Student Loans

There are a number of federal and institutional supported loan programs available to you as a student at the University of Washington. Eligibility for a student loan is determined by the Office of Student Financial Aid.

Loan Program Terms

Each loan program has specific requirements for eligibility and repayment. See the Student Loan Program Chart for details.


Promissory Notes

A promissory note is the binding legal document that you sign when you accept a student loan. It lists the conditions for borrowing the loan and the terms under which you agree to repay the loan. It will include information about your interest rate, when payments are due, and benefits such as deferment and cancellation provisions. It is very important to read and save this document. Since may need to refer to it later when you begin repaying your loan.


Signing for Your Loans

Promissory notes for loans from the federal loan programs (Stafford, PLUS, and Health Profession/Nursing) are signed electronically online. You must sign your promissory note before your loan can be disbursed to you on your tuition account. You will receive a quarterly disclosure statement itemizing the federal loan amount that you have borrowed. At any time, you may see a copy of your Master Promissory Note (MPN) on MyUW under Tuition Statement.

  • Parent PLUS Loans: If your parent plans to borrow from the Parent PLUS loan program, your parent borrower must complete an application and sign a Master Promissory Note online at Studentaid.gov.
  • For more information on Direct Stafford and Direct PLUS loans, please refer to the Student Guide.
  • Loans from UW Institutional student loan programs require your signature on apaper promissory note or via Docusign, which are provided by Student Fiscal Services.
  • Loans from Private Lenders are disbursed as they arrive from the lending institutions. Contact your bank/private lender for more information, or refer to your promissory note.
  • Short-term loans: To help students meet immediate funding needs, the University makes short-term loans available to eligible enrolled students.

Exit Counseling

When you take out a student loan, you are entered into a legal agreement, as documented in the terms of your promissory note. The most important part of this agreement is your commitment to repay your loan in full. Your loan will go into repayment status when you either graduate and/or drop below at least half-time enrollment.

The University of Washington offers exit counseling information to student borrowers to help you successfully manage the repayment of your loan account. This information will be sent to your UW email address during the quarter that you graduate. If you leave the University (or drop below half-time enrollment) before graduating, a notice about loan repayment will be mailed to you.

The purpose of exit counseling documents are to:

  • Explain your rights and benefits concerning your student loan(s)
  • Explain your obligations for repayment of your loan(s)
  • Provide contact information for your loan’s billing servicer, so that you can effectively manage your account

Depending on your loan types, you may need to complete more than one exit. Be sure to review your emails carefully to see if we have indicated more than one place to complete an exit. We are happy to help answer any questions you have about the loan exit process at instloans@uw.edu. You can also find more information with Financial Aid's website.

How to access Exit Counseling information

Federal Direct Student Loans (Stafford, PLUS):

Available online on the Direct Loan Servicer’s website.

Federal Campus-based Loans (Perkins, Health Professions and Nursing Loans):

Available online on the ECSI (formerly Heartland ECSI, Campus Partners) billing website (access by setting up a user account).

UW Institutional Loans:

Loan disclosure documents will be mailed to you.


Primary Care Loans (PCL) – Compliance Requirements

If you borrowed from the Federal Primary Care Loan program, you are required to self-certify your compliance with the loan program requirements annually. To meet this requirement, borrowers must submit a program compliance certification form to Student Fiscal Services once per calendar year until the loan is repaid in full. Fulfillment of this requirement will ensure eligibility for a 5.00% per annum interest rate.

If you are current a PCL borrower, submit your completed PCL Compliance Certification Form by mail, fax or email to Student Fiscal Services:

University of Washington
Student Fiscal Services, Box 355870
Seattle, WA 98195-5870

FAX: 206-685-2942

Email: instloan@uw.edu
Use the Subject: PCL Certification

COVID-19 and Loans

Federal student loans handled by the Department of Education (Stafford and other Direct Loans) the payment pause was in place until June 30, 2023. Interest was waived since March 2020 to the end of the payment pause. These loans are managed by Department of Education billing servicers.  Contact your Federal loan billing servicer for more information.  You can also find more information on your account.

The University of Washington has provided similar relief for most of our borrowers.  Interest was waived from April 2020 through September 2021. Billing has resumed and payments should be made to our loan billing servicer, ECSI. If you are still having a financial hardship, there my be forbearances and deferments available. Please contact ECSI. 

Past due Health Profession loans are on forbearance  until June 30, 2023. The interest waiver continued for Health Professional loans during the same time period. Any updates to the forbearance on Health Profession loans will be updated by HRSA on their website.

Payments can still be made to loans in forbearance.

For University of Washington loans, please contact ECSI at 888.549.3274 or log on to ECSI for assistance.

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