Skip to main content

WebAdvisor

MyCR Portal (Canvas, Student Email)

Faculty & Staff

Help Desk

CR District logo

Apply

Financial Aid

Contact Us

In person financial aid services are centralized for all CR locations at the Eureka campus. 

Email Us Here

Or send us an email at finaid@redwoods.edu

For form submission please use the eForms platform to submit forms to the financial aid office.

Student Services Building

Monday-Thursday 
9am-4pm

Friday 
11am-3pm 
(closed during the summer) 

707.476.4182

 

Direct Loan Request Process

 

LOAN DEADLINES | DATES | STATUS:

Full Year Loans (Fall/Spring) Due:  prior to your last date of attendance for the academic year
One Term Only Loans Due: prior to your last date of attendance for the term

NOTE: One Term Only Loans are for students who plan to be only enrolled in at least 6 units for a single term. Students who plan to be enrolled in at least 6 units for both Fall and Spring, will be requesting a "Full Year Student Loan." 

 

Completion of the federal financial aid application (FAFSA), for the corresponding academic year, and all additional requested documents is required prior to requesting a Direct Student Loan. Carefully review the loan request steps as outlined below (click on the links to access required forms or websites). The loan processing steps should be completed in the order presented (See Sections 1-3), otherwise delays can occur with the loan disbursement.

 

 

1. WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU REQUEST A LOAN?

 

Section1-02

Borrow only when absolutely necessary. Students who are planning to transfer should be aware that loans are generally the largest portion of a financial aid package at four year colleges. Consider your total educational debt before borrowing at College of the Redwoods.

 

 

Loan Interest Rates and Origination Fees:

Please access the link below for more information on student loan interest rates, origination fees, maximum amounts and examples of how origination fees are applied.

 

Direct Loan Terms and Conditions:

Please access the document below for more information regarding the additional terms and conditions of Direct Loans

 

Disbursements:

Student loan disbursements for first-time borrowers will be made no earlier than 30 days after the first day of the term. Students receive a loan award notification email that details their assigned loan disbursement dates; please monitor your student email for loan correspondences.  All documentation such as an MPN and Entrance Loan Counseling must be on file by the enrollment status date that corresponds with the scheduled disbursement date, otherwise delays can occur with loan funds. All loans have a minimum of two disbursement dates if originated before the midterm of the semester. Loan disbursements are provided to students through their refund preference with BankMobile Disbursements, a technology solution, powered by BMTX, Inc., Learn More Here.

 

 

Eligibility Requirements:

  • Completed Financial Aid File
  • Meet and maintain Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements in an eligible program of study and ed goal.
  • Enroll in and maintain 6 or more eligible units.
  • Completed Steps 1-4 below

Learn more about staying eligible for financial aid HERE

 

 

Your Loan Servicer:

  • For first-time loan borrowers, you will be assigned a loan servicer once your student loan disburses. Your loan servicer assignment is made by the Department of Education. The Department of Education will communicate to you who your loan servicer is. Once you are assigned your loan servicer, please go to their website to create an account and manage your student loan. Payments will be scheduled and handled by your loan servicer. College of the Redwoods cannot take payment for your student loan and cannot provide your student loan account number. You must go through your assigned loan servicer.
  • For returning loan borrowers, you have already been assigned a loan servicer and will need to know who your loan servicer is in order to submit a loan application. If you do not know who your loan servicer is, please review these instructions - How to Find your Loan Servicer's Information

 

The following are resources to answering required questions on your Loan Change Forms and Loan Appeal Forms. These resources can also be found on the forms.

  • We highly recommend you complete a personal budget/worksheet to review your current debt level and understand how you are spending your money. Loans are fairly easy to get, but difficult to repay. We want to be sure you are well-informed so you only take out loans if absolutely necessary. This will help you figure out the appropriate amount you need to borrow.
  • For students with prior student loan debt, please visit studentaid.gov and use your FSA ID and Password to log in. You will be able to obtain your prior loan debt and the name of your loan servicer(s). Accurate information about your prior loan debt and who your loan servicer(s) are will be required on loan change forms.
  • Please use the loan payment calculator to calculate your estimated loan payments. The loan amount should include your prior loan debt and the new amount you are requesting if you are a previous borrower.

 

ADDITIONAL LOAN COUNSELING (optional):

If you have any questions about the loan application process or repaying your loans, you can call our Financial Aid Office at 707-476-4182 or by student email at studentloanassistance@redwoods.edu or FinAid@redwoods.edu.

 

 

 

2. WHAT STEPS ARE REQUIRED TO APPLY FOR A LOAN?

 

Section2-03

Delays can occur if the student does not complete the steps in the order presented, Steps 1-3 should be completed first before a student submits a loan request as outlined in Step 4.

 

Instructions: Click on EACH STEP for information and how to complete.

