Self-service aid

Subsidized loans are available only to undergraduate students and do not accrue interest while you are enrolled at least half-time in a degree-seeking program. After accepting the loan in MyUI, you must complete both the Master Promissory Note and Entrance Counseling on studentaid.gov before the funds can be disbursed to your student account.

Subsidized loans are need-based, meaning eligibility is determined using student and parent tax and asset information reported on the FAFSA. Annual loan amounts vary by your year in school.

*Loan eligibility is based student and parent tax information submitted through the FAFSA and may be less than the numbers illustrated above. There are also lifetime aggregate limits which may affect students earning a second bachelor’s degree or students who exceed four years of borrowing. 

Both undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at least half-time in a degree-seeking program may be eligible for Unsubsidized loans, though annual borrowing limits vary. Interest begins accruing as soon as the loan is disbursed.

*Specific amount offered is dependent on the amount of subsidized loan offered. There are also lifetime aggregate limits which may affect students earning a second bachelor’s degree or students who exceed four years of borrowing. 

Graduate students

Graduate students may be eligible for up to $20,500. 

After accepting the loan in MyUI, you must complete both the Master Promissory Note and Entrance Counseling on studentaid.gov before the loan can be disbursed to your account. 

Graduate PLUS loans are available only to graduate students and do not have annual or aggregate borrowing limits. However, the amount you can borrow may be restricted based on credit history, cost of attendance, other financial aid received or additional extenuating circumstances.  

Graduate PLUS loans require a new application each year, including a credit check, which can be completed on studentaid.gov. You must also complete a Master Promissory Note and Entrance Counseling. You should be aware that interest begins accruing as soon as the loan is disbursed.

If you’re initially denied based on your credit check, you may still become eligible by completing a credit appeal or securing an endorser on studentaid.gov. If you pursue either of these options you’re also required to complete PLUS Credit Counseling.

Apply for a Graduate PLUS loan 

Parent PLUS loans are borrowed by a parent of an undergraduate student to help pay for educational expenses, and the parent — not the student — is responsible for repayment. While there is no annual or aggregate borrowing limit, a parent’s eligibility may be restricted based on their credit history, the student’s cost of attendance, other financial aid received or additional circumstances.  

Parent PLUS loans require a new application each year, including a credit check, which can be completed on studentaid.gov. A Master Promissory Note is also required. Interest begins accruing once the loan is disbursed.

Parents may choose to authorize the university to use loan funds for other educationally related charges after tuition, fees and housing have been paid. This authorization is optional. Parents can also decide whether any credit balance is refunded to the student or to themselves. In addition, they may request a deferment while the student is enrolled at least half-time and a six-month post-enrollment deferment once the student drops below half-time.

If a parent is initially denied based on their credit check, they may still become eligible by completing a credit appeal or securing an endorser on studentaid.gov. Parents who pursue either of these options are also required to complete PLUS Credit Counseling.

Apply for a Parent PLUS loan

Visit studentaid.gov for information on grace periods, deferment, forbearance, loan consolidation, loan cancellation and defaulted loans. You can also check your loan details and see who your loan servicer is (the company you make payments to). 

If you received a Direct Subsidized, Direct Unsubsidized or Graduate PLUS loan and are no longer enrolled at least half-time (including withdrawing or graduating from University of Idaho), you must complete Exit Counseling.

To begin:

1. Log in using your FSA ID.
2. Select “Complete Counseling.”
3. Choose “Exit Counseling.”

Exit Counseling will:

• Explain your repayment options
• Provide your loan servicer’s contact information
• Show your current federal loan balances

After you graduate, leave school or drop below half-time enrollment, you’ll have a six-month grace period before repayment begins on Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans. Parents who borrowed Parent PLUS loans may defer payments while their student remains enrolled at least half-time.

The Direct Loan Program offers multiple repayment plans. You can choose the option that best fits your financial situation and switch plans at any time with no penalty. For detailed information on repayment options, visit the Federal Student Aid repayment page. 

In some situations, your federal student loans may be canceled, discharged or forgiven. Explore the options below to learn whether you may qualify:

• Perkins Loan Discharge and Cancellation — Review the circumstances that may allow your Perkins Loan to be deferred, discharged or canceled.
• Perkins Loan Cancellation for Teachers — See how eligible teachers may qualify for partial or full Perkins Loan cancellation.
• Stafford Loan Discharge and Cancellation — Find information about discharge or cancellation options available for Stafford Loans.
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and Income-Driven Repayment Plans — Learn who may qualify for loan forgiveness through public service work or income-based repayment plans.

