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If your account is a private education loan — sometimes called a student gap loan — this page covers how it works and what options exist.
This is not a federal student loan, and it is not structured like one.Your agreement is a Retail Installment Contract. The deferment, forbearance, income-driven repayment and forgiveness programs that come with federal student loans do not apply to it, because those attach to federal loans and to promissory notes — not to this kind of contract.If you also hold federal loans, those are separate and keep their own protections. Your school’s financial aid office or federalstudentaid.ed.gov can help with those.

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What repayment options exist

Notice to student loan borrowers regarding alternative repayment arrangements Your private student loan provider does not provide alternative repayment or hardship arrangements for retail installment contracts. As the third-party student loan servicer, UAS does not provide alternative repayment options or hardship arrangements unless directed to by your private student loan provider. So there are two routes, and the order matters:
1

Contact your loan provider first

They own the decision. UAS services the account but cannot change your terms without their instruction.Your provider is named on your agreement, and on the Approval and Final disclosures in your signing packet.
2

Then contact us

Once your provider has agreed to something, we put it into effect. If you are not sure who your provider is, or you cannot reach them, call us and we will tell you.

Call (888) 233-2302

We can confirm who holds your loan and what is on your account.
If you are struggling to pay, contact your provider before you miss a payment. Options are narrower once an account is past due.

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What your Credit Disbursement Date means

No money is sent to you on your Credit Disbursement Date, or on any other date. Nothing is deposited to your bank account, and you will not see a deposit or transaction for it. Your Credit Disbursement Date is the date your school extends you credit under your contract. The credit is the Amount Financed on your contract: the part of your school costs your school lets you pay over time. It is not a payment to you. You repay it through the payments on your contract. “Disbursement” usually means money is paid out. On your contract it marks the day the credit takes effect, and the day interest starts.

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Was I supposed to receive the Amount Financed?

No. The Amount Financed is credit, not cash. Your Account Summary shows how your costs were covered. The Cash Price, less the Non Title IV Funds and Title IV Funds (such as federal student aid) that paid part of it, leaves the Amount Financed.

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Was there a deposit or transaction on my Credit Disbursement Date?

No. The date is not a deposit and it is not a payment. The transactions you will see in uPortal360 are your own payments to us. Select Transactions in the menu. See Transaction history. If you expected money from your school, such as a refund, ask your school’s financial aid office. If you still expected money from this loan, call (888) 233-2302, or in uPortal360 select Help, then Start Inquiry (sign in first if you are not already in). Under Billing, select I Have a Question About My Bill.

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When interest starts

Interest does not start on your Note Date. It starts on your Credit Disbursement Date. You owe no interest for the days between the two. Both dates are printed at the top of page 1 of your Retail Installment Contract: Your Credit Disbursement Date is the day after your right to cancel ends. Your Final Disclosure says “No funds will be disbursed to you or to your school until after this time.” That is the form’s wording. No cash comes to you at any point. Your school extends the credit after the cancel date has passed, so interest has nothing to accrue on until then. For example, if your Note Date is Monday, March 2 and your right to cancel ends at midnight on Thursday, March 5, your Credit Disbursement Date is Friday, March 6. Interest starts on March 6. You owe none for March 2 through March 5.
Your own dates are on your contract. The length of the right to cancel comes from your loan program, which also picks the state rules that apply. Weekends can lengthen it, so do not count days from the example. Your Credit Disbursement Date is the calendar day after the cancel date, so it can fall on a weekend. Use the two dates printed on page 1 and the cancel date on your Final Disclosure.
You can see both dates in uPortal360. Select Account Summary in the menu. Your account shows as Active from the Note Date, before interest starts, and Interest Remaining shows $0.00 until then. See Your agreement and account details. Once interest starts, it is calculated daily as simple interest on the unpaid principal. See In-school payments for what that means if you make a reduced payment while you are enrolled.

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In-school payments

Some of these loans have a reduced payment while you are enrolled, then a full payment after you finish. For example, a plan might be 8 in-school payments of $50, then 40 regular monthly payments. Your own schedule is on your agreement.
In-school payments are not a deferment, and they are not interest-only. Interest is being charged during that period.If your in-school payment is more than the interest owed that month, the extra goes to your principal. If it is less, the shortfall is not added to your principal — interest keeps accruing on what you owe.
In uPortal360, Agreement Details calls these Deferment Payments. They are in-school payments. You still make each one. See Your agreement and account details. Interest on these loans is simple interest, not compounded. Paying less early costs more overall. On the example in the disclosure packet — a $10,000 loan at 10% over 48 months — the in-school plan totals about $12,524 against about $12,174 for equal monthly payments throughout. Roughly $350 more, for a lower payment while enrolled. If you can afford the full payment while you are in school, you will pay less in total. If you cannot, the in-school option exists for that reason.

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If you are a cosigner

You are responsible for the debt. Your signing packet contains the required Notice to Cosigner, which says it directly:
You are being asked to guarantee this debt. Think carefully before you do. If the borrower doesn’t pay the debt, you will have to. Be sure you can afford to pay if you have to, and that you want to accept this responsibility. You may have to pay up to the full amount of the debt if the borrower does not pay. You may also have to pay late fees or collection costs.
For account access, see Co-applicant and cosigner access.

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Telling us if you move or change your name

For these loans this is a term of your contract, not a courtesy. If you change your name or your principal residence, you must tell us in writing within 30 calendar days. See Changing your personal information.

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What you signed

Private education loans come with more disclosures than other credit agreements, because federal law requires them. Your packet contains, in order: You can view your own copies in uPortal360 under Agreement Details and View Documents.
Two rights in that sequence are easy to miss.Your approved terms are held open for 30 days, and they will not change during that period. Accepting straight away waives that window — the Approval Disclosure says so on its face.After you accept, the Final Disclosure gives you a right to cancel without penalty up to a date printed on it. Nothing is disbursed before then. Canceling is done by phone. Interest does not start until your Credit Disbursement Date, which comes after that date.