Loans

The first step in applying for any financial aid at HCC, including grants, loans, scholarships and work study, is to complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). 

You may choose to accept all or only part of your loan amount. If you enroll in fewer than 6 eligible credit hours, your loan will be canceled.

Based on current HCC financial aid materials, students must be enrolled at least half-time (6 valid credit hours) to receive Federal Direct Loan funding. Students enrolled less than half-time (1-5 credit hours) are not eligible for Direct Loan disbursements. 

Current HCC Less-Than-Full-Time / Half-Time Loan Information

Enrollment Status

• Full-time: 12 or more credit hours
• ¾ time: 9-11 credit hours
• Half-time: 6-8 credit hours
• Less than half-time: 1-5 credit hours

Loan Eligibility

• Federal Direct Loans require the student to be enrolled in 6 or more valid credit hours.
• If enrollment falls below 6 valid credit hours, the loan award may be canceled and cannot be disbursed.

Current Loan Process at HCC

For a student to receive loan funds, HCC requires the following:

1. Complete the FAFSA
2. Accept the loan award in the Student System.
3. Complete a Master Promissory Note (MPN) at StudentAid.gov.
4. Complete Entrance Loan Counseling at StudentAid.gov.
5. Enroll in at least 6 valid credit hours.
6. Maintain attendance and all other federal eligibility requirements. 

If a Student Drops Below 6 Hours

When a student:

• Drops classes,
• Fails to begin attendance, or
• Ends up enrolled in fewer than 6 valid credit hours,

the student becomes ineligible for loan disbursement, and the loan may be cancelled or reversed depending on timing and federal regulations.

Complete these steps to receive your loans

To receive your loan funds, you must complete all of the following steps:

1. Accept or decline your loans in the Student System.
2. Complete a Master Promissory Note (MPN) at https://studentaid.gov.
3. Complete Entrance Loan Counseling at https://studentaid.gov.
4. Enroll in at least 6 eligible credit hours.

New Federal Changes (2026-2027)

HCC training materials note that beginning July 1, 2026, new federal loan proration rules under the OBBBA may reduce loan eligibility for certain new borrowers based on enrollment intensity, even when attending at least half-time. HCC is updating policies and procedures to address these changes.

Due to recent federal changes under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), Houston Community College (HCC) will initially award Federal Direct Loans based on half-time enrollment (6 credit hours).

If you are enrolled in more than 6 credit hours and would like to request additional loan eligibility based on your actual enrollment, you must submit a Loan Revision Request Form, which is available under the Forms section of the Financial Aid website.

Loan Revision Process

• Federal Direct Loans will initially be awarded at the half-time enrollment level.
• Students enrolled in more than 6 credit hours may request an adjustment to their loan award by submitting a Loan Revision Request Form.
• Loan revision requests will be processed after attendance in the additional credit hours has been verified.
• Students may submit one Loan Revision Request per semester.
• All loan adjustments are subject to annual and aggregate federal loan limits.

*Includes dependent students whose parent was denied a Federal Direct PLUS Loan.

Note: The maximum subsidized loan amount that may be borrowed over a student's undergraduate career is $23,000.

Students are encouraged to borrow only what is needed to cover educational expenses and to carefully consider their total student loan debt before requesting additional funds.

If you have questions regarding your loan eligibility or the loan revision process, please contact the Financial Aid Office for assistance.

When you have loan funds leftover after tuition and fees, your loans are available to assist with purchasing books beginning on the second day of classes.

In order for your aid to be available in the bookstore, you must complete all loan requirements (enrollment and attendance in 6 or more credits, completed loan promissory note and completed entrance loan counseling).

Once your eligible financial aid is authorized, you will receive an email letting you know you can purchase books at HCC Bookstore. Click here for more information about purchasing books.

Disbursement means that all eligible financial aid funds will be posted to your account as a payment for classes. Once a disbursement of your financial aid is posted as payment for your classes, any aid leftover will be refunded to you within 48 – 72 hours (2-3 business days).

