Newsroom
Mapping Your Future's Private Loan counseling educates students
By Beth Ziehmer
July 27, 2017
Conversations with students and parents underscore the need for students to be aware of the difference between federal student loans and private loans. Schools can help their students learn the difference between private/alternative student loans and federal student loans by requiring student loan borrowers complete Mapping Your Future's Private Loan counseling session prior to certifying the student's private/alternative loans.
Since FY2011, over 17,600 students have completed the Private Loan counseling session, located at mappingyourfuture.org/pl. The counseling session presents information in six steps, guiding students toward responsible borrowing and successful repayment:
- Private loan basics
- Private versus federal loans
- Eligibility
- Choosing a lender and loan
- Repayment
- Delinquency and default
While the counseling is best suited for use as entrance counseling, borrowers also can complete a session to serve as an exit interview.
To experience Private Loan counseling from the student perspective, follow these steps:
- Go to the Mapping Your Future home page at MappingYourFuture.org
- Click the "complete Online Counseling" tab in the upper left corner of the page
- Select "Private Loan" (under "Other counseling")
- Choose Missouri as your state
- Select MYF Demo School as your school
In addition to offering the interactive counseling session, Mapping Your Future has made the content available on the website as a printable guide. The guide is online at mappingyourfuture.org/downloads/privateloanguide.pdf.
Sponsors of Mapping Your Future can link to the Private Loan counseling, or take it a step further to integrate the Private Loan counseling into their private loan processes.
Another option for schools and Sponsors is to create their own counseling session through Counseling Powered by Mapping Your Future. Counseling Powered by Mapping Your Future allows you to create the counseling text, specifically tailoring the information to your needs and the needs of your students.
Mapping Your Future is a public service nonprofit organization that has been providing this counseling service to schools, students, and families for 21 years. Online Counseling provides a low-cost, or no-cost, alternative to meeting and exceeding federal counseling requirements, depending on sponsorship of the state in which the school is located.
Schools that currently do not use Mapping Your Future's Online Counseling can learn more at mappingyourfuture.org/oslc/aboutoslc.cfm and sign up at mappingyourfuture.org/oslc/schoolsignup.cfm.
Contact the Mapping Your Future staff with questions or for more information at feedback@mappingyourfuture.org or (800) 374-4072.