What You Need to Know About That ‘Master Promissory Note’ For School

Rebecca Safier

Updated on April 8, 2020

April 8, 2020April 8, 2020Paying for CollegeFeatured, Student Loan Repayment, Student Loans1146Rebecca Safier

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The majority of students borrow loans to pay for college these days, but many of them may not fully understand the terms and conditions of their debt when they sign on the dotted line. Given all the rules and jargon involved, it can be easy to get confused. But if there’s one document you should pay close attention to, it’s your Master Promissory Note for school loans.

Here we’ll take a closer look at school promissory notes and how they can clear up any questions you have about your student loans. Specifically, we’ll examine…

What is a Master Promissory Note?
What details can you find on your promissory note?
When do you sign your Master Promissory Note?
Using the Master Promissory Note to get your student loan
Plus: Student loans can be helpful, but avoid borrowing too much

What is a Master Promissory Note?

When you borrow from the federal government to obtain student loans, you promise to pay that loan back — with interest and fees. This is a legal promise made by signing the Master Promissory Note.

As your school promissory note will explain, you’re obligated to pay back your loan even if you leave school early or can’t find a job after graduation. The only exception would be if your school closed, violated state law or met another condition that would qualify you for student loan discharge, which, while rare, does happen on occasion. In most cases, however, you’re on the hook for repaying your debt, and your Master Promissory Note is the contract that contains that agreement.

Whether you are an undergraduate or graduate/professional student, you will sign a Master Promissory Note. There is one version of the Master Promissory Note for Direct subsidized or unsubsidized loans, and another for Direct PLUS loans.

What details can you find on your promissory note?

Your Master Promissory Note will explain items including:

How your interest will be calculated and how fees are charged
Annual loan limits
The items for which you can use your loan (room, board, tuition, books, etc.)
How your loan will be dispersed
Your options for repayment plans
Under which conditions you might get a lower interest rate

After you sign the note, you will find out specific details including the amount, interest rate and fees of your loan in a disclosure statement.

Pay attention to the details on your Master Promissory Note so you understand what’s expected of you when paying back your loan, and which repayment plan might work best for you — for example, the standard repayment plan, the graduated repayment plan or the extended repayment plan. You must choose a repayment plan, or you will automatically be put into a standard plan.

Some questions to consider as you read the Master Promissory Note:

Might you be able to get a lower interest rate (for example, if you are a military member)?
What will happen if you default on your loan?
What if you eventually need to be granted a deferment or forbearance?

You will get the answers to these questions and more within the note. Read carefully and make sure you fully understand your options before signing.

When do you sign your Master Promissory Note?

You’ll need to sign your Master Promissory Note before you receive any disbursement of your student loans. If you discover you’ve borrowed too much when you receive your exact loan amount, you do have a window of time during which you can return your loan, even if you’ve already signed the promissory note.

You can typically sign just one promissory note for multiple subsidized or unsubsidized loans, and it will be good for up to 10 years, as long as your school does not require that you sign a new note each year. One exception is if you borrow a PLUS loan with an endorser to boost your creditworthiness. In this situation, you can only receive one loan for each promissory note. If you choose to borrow another PLUS loan in the future, you’ll need to sign a new promissory note.

Your parent doesn’t have to sign the Master Promissory Note unless they are taking out a parent PLUS loan on your behalf.

If you’re not sure whether you need a new promissory note when borrowing a student loan, contact your school’s financial aid office for guidance. Even if you don’t reach out, the office should get in touch with you about completing any outstanding paperwork for your loans.

Using the Master Promissory Note to get your student loan

You can sign your Master Promissory Note online at StudentLoans.gov. Expect the process to take about 30 minutes, per the Federal Student Aid site.

First, you’ll sign in with your Federal Student Aid ID and provide personal information about yourself and your school.

Source: Department of Education

Next, you’ll provide information for two references. Your references must have known you for at least three years and have different addresses, both of which must be in the U.S.

Federal Student Aid asks for these references in case they can’t get a hold of you. If you stop paying your student loan and answering calls, collectors may contact your references to track you down.

Source: Department of Education

Finally, you can read over the contract to familiarize yourself with what it is you’re signing. After reviewing this language, you’ll electronically sign and submit your Master Promissory Note.

The above is a Master Promissory Note for direct subsidized or unsubsidized loans. By clicking here, you can see a version of the Master Promissory Note for PLUS loans.

