Loans & Financing Options

Students must file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which enables WPI to determine eligibility for federal loans. There are two types of Federal Direct Loans: Subsidized and Unsubsidized. Students must be enrolled at least half-time (6 credits for undergraduate students or 4 credits for graduate students) to be eligible for any federal loans. Repayment begins 6 months after the student graduates or drops below half-time enrollment, however, early payments can be made at any time.

Students must sign Entrance Counseling and a Master Promissory Note for their Federal Direct Loans.

• The Federal Direct Subsidized Loan does not accrue interest until 6 months after the student graduates or drops below half-time enrollment. Eligibility depends on your financial need and other aid in your financial aid package, Only eligible students will be offered this loan.
• The Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan begins accruing interest at a fixed rate as soon as it is disbursed. Information about interest rates for the current academic year can be found here.

Federal Direct Loan Borrowing Limits per Year

• Freshman/1st year = $5,500 total in subsidized and unsubsidized loans. No more than $3,500 of this amount may be in subsidized loans.
• Sophomore/2nd year = $6,500 total in subsidized and unsubsidized loans. No more than $4,500 of this amount may be in subsidized loans.
• Junior or Senior/3rd or 4th year = $7500 total in subsidized and unsubsidized loans. No more than $5,500 may be in subsidized loans.
• Graduate = $20,500 (unsubsidized only)

Independent freshman/sophomore undergraduate students are eligible for an additional $4,000 in unsubsidized loan. Independent junior/senior undergraduate students are eligible for an additional $5,000 in unsubsidized loan.

A student’s grade level is determined by the number of credits earned prior to the start of the academic year in which the loan funds are being awarded:

• Freshman/1st year = Less than 30 credits earned
• Sophomore/2nd year = 30+ credits earned
• Junior/3rd year = 66+ credits earned
• Senior/4th year = 102+ credits earned

WPI Average Student Debt
WPI students have an average federal student debt level of $23,059 (from the 2023-2024 Common Data Set, using data from the 2022-2023 academic year). For more detailed information on financial aid statistics and debt levels, please visit the National Center for Education Statistics College Navigator.

The Federal Parent PLUS Loan is serviced through the federal government and applied for by the student's parent on studentaid.gov (the same website that the FAFSA is completed on). For more information on how to apply for a PLUS loan, please visit here: Apply for a Direct PLUS Loan

To be eligible for this loan, the student must be enrolled at least half-time (6 credits/semester). Parents can opt to defer repayment while the student is enrolled at least half-time; there is also an option to make interest-only payments while enrolled. Interest does accrue while the loan is deferred. There are no prepayment penalties on any of these loans. Repayment (for those who choose to defer repayment) begins 6 months after the student graduates or drops below half-time enrollment.

Please note that the parent borrower is responsible for this loan and its repayment, as it is in their name (not the student's). For more information regarding eligibility, interest rates, and all other information related to PLUS loans, please visit here: Direct PLUS Loans for Parents

Parent PLUS loans have origination fees. If you intend to use a Parent PLUS loan to cover your balance, please use our PLUS loan calculator in the dropdown menu below. By using the calculator, this will give you an exact amount you should apply for, as it will take into consideration the fees associated with this loan. For example, if your statement is $10,000, you would want to apply for a PLUS loan totaling $10,441 (as the calculator indicates) due to the fees associated with this loan.

To officially accept and have a Federal Parent PLUS Loan disbursed to your account, the parent borrower must complete the required Master Promissory Note (MPN). Please be sure to select the "I'm a Parent of an Undergraduate Student" specific portion.

       PLUS Loan Calculator

If you are denied a Parent PLUS loan for adverse credit history, there are options you can take.

• Appeal the credit decision
  Visit studentaid.gov. Under the Grants and Loans tab, select Appeal a Credit Decision. You’ll need to provide documentation for your appeal. Please note that appeals must be handled directly with the Federal Student Aid office and cannot be processed through WPI. After completing the appeal, the parent borrower will need to complete the required PLUS Loan Credit Counseling which can be found and completed here: PLUS Loan Credit Counseling

   

• Apply with an endorser
  A credit-worthy endorser may help get the loan approved. If you choose this option, your endorser should visit studentaid.gov, Under the Grants and Loans tab, select Endorse a Direct PLUS Loan. The endorser will then need to complete the steps to officially endorse your PLUS Loan. If you do decide to use an endorser, the parent borrower will need to complete PLUS Loan Credit Counseling requirement which can be found and completed here: PLUS Loan Credit Counseling

   

• Request additional unsubsidized loan funding
  If the parent remains ineligible for a PLUS Loan, the student may qualify for additional Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan funds - up to $4,000 for first-year and sophomore students or up to $5,000 for juniors and seniors. If you would like to pursue this option, please email written confirmation to finaid@wpi.edu. Our office will need to see a PLUS loan denial on record before adding this additional funding.

WPI uses ELM SELECT, a helpful tool that provides students and families with information about available private loan options. ELM SELECT includes a list of private lenders and allows users to compare loan features side-by-side, including interest rates, repayment terms, estimated monthly payments, and more. WPI utilizes a historical lender list, meaning that each lender included has been used by at least one WPI student within the past five years. The WPI Office of Financial Aid does not endorse or recommend a particular program.

Private loans may be an alternative funding option for students and families who:

• Have exhausted their federal aid eligibility 
• Are not eligible for federal financial aid 
• Are enrolled less than half-time 
• Are not meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements 

ELM SELECT also offers sorting and filtering tools that allow students and families to customize their search based on their individual circumstances. Loan options can be sorted by factors such as APR, repayment type, and index type to help borrowers identify the loan that best fits their needs. Please contact the lender of your choosing for more detailed information pertaining to their loan.

*Students from Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Wisconsin are eligible to borrow a Bank of North Dakota (BND) DEAL student loan. BND does not list their product on ELM SELECT for WPI because of the small number of students that may be eligible. If you are a resident of one of these states and are interested in information about the BND DEAL student loan please visit BND’s website directly.

WPI offers its own institutional loans to undergraduate students who demonstrate financial need. WPI Loans are typically awarded to students in their junior and senior year. Repayment of both principal and interest (currently fixed at 5%) begins nine months after the recipient ceases enrollment or falls below half time enrollment status. WPI Loans include the following:

• Oliver Brewster Institute
• Davis Fund Institute
• Goodrich Institute
• Kinnicutt Fund Institute
• Knowles Institute
• Koppers Institute
• Manning Institute
• Stewart Fund Institute
• Ward Institute

More information on Institute Loans can be found here.

This program offers a zero-interest, long-term student loan to financially needy Massachusetts residents to help meet postsecondary educational costs. Learn more about borrowers’ responsibilities (PDF).

You do not apply separately for this loan. Students need to file a FAFSA before the Massachusetts deadline (May 1 each year) to be eligible for consideration.  

The individual schools receive an allocation of funds each year, which changes from year to year. The school will award these funds to students based on a number of criteria starting with our neediest students. If you are eligible for this funding, the WPI Office of Financial Aid will notify you sometime during the academic year. In most cases, this loan is replacing your awarded WPI instutitional loan which has a fixed 5% interest rate. It is not added as additional funding to your award.

This federal fixed-rate loan is available to Graduate Students from the Department of Education. Students should use their Federal Direct Graduate Unsubsidized Loan eligibility first before supplementing with GradPLUS. For more information, please read how to apply for a GradPLUS loan.

The Graduate PLUS Loan no longer exists for new borrowers effective 2026-2027. If you are a returning graduate student loan borrower, you may have continued eligibility. Please contact the Office of Financial Aid if you are unsure of your eligibility.

PLEASE NOTE: The lenders list on WPI’s Office of Financial Aid website and on printed materials are recommendations only and students have the option of using these lenders or they may elect to use lenders of their own choosing. The list is a historical survey of lenders our students have borrowed from in the past 5 years. WPI is in no way induced to choose any of the lenders appearing on their lists and we abide by the code of conduct followed by NASFAA members. Students are encouraged to maximize their federal loan borrowing (subsidized and unsubsidized Federal Direct loans) before using alternative/private loans, and parents are encouraged to compare the Federal PLUS Loans to the alternative/private loan options they may be considering.

This may include, but is not limited to:

• dropping below half-time enrollment within a semester
• graduating
• transferring to another institution
• beginning a leave of absence or withdrawing from WPI

Students who may need to complete exit counseling are sent notifications to their WPI and/or personal emails. They may also receive a letter to the permanent address listed on their student account if they do not have a non-WPI email address on file.

Please note that if you have a Massachusetts No Interest loan or WPI institutional loans, you must complete another exit counseling process in addition to federal exit counseling. You will receive a separate communication from ECSI regarding how to complete this second exit counseling.

Exit counseling must be completed in a single session, so please plan accordingly. Most students take about 20 to 30 minutes to complete the process online, and you can get started by following these steps:

1. Go to the Federal Student Aid website
2. Log in with your FSA ID (the same Federal Student Aid ID you use to log in to the FAFSA)
3. Under the "Loan Repayment" section, click "Loan Exit Counseling" (https://studentaid.gov/exit-counseling)
4. Click on the "START" button on the following screen

The entire process must be completed in a single session. Most people complete it in 20 to 30 minutes.

After graduating, leaving school, or dropping below half-time enrollment, federal loan borrowers typically enter a grace period, meaning they do not have to make payments on their loans for a set amount of time. You can find out more about the grace period on the Federal Student Aid loan repayment website. But even if you don’t have to repay your loans right away, there’s still a lot to consider and plan for. That’s where exit counseling comes in.

Exit counseling is a process that provides information about your federal loan servicer and can help you understand the details of repayment - such as when repayment starts, how to repay, repayment plans, and what to do if you have trouble making payments. Do not delay!

The National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) is the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED’s) central database for student aid. NSLDS receives data from schools, guaranty agencies, the Direct Loan program, and other Department of Education programs. NSLDS Student Access provides a centralized, integrated view of Title IV loans and grants so that recipients of Title IV Aid can access and inquire about their Title IV loans and/or grant data.

You may access your records at https://studentaid.gov/. For more information about repaying your student loan, please contact your loan servicer listed on your Federal Student Aid dashboard.

Direct Loan Exit Counseling Guide