Students will receive their loan disbursement 30 calendar days after attendance is verified for 6 or more credits. 

Registering for classes with different start dates will affect how long it takes to verify attendance for 6-credit-hour requirement. For example, if you are taking 6 credit hours with one regular term class and one second start class, your loans will not disburse until attendance is verified for the second start class.

Loan requirements must be completed before loans can disburse and refund. 

• Accept your award
• Be enrolled and attending 6 or more credit hours.
• Complete the online Entrance Loan Counseling by clicking here. 
• Complete the Master Promissory Note (MPN) by clicking here. 

4 Things That Affect Disbursement Schedule

1. SCHEDULE CHANGE: If your schedule changes and you enroll in later start classes, your scheduled disbursement week will change. Contact your campus financial aid office for those details.
2. WITHDRAWALS: Withdrawing from classes will have an impact on the scheduled disbursement. If you withdraw from class(es), all aid will be held for review and eligibility may need to be recalculated. Contact your campus financial aid office for those details.
3. LOAN REQUIREMENTS: To receive a disbursement for loans, you must meet the requirements listed above.
4. ONE-SEMESTER LOANS: If your loan is for one semester only, you will receive two payments within that semester. Contact your campus financial aid office for those details.

If you are graduating, withdrawing, or dropping below half-time (six credit hours), please complete Federal Direct Stafford Loan Exit Counseling.

HCC will receive the results the next business day. Your academic records will be on hold until this is completed.

For current federal loan interest rates, please click here.

To learn more about repayment options and tips to avoid repayment scams, please cick here.

Houston City College prohibits the following actions with regard to processing and delivering federal direct student loans to students.

• Revenue-sharing arrangements with any lender, including Title IV or private education loan lenders;
• Gifts from a lender, guaranty agency, or loan servicer to financial aid office or other institutional employees with responsibilities related to education loans;
• Acceptance of any fee, payment, or other financial benefit (including the opportunity to purchase stock) by a financial aid office employee or other institutional officer or employee with responsibilities related to education loans as compensation for consulting or other contractual arrangement to provide education loan related services;
• Steering a first-time borrower’s loan to a particular lender through award packaging or any other method (for example, the school’s website or publications);
• Refusing or delaying certification of any loan based on a borrower’s lender selection;
• Requesting or accepting from any lender offers of funds for making private education loans (including opportunity pool loans) in exchange for providing concessions or promises for providing a specific number or volume of private loans, or for private loan preferred arrangements;
• Call center or financial aid office staffing assistance from any lender, except under certain limited circumstances specified in statute and regulation; and
• Compensation provided to financial aid office or other school employees with financial aid or education loan-related responsibilities for service on advisory boards, commissions, or groups established by a lender or guarantor (or a group of lenders or guarantors), except for reimbursement of reasonable expenses incurred for such service.

 If you recieve a loan letter from Finanical Aid, remember that your loan totals may not be accurate due to any of the circumstances below. 

• Students who have borrowed at multiple institutions, who have consolidated loans, had loan debt discharged or forgiven, or who have repaid a portion of their debt may find that these estimates are inaccurate.

• Grad PLUS Loans, Federal Health Profession Loans, state or institutional loans and private loans from other institutions are not included in these estimates.

• Interest that accrues while you are enrolled, which must be paid first or capitalized (added to your debt), has not been projected here and therefore has not been included in these estimates. 

• The Federal Direct Loan figures in this letter are based on the most recent information sent to Houston City College by NSLDS and should include loans from any institution. However, if you recently received Direct loans at another institution, these may not have been included in the information provided by NSLDS. 

• State Teaching scholarships and Federal TEACH grants, which may be converted to loans if scholarship terms and conditions are not met by the recipient, are not included in these estimates.

• Education loans your parent took out on your behalf, and parent loans you may have taken for your children, are not included in these estimates.

• Loans included in this letter may have been discharged or forgiven.

Find the most up-to-date information on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBA).