All Hampshire College students who have borrowed Direct loans and are taking a leave of absence, withdrawing, or graduating must attend an exit loan counseling session before leaving school. This is a requirement of the U.S. Department of Education. Hampshire College has the right to withhold official college transcripts for students who do not satisfy this requirement. Group sessions are conducted by the College’s loan counselor in November, December, April, and May. Participating in an online version is acceptable.

At an exit loan counseling session, students:

• learn about the various loan repayment options available to them;
• are given their accumulated loan debt borrowed while they attended Hampshire;
• are given an approximate monthly payment based upon their accumulated debt;
• learn when they will receive their first bill;
• learn about requesting a future forbearance or deferment;
• learn about loan default and how to prevent it; and
• will be given an opportunity to ask questions about their rights and responsibilities as a federal loan borrower.