Ohio Wesleyan University | Office of Student Loans

About OWU

Academics

Loan Types

Perkins Loans

The Perkins Loan is a federal loan program. The terms of the loan and all disbursements are made in accordance with Part e of Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as well as federal regulations issued under the act.

Loan features:

Five percent Annual Percentage Rate (APR) on the unpaid balance.
No interest accrues during periods of deferment.
No penalty or interest while you’re enrolled at least half-time in a fully accredited college or university.
Nine-month grace period before you must begin to repay the loan.
No penalty if you repay your loan early.
Cancellation benefits (that is, cancellation of the loan for service rather than repayment) for teaching, law enforcement or corrections officer, nurse or medical technician, child or family services agency, Head Start teaching, military, volunteer service, and death or disability.
May be consolidated with other federal loans.
Forbearance (that is, freedom from making payments, for a stipulated period of time) available when you cannot make payments. Sometimes interest also is waived during that period.
An electronic master promissory note is good for ten years.

Ohio Wesleyan University Loan Program

Ohio Wesleyan’s loan program began in 1990 and is funded with endowment and gift income. Features include:

An aggregate loan limit of $10,000.
Eight percent interest rate.
A maximum repayment period of up to ten years.

As loans are repaid, the loan fund is replenished and new loans are awarded. The financial aid office determines eligibility and the loan amount from information provided on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Ohio Wesleyan University’s billing service is University Accounting Service (UAS) UAS sends the monthly billing statement to you and processes your payments on behalf of the school. UAS has an automated telephone system that allows you or your parent(s) to check the status of your account 24 hours a day. The toll-free number is (800) 999-6227. You can download deferment and cancellation forms and submit address updates and exit interview paperwork on the UAS Web site.

Ohio Wesleyan University loans include:

Charles E. Schell Foundation Student Loan Program

The Office of Financial Aid office determines if you are eligible for this loan program. The funds are supplied by the Schell Foundation to provide educational assistance loans—without interest and without security—to qualified students to aid them in securing a “practical education” they could not obtain without the loan.

Qualifications for This Loan

These loans are available to “men and women between the ages of 15 and 25 years of age who are citizens of Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia or adjoining states, and who appear to be honest, upright, intelligent, of practical appearance; who are of unmistakable loyalty to our country and its institutions—including the Army, Navy and Air Force. Recipients must be citizens of and born in the United States, of respectable parents of moderate means who are likewise citizens of and born in the United States. For any beneficiary under eighteen years of age, a parent must execute the application and promissory note.”

How the Loan is Administered

The funds are placed in your student account after the loan application and promissory note are completed. One-half of the loan amount is applied in the fall and the second half in the spring. Your loan can be discontinued “on failure of recipients to maintain satisfactory progress (a 2.0 grade point average, based on a 4.0 system) or on development of disloyalty to the United States or its institutions.”

Loan Repayment

Loan repayment begins 60 days after you leave from Ohio Wesleyan. The minimum payment is $50.00 and except under unusual circumstances, repayment of the total loan should be completed within ten (10) years of the date after which you leave Ohio Wesleyan. University Accounting Service provides a repayment schedule and collects payments on behalf of Ohio Wesleyan.

The Henry Nias Foundation Loan Fund

The Henry Nias Foundation Loan Fund benefits students from New York City who plan to return to that city after graduation. This fund was initiated with a gift from Henry Nias Foundation. The level of continued funding by the foundation is directly related to repayments.

Qualifications for This Loan

This loan is offered to families who request assistance in meeting their expected family contribution and whose student meets the criteria for the loan. Loans will be awarded where it is determined that this amount can truly make a difference in the possibility of your attending or continuing your studies at Ohio Wesleyan. You may apply for loan in subsequent years, but you must maintain at least a 3.0 GPA. While you are the primary borrower, your parent(s) are asked to co-sign the promissory note.

How the Loan is Administered

The funds are placed in your student account after the loan application and promissory note are completed. One-half of the loan amount is applied in the fall and the second half in the spring.

Loan Repayment

Your principal and interest payments at eight (8) percent, begin six (6) months after you no longer attend Ohio Wesleyan University. You may take up to ten years to repay the loan.

If, after you graduate from Ohio Wesleyan, you continue your education in an accredited college or graduate school, you may postpone the date for beginning repayment of the loan and interest for six months following the end of your undergraduate or graduate study, provided that your study proceeds continuously on at least a half-time basis.

JJ Somerville Loan

Qualifications for This Loan

Established in 1998 as an institutional loan for students with extenuating circumstances, the loan is interest free, with a minimum payment of $50.00 per month. The Office of Financial Aid, the Accounting Office, and the Vice President for University Enrollment determine whether you are eligible for this loan.

How the Loan is Administered

You must begin to repay principal and interest six months after graduation or withdrawal from Ohio Wesleyan. You must keep the University informed of changes in your name, address, and/or employment status.

If, after you graduate from Ohio Wesleyan, you continue your education in an accredited college or graduate school, you may postpone the date for beginning repayment of the loan for six months following the end of your undergraduate or graduate study, provided that your study proceeds continuously on at least a half-time basis.

You are responsible for submitting timely verification of enrollment as at least a half-time student from an appropriate officer of the institution that you attending.

If you default on any installment, the entire unpaid balance, shall, at the option of the University, become immediately due and payable.

The Hoyt Loan

Qualifications for This Loan

The Office of Financial Aid awards the Hoyt Loan to students who demonstrate need in meeting the estimated family contribution. The Hoyt Loan Fund was created by John Hoyt and his wife, Winifred, to provide interest-free loan money to students who otherwise would be unable to attend Ohio Wesleyan University. Full-time undergraduate students, who are under the age of 35 and pursuing degrees in business, teaching, or the sciences, are eligible.

“It is the desire and hope of the donor, Mr. John Hoyt, that recipients of these interest-free loans will make annual alumni contributions to the University, in recognition of the interest-free deferred payment arrangements that made it possible for them to attend college. He further urges those contributors who are employees of businesses that have programs that provide matching funds to pursue and facilitate such matching funds.”

How the Loan is Administered

The funds are placed in your student account after the loan application and promissory note are completed. One-half of the loan amount is applied in the fall and the second half in the spring.

Loan Repayment

You must fully repay the interest-free loan, in equal payments beginning one year after graduation, and within five years following graduation. If you discontinue your studies at Ohio Wesleyan for any reason, you must begin to repay the loan within one year and must complete payment within two years of leaving the University.

If you default on the repayment schedule above, you will incur interest charges at two (2) percent above the prevailing interest rates at the time you defaulted, calculated on the unpaid balance of the loan.

Questions?

If you have any questions about applying for these loans, please call the Office of Financial Aid Information 740-368-3050 or e-mail owfinaid@owu.edu.