Loans

There are a variety of loan programs available to students and families to help fund education costs at Union College.

Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Student Loan
The Federal Direct Loan Program allows eligible students to borrow up to $27,000 during their undergraduate education.

Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) signed into law July 2025 is bringing significant changes to the federal PLUS Loan program effective July 1, 2026. New borrowers will be capped at $20,000 per student per year with a $65,000 lifetime limit per dependent student. Students currently enrolled at Union through the end of the spring 2026 term who have previously borrowed a federal loan can qualify for an exception to the new loan limits. The PLUS Loan page will be updated with more information once the Department of Education releases their final rules regarding OBBBA to financial aid offices. Federal Student Aid (FSA) has published information on studentaid.gov in a Q&A format regarding the new changes and will continue to update the information until all rules are finalized.

Federal Perkins Loan
Effective September 30, 2017, we are no longer authorized to issue Perkins Loans. For students who borrowed a Perkins Loan prior to the program ending, the interest rate is fixed at 5%. Repayment of the loan begins nine months after the borrower leaves Union or drops below half-time status.

Union College loans
Union College funds two institutional loan programs to assist with educational expenses.

Private Loans
There are a variety of private loans for education that are available to Union College students. Students and their families are always best-advised to pursue federal education loans first, since they carry lower interest rates, and often the interest is tax-deductible.

As a responsible partner in processing and certifying private loans for Union students and parents, the Financial Aid Office staff abides by the following code of conduct.

• Union does not enter into any revenue-sharing arrangements with any lender.
• Union does not allow any officer or person involved with student loans to either solicit or accept gifts from a lender, guarantor, or servicer of student loans where the gift has more than a nominal value.
• Union does not allow its financial aid staff or anyone in a position of having influence over student loan decisions to consult with lenders for financial benefit.
• Union will not assign a borrower's loan to a particular lender or refuse to certify any loan based on the borrower's selection of a lender.
• Union will not request or accept any offer for student loan funds in exchange for either a specified number of loans made or a specific loan volume.
• Union will not accept any offer from any lender to provide call center staffing or financial aid office assistance.
• Members of Union's Financial Aid Office staff will not accept anything of value for serving on an advisory board, commission, or group established by a lender, guarantor, or group of lenders.