Federal Direct Loan Program & Counseling
Federal Direct Loan Programs
Western University of Health Sciences is a Direct Lending school which participates in the William D. Ford Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program. This means that students get their loans directly through the U.S. Department of Education.
Students must be a U.S. Citizen or Eligible Non-Citizen and complete the FAFSA to get a Federal Direct Loan, and for the Graduate PLUS Loan.
Federal student loans are required by law to provide a range of flexible repayment options, including, but not limited to, income-based repayment and income-contingent repayment plans, and loan forgiveness benefits, which other student loans are not required to provide.
Federal Direct loans are available to students regardless of income.
To apply for the Direct Unsubsidized Loan and Grad PLUS Loans through the Direct Lending program:
- Apply for financial aid via the FAFSA, Federal Student Aid Site
- Wait to receive your award offer notification from the Financial Aid Office that will be sent directly to your WesternU e-mail address to give you instructions to complete the award offer process through WesternU student portal
- Follow the steps/instructions on your Financial Planning letter
Western University of Health Sciences does not participate in any preferred lender arrangements or preferred lender lists.
There are no Grants available to graduate students (Pell, FSEOG, TEACH, Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants).
The loan fee is charged to the borrower to originate the loan. The loan fee is an expense of borrowing one of these loans. The loan fee is a percentage of the amount of each loan the borrower receives, and is subtracted proportionately from each loan disbursement. Fees are subject to change.
Previous and New Direct Loan Fees on Direct Unsubsidized Loans
|
If the award’s earliest
disbursement date is… |
Origination fee taken from your loan
|
| First Disbursed on or after October 1, 2021 and before October 1, 2022 | 1.057% |
| First Disbursed on or after October 1, 2022 and before October 1, 2023 | 1.057% (no change from previous year) |
| First Disbursed on or after October 1, 2022 and before October 1, 2024 | 1.057% (no change from previous year) |
| First Disbursed on or after October 1, 2022 and before October 1, 2025 | 1.057% (no change from previous year) |
Previous and New Direct Loan Fees on Direct Graduate PLUS Loans
|
If the award’s earliest
disbursement date is… |
Origination fee taken from your loan
|
| First Disbursed on or after October 1, 2021 and before October 1, 2022 | 4.228% |
| First Disbursed on or after October 1, 2022 and before October 1, 2023 | 4.228% (no change from previous year) |
| First Disbursed on or after October 1, 2022 and before October 1, 2024 | 4.228% (no change from previous year |
| First Disbursed on or after October 1, 2022 and before October 1, 2025 | 4.228% (no change from previous year |
Federal Unsubsidized Loans – Interest rates are a “variable-fixed” rate. The rate would be fixed until the loan is paid in full. The interest rate for federal direct loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2025 will be 7.94% for graduate/professional Direct Unsubsidized Loans. Interest starts accruing as soon as the funds are disbursed to the university. Please remember, that the interest rate for the 2026/2027 academic year may differ based on what the 10-Year T-Bill will be by the end of May 2026. Interest rates are subject to change.
Previous and New Interest Rates on Direct Unsubsidized Loans
|
Interest Rates Federal Direct Stafford Loans
|
Borrower Type
|
Fixed Interest Rate
|
| Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans 2022/2023 interest rates effective for loans first disbursed on or after July I, 2022
Direct Unsubsidized Loans
|
Graduate Professional Students
|
6.54% |
| Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans 2023/2024 interest rates effective for loans first disbursed on or after July I, 2023
Direct Unsubsidized Loans
|
Graduate Professional Students
|
7.05% |
| Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans 2024/2025 interest rates effective for loans first disbursed on or after July I, 2024
Direct Unsubsidized Loans
|
Graduate Professional Students
|
8.08% |
| Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans 2025/2026 interest rates effective for loans first disbursed on or after July I, 2025
Direct Unsubsidized Loans
|
Graduate Professional Students
|
7.94% |
Grad PLUS Loan – Interest rates are a “variable-fixed” rate. The rate would be fixed until the loan is paid in full. Interest rates for the federal direct Grad PLUS loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2025 will be 8.94% for Parent and Grad PLUS loans. Interest starts accruing as soon as the funds are disbursed to the university. Please remember, that the interest rate for the 2026/2027 academic year may differ based on what the 10-Year T-Bill will be by the end of May 2026. Interest rates are subject to change.