Student loans can be helpful, but avoid borrowing too much

By keeping borrowing to a minimum and educating yourself on your debt, you’ll be off to a strong start in managing your finances. Even if you are able to borrow a large amount, you want to be careful not to borrow too much.

One way to reduce the amount you borrow in student loans is to apply far and wide for scholarships and grants. These are great options because you typically do not have to pay the money back.

You might also work a part-time job during college to bring in extra income. While you don’t want to take time and energy away from your studies, earning some spending money could mean you don’t have to take on as much debt.

Once you’ve determined how much you should borrow, make sure you understand the details of your student loans. You can use our student loan calculator to estimate your future monthly payments and how much you’ll spend on interest.

Lauren Bowling and Rebecca Stropoli contributed to this report.

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This informational repayment example uses typical loan terms for a freshman borrower who selects the Deferred Repayment Option with a 10-year repayment term, has a $10,000 loan that is disbursed in one disbursement and a 8.35% fixed Annual Percentage Rate (“APR”): 120 monthly payments of $179.18 while in the repayment period, for a total amount of payments of $21,501.54. Loans will never have a full principal and interest monthly payment of less than $50. Your actual rates and repayment terms may vary. This informational repayment example uses typical loan terms for a first year graduate student borrower who selects the Deferred Repayment Option with a 10-year repayment term, has a $10,000 loan that is disbursed in one disbursement and a 7.10% fixed Annual Percentage Rate (“APR”): 120 monthly payments of $141.66 while in the repayment period, for a total amount of payments of $16,699.21. Loans will never have a full principal and interest monthly payment of less than $50. Your actual rates and repayment terms may vary. Information advertised valid as of 11/2/2020. Variable interest rates may increase after consummation. Lowest advertised rates require selection of full principal and interest payments with the shortest available loan term. ² Sallie Mae Disclaimer: Click here for important information. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. ³ Important Disclosures for Discover. Discover Disclosures Aggregate loan limits apply. Students who get at least a 3.0 GPA (or equivalent) qualify for a one-time cash reward on each new Discover undergraduate and graduate student loan. Reward redemption period is limited. Please visit DiscoverStudentLoans.com/Reward for any applicable reward terms and conditions. Lowest APRs shown for Discover Student Loans are available for the most creditworthy applicants for undergraduate loans, and include an interest-only repayment discount and Auto Debit Reward. The interest rate ranges represent the lowest and highest interest rates offered on Discover student loans, including undergraduate and graduate loans. The fixed interest rate is set at the time of application and does not change during the life of the loan. The variable interest rate is calculated based on the 3-Month LIBOR index plus the applicable margin percentage. For variable interest rate loans, the 3-Month LIBOR is 0.250% as of October 1, 2020. Discover Student Loans may adjust the rate quarterly on each January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1 (the “interest rate change date”), based on the 3-Month LIBOR Index, published in the Money Rates section of the Wall Street Journal 15 days prior to the interest rate change date, rounded up to the nearest one-eighth of one percent (0.125% or 0.00125). This may cause the monthly payments to increase, the number of payments to increase or both. Our lowest APR is only available to customers with the best credit and other factors. Your APR will be determined after you apply. It will be based on your credit history, which repayment option you choose and other factors, including your cosigner’s credit history (if applicable). Learn more about Discover Student Loans interest rates. Lowest APRs shown for the Discover Private Consolidation Loan are available for the most creditworthy applicants and include a 0.25% interest rate reduction while enrolled in automatic payments.The variable interest rate is calculated based on the 3-Month LIBOR index plus the applicable margin percentage. For variable interest rate loans, the 3-Month LIBOR is 0.250% as of October 1, 2020. Discover Student Loans may adjust the rate quarterly on each January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1 (the “interest rate change date”), based on the 3-Month LIBOR Index, published in the Money Rates section of the Wall Street Journal 15 days prior to the interest rate change date, rounded up to the nearest one-eighth of one percent (0.125% or 0.00125). This may cause the monthly payments to increase, the number of payments to increase or both. Our lowest APR is only available to customers with the best credit and other factors. Your APR will be determined after you apply. It will be based on your credit history, which repayment option you choose and other factors, including your cosigner’s credit history (if applicable). Visit Discover.com/student-loans/consolidation for more information, including up-to-date interest rates and APRs. Lowest APRs shown for Discover Student Loans are available for the most creditworthy applicants for undergraduate loans, and include an interest-only repayment discount and a 0.25% interest rate reduction while enrolled in automatic payments. ⁴ Important Disclosures for Earnest. Earnest Disclosures Rates include 0.25% Auto Pay Discount Explanation of Rates “With Autopay” (APD) Rates shown include 0.25% APR discount when client agrees to make monthly principal and interest payments by automatic electronic payment. Use of autopay is not required to receive an Earnest loan. Available Terms For Cosigned loans – 5, 7, 10, 12, 15 years. Primary Only – 10, 12, 15 years In school deferred payment is not available in AL, AZ, CA, FL, MA, MD, MI, ND, NY, PA, and WA). ⁵ Important Disclosures for SoFi. sofiDisclosures UNDERGRADUATE LOANS: Fixed rates from 4.23% to 11.26% annual percentage rate (“APR”) (with autopay), variable rates from 1.88% to 11.66% APR (with autopay). GRADUATE LOANS: Fixed rates from 4.13% to 11.37% APR (with autopay), variable rates from 1.78% to 11.73% APR (with autopay). MBA AND LAW SCHOOL LOANS: Fixed rates from 4.30% to 11.52% APR (with autopay), variable rates from 1.95% to 11.89% APR (with autopay). PARENT LOANS: Fixed rates from 4.60% to 10.76% APR (with autopay), variable rates from 1.88% to 11.16% APR (with autopay). For variable rate loans, the variable interest rate is derived from the one-month LIBOR rate plus a margin and your APR may increase after origination if the LIBOR increases. Changes in the one-month LIBOR rate may cause your monthly payment to increase or decrease. Interest rates for variable rate loans are capped at 13.95%, unless required to be lower to comply with applicable law. Lowest rates are reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers. If approved for a loan, the interest rate offered will depend on your creditworthiness, the repayment option you select, the term and amount of the loan and other factors, and will be within the ranges of rates listed above. The SoFi 0.25% autopay interest rate reduction requires you to agree to make monthly principal and interest payments by an automatic monthly deduction from a savings or checking account. The benefit will discontinue and be lost for periods in which you do not pay by automatic deduction from a savings or checking account. Information current as of 11/04/2020. Enrolling in autopay is not required to receive a loan from SoFi. SoFi Lending Corp., licensed by the Department of Business Oversight under the California Financing Law License No. 6054612. NMLS #1121636 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org). ⁶ Important Disclosures for Ascent. Ascent Disclosures Before taking out private student loans, you should explore and compare all financial aid alternatives, including grants, scholarships, and federal student loans and consider your future monthly payments and income. Applying with a cosigner may improve your chance of getting approved and could help you qualify for a lower interest rate. Ascent Student Loans may be funded by Richland State Bank (RSB). Ascent Student Loan products are subject to credit qualification, completion of a loan application, verification of application information and certification of loan amount by a participating school. Loan products may not be available in certain jurisdictions, and certain restrictions, limitations; and terms and conditions may apply. Ascent is a federally registered trademark of Turnstile Capital Management (TCM) and may be used by RSB under limited license. Richland State Bank is a federally registered service mark of Richland State Bank. Competitive variable rates calculated monthly at the time of loan approval based on a margin plus the 1-Month London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) rounded to the nearest 1/100th of a percent. The current LIBOR is 0.152%, which may adjust monthly. Your interest rate may increase or decrease, based on LIBOR monthly changes. Rates are effective as of 11/01/2020 and reflect an Automatic Payment Discount. Automatic Payment Discount is available if the borrower is enrolled in automatic payments from their personal checking account and the amount is successfully withdrawn from the authorized bank account each month.(See Automatic Payment Discount Terms & Conditions.) Undergraduate Loans: Your variable interest rate may increase or decrease, based on LIBOR monthly changes, resulting in an APR range between 2.69% and 12.98%. Fixed rate loans will not increase or decrease over the life of the loan and have an APR range between 3.58% and 14.50%. Rates reflect an Automatic Payment Discount of 0.25% on the lowest offered rate and a 2.00% discount on the highest offered rate. The following table shows a 48 month in-school period plus 9 months of grace prior to a full repayment term of either: 60-months (lowest fixed/variable rate), 144-months (highest fixed rate) or 180-months (highest variable rate) with examples of (i) Interest Only payments, (ii) $25 Minimum payments, and (iii) Deferred repayment options.