Loans for Professionals Students

Loans are money you borrow that must be repaid with interest. Along with scholarships, grants, and work study, they are a vital form of financial assistance that can offset your cost of attendance.

Cal Lutheran participates in multiple low-interest federal loan programs for Bachelor's Degree for Professionals students returning to school to complete their degree. Eligibility for federal loans require a FAFSA to be completed each year.

In addition to these direct federal loans to students, there are also private loans available for further financing.

2025-26 Loan Options

Select a loan to view complete details.

Loan	Interest Rate	Year Max*	Lifetime Max	Credit Check?	Subsidized?	Repayment Grace Period	Fee**
Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loan	6.533%	Up to $7,500 (Seniors)	$31,000	No	Yes	6 months	Yes
Private Student Loan	Varies by lender	Up to COA	None	Yes	No	None	Yes

*The total amount of financial aid, including loans, cannot exceed Cost of Attendance (COA). COA is set by Cal Lutheran and includes tuition, fees and a cost of living allowance.
**Fees are subtracted from the disbursed monies each term and are typically calculated as a % of the amount disbursed.

Información en Español

Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loan

Overview

Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans are available to students who complete the FAFSA, submit all required documentation, and are enrolled at least half-time. Students who apply for the FAFSA are automatically considered for both Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans. While repayment on both loan types may be deferred until six months after a student leaves school or drops below half-time enrollment, interest accrues differently.

Unsubsidized loans begin accruing interest immediately, whereas Subsidized loans — awarded based on financial need — have their interest covered by the federal government while the student remains enrolled. With fixed interest rates and no credit check required, Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans are an excellent financing option for eligible FAFSA applicants.

Key Information

Subsidized or Direct Subsidized Loan

Unsubsidized or Direct Unsubsidized Loan

For Unsubsidized Direct Loans, students are charged interest from the time the loan is disbursed until it is paid in full. Borrowers may choose to pay the interest while they are in school, or defer payments until the end of their grace period. Any accrued interest will be capitalized and added to the principal amount of the loan at repayment, increasing the amount that must be repaid. If students choose to pay the interest as it accumulates, the long term cost of the loan will be less.

Loan Repayment

Repayment on Direct Loans begins six months after a student graduates, withdraws, leaves school, or drops below half-time status.

Academic year	First Disbursement	Loan Type	Interest Rate
2024-25	On or after July 1, 2024 and before July 1, 2025	Undergraduate Direct Loan: Subsidized & Unsubsidized	6.533%
2025-26	On or after July 1, 2025 and before July 1, 2026	Undergraduate Direct Loan: Subsidized & Unsubsidized	6.39%
2026-27	On or after July 1, 2026 and before July 1, 2027	Undergraduate Direct Loan: Subsidized & Unsubsidized	TBD

View Loan Repayment Simulator

Additional Unsubsidized Loan

The Additional Unsubsidized Direct Loan is available to students who are either classified as “independent” according to federal guidelines, or whose parents are denied the Direct Parent PLUS Loan by the Department of Education during the application process. Additional Unsubsidized Direct Loan amounts are as follows:

Class	Credit Requirements	Amount
1st Year	0–29 credits	$4,000
2nd Year	30–59 credits	$4,000
3rd Year and Beyond	60–89 credits	$5,000

Loan Limits

The maximum loan amount for which a student may receive in the Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loan program is determined by the student’s grade level. Grade level is determined based on the number of credits a student has completed.

Cal Lutheran reviews aggregate loan limits prior to awarding loans for the academic year. Students can check the amount of loans they have taken out during their academic careers at studentaid.gov.

Dependent Undergraduate Students

Class	Credit Requirements	Annual Maximum
1st Year	0–29 credits	$5,500 ($3,500 subsidized)
2nd Year	30–59 credits	$6,500 ($4,500 subsidized)
3rd Year and Beyond	60–89 credits	$7,500 ($5,500 subsidized)
Aggregate (Total) Limit		$31,000 ($23,000 subsidized)

Independent Undergraduate Students

Class	Credit Requirements	Annual Maximum
1st Year	0–29 credits	$9,500 ($3,500 subsidized)
2nd Year	30–59 credits	$10,500 ($4,500 subsidized)
3rd Year and Beyond	60–90+ credits	$12,500 ($5,500 subsidized)
Aggregate (Total) Limit	90+ credits	$57,500 ($23,000 subsidized)

Students enrolling mid-year in an academic program, may be eligible to receive the full amount of Direct Loan funds up to the annual loan limits as specified by the federal government.

Please Note: this may result in receipt of loan funds at a higher amount in a single term due to a mid-year start date. If you later intend to enroll for all terms in an academic year, your loan funds will be equally distributed over the terms you are enrolled in. If you have questions about how this will impact any future awards, please contact the Office of Financial Aid.

Origination Fees

All Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans are subject federal origination fee which is subtracted from the loan at the time of disbursement.

First Disbursement	Loan Fee	Fee on a Loan Amount Of
On or after October 1, 2020 and before October 1, 2026	1.057%	$58.14 on a $5,500 loan

How to Apply

As of July 1, 2026 there are new loan limits for all federal federal loans. If this is your first time borrowing loans, be sure to review the loan limits when calculating your cost of attendance.

All application steps must be completed at least 30 business days prior to the start of a term which the student wishes to receive aid for. This includes the following:

Step 1: Filing a FAFSA

Step 2: Complete Any Missing Document Requests

Step 3: Accept Your Loans

Once your loan eligibility for the aid year has been determined, you will need to manually accept your loans through your myCLU Self-Service Financial Aid portal. Accepting the loan through the portal, will allow you to accept the full amounts of your loan eligibility for the academic year. If you are looking to accept less that the full amount, please submit a Loan Change Request Form to indicate how much of the loan you are wishing to accept for the semester/aid year.

Step 4: Complete Necessary Loan Items

All loans require processing time before the funds will be ready to disburse. Students may receive loan funds for a term only if they are currently enrolled in that term at least half time and loan funds disburse prior to end of that term. If completion of required steps occurs after the 10 business days prior to the end of the term, the Office of Financial Aid cannot guarantee that loan(s) will be processed before the end of the eligible timeframe.

Loan Disclosure

Please note that the borrower has the right to cancel a portion of or the entirety of their loan within 14 days of either the first day of class or the disbursement of the funds to the student’s account, whichever is later. After which time it is the borrower’s responsibility to return any unwanted funds to the lender or federal loan servicer. To request a cancellation, please complete and submit a Loan Change Request Form within the appropriate timeframe.

Creating an FSA Account

Steps involving StudentAid.gov will require a Department of Education FSA ID. Learn how to create an FSA ID

Required: Loan Counseling

Loan counseling is a required means of helping you understand your rights and responsibilities regarding your loan.

Entrance Counseling

Entrance counseling must be completed before the first disbursement of a loan. If you do not complete your Loan Entrance Counseling, your loan will not be able to be processed.

You can complete loan entrance counseling online at the StudentAid.gov website.

Exit Counseling

Exit counseling must be completed before graduation or dropping below half-time enrollment.

You may complete your exit counseling online at the StudentAid.gov website. You will need your Social Security number, FSA ID, and the name and addresses of your nearest relative and two personal references to complete the session. When you have finished your exit counseling, remember to print your completion certificate.

If you need to get a Separation Form signed for Financial Aid, bring your completion certificate into the Financial Aid Office and our Front Desk representative will be able to sign off.

Back to all loan options

Private Student Loan

Overview

Private student loans (also referred to as education or alternative loans) are offered and serviced by third-party lenders to help bridge the gap between college costs and traditional financial aid. These loans may be used to cover current-term expenses, past-due balances from a prior term or academic year, and costs for students enrolled less than half time. A credit check is required, and eligibility is based on the borrower’s and/or co-signer’s credit rather than financial need. Interest rates vary by lender and market conditions. Private student loans may not exceed the Cost of Attendance minus other accepted financial aid, including scholarships, grants, work-study, and federal loans.

California Lutheran University will certify private student loans only for students who are meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP), and students are generally encouraged to exhaust all federal loan options before borrowing private loans.

Federal vs. Private Loans

If you are deciding between a federal student loan and a private student loan, carefully compare the pros and cons of each.

Completing the FAFSA may make you eligible for federal loans or other Title IV aid, which often offer more favorable terms than private student loans. In general, students should use their federal loan options before considering private student loans.

For guidance, review this comparison diagram from Federal Student Aid to help determine which loan type best fits your needs.

Key Information

Processing Timeline

Loan Application: You select a lender, apply for the loan, and the lender makes a credit decision.
Cal Lutheran Private Loan Request Form: You complete & submit the required electronic form to the Cal Lutheran Financial Aid Office.
School Certification: The school confirms your cost of attendance, other financial aid, and approved loan amount.
Final Disclosure: The lender issues a final disclosure, which includes a three business day right to cancel.
Disbursement: Funds are typically sent directly to Cal Lutheran about 10 days after certification and applied to your student account.

How to Apply

Step 1: Select a Loan Lender

Eligibility for a private student loan is based on the student's and co-signer's (if required) credit history. Most loan lenders allow students to determine if they would like to have a fixed or variable interest rate and when their repayment will begin.

Lender Search Tool

Cal Lutheran is an impartial party and cannot recommend any particular lender. However, through careful consideration of many factors, including borrower benefits, Cal Lutheran provides a Lender Search Tool containing a list of lenders that are currently participating in private student loan lending. Students are in no way restricted to this list of lenders when borrowing a private student loan. Lenders within the tool are displayed in random order.

Lender Search Tool

UNDERGRADUATE

PROFESSIONALS

GRADUATE

Step 2: Apply for a Loan From Your Chosen Lender

Once you have determined which lender you want to borrow a private student loan from, the next step is to complete a loan application with that lender.

Most private student loan lenders have an online application you may use to apply.

If you are already approved for the loan by your lender, move on to step 4

Most lenders include the certification form as part of their online loan application process which means you do not need to complete the self-certification form yourself.

The instructions below are only necessary if your lender requests for you to complete a seperate self-certification form.

If prompted by your lender, download the Alternative Loan Self-Certification Form.

Step 3: Self-Certification Form (Skip if already approved)

Self- Certification Form Information

The Title X of the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) requires that a series of three loan disclosures be provided to Alternative Loan borrowers throughout the application process and that the borrower also complete an Alternative Loan Self-Certification Form prior to the loan being disbursed.

The purpose of the disclosures is to:

Present the terms/cost of the loan in a clear and consistent manner.
Allow for comparison shopping and re-evaluation of borrowing an alternative loan during the application process.
Present lower cost federal options that should be exhausted prior to considering an alternative loan.
Reduce overall borrower indebtedness.

The student is required to complete the Alternative Loan Self-Certification Form and return it to the Alternative Loan Lender. The Alternative Loan Lender will not disburse any loan funds until the student’s completed form has been received.

Below are instructions on how to obtain information that is required to complete the Alternative Loan Self-Certification Form.

Cost of Attendance & Estimated Financial Assistance (Section 2 of the form)

Part A: Cost of Attendance (COA)

For Traditional Undergraduate students, please refer to Undergraduate Estimated Cost of Attendance for specific amounts.
For Professionals or Graduate students, the COA is variable based on the number of units the student is registered in per term and the number of terms he or she attends CLU in an academic year. Contact the Financial Aid Office to find out more about specific COAs.

Part B: Estimated Financial Assistance (EFA)

Please follow these steps to determine your EFA:

Accept or Reject Financial Aid.
Add together all accepted aid (in scholarships, grants, Federal Work Study, Federal Stafford Loans, and Parent PLUS Loan) for the academic year.
Use the total amount as your Estimated Financial Aid (EFA) amount. Your EFA should not include the current Alternative Loan that you are applying for.

Part C: Difference Between COA and EFA

The difference between the Cost of Attendance and Estimated Financial Assistance is the maximum amount of Alternative Loan that a student is eligible to apply for.

Post-Step 3: You should contact the private loan lender to submit the self-certification form

All self-certification forms must be sent to the private loan lender. If a private loan lender requires the self-certification form, the loan cannot be processed until the lender has received that completed self-certification form in addition to other disclosures that require the student’s signature. Cal Lutheran recommends that all students follow up with their private loan lender to be sure that they have completed all necessary steps.

Step 4: Submit a Cal Lutheran Private Loan Request Form

Once you know the loan amount you are approved for by your lender, the final step is to complete the online Cal Lutheran Private Loan Request Form. Please allow 2-4 weeks for the loan to be certified by the Financial Aid Office.

The Private Loan Request Form is a requirement for Cal Lutheran to certify your loan application.

Select the appropriate academic year:

2025-2026 Private Loan Request Form
- This includes Fall 2025, Spring 2026 and Summer 2026
2026-2027 Private Loan Request Form (in progress)

Application Timeline

In order to ensuer your Private Loan is fully processed by the time fees are due, you want to make sure all application steps (both for your private loan lender and Cal Lutheran) are completed atleast 30 business days prior to the start of the term. This includes: