Bulletin ID
DLB - 95 - 7
| PublicationDate: 4/1/95 BulletinID: DLB - 95 - 7 April 1995 DLB-7 SUBJECT: 1995-96 DIRECT LOAN PUBLICATIONS UPDATE; ENTRANCE COUNSELING MATERIALS ENCLOSED Dear Colleague: Many of you may have ordered some or all of our general information publications, which were printed this month (see DLB-5 for more information). Your order should be coming to you very soon. This bulletin explains what other publications will be available soon; please read this information carefully. You may order all materials discussed in this bulletin using the order sheet on the last page of this letter. Remember that you may develop your own materials, if you wish. Printed Entrance Counseling Materials The professionally printed versions of our Entrance Counseling Guide for Borrowers (the booklet for students) and Entrance Counseling Guide for Counselors (the companion booklet that will aid you in counseling your students) should be available in late May. However, because some of you may need these materials right away, we have printed in advance, and have enclosed, a small quantity of the camera ready copy of these publications. To save time, we have not stopped to ask who may need them immediately and who may not. We have simply taken the copies we have been able to print and divided them by the number of participating Direct Loan schools. Some of you may receive more copies than you need; some of you may not receive enough. If you need more copies, please reproduce what you need for immediate use, remember, you may receive the professionally printed versions using the order sheet. The Entrance Counseling Guide for Borrowers covers topics such as loan amounts, interest rates, capitalization of interest, and briefly the repayment plans available under Direct Loans. Also discussed are deferments, forbearance, and the consequences of default. The Borrowers Guide includes tips on how students can budget their money so they will have enough to stay in school and to repay their loans later. The Entrance Counseling Guide for Counselors offers tips on what to cover in entrance counseling and gives explanations that follow the order of topics in the Borrowers Guide. Printed Exit Counseling Materials Exit counseling materials should be printed in early June. You may order these publications now, but remember that you will not receive them before mid-June. These publications will be professionally printed. The Exit Counseling Guide for Borrowers (the booklet for students) explains the role of the Direct Loan Servicing Center, which is responsible for borrower services, including loan collection. The Borrowers Guide also explains in greater depth the various repayment plans and covers Direct Consolidation Loans, deferment provisions, forbearance, and discharge (cancellation). It spells out the consequences of default and offers suggestions on how borrowers can budget once they leave school so they can avoid default. The Exit Counseling Guide for Counselors (designed to help you present effective exit counseling sessions) explains what you must cover to meet the Departments regulatory requirements, offers tips in organizing counseling sessions, and presents an outline of discussion topics that follows the Borrowers Guide. Entrance/Exit Videos and Counseling Kits As we did for the 1994-95 award year, we are offering companion entrance and exit counseling videos to supplement the written materials. The videos are 14 minutes each and illustrate situations your students are likely to face. We have not changed the videos from last year, except for a brief introductory notice that the Direct Loan Program is now known as the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program. If you order these videos, you will receive them in a vinyl counseling kit designed to hold the videos and the entrance and exit Counselors Guides. The kit ensures these materials will be easy to locate. Note that the kit will contain only the videos. Your counseling materials will arrive separately. The vinyl kits containing the two videos should be ready in mid- May, which means you should receive them in late May or early June. Repayment Options Information Our 1995-96 Repayment Booklet explains in detail the four repayment plans available under Direct Loans and gives examples of how each plan works. The booklet includes a table that allows borrowers to see at a glance approximately how much they would repay (per month and in total) under each repayment plan (assuming different debt levels). Worksheets (and supplementary charts) allow borrowers, including Direct PLUS Loan borrowers, to estimate what they would owe under each repayment plan, based on their actual circumstances. The booklet will help borrowers choose the repayment plan best for them. The Repayment Booklet should be printed in mid-May, which means you should receive it in late May or early June. We hope you find these publications of interest. Thank you for supporting Direct Loans. Sincerely, Diane Sedicum, Chair Direct Loans Task Force |