((See Undergraduate Loan repayment examples.) Graduate Loans (Graduate, MBA & Law): Your variable interest rate may increase or decrease, based on LIBOR monthly changes, resulting in an APR range between 3.65% and 12.40%. Fixed rate loans will not increase or decrease over the life of the loan and have an APR range between 4.62% and 13.54%. Rates reflect an Automatic Payment Discount of 0.25%. The following table shows a 36 month in-school period plus 9 months of grace prior to a full repayment term of either: 84-months (lowest fixed/variable rate), 144-months (highest fixed rate), or 180-months (highest variable rate) with examples of (i) Interest Only payments, (ii) $25 Minimum payments, and (iii) Deferred repayment options. (See Graduate Loan repayment examples.) Medical: Your variable interest rate may increase or decrease, based on LIBOR monthly changes, resulting in an APR range between 3.65% and 12.40%. Fixed rate loans will not increase or decrease over the life of the loan and have an APR range between 4.62% and 13.54%. Rates reflect an Automatic Payment Discount of 0.25%. The following table shows a 48 month in-school period plus 36 months of grace prior to a full repayment term of either: 84-months (lowest fixed/variable rate), 144-months (highest fixed rate), or 240-months (highest variable rate) with examples of (i) Interest Only payments, (ii) $25 Minimum payments, and (iii) Deferred repayment options. (See Medical Loan repayment examples.) Payments may be deferred. Subject to lender discretion, forbearance and/or deferment options may be available for borrowers who are encountering financial distress. Making interest only or partial interest payments while in school will not reduce the principal balance of the loan. There are three (3) flexible in-school repayment options that include fully deferred, interest only and $25 minimum repayment. (See Undergraduate Loan repayment examples.) Flexible repayment plans may be offered up to a fifteen (15) year repayment term for a variable rate loan and ten (10) year repayment term for a fixed rate loan. Students must be enrolled at least half-time at an eligible school. Minimum loan amount is $2,000. Interest rate reduction of either 0.25% (for Credit-Based Loans) or 2.00% (for Undergraduate Future Income-Based Loans) applies only when the borrower and/or cosigner sign up for automatic payments and the payment amount is successfully deducted from the designated bank account each month. The amount of the discount is dependent upon the loan product and credit history of the borrower at the time of application. Interest rate reduction(s) will not apply during periods when no payment is due, including periods of in-school, deferment, grace or forbearance, unless a regular payment amount has been arranged with the servicer. If you have two (2) consecutive returned payments for Nonsufficient Funds, we may cancel your automatic debit enrollment and you will lose the interest rate reduction. You will then need to re-qualify and re-enroll in automatic debit payments to receive the interest rate reduction.(See Automatic Payment Discount Terms & Conditions.) All applicants (individual and cosigner) are required to complete a brief online financial literacy course as part of the application process to be eligible for funding. Eligibility, loan amount and other loan terms are dependent on several factors, which may include: loan product, other financial aid, creditworthiness, school, program, graduation date, major, cost of attendance and other factors. Aggregate loan limits may apply. The cost of attendance is determined and certified by the educational institution. The legal age for entering into contracts is eighteen (18) years of age in every state except Alabama where it is nineteen (19) years old, Nebraska where it is nineteen (19) years old (only for wards of the state), and Mississippi and Puerto Rico where it is twenty-one (21) years old. 1% Cash Back Graduation Reward subject to terms and conditions. Click here for details. In order to be eligible for the 1% Cash Back Graduation Reward, borrower must meet the following criteria after graduation: The student borrower has graduated from the degree program that the loan was used to fund. The student borrower may change majors and/or transfer to a different school, but must obtain the same level of degree (e.g. – undergraduate or graduate) The graduation date is more than 90 days and less than five (5) years after the date of the loan’s first disbursement. Any loan that the student has borrowed under the Ascent loan is not more than 30-days delinquent or in a default status as of the graduation date and until any Graduation Reward is paid. Students can apply to release their cosigner and continue with the loan in only their name after making the first 24 consecutive regularly scheduled full principal and interest payments on-time and meeting the other eligibility criteria to qualify for the loan without a cosigner. * Application times vary depending on the applicant’s ability to supply the necessary information for submission. ⁷ Important Disclosures for CommonBond. CommonBond Disclosures Offered terms are subject to change and state law restriction. Loans are offered by CommonBond Lending, LLC (NMLS # 1175900), NMLS Consumer Access. If you are approved for a loan, the interest rate offered will depend on your credit profile, your application, the loan term selected and will be within the ranges of rates shown. All Annual Percentage Rates (APRs) displayed assume borrowers enroll in auto pay and account for the 0.25% reduction in interest rate. All variable rates are based on a 1-month LIBOR assumption of 0.17% effective Sep 1, 2020 and may increase after consummation.