BATES - The Calculator

F e d e r al S t u d e n t L o a n s a n d e m p l o y m e n t Loans are funds that you have to pay back, usually after you graduate. You may request a loan to replace a shortfall in savings from summer employment or reduce or replace student employment. If you would like to change the amounts assigned to loans or work, please let us know.

Federal Direct Student Loan Part of your award may include a Subsidized or Unsubsidized Federal Direct Student Loan. Subsidized loans are awarded on the basis of need, which is determined by Bates in accordance with federal regulations. The federal government does not charge interest on subsidized loans during enrollment periods or authorized periods of deferment. The interest rate for subsidized loans disbursed between July 1, 2012, and June 30, 2013, is fixed at 3.4%. Students who do not qualify for a subsidized loan, or who have borrowed the maximum through the subsidized loan, can request an unsubsidized loan. Borrowers of unsubsidized loans may either pay the interest quarterly or choose to have the interest accrue and added to the loan’s principal while enrolled in college. The interest rate on unsubsidized loans is 6.8%.

An origination fee of 1% of the principal loan amount is deducted from each loan disbursement before it is credited to the student account. First-year students can borrow up to $5,500 through the Federal Direct Student Loan program. Students usually apply for this type of loan during the summer, and application information can be found at bates.edu/financial-services.

Federal Work-Study/Student Employment Students who work eight to 10 hours per week throughout the school year can anticipate earning $1,700–$2,000. Students are paid every two weeks for the actual number of hours worked and can use earnings from employment for out-ofpocket expenses.

Students are responsible for finding their own jobs — the Bates Student Employment Office posts and maintains campus job openings, or students can directly contact departments in which they have interest. Departments that employ student workers are asked to give priority in the first three weeks of each academic semester to hiring students who have received employment as part of a financial aid award. While Bates makes every effort to assist students in securing on-campus employment, we can’t guarantee that any individual student will be able to arrange a specific type or amount of work.

Students with academic or extracurricular schedules that prevent them from securing employment can replace part or all of the financial aid employment expectation with student loan borrowing, and should contact Student Financial Services for more information.