Students who have taken out federal loans to help pay for college are required by federal law to have loan exit counseling before they graduate. The purpose of exit counseling is to acquaint students with the type - or types - of loan which they have, the amount of their indebtedness, and their rights and responsibilities under each loan program.
Loan exit counseling is now available online at both Great Lakes Educational Loan Services and University Accounting Service. Depending on the student's loan, or combination of loans, one site may be more appropriate, or informative, than the other. Students who have multiple loan types may have to do exit counseling at both sites. The following guidelines may be helpful in determining which site is best for you:
- Students who have Stafford Loans should complete their exit counseling at the Great Lakes website.
- Students who have Beloit College Loans should complete the exit counseling at the University Accounting Service website.
- Students who have Perkins loans may complete the Perkins exit counseling at either site; however, only at the University Accounting Service website will students be able to view detailed information on their Perkins loans including borrowing history, level of indebtedness, and payment schedule. Therefore, the University Accounting Service site will probably be more appropriate, and informative, for Perkins borrowers.
Great Lakes Educational Loan Services Exit Counseling
- At the website, students will first have to create a personal account and profile (Great Lakes recommends using Internet Explorer over other browsers). Students will need to provide names and addresses of parents and personal references. In order to view their personal loan information, students must navigate the profile pages - updating the information as necessary - each time they visit the website.
- After creating their profile, students will need to read the online study guide for their specific loan program (Perkins or Stafford). Students who have both Perkins and Stafford loans will read the "combined" study guide and take the "combined" exam. The study guides contain review questions which will help walk the students through the process and prepare them for the appropriate exit exam.
- Finally, the student will take a short "exam" specific to that loan program. All questions on the exam must be answered correctly before the exit counseling is considered complete.
Upon completion of the exam, students have the opportunity to print a confirmation for their personal records that they have completed the exit counseling successfully.
University Accounting Service Exit Counseling
- Students holding Perkins and/or Beloit College loans will receive an email directly from University Accounting Service advising them of the exit counseling process.
- Students will first have to create a personal account and profile, including names and addresses of personal references.
- The loan counseling process will walk the student through a succession of webpages covering a variety of topics pertinent to student loans - such as where to mail payments, loan consolidation, FERPA regulations, etc.
- The "Loan Information" section consists of six review documents which students are required to read. In order to continue, students must check a box indicating that they have read, and understand, the material. Within the "Loan Information" section, there is a " Truth and Lending Statement" for the borrower in which students will be able to review the details of their specific loans, amount of indebtedness, payment schedules, etc.
- Finally, the student must complete a short exam covering the material presented on the website.
Students who have specific questions after completing the online exit counseling, or who prefer to have a "face-to- face" exit counseling interview, should contact the Beloit College Financial Aid Office directly to schedule an appointment.
Again, while Great Lakes Educational Loan Services has access to the Stafford loan database, and students can review their Stafford borrowing history there, they do not have access to the Perkins Loan database. Therefore, students will need to complete the exit counseling at University Accounting Service, or visit the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), if they wish to review their personal Perkins Loan information.