Regents Scholarship
The Regents Scholarship loan is designated for undergraduate Georgia residents who are enrolled full time, rank academically in the upper 20% of their class and who have established financial need. Borrowers who reside and work in the State of Georgia may be eligible to have all or part of their scholarship cancelled. It is extremely important that you underst and your rights and responsibilities.
Enrollment Requirements  |
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 Students are required to be enrolled at full time each term to receive Regents Scholarships
funds.
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| Entrance and Annual Requirements |
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The Federal Regents Scholarship loan program requires the completion of Entrance Interview Questionnaire, Truth-in-Lending (acknowledgement of total loan indebtedness) and sign a Promissory
note (Agreement to Conditions) each year that funds are awarded. The Truth-in-Lending
and a Promissory note are mailed to the student each award year and must be completely
filled out, signed and returned to Student Accounts – Loan Servicing Department. Funds
will not be disbursed until our office receives the proper paperwork for the loan.
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| Funds Disbursement |
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Financial aid funds are first applied to a student’s account balance and any excess
funds are mailed to you in the form of a check or directly deposited into your personal
bank account.
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| Exit Requirements |
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| Interest Information |
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| Prepayment Information |
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Borrowers may, without penalty, prepay on their loan. Prepayments will be used to
reduce the amount of outstanding loan principal and decrease the repayment period
and related total interest charge. If you pay more than your monthly payment, the
additional amount will automatically be applied to principal unless you otherwise
designate. If partial prepayments on the loan are made, the next monthly payment will
still be due as originally scheduled. Borrower’s who wish to have prepayments applied
to the next scheduled payment(s) of their loan, must request this in writing accompanying
their payment. (Installment payments in advance must equal or exceed the scheduled
amount of future installment(s). If you would like to make a prepayment on your University
of Georgia Regents Scholarship loan, you may write a letter of your intentions or
use our Prepayment Letter.
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| Payment Information |
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Payments are due on the 1st of each month to the University of Georgia, Student Account
Services – Loan Servicing department. Payments are considered late if received after
the 15th of each month and if applicable, you will be charged a late fee. Checks should be made payable to "The University of Georgia". Please include borrower
name and last four numbers of social security number on the check. Payments should
be accompanied by a payment coupon. However, if you do not have a payment coupon,
you may mail your payment without one and request future payment coupons. You may
also print a general payment coupon and mail it with your payment. Please remember that not having a payment coupon does
not excuse you from making a payment. The coupon helps to properly credit your account
with your payment. If you do not have a supply of coupons, please contact Student
Accounts. Checks should be mailed to: University of Georgia Student Account Services - Loan Servicing 110 Business Services Building Athens, GA 30602-4226 Repayment begins on the 1st of the month after a nine month grace period following
graduation, withdrawal or enrollment less than full time. The minimum monthly payment
is $83.33 and it may be higher depending on the amount of Regents scholarship loan
money borrowed. Repayment is made in equal monthly installments and is made directly
to the University of Georgia, Student Account Services – Loan Servicing Department.
If a loan becomes delinquent, late fees equal to seven percent of the monthly loan
payment are assessed to the loan balance. The University of Georgia may assign loans
to an outside collection agency or legal firm for collection in which case the borrower
is responsible for all collection costs, attorneys fees and court costs incurred by
the University in collecting the delinquent account. Repayment can be deferred while
students are enrolled full time at an eligible institution. Repayment can be cancelled
for employment and residency in the State of Georgia. Please see cancellation section
below for more details on repayment via service. However, if a borrower cannot make
the full payment on time, they must contact our department to make arrangements to
bring their account current.
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| Credit Bureau Reporting |
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In accordance with federal regulations, all loan information including loan balances
and repayment histories are reported to National Credit Bureaus at the time of disbursements
and continually reported monthly until the loan is paid in full.
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| Deferment Benefits Definition and Types |
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A deferment allows the temporary postponement of principal payments and in some cases
also interest payments while you meet certain criteria. The Federal Regents Scholarship
Loan program has several deferment provisions which in general include a six month
grace period after your deferment ends. Each deferment has different criteria you
must meet in order to receive the benefit. Please read the following types of deferments
to determine if you may qualify for the benefit. If you believe that you are eligible
for a deferment, please follow the instructions under that provision and call us for
further instructions. It is the borrower's responsibility to file the request for
deferment on a timely basis. Failure to submit the deferment forms by the due date
may result in the reporting of past due information to the Credit Bureau on your account.
Please remember it is your responsibility to contact our office to apply for a deferment. In School Deferment Borrowers who are enrolled at least half-time in an eligible institution may be eligible
for a repayment deferment. This deferment can be granted for up to one year per request
and reapplied for if you remain eligible. This deferment allows the suspension of
principal and interest (and interest does accrue) repayments during the deferment
period. Repayment resumes on the 1st of the month following your last enrollment date
after a four month grace period. To request your loan to be placed in deferment based
on the criteria you are enrolled at least half-time at an eligible institution, you
must print and complete the Enrollment Certification form which must be certified and officially stamped by the Registrar at the school
you are attending. The Enrollment Certification form must be received by our office
in order to defer your repayment. If your school prefers to use its own official certification,
you may submit their certified form in lieu of our Enrollment Certification form.
Remember, if you did not attend school, you will be asked to make payment for all
prior months in which your loan was in deferred status when you became ineligible.
If you should leave school during a period of deferment, contact our office immediately.
Borrowers who serve on active duty or performing qualifying National Guard duty may
be able to defer repayment. There are other criteria that you must meet in order to
qualify for this deferment, so to request your loan to be placed in deferment based
on military service, you must contact our office for further instructions. Borrowers who perform service as a volunteer in the Peace Corps or Americorps*VISTA
may qualify for a deferment. There are other criteria that you must meet in order
to qualify for this deferment, so to request your loan to be placed in deferment based
on Peace Corps OR Americorps*VISTA Volunteer service, you must contact our office
for further instructions. |
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| Cancellation Benefit |
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Borrowers may be entitled to have up to 100% of the original principal loan amount
canceled if the borrower maintains employment and residency within the State of Georgia
during the cancellation period. No repayment amounts can be canceled for employment
and residency with in the State of Georgia performed prior to the date the loan was
disbursed or during the enrollment period covered by the loan. The employment and
residency within the State of Georgia must be performed after receiving the loan.
Any payments made by a borrower during a period for which the borrower qualified for
cancellation can not be refunded. Loans may be placed in a deferred status during
periods of time while the borrower is performing service eligible for cancellation.
Interest does accrue during these periods. To request a cancellation based on the
above criteria, complete the Regents Scholarship Postponement OR Partial Cancellation Certification form. The employment and residency must be officially verified. You also may be asked
to provide additional documentation to verify your qualification for a cancellation.
The form and if necessary any additional documentation must be returned to our office
before your loan can be placed in a deferred status or a cancellation can be granted.
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| Rate of Cancellation |
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The Regents Scholarship loan cancellation rate is $1,000 (or fraction thereof) of
original principal loan amount and accrued interest per year as long as the employment
and residency in the State of Georgia criteria is meet.
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| Loan Consolidations |
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The University of Georgia does not offer a loan consolidation program. However, borrowers
may consider loan consolidation to make repayments of their total loan debt easier.
Please understand that if you consolidation your Federal Regents Scholarship Loan,
you will lose any and all opportunity for the cancellation provision. Remember, loan
consolidation will negate cancellation benefits.
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| Updating Personal Information |
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It is imperative, without exception, that borrowers update the Student Accounts –
Loan Servicing department of any personal information changes. We cannot correspond
with you about your University of Georgia Federal Regents Scholarship loan in a timely
basis without a correct and updated address. Updating your address with the University
of Georgia Registrar's Office or on the OASIS Registration System will not automatically
update your address for UGA Federal Perkins loan. Therefore, students are required
to contact the Student Accounts – Loan Servicing Department by phone or by completing
and return to our office the Personal Information Change and or Update form, every time any personal information changes. Here are some examples of changes
in personal information, but not limited to the following:
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| Forms |
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All forms pertaining to the University of Georgia Regents Scholarships Loan can be
viewed and printed by clicking the word Forms.
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| Questions |
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If you have any question, please contact us by:
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