 

 
Step 1: Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application and submit all additional documents requested by the CR financial aid office.
  • Haven't submitted/renewed your FAFSA for the academic year? Apply here: studentaid.gov
  • Submit any follow-up documents that are requested by the financial aid office. 
  • Note: You will be able to check your status on myFinAid via WebAdvisor. The myFinAid Checklist will show if all steps have been completed. Be sure that there are no missing documents indicated and that the application review by the Financial Aid Office has been marked as completed on your checklist.
 
Step 2: Submit a Master Promissory Note (MPN)
  • Complete online at StudentAid.gov (Click HERE)
  • Make sure the MPN is for a Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loan for Undergraduates
  • Only needs to be submitted once while at CR, unless your MPN has expired (good for 10 years).
  • Additional Information about completing the MPN process can be found: HERE.
  • Note: If you completed an MPN at a previous institution you will need to login to studentaid.gov and resubmit the MPN to College of the Redwoods. (Directions)
 
Step 3: Complete Entrance Counseling
  • Complete session online at StudentAid.gov 
  • Only needs to be completed once at CR.
  • Additional Information about completing the Loan Counseling process can be found: HERE
  • Note: If you completed entrance counseling at a previous institution, you will need to login to studentaid.gov and resend your completed entrance counseling to College of the Redwoods by using the "Notify Additional School" function. (Directions)
 
Step 4: Submit a Loan Request/Application eForm:

Click on the link for the Loan Application eForm and log into eForms.

When the Loan Application eForm opens, select the Academic Year for which you are applying to view the entire form. Complete the questions on the application and use the Submit button at the bottom of the eForm.  Tip: if you experience difficulties with completing the eForm, please email us at finaid@redwoods.edu.

 

 

3. WHAT HAPPENS AFTER I SUBMIT MY LOAN REQUEST?

 

Section3-04

Financial Aid Staff will review your Direct Loan Application to determine your eligibility. The loan certification process may take 4-6 weeks, or longer depending on when you submit your request and if you have completed all required steps as outlined in Section 1 and 2 of this page. If you have any questions about your loan request, please call (707) 476-4182 or email studentloanassistance@redwoods.edu. If you need to make a change to your original request, before we have processed and awarded loans, please email us at studentloanassistance@redwoods.edu or finaid@redwoods.edu from your student email;  requests to make changes to your original request must be in writing. If your loan application has been processed and you can see loans on your award letter, then you must use a loan change eForm (below) to request additional changes to your already awarded loans. 

 

No earlier than 30 days before or no later than 30 days after the loan disbursement, students will receive a notification through their mycr.redwoods.edu email account detailing the disbursement date, estimated amount of disbursement, and the student's right to cancel the loan disbursement. Student loans disburse to the student through their refund preference that they set up through BankMobile Disbursements, a technology solution, powered by BMTX, Inc. at refundselection.com. Students may sign up for email and/or text notifications through BankMobile Disbursements for alerts regarding their refund status if scheduled to receive a disbursement.

Students are required to complete Exit Loan Counseling BEFORE they graduate, withdraw, or drop below 6 units. Students will receive an email towards the end of each semester about completing exit loan counseling to both their personal and student email addresses. For students who do not have a personal email on file, they will receive exit loan counseling documents in the mail. To complete Exit Loan Counseling please go to: StudentAid.gov. You will need to log in with your FSA ID and Password and then select "complete exit counseling."

For students who have submitted a loan request/application and have been awarded a student loan, they can submit to have a loan changed or canceled. Forms are available through our eForms platform, please see the tutorial for login instructions.

  • Loan Change Form
    • Students can submit a loan change form to increase or decrease their student loan amount. Loan change processing can take 2-4 weeks to process. Please do not submit multiple loan change forms as it will delay processing. If you submitted a loan change form but made a mistake, please contact the Financial Aid Office.
    • Your currently awarded student loans may change or disappear from your award letter while we process your loan change request. Please wait until you have received your new loan award email before checking your award letter for the final changes to your student loans.
    • If the eForm is not accessible, please email us at: studentloanassistance@redwoods.edu, including a screenshot of what you're seeing if possible. We have alternative options for students who are unable to access the eForm due to technical issues with the system. Please check the "Current Processing Status" section at the top of this webpage for known issues.
  • Cancellation Form
    • Students can submit a financial aid cancellation form and indicate what terms and what award they would like to cancel. Only undisbursed loan funds can be cancelled, if your loan has disbursed and you wish to return the funds, please return your funds to your assigned loan servicer. Don't know who your loan servicer is? Please log into studentaid.ed.gov or contact the financial aid office.
    • If the eForm is not accessible, please email us at: studentloanassistance@redwoods.edu, including a screenshot of what you're seeing if possible. We have alternative options for students who are unable to access the eForm due to technical issues with the system. Please check the "Current Processing Status" section at the top of this webpage for known issues.

 

 

Reviewed the entire webpage? Still have questions or concerns? Please email: StudentLoanAssistance@redwoods.edu or Call: 707-476-4182

It is the policy of College of the Redwoods not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, age, or sexual orientation in its educational programs and its employment practices. Read Full Policy Here

College Seal

Facebook Link Twitter Link Youtube Link Instagram Link

  2023 College of the Redwoods

Report a Website Issue