The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) has endorsed MEDebt Solutions, a comprehensive personal and education finance resource from Education Association Services (EAS) Group LLC.

MEDebt Solutions provides APTA members personalized education and finance information, tools, strategies, counsel, options, and solutions to successful decision-making in managing student loans and consumer debt.

“Understanding debt, making it affordable, and protecting assets, is a prime requisite for physical therapists and physical therapist assistants, perhaps second only to obtaining a degree,” remarked APTA President R. Scott Ward, PT, PhD. “Many physical therapy students are currently looking at principal loan balances that exceed three to four times their gross income for their first postgraduate job. It was incumbent upon us to help our members fund their educational dreams.”

APTA and EAS have collaborated since 2002 to help thousands of physical therapy students obtain and consolidate student loans, as well as receive financial education and money/debt management information, tools, and resources.

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How Do I Accept My Loans?

In the majority of schools, Financial Aid department will have a way (usually web based) to contact you when your loans are processed. Some lenders require Entrance Counseling in order to receive loans. The Entrance Counseling is also usually web based and you will typically be able to link to it from the information the Financial Aid Office sends you. The Entrance Counseling will give you basic information about loan types, requirements to keep your loans, and loan repayment. Once you finish the Entrance Counseling, you must sign a Master Promissory Note that basically says you accept the loan’s terms and conditions. This is usually done electronically but some companies still require the Master Promissory Note to be signed and mailed back.

Once these two steps are complete, your school’s Financial Aid Office will notify you about how much aid you will receive. You then choose how much of the awarded loan money you want to accept.

When do I have to pay all this back?

You must begin to pay back Federal loans following a 6 month period of not being enrollment in school. This occurs when you do not enroll in classes for six months or after you graduate. Remember to plan ahead with your budget and expect these bills to come. Find out the lenders information from your school’s Financial Aid Office and make arrangements to have your loans consolidated (all your loans rolled into one sum to repay) if possible. This makes for less financial confusion and a steady rate of billing.

To find out who services your loans click here.
To find out how to consolidate federal loans click here.

Deferment of Federal Loans

Loan deferment is possible under certain circumstances. If you find yourself in financial distress contact a counselor for your lender. If you are able to show your lender evidence of this distress, you can work out an extension period with the loan counselor to delay repayment until you are financially able to resume repaying your loans. You can also work with your lender to lower the amount to be repaid at a time or change the payment schedule based on your individual financial need.

It is always better to contact your lender and keep them informed of your current situation. This will put you in better standing with the company and save your credit. As long as you communicate with your lender and repay what you are able, the lender will be willing to work with you on your loan repayment.

Federal Stafford Loans – The First Loans Received

These loans are federally based with low interest rates. Repayment is differed until the student graduates or is not enrolled in classes full time for one consecutive semester. This is the first loan type offered to you.

A student must accept the full amount of these loans before the Graduate Plus Loans can be applied for. The loan amount offered is calculated based on school tuition, room status, and a small percentage for living expenses. There are limits to how much money can be borrowed with Stafford Loans.

Graduate Student Loan Limits

• Subsidized Stafford loan limit of $8,500 for the school year.
• Unsubsidized Stafford loan limit of up to $12,000 for the school year.
• Lifetime Stafford loan limit of $138,500, which includes all subsidized and unsubsidized graduate and undergraduate loans.
• Generally out-of-state students are eligible to receive the maximum annual loan limit.

STUDENTS MAY NOT QUALIFY FOR THE FULL AMOUNTS LISTED ABOVE.

What does it mean when a loan is Subsidized or Unsubsidized?

The Federal Stafford Loan will come in two distinctive amounts:

• A smaller amount will be called your Subsidized loan. This just means that the loan will not accrue interest during the time you are in school.
• The larger amount will be Unsubsidized which means that while you’re in school the loan will be accruing interest.

*Some students only need the subsidized loan to pay for school. Your school’s financial aid office will inform you of the amount of aid that has been awarded to you. You then decide whether to accept the entire awarded amount or just the amount you need.

Graduate plus Loans – The second source of federal loans

You must fill out a separate application for this loan. Applications can be found in your school’s Financial Aid Office. These loans are the only way to borrow above the set yearly limit unless private loans are used. These loans also have a low interest rate and repayment does not begin until the student graduates or is not enrolled in classes full time for one consecutive semester.

Remember these loans need to be applied for separately and they are based on your credit record. Keep this in mind when you are applying!

Private Loans – The third source of loan aid

These loans are provided through individual financial institutions and are not backed by the federal government. These private institutions control both the interest rates and when the loan must be repaid. These interest rates can change drastically so be careful when using this type of resource.

Remember if you need a private loan, talk to your school’s Financial Aid Office about preferred lenders. These are a group of private lenders who frequently deal directly with your school to provide students loans.

Even though it sounds very intimidating, filling out the FAFSA is really quite simple. The internet has simplified the process just be sure to have all the information you need before getting started!

To get started, there are 3 pieces of information you’ll need to collect to help you feel out your FAFSA.

Step 1. Obtain the appropriate tax information. You will want tax records for the appropriate year. For example, if you are planning to enroll in classes for fall 2010 then you would need to find your 2009 tax records.

Step 2. Next obtain a Federal Education PIN number here.

(This is located on the FAFSA’s website. The PIN allows you to save, retrieve and electronically sign your FAFSA forms and accept any aid given to you. Follow the step by step guidelines located on the website. )

Step 3. The next step is to obtain school codes for all the school’s you will be applying to. Each school’s federal code needs to be placed on your FAFSA.
(Each of the schools you input will be sent the results of your FAFSA.)

Once you have completed the steps above you can now begin filing your FAFSA. The FAFSA will calculate how much financial aid is needed based on your individual situation. To do this the FAFSA takes into account your income, your spouse’s income (if you are married), your mom or dad’s income (if you fill that section out), etc. etc.

The financial aid department of each school will inform you of how much money you have been awarded. You decide how much of the awarded amount you want to accept.

You can find out more information on FAFSA as well as fill out yours here

It is important to plan ahead. If you worked the year before starting school, financial aid will be based on the prior year’s tax records! Filing out the FAFSA is the most important step to receive any financial aid. The deadline to fill out the FAFSA is usually April 1st.