The Financial Aid Office automatically awards all students their full Federal Direct Student Loan eligibility for the year*. Students are not required to borrow Direct Loans. We strongly encourage students to assess their educational expenses for the year and only borrow what they need.

Please review QCC's Federal Direct Student Loan Guide for detailed information on borrowing Federal Direct Student Loans.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) signed into law on July 4, 2025 made significant changes to federal student loan eligibility that go into effect in Fall 2026. The final regulations were published in May 2026 and institutions continue to seek and receive guidance on implementation. *Due to these changes, QCC will be delayed in including federal student loan eligibility on award offer letters until our systems are updated to incorporate these changes.

The most significant requirements that affect QCC students are:

Loan Proration

  • Effective with the 2026-2027 academic year, your federal student loan eligibility may be reduced according to your enrollment status. This reduction is called loan proration.
  • Students who are enrolled full-time are eligible to be considered for the maximum annual loan limits.  For most programs, full-time enrollment is defined as 12 credits per semester, or 24 credits per academic year. If your program requires summer enrollment, the full-time definition is 36 credits per academic year.
  • Students who are not enrolled full-time during the academic year will have their maximum annual loan eligibility reduced based on their enrollment.
  • The amount of any loan disbursement will be based on your academic year enrollment (or expected enrollment) at the time each disbursement is processed. If your enrollment changes, your loan amounts may be adjusted.
  • If you withdraw from or fail to complete a class after your loans have been disbursed, the funds may be returned to the government or may result in a reduced future disbursement. You may have a balance due to the college as a result. Please speak to the Financial Aid Office before making enrollment decisions, particularly withdrawing, to see how your financial aid may be impacted.
  • Students cannot borrow the full annual loan amount in any one semester.

  • The calculation to prorate loan eligibility is:

    illustration: (Number of credit hours per year divided by number of credit hours considered full time year for that year for that program) times 100.

    Example:  A first-year dependent student is enrolled in 6 credits for Fall and 6 credits for Spring in a program that does not require summer enrollment.  If this student were full-time, their maximum annual federal student loan would be $3,500 in Subsidized and $2,000 in Unsubsidized funding.

             The Loan Proration Calculation is:  

             12 credits divided by 24 = 50%

              Subsidized:       $3,500 x 50% = $1,750

              Unsubsidized:   $2,000 x 50% = $1,000

    This student's maximum federal student loan eligibility for 2026-2027 is $1,750 Subsidized and $1,000 Unsubsidized, to be split between the Fall and Spring semesters.

    This same student's annual eligibility prior to 2026-2027 would have been for the full $3,500 Subsidized and $2,000 Unsubsidized federal student loans.

Lifetime Loan Limits

  • The OBBBA added a Lifetime Loan Limit of $257,500- the maximum amount of federal loans a student may borrow over the course of their educational lifetime.  Repayment of loans borrowed does not affect this limit.  
  • Students who plan to continue their education after QCC to pursue a bachelor's degree or even graduate degree should be mindful that loans they borrow at QCC will affect the eligibility they will have available for those later pursuits.
  • A limited exception applies.

QCC Federal Direct Student Loan Information

Please review the 2025-2026 Direct Loan Guide for detailed information on Federal Direct Loans disbursed between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026.

Reduce or decline the Direct Loan

The process to decline loans for 2026-2027 will be published once QCC has begun awarding federal student loan funds.

 

Direct Loan Reinstatement

Students can no longer request to reinstate loans for 2025-2026.  

 

 

How to accept any portion of Federal Direct Student Loan(s) Offered

Complete Entrance Counseling

All first time student borrowers at QCC must complete Entrance Counseling which provides you with important information regarding your rights and responsibilities as a Direct Loan borrower. You can easily fulfill this requirement by going to studentaid.gov. Sign in using your FSA ID. Click on Menu, Grants and Loans, and then click on Loan Entrance Counseling. Please be sure to select QCC to receive the information.

Complete a Master Promissory Note (MPN)

A promissory note is a legally binding contract between you, the borrower of a Federal Direct Stafford Loan, and the federal government. It contains the terms and conditions of the loan and explains how and when it should be repaid. Therefore, it is very important that you completely read and understand all of the information on the promissory note. MPN's are also signed at studentaid.gov. Log in using your FSA ID. Click on Menu, Grants and Loans, and then click on Master Promissory Note (MPN). 

Direct Loan Requirements and Repayment Information

BOTH Entrance Counseling AND Master Promissory Note must be completed before a loan can disburse onto your student account.

Repayment of educational loans begin after a student graduates, stops attending, or is enrolled less than half time. Therefore, in accordance with federal regulations, student loan borrowers must complete Exit Counseling.

Borrowers can choose from different repayment plans to make payments more affordable.

Use the loan payment calculator to estimate your monthly loan payments.

QCC students who choose to do so may borrow student loans to assist them with educationally-related expenses, including tuition and fees, educational technology, housing and food, transportation and other miscellaneous expenses. Many of these costs are not paid to the College directly. Information about student loan debt, repayment, and QCC's cohort default rate can be found on the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. 

Effective September 2023, QCC's Cohort Default Rate (CDR) is 0.0% and the three-year federal student loan repayment rate is 52.1%. The CDR is 0.0% due to the student loan repayment pause in effect from 2020 through September 2023.

IGrad - Financial Resources Management

To view content related to Federal Student Loans, including loan repayment and debt management, visit iGrad and sign up for an account. iGrad is an award-winning financial literacy tool that is free for QCC students. It has up to date financial education resources and an active community of members and users. Through articles, calculators, videos, and quizzes, you’ll learn how to improve your overall financial wellness.