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Home > FAQs > Qualifying Loans for Repayment |
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Qualifying and Managing Loans for Repayment
Which loans qualify for loan repayment?
Loans qualify for repayment if they are issued by any U. S. government (federal, state, or local) entity,
accredited U.S. academic institution(s), and/or commercial lender(s) that are subject to examination and
supervision in their capacity as lending institutions by an agency of the United States or the state in
which the lender has its principal place of business. Loans must have been used for school tuition or
other reasonable educational or living expenses (including room/board and transportation) while attending
undergraduate, graduate, medical, dental, or veterinary schools. To be eligible for LRP repayment, loans
cannot be consolidated with any loans issued to another individual, such as a spouse or child, or with
non-educational loans. See the section about
Qualified Educational Debt
for more information.
Do consolidated student loans qualify?
Yes, student loans can be consolidated at any time. Consolidation can save you interest expenses and
streamline the management of your debts. However, it is extremely important to not consolidate your student
loans with either those of another individual (such as a spouse or child), or non-educational loans. If
you consolidate your student loans into a home equity loan or personal loan, they will be ineligible for
repayments through the LRPs.
I consolidated my student loans. What now?
If you have been approved for LRP payments or are a participant, after consolidating your loans you
must provide NIH with the following: a disclosure statement from your new lender, to include (1) the
loan(s) paid off in the consolidation, (2) the name(s) of the prior lender(s), and (3) the total amount
paid for the loan(s). You must also provide a current balance statement from your new lender, showing the
payoff amount of your consolidated loan(s), and a loan data verification (LDV) form, completed and signed.
The LDV form is provided by the NIH Division of Loan Repayment (DLR), which administers the extramural LRPs.
How do I know when my next LRP payment will be released?
The NIH makes your loan repayments on a quarterly schedule upon verification of completed research service
and all previous LRP payments. If you are unsure when your next LRP payment will be released, or to which
lender it will be sent, please review the information in your
participant portal.
How are LRP payments calculated? What will my payments be?
Payment projections are based on your repayable debt calculated at the start of your LRP contract. The
LRP sets the quarterly payment amount based on an annual rate of 25 percent of repayable debt (up to a
maximum of $35,000 per annum, or $8,750 per quarter).
Are the quarterly payments fixed over the life of my LRP contract?
No. Your LRP payment amount is subject to change since NIH has agreed to make payments at an annual
rate of 25 percent of your repayable debt, not a fixed dollar amount. Over the course of your LRP
contract period, your repayable debt will likely change. For example, if the interest rate on one
or more of your variable rate loan(s) changes, your repayable debt will increase or decrease accordingly.
Your repayable debt will decrease if you make a payment to one or more of your interest bearing loans,
since the smaller principal balance resulting from your payment reduces the amount of estimated future
interest in your payment projections.
I received an e-mail notifying me that a payment from the LRP was sent to my lender. What should I do now?
Whenever an LRP payment is sent to your lender, DLR sends you an e-mail notification with instructions for
payment verification. Wait at least 10 business days before contacting your lender for a verification
statement. Send the verification by fax to DLR at (866) 849-4046. The LRP office will release your
next payment only if it has received verification of the prior payment.
Can loan payments I have already made offset my LRP participant obligation?
Only payments made from the start of an LRP contract count toward the participant obligation. For
your payments to be properly credited, you must submit a lender statement showing the date of receipt
and full amount of each payment you would like credited, plus the current balance of the account.
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