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Apply for Loans

There are several loan options available to students at Drake, but some loans offer better terms than others.

Detailed information about each loan program is available here. Drake encourages students to utilize their eligibility for federal student loans (FAFSA required) prior to borrowing private student loans or PLUS Loans. A summary of key differences between federal and private education loans is available here.

Requirements to receive a loan are listed below for each loan program.

Loan Requirements

  1. Accept your Federal Direct Subsidized or Unsubsidized Loans in Financial Aid Self-Service* (under the "Award Offer" section). If you have not already responded to the required question under the "Home" section, you must do that before you will be able to accept/deny loans.
  2. (First-time borrowers) Complete Entrance Loan Counseling, available by logging in to studentaid.gov (under the student’s Federal Student Aid account). Under the Loans and Grants menu, click "Loan Entrance Counseling". Under the appropriate section (undergraduate/graduate) click "Log in to Start" and follow the on-screen instructions.
  3. (First-time borrowers) Complete a Master Promissory Note for Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loans, available by logging in to studentaid.gov (under the student’s Federal Student Aid account). Under the Loans and Grants menu, click "Master Promissory Note (MPN)". Under the appropriate section (undergraduate/graduate) click "Log in to Start" and follow the on-screen instructions.

  1. Review the Health Professions Loan Application and Solicitation Disclosure.
  2. Accept the Loan: Accept this loan in Financial Aid Self-Service* (under the "Award Offer" section). If you have not already responded to the required question under the "Home" section, you must do that before you will be able to accept/deny loans.
  3. Complete Entrance Counseling and