Previous and New Interest Rates on Direct Graduate PLUS Loans
|
Interest Rates Federal Direct Grad PLUS Loans
|
Borrower Type
|
Fixed Interest Rate
|
|
Federal Direct Grad PLUS Loans 2022/2023 interest rates effective for loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2022
Direct Grad PLUS Loans
|
Graduate Professional Students |
7.54% |
|
Federal Direct Grad PLUS Loans 2023/2024 interest rates effective for loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2023
Direct Grad PLUS Loans
|
Graduate Professional Students |
8.05% |
|
Federal Direct Grad PLUS Loans 2024/2025 interest rates effective for loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2024
Direct Grad PLUS Loans
|
Graduate Professional Students |
9.08% |
|
Federal Direct Grad PLUS Loans 2025/2026 interest rates effective for loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2025
Direct Grad PLUS Loans
|
Graduate Professional Students |
8.94% |
The Direct Grad PLUS loan program is credit based, borrowers must not have an adverse credit history.
Once the borrower completes the Master promissory note, which includes the applicants authorization for a credit check to be completed the borrower will receive written confirmation of the credit check result.
The school sends notification to the Direct Loan program within 5 days after the student accepts their award offer in Banner.
The credit check is good for 180 days
If the borrower’s credit has been denied the borrower will be notified directly from Direct Loans.
Borrowers may obtain a co-signer (endorser) for the Grad PLUS loan. The co-signer must be credit worthy and a U.S. Citizen.
The endorser may complete the endorser addendum on the student loans government website. To complete the endorser addendum online, the endorser will need the Loan Reference Number, which the student may obtain from the financial aid office.
Please go to Grad PLUS Loan Denials for further information and options following a credit denial.
General Borrower Information
Canceling or Reducing Your Student Loan
Students may cancel or reduce the amount their loan by writing to your school’s financial aid office or lender before your lender sends your loan money to your school. There are also two ways to cancel all or part of your loan after your loan money is sent to your school. You may contact the school within 14 days (or sooner) of the date the school informs you they have applied your loan to your account or you can pay back all or a part of your loan within 120 days of the date your lender sends your loan money to your school.
Please contact the Financial Aid Office for any questions regarding the return of funds back to your lender.
Direct and PLUS Loan Borrower Information
Graduate/professional students who have Direct Unsubsidized Loans, and/or Grad PLUS Loans are placed in an In-school deferment status based on the information reported by the school.
For information on the your Direct Grad PLUS Rights and Responsibilities please go to:
Direct PLUS Loan Borrower’s Rights And Responsibilities
For information on your Direct Unsubsidized Loan Rights and Responsibilities, please go to:
Direct Unsubsidized Loan Borrower’s Rights and Responsibilities
For information on repayment options and loan servicer information, please go to:
For Washington State residents seeking information and resources about student loan repayment or seeking to submit a complaint relating to your student loans or student loan servicer, please contact the Student Loan Advocate or loanadvocate@wsac.wa.gov.
For information on financial literacy, financial planning and budgeting, please go to:
For any questions concerning your loans, budgeting, deferment or forbearance and repayment options, please contact the Financial Aid Office at 909-469-5353 or e-mail at finaid@westernu.edu .
Helpful Phone Numbers and Addresses for Students and Borrowers
For general questions:
In regards to your loans, Master Promissory Note or need assistance with the studentloans.gov website or appealing credit decisions and endorser questions
Direct Loan Applicant Services 1-800-557-7394
For Direct Loan servicing questions:
(for a listing on Direct Loan Servicers, see below)
Direct Loan Servicing Center for Borrowers 1-800-848-0979
If a borrower needs to know who is servicing the loan, please contact the Applicant Service Number at 1-800-557-7394
For Endorser Information:
Endorsers on the Grad PLUS Loan can complete the endorser application online at www.studentloans.gov endorsers will need to have their own pin number which can be obtained at www.pin.ed.gov once the pin has been activated the endorser can complete the endorser application at the www.studentloans.gov website
If a paper endorser form or Master Promissory Note needs to be mailed or sent overnight:
Regular Mailing
U.S. Department of Education
PO Box 9002
Niagara Falls, NY 14302
Overnight
U.S. Department of Education
2429 Military Road, Suite 200
Niagara Falls, NY 14304
For information on consolidation:
Consolidation 1-800-557-7392
For borrower assistance regarding exit counseling:
FSA/ID 1-800-433-3243
Direct Loan Servicer – Contact Information
If you have a question about Title IV federal student aid or one of the services the Department of Education provides, please contact one of the Customer Service Centers or Federal Student Aid Offices. If you are not sure which Service Center to call, contact the Research and Customer Care Center at 1-800-433-7327, or e-mail us at fsa.customer.support@ed.gov.
Loan Servicing Centers for Students:
Visit My Federal Student Aid to view information about all of the federal student loans you have received and to find contact information for the loan servicer or lender for your loans.
Who’s My Loan Servicer?
To learn about the role that student loan servicers play in the repayment process and which servicer handles your federal student loans, please visit the Federal Student Aid “Who’s My Student Loan Servicer?”