Student Loans & Federal Aid

Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) in July 2025, introducing changes to federal student loans that take effect on July 1, 2026 and do not impact borrowing for the 2025–2026 academic year.  You can view the list of Federal Student Loans changes for the 2026-2027 academic year and private loan options. Students may also contact the SIPA Office of Financial Aid with any questions.

SIPA students who are US citizens or permanent residents, and who are enrolled on at least a half-time basis (minimum of 6 credits per semester) may be eligible for one or more of the following aid programs:

Federal Direct Loans

Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan

US citizens and permanent residents may apply for up to $20,500/year through the fixed rate Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan. More information about the Federal Unsubsidized Loan requirements.

Federal Work Study

Federal Work Study: available on a limited basis to high-need students as determined by data on the FAFSA; annual earning limits typically start at $4,000.  Students whose aid package includes Work Study (and who accept their Work Study offer) will receive information about how to locate a job, which may be anywhere at Columbia (not necessarily at SIPA).  Work Study pay is not credited towards your tuition.  Like any salary from employment, Work Study earnings are potentially taxable income.  For information on using your work study allocation for off-campus employment, refer to the SIPA Career Advancement Center.  Please note students may work up to 20 hours per week during the academic year (including spring break) and 35 hours per week during eligible winter and summer breaks.  Also note that Work Study eligibility is not a requirement for SIPA Assistantships, which are not paid using Work Study funds.

SIPA satisfactory academic progress

• All recipients of federal financial aid must be meeting SIPA's standards for Satisfactory Academic Progress.

• Academic progress is reviewed on an annual basis.  Students found not to be meeting these standards will be notified by the Office of Financial Aid, and may be able to appeal their status.

  Federal Aid Recipient Conditions for Satisfactory Academic Progress:

• Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0
• Complete at least 67% of attempted courses
• Maximum timeframe: Degree completion within 150% of the program length (for example, no more than 3 years for a 2 year program) 

US citizen or permanent resident

Federal loans

• Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, for the appropriate academic year.
• Designate Columbia University: School of International and Public Affairs as a recipient by using our school code number: 002707.
• After you have been admitted, the SIPA Financial Aid Office determines your eligibility, and we will send you an email with a link to a portal called Net Partner, where you will be able to log in and view your complete financial aid and loan eligibility (note: this portal is not SSOL).
• The portal will provide next steps in the loan application process, including links to online forms you will need to complete.  For the Unsubsidized Direct Student Loan and the Graduate PLUS loan, you will need to complete the Master Promissory Note and online Entrance Counseling for each type of loan you borrow, using the same user ID and password used to complete your FAFSA.  These are only required the first time you borrow each loan.
• About a week after completing the required forms, return to confirm our receipt as status updates require a few business days.

Private loans

• If you are interested in loans from private lenders instead of those from the federal government, FAFSA is not required.  Columbia provides a sampling of private loans.  Click here to learn about the differences between private loans and those from the federal government and what might better suit your needs. 

International Student

• International students may borrow from lenders in the US, and most require borrowers to have a US citizen who can co-sign the loan for them.  Visit "ELM select for International Students" to find a list of lenders from whom international students at Columbia University have successfully borrowed.
• Some of SIPA’s international students come from countries with student loan programs that can be used for study in the United States; if such loans are available, they may be preferable as they may not require a co-signer.
• International students should not complete a FAFSA, as it is only used to determine eligibility for aid available to US citizens and permanent residents.

Federal loans

• Most student loans come due six months after you graduate or cease enrollment on at least a half-time (6 credits per semester) basis.  For almost all loans available to graduate students, interest accumulates while you are in school.
• Unsubsidized Direct Student Loan and the Graduate PLUS loan, both from the federal government, outsource loan servicing and collections.  You will be repaying one of about ten contracted servicers, to which your loan/s will be assigned randomly.  To find who is going to be servicing your loan, log in to the US Department of Education's student loan borrower site using your FAFSA ID.  This site will provide details of all your federal student loans (including anything you borrowed at schools prior to attending SIPA), your servicer and their contact information.
• Do not wait until it’s time to start making your student loan payments to familiarize yourself with the terms of your loans, anticipated monthly payments and the various repayment options.  Most people shop for car loans with a monthly payment amount in mind, you wouldn’t borrow a mortgage without that information either; approach student loans the same way. You may also find information from the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, The Institute of Student Loan Advisors or the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators to be helpful.
• Some borrowers choose to refinance their student loans at a lower interest rate, and this can be beneficial for some depending on the amount you have borrowed and your interest rate.  However, refinancing is not available from the US Department of Education (the lender), only from private companies.  Loans that are refinanced do not qualify for benefits offered by the federal government, such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
• There are circumstances under which a borrower who would otherwise be in repayment can defer their payments, such as being enrolled in a degree program or graduate fellowship, military or Peace Corps service, unemployment and others.  Click here to learn more about how a federal student loan can be deferred.
• Please see our Student Loan Repayment Webinar for more information.

Private loans

Terms such as interest rates and maximum length of repayment will vary depending on lender policies, borrower credit rating, amount borrowed and other factors.  Repayment terms of up to 20 years and 9 month grace periods before repayment after graduation are not uncommon.  Your lender can provide you with specific information about options available to you. You can learn more about repaying loans from private lenders here. 

Review the US Department of Education's repayment estimator using different repayment plans to compare the differences in monthly payments.  Another good calculator is available from finaid.org, and also offers information about accrued interest, factoring in salary increases, etc.

Meeting your student loan obligations will require careful financial planning and budgeting.  It is beneficial to familiarize yourself with the different repayment plan options and also to work out monthly budgets to make your student loan payments manageable.  You may find resources available from sites such as iGrad and Mapping Your Future to be helpful tools.

The U.S. Department of Education published its final Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program regulations that will be effective on July 1, 2026. The program is not changing today, and borrowers do not need to take any action. To learn more about Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)

Useful online resources

• The PSLF Help Tool
• PSLF Frequently Asked Questions
• FinAid.org

Non-profit or public sector qualified employment may include any of the following:

• A Federal, State, county, local, or Tribal government organization, agency, or entity;
• A public child or family service agency;
• Volunteering full-time in the Peace Corps or AmeriCorps;
• A tax exempt 501(c)(3) organization;
• A Tribal college or university;
• Or;

A private non-profit organization that provides any of the following public services

• Emergency management
• Military service
• Public safety or law enforcement
• Public interest law services
• Early childhood education
• Public service for individuals with disabilities and the elderly
• Public health
• Public education or other school-based services
• Public or school library services

Office of Personal Management

Office of Personal Management: agencies of the federal government may elect to assist employees in the repayment of their student loans, including possibly paying them off for the employee in full.  However, this is not guaranteed, it is at the discretion of the employing office/division and is subject to availability of funds.

Another repayment option for federal student loans is to borrow a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan.  This option, as the name implies, consolidates existing federal loans and gives the borrower who may have several different types of loans and multiple servicers or lenders the convenience of one monthly payment to one servicer.  You may choose to consolidate all or some of your federal loans through this program.  Loans from private lenders do not apply to this program.

Loan Consolidation typically does not save money, and in some cases, some repayment benefits can be forfeited.  But in other cases, there are benefits available for Consolidation Loans not available for loans that can be consolidated; it can be advantageous, for instance, to consolidate Perkins Loans if you may qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness, which is otherwise not available for Perkins Loan debt. 

Most borrowers are eligible for deferment of payment on Stafford/Direct loans, Perkins loans or other educational debt while enrolled for at least a half-time (six credits) course load in a degree-granting program. At Columbia, the University Registrar’s Office submits enrollment records for all students to the National Student Clearinghouse, which is then accessed by all student loan lenders, who will then place your loan into deferment as long as you remain enrolled.  Loan deferments do not begin until your first semester classes begin.  Plan to make payments until your lender notifies you that your loan is officially deferred, typically the month after your enrollment begins.