Carnegie Mellon University
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Federal Direct Loan Entrance Counseling & Master Promissory Note (MPN)

All students must complete Entrance Counseling and sign a Master Promissory Note (MPN) for a Federal Direct Student Loan or PLUS Loan. The material in the counseling session will be tailored to the borrower type – undergraduate or graduate, and only one counseling session is required for each student borrower. Parents are not required to complete Entrance Counseling.

Questions? Contact Your HUB Liaison

First-Time Borrowers

If you are planning on borrowing a Federal Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized or Graduate PLUS Loan for the first time, then you are required to sign an MPN and complete Entrance Counseling. Follow the instructions below.

Renewal Borrowers

If you previously borrowed a Federal Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized or Graduate PLUS Loan at Carnegie Mellon and plan to borrow again for the upcoming academic year, then you do not have to sign another MPN and complete another Entrance Counseling session.

ENTRANCE COUNSELING INSTRUCTIONS

The following instructions are for first-time borrowers only and should take approximately 20 minutes to complete. To view the https://studentaid.gov website effectively, you will need one of the following supported browsers: Microsoft Internet Explorer (versions 6 or higher), Mozilla Firefox (versions 2 or 3.6.3), or Apple Safari (version 4).

  • Go to https://studentaid.gov and sign in using your FSA ID (http://fsaid.ed.gov/npas/index.html) from the Department of Education
  • Select “Complete Entrance Counseling” under Counseling
  • Select “Undergraduate” or “Graduate” under Counseling Type
  • Select Pennsylvania as the School State in the drop down box
  • Select “Carnegie Mellon University” as the School Name in the drop down box
  • Review your Borrower Rights and Responsibilities and submit
  • Print the confirmation sheet for your records
Although Entrance Counseling is required for first-time borrowers, all students may review their Rights and Responsibilities, as well as sample loan payments, on the studentaid.gov website. 

Undergraduate Students:

The Entrance Counseling session will fulfill the counseling requirements for the Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized Student Loan.

Graduate Students:

The Entrance Counseling session will fulfill the counseling requirements for both the Direct Unsubsidized Student Loan and Direct PLUS Loan. It is not necessary to complete two separate counseling sessions.

MASTER PROMISSORY NOTE (MPN) INSTRUCTIONS

The entire MPN process must be completed in a single session, so be sure you have enough time to complete it. The session takes approximately 30 minutes to complete.

  • Go to https://studentaid.gov  and sign in using your FSA ID (https://fsaid.ed.gov/npas/index.html) from the Department of Education
  • Select “Sign Master Promissory Note”
  • Select the type of loan (Subsidized/Unsubsidized)
  • Provide personal information (citizenship, address, driver’s license, telephone number, etc)
  • Select Pennsylvania as the School State in the drop down box
  • Select “Carnegie Mellon University” as the School Name in the drop down box
  • Provide reference information
  • Review Terms and Conditions, electronically sign and submit MPN
  • Print a copy of your MPN for your records