Loan Services

The Loan Service department assists Alumni and those students who no longer attend the University with completing exit requirements and managing repayment of student loans borrowed while at Alfred University.

Alfred University can assist you in managing both Federal (Perkins & Direct) and Institutional (Alumni) loans. If you have Private Loans (ie: Discover, Sallie Mae, etc.) please contact your Private Loan servicer directly.

How Alfred University is assisting borrowers affected by COVID-19

NOTE: If you are applying for federal loan consolidation, you must note that you would like your Perkins Loan included. Your Alumni Loan is NOT a Federal Loan and therefore CANNOT be included in Federal Loan consolidation.



Once you leave Alfred University, your loan is managed by a loan servicer. A loan servicer is a company that will work with you on repayment and other tasks related to your student loans.

Exit counseling is required for borrowers who graduate, withdrawal, take a leave of absence, or are enrolled less than half-time at Alfred University. Exit counseling provides your with important information to prepare you in repaying your student loans. Completing the exit counseling requirement does not initiate repayment of your loan.

  • For Federal Subsidized, Unsubsidized, and PLUS loans, login to the Federal Student Aid webpage to complete your online exit counseling.
  • Alumni & Perkins loan exit interviews cannot be completed until a short time after you are no longer at AU. To complete your exit requirement, login to the Heartland ECSI webpage, scroll down and click on the "New to Heartland ECSI" box and follow the instructions to create a profile. You will need your account number ("Heartland Key") which can be found in your email shortly AFTER the time you leave AU. Once logged in, select the "Documents" Tab and you will see all of your loans listed. Under each loan, there will be a link labeled "Exit Interviews". Click the link for ALL loans listed and complete the on-screen prompts to complete the process.
  • For Alumni, Perkins, and Direct loans, you have a 6-month grace period after your last day of classes, during which time, no interest accrues. At the end of the 6-months, your loans will enter repayment status.
  • Loan servicers contact you via email, phone, and mail. If any of these changes, it is the borrowers responsibility to notify their loan servicers to avoid potential default.
  • Once your loan enters repayment, you will automatically be placed on a Standard Repayment Plan. If you are having trouble making payments, don't ignore your loans. There are several options to keep you on track
    • Contact your servicer to change your payment due date
    • Federal Direct Loans allow you to change your repayment plan to Income-Driven Repayment if you qualify
    • Federal Direct Loans and Perkins Loans can be consolidated to simplify the repayment process allowing you to combine all federal loans into one monthly payment (Remember, Alumni loans cannot be included in consolidation).
    • If none of these options work, you may be eligible for a Forbearance or Deferment (see below).

Under certain circumstances, borrowers may receive a deferment or forbearance that allows you to temporarily stop making payments or to reduce the amount of payment being made on your Federal and/or Institutional student loans. Deferment or forbearance may help a borrower from going into default.

  • Borrowers will need to work directly with their loan servicers to apply for deferment or forbearance
  • Borrowers will need to continue making payments until the deferment or forbearance is approved.
  • For Alumni and/or Perkins Loans, all deferment and forbearance forms can be found on the Heartland ECSI web page. For Federal Direct loans, borrowers should contact their loan servicer directly.

Deferment:

  • A deferment defers the principal and may or may not defer the interest depending on the type of deferment requested.
  • There is a post-deferment grace period of 6-months after the deferment is complete. No payments are required during this time.
  • The maximum deferment time is three years over the life of the loan.
  • All loans automatically enter deferment when a student is enrolled at least part-time at a higher education institution (this type of deferment does not count towards the three year maximum).

Forbearance:

  • A forbearance defers only the principal, the interest continues to accrue and can be paid monthly or in a lump sum at the end of the forbearance.
  • There is no grace period at the end of a forbearance, your loan will immediately re-enter repayment.
  • The maximum forbearance time is three years over the life of the loan.