Vandal Loans are a university-funded loan supported by donations and an endowment. It features a 5% interest rate, a nine-month grace period and a maximum repayment term of 10 years. Students must meet specific eligibility requirements to receive this loan.  

For details and application guidance, speak with your Financial Aid Counselor. 

Benjamin O. Braham (BOB) Loans support students who graduated from Kellogg High School in Kellogg, Idaho. This loan offers a 3% interest rate, a nine-month grace period and a maximum repayment term of 10 years.

Eligibility requirements:

• Must be a graduate of Kellogg High School, Kellogg
• Must be a full-time, degree-seeking undergraduate student who has not yet earned a bachelor’s degree
• Must be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen

Loan application materials:

• Long-Term Institutional Loan Application and Solicitation Disclosure
• BOB Loan Fund Entrance Interview
• BOB Loan Recipient Information Sheet
• Long-Term Institutional Loan Approval Disclosure
• Long-Term Institutional Loan Final Approval Disclosure

The Emergency Short-Term Loan Program helps cover unexpected expenses or payments that are due before your financial aid or other resources become available. These loans carry 7% simple interest and are intended for short-term needs.

Eligibility requirements:  

• Be enrolled during the semester in which the loan is requested
• Be enrolled at least half-time (minimum 6 credits for undergraduates; 5 credits for graduate and law students)
• Be in good academic standing

Loan approval is determined by Financial Aid counseling staff and may vary based on individual circumstances. Students must also show proof of ability to repay the loan within 90 days. The typical maximum loan amount is $600.

International students may be eligible for private educational loans through eduPASS, which provides information on lenders that work with international students studying in the U.S.  

Visit eduPASS to explore available loan options and see if you qualify.

Over the past three academic years (2023–24, 2024–25, and 2025–26), the Financial Aid Office has certified and disbursed loans from the following lenders beginning on 8/21/23. This list is alphabetical and not comprehensive.  

The Financial Aid Office does not endorse any specific lender and can process loans from other lenders not included here.  

Past lending partners

• Abe Student Loans
• Alaska Supplemental Loan
• Ascent
• Citizens Bank
• College Ave
• Communication Federal Credit Union
• Discover Bank
• Earnest
• Gesa Credit Union
• Granite Edvance
• LendKey
• Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority (MEFA)
• MPOWER
• Navy Federal Credit Union
• Nelnet
• New Jersey College Loans to Assist State Students (NJ Class)
• P1FCU/Sallie Mae
• Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA)
• Sallie Mae  
• SoFi Bank

A financial aid professional at University of Idaho is expected to always maintain exemplary standards of professional conduct in all aspects of carrying out his or her responsibilities, specifically including all dealings with any entities involved in any manner in student financial aid, regardless of whether such entities are involved in a government-sponsored, subsidized, or regulated activity.

In doing so, a financial aid professional should:

• Refrain from taking any action for his or her personal benefit.
• Refrain from taking any action he or she believes is contrary to law, regulation, or the best interests of the students and parents he or she serves. Ensure that the information he or she provides is accurate, unbiased, and does not reflect any preference arising from actual or potential personal gain.
• Be objective in making decisions and advising his or her institution regarding relationships with an entity involved in any aspect of student financial aid.
• Refrain from soliciting or accepting anything of other than nominal value from any entity (other than an institution of higher education or a governmental entity such as the U.S. Department of Education) involved in the making, holding, consolidating or processing of any student loans, including anything of value (including reimbursement of expenses) for serving on an advisory board or as part of a training activity of or sponsored by any such entity.
• Disclose to his or her institution, in such manner as his or her institution may prescribe, any involvement with or interest in any entity involved in any aspect of student financial aid.

Code of Conduct adopted from NASFAA (National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators)

In addition, employees of the Office of Student Financial Aid Services must comply with and agree in writing to the following policies:

Lender Gifts — The Office of Student Financial Aid Services is prohibited from accepting gifts from student loan lenders. Lenders who contact the office are informed that we do not accept gifts of any type from lenders

Third Party Incentives — The Office of Student Financial Aid Services staff shall not recommend one private student loan lender over another. Requests for information will be referred to web sites and other materials provided by student loan lenders. Staff shall not accept incentives from third parties offering loan options.

Confidential Information — All information in the Office of Student Financial Aid is considered confidential and should not be shared with anyone outside of our office other than official U of I staff and faculty who have a need to know. Staff shall not share this information with others or indicate to others they have this information. Such confidential information shall not be used to make decisions which compromise the official processing in Student Financial Aid Services.

Conflict of Interest — The Office of Student Financial Aid Services staff will not perform any steps in processing a financial aid application in their own names, for anyone in their immediate family, or where there is a conflict of interest. All staff members who identify a conflict of interest shall inform the Director at the time they are identified of the name, relationship, and student ID number of the person who has applied for aid.

Revenue-sharing arrangements — The Office of Student Financial Aid Services will not enter into any revenue-sharing arrangement with any lender.

You will need to apply for any jobs you are interested in and be invited to an interview with the supervisor before getting a job offer.

Double-check your financial aid offer. If your financial situation changed, you may no longer be eligible. If you’re a continuing student and you’ve accepted your work-study aid offer, it may be a week before you see work-study jobs in Handshake. If you have work-study in your financial aid offer and you still don’t see the award in Handshake, email finaid@uidaho.edu.

You will be able to access Handshake in early June, provided you have registered for classes and accepted your aid offer in MyUI.

The definition of "community services" was amended to read: services which are identified by an institution of higher education, through formal or informal consultation with local nonprofit, governmental, and community-based organizations, as designed to improve the quality of life for community residents, particularly low-income individuals, or to solve particular problems related to their needs, including:

• Such fields as health care, child care, literacy training, education (including tutorial services), welfare, social services, transportation, housing and neighborhood improvement, public safety, crime prevention and control, recreation, rural development, and community improvement;
• Work in service opportunities or youth corps as defined in section 101(*) of the National and Community Services Act of 1990, and services in the agencies, institutions and activities designated in section 124 (a) [**] of the National and Community Services Act of 1990;
• Support services to students with disabilities
• Activities in which a student serves as a mentor for such purposes as tutoring, supporting educational and recreational activities, and counseling (including career counseling)

*Section 101 of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 defines the terms "service opportunity" and "youth corps program" as follows:

• Service opportunity: a program or project, including service learning programs or projects, that enables students or out-of-school youth to perform meaningful and constructive service in agencies, institutions, and situations where the application of human talent and dedication may help to meet human, educational, linguistic, and environmental community needs, especially those relating to poverty.
• Youth corps program: a program, such as a conservation corps or youth service program, that offers full-time, productive work (to be financed through stipends) with visible community benefits, in a natural resource or human service setting and that gives participants a mix of work experience, basic and life skills, education, training, and support services.

**Section 124(a) of the National and Community Service Act (NASA) of 1990 provides the following list of agencies, institutions, and activities that:

In the case of conservation corps programs, focus on:

• Conservation, rehabilitation, and the improvement of wildlife habitat, rangelands, parks, and recreation areas
• Urban and rural revitalization, historical and site preservation, and reforestation of both urban and rural areas
• Fish culture, wildlife habitat maintenance and improvement, and other fishery assistance
• Road and trail maintenance and improvement
• Erosion, flood drought, and storm damage assistance and controls
• Stream, lake, waterfront harbor, and port improvement
• Wetlands protection and pollution control
• Insect, disease, rodent, and fire prevention and control
• The improvement of abandoned railroad beds and rights-of-way
• Energy conservation projects, renewable resource enhancement, and recovery of biomass
• Reclamation and improvement of strip-mined land
• Forestry, nursery, and cultural operations

Making public facilities accessible to individuals with disabilities. In the case of human services corps programs, include participant service in:

• State, local, and regional governmental agencies
• Nursing homes, hospices, senior centers, hospitals, local libraries, parks, recreational facilities, child and adult day care centers, programs serving individuals with disabilities, and schools
• Law enforcement agencies, and penal and probation systems
• Private nonprofit organizations that primarily focus on social service such as community action agencies
• Activities that focus on the rehabilitation or improvement of public facilities, neighborhood improvements, literacy training that benefits educationally disadvantaged individuals, weatherization of and basic repairs to low-income housing including housing occupied by older adults, energy conservation (including solar energy techniques), removal of architectural barriers to access by individuals with disabilities to public facilities, activities that focus on drug and alcohol abuse education, prevention and treatment, and conservation, maintenance, or restoration of natural resources on publicly held lands
• Any other nonpartisan civic activities and services that the Commission determines to be of a substantial social benefit in meeting unmet human, educational, or environmental needs (particularly needs related to poverty) or in the community where volunteer service is to be performed; or encompass the focuses and services described in both paragraphs (1) and (2).