Loans

Types of Aid Types of Aid

You may find, like many students, that you need additional financing to supplement your savings, grants, and scholarship awards. That's why financial aid packages often include an offer of aid in the form of federal loans.

Loans at UNCW are offered through the William D. Ford Direct Loan Program, which issues loans directly from the federal government.

UNCW encourages you to review all information about loans before deciding to borrow and borrow only what you need.

Loans must be repaid, with interest, but federal loans are advantageous because they offer low interest rates and more flexible repayment plans than most private loans.

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Half-Time Status Required

Half-Time Status Required: Your student loans for each term will not be disbursed until you have reached half-time status.

For Undergraduate students, half-time status is defined as having 6 credit hours of active enrollment in each semester (Fall, Spring, or Summer). For Graduate students, half-time status is defined as having 4.5 credit hours of active enrollment in each semester

The timing of disbursements depends on when the student is scheduled to reach half-time status.

Federal student loans are not available for less-than half-time enrollment. Students enrolled less than half-time may apply for a private/non-federal loan online.

Additional Federal Loan Info

Federal Perkins Loan Terms

The Perkins Loan Program has expired and is no longer available.

PLUS Loan Interest Rates

For Direct PLUS Loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2026, and before July 1, 2027, the interest rate is 9.07%. These are fixed interest rates for the life of the loan.

Loan Fees

There is a loan fee on all Direct PLUS Loans. The loan fee is a percentage of the loan amount and is proportionately deducted from each loan disbursement. The percentage varies depending on when the loan is first disbursed, as shown here.

Loan Fees for Direct PLUS Loans

Federal Student Loan Fees
First Disbursement Date	Loan Fee
On or after Oct. 1, 2020, and before Oct. 1, 2027	4.228%
On or after Oct. 1, 2019, and before Oct. 1, 2020	4.236%

More about managing loans, repaying loans, loan servicers, and more is available by viewing Federal Student Aid's webpage on Federal Interest Rates and Fees.

Rates

The interest rates for Direct Subsidized Loans and Direct Unsubsidized Loans are shown in the chart below.

Loan Interest Rates & Fees
Loan Type	Borrower Type	Loans first disbursed on or after 7/1/26 and before 7/1/27
Direct Subsidized & Unsubsidized Loans	Undergraduate	6.52%
Direct Unsubsidized Loans	Graduate or Professional	8.07%

The interest rates shown above are fixed rates for the life of the loan.

All Direct Subsidized Loans and Direct Unsubsidized Loans have a loan fee. The loan fee is a percentage of the loan amount and is proportionately deducted from each loan disbursement. The percentage for all Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans first disbursed on or after Oct. 1, 2020, is 1.057%. Loans first disbursed before that date had different loan fees.