Stafford Exit Topic 1 of 6: What to Know Now That You Owe Now that you are leaving school, it is important that you remind yourself of your rights and responsibilities regarding your federal student loans. These loans include:

Subsidized Stafford Loans Unsubsidized Stafford Loans Your rights and responsibilities are included on the confirmation page at the end of this counseling session.

Your Master Promissory Note (MPN) also contains your Rights and Responsibilities. Your MPN is the binding legal document that you signed to receive your student loans. By signing that note you indicated your commitment to repay your loans.

Things you should know about your MPN:

Your MPN may have only been used for one year at a time because: your school was not authorized for or chose not to use the multi-year function, you chose to sign a new note, or you changed lenders. Your MPN may have been used as a multi-year note if: your school was authorized for multi-year use or you did not change lenders. The multi-year feature of your MPN is good for 10 years from the date you signed, so if you go back to school, you may not be required to sign a new note. An MPN may be revoked: if you send a written notice to your lender, if you declare bankruptcy, or upon expiration of the 10-year period. It is important that you stay in touch with your lender (one of your responsibilities).

You must tell your lender of changes to your: name, address, and telephone number. You must also let your lender know if you: withdraw from school, drop below half-time enrollment, transfer to a new school, graduate, or have a change in status that would affect your loan status (for example: loss of eligibility for unemployment deferment by obtaining a job). THE MOST IMPORTANT REASON FOR STAYING IN CONTACT WITH YOUR LENDER: If you are having difficulties making your student loan payments, there are options to help you, such as deferment, forbearance, or an alternate repayment schedule (discussed later). Can My Lender Sell My Loan?

Your lender may sell your loan to another holder, such as another lender or secondary market. If this happens:

the original lender and new holder must notify you in writing, the notification must include name, address, and telephone number of the new holder, and the terms and conditions of your loan will remain the same. Answer all of the questions below. Refer to the text above for guidance. If you do not answer a question correctly, you can try again. You will receive a message letting you know which question(s) was answered incorrectly, and you may review the content above before trying to answer the question(s) again. If you are not able to answer a question correctly, contact us.