNP17G03800002).

The borrower takes these steps

Once the parent/graduate student has obtained an endorser, the final step is for the borrower (aka the parent/graduate student) to complete the loan counseling requirement. To do this:

Go to studentaid.gov
Log into the site with their FSA ID
Click on “Complete PLUS Counseling”
Click on “PLUS Counseling” (if in doubt, see the blue highlighted description to the right of your selection)

Department of Education will send our office the updated file once the PLUS Counseling has been completed. It can take the university a few days to receive the file and get it updated in myWSU.

How to accept your PLUS loan

Sign in to myWSU
Click on “My Student Center” in the middle of the screen
Click on “View Financial Aid” under finances
Click on the aid year
Click on Accept/Decline Awards
Select the loans you wish to accept (or click ‘accept all’)
Enter the amount you wish to accept
Click submit, and then click yes to accept

You also have offline options: You can schedule an appointment to accept your loan in-person (for WSU Pullman students only) or call our office to accept your loan(s) over the telephone.

If you have questions about any part of the process, please contact us.

Entrance and exit counseling

Federal law requires entrance counseling before WSU can deliver loan funds to you.

You will need to complete Graduate PLUS loan counseling only once. If you have previously completed the counseling at another institution, you are not required to complete it again. Grad PLUS entrance counseling requirements are in addition to the entrance counseling requirements for other loans you may receive.

Exit counseling for Graduate PLUS Loans is required when you withdraw, drop below half-time status, or graduate. In each of these instances, you are expected to begin repayment of your Grad PLUS Loan. Exit Counseling requirement is in addition to the Direct Unsubsidized Loan exit requirement.

Note: Graduate students can complete a combined entrance counseling process (or exit counseling process) for both Direct Unsubsidized and Graduate PLUS Loans.

Complete your entrance counseling requirement

Go to studentaid.gov
Sign in with your FSA ID
Click on “Complete Counseling”
Under “Entrance Counseling” click “Start”
Make sure to indicate whether you are a graduate student and follow the instructions to complete the counseling.
Once completed, print the confirmation page for your records

Complete your Master Promissory Note (MPN)

Go to studentaid.gov
Sign in with your FSA ID
Click on “Complete Master Promissory Note”
Click “”Graduate PLUS”
Complete the MPN by signing with your FSA ID

Health professions & nursing loans
id=”health-professions-and-nursing-loans”

Health Professions & Nursing Loans

Pharmacy and veterinary medicine

At WSU, low-interest health professions loans may be offered to qualifying students with exceptional financial need.

Eligibility

To be eligible, you must have completed your FAFSA on or before the WSU priority deadline and must be enrolled full-time in a program of study leading to a doctor of pharmacy (Pharm.D.) or doctor of veterinary medicine (D.V.M.) degree.

WSU is required to collect your parents’ financial information regardless of your age, tax, marital or independent status. Your parents’ financial information is required to make the best possible financial need estimate.

Loan amounts and repayment

A health professions loan is a campus-based loan, and is administered through WSU. The maximum annual award amount per qualified student varies from year to year, depending on the total available funding.

There are no origination fees; the interest rate is a fixed 5% and does not accrue while in school. You will have up to 9 months after leaving WSU, or dropping below half-time, to begin repayment. Payments are submitted to WSU, not to the federal government via Heartland ECSI.

Nursing

At WSU, low interest nursing loans may be offered to qualifying students with exceptional financial need.

Eligibility

You must complete your FAFSA on or before the WSU priority deadline and must be enrolled full-time in a program of study leading to a baccalaureate or graduate degree in Nursing.These funds are limited in quantity, and the maximum annual award amount per qualified student varies from year to year depending on the total available funding.You must be enrolled at least half-time. This loan is administered through WSU, provides low-interest loans for students who meet the specific eligibility criteria.

Loan amounts and repayment

This is a campus-based loan, and is administered through WSU. The maximum annual award amount per qualified student varies from year to year, depending on the total available funding.

You have up to 9 months after leaving WSU, or dropping below half-time, to begin repayment. The interest rate is 5% fixed, does not accrue until entering repayment, and there are no loan origination fees. Payments are submitted to WSU, not to the federal government.

How to accept a nursing, or health professions loan

Sign in to myWSU
Click on “My Student Center” in the middle of the screen
Click on “View Financial Aid” under finances
Choose the appropriate aid year
Click on Accept/Decline Awards
Select the loans you wish to accept (or click ‘Accept All’)
Enter the amount you wish to accept
Click submit, and then click yes to accept

Within 3 business days, you will receive an email from Heartland ECSI, an independent vendor who processes loans for WSU. Watch for this email and keep it from ending up in your Spam/Junk folders!

Complete the master promissory note (MPN)

You will need to complete a promissory note every year when you accept a Perkins loan, nursing loan, or health professions loan.

Go to heartlandecsi.com (a direct link can be found in your email)
Click the “Get Started” box at the bottom of the page
Enter your Social Security Number (SSN), Last Name, First Name, & Date of Birth
Authenticate yourself by clicking the link that says “Authenticate Me”
Once you have been authenticated, electronically sign your MPN, carefully read your Entrance Counseling Rights and Responsibilities, take the 10-Question Quiz, and complete the Reference Sheet. You will receive an on screen confirmation when this has been done successfully.
Your loan funds should deliver electronically to your student account within 5 business days

You will need to complete entrance counseling, which is offered by Heartland ESCI along with the promissory note, before your loan can disburse.

Need help with the promissory note or entrance counseling?

Contact Heartland ECSI’s Loan Servicing Department.

ECSI Borrowing
1-888-549-3274
WSU’s school code: 8A
Account number: Your SSN

Important notice: If you received an error trying to complete your documents online, you will need to complete and submit a paper version of the MPN and Entrance Counseling. (University Receivables will need ALL original pages with your signature and date.) For information on submitting paper forms, contact the Bursar’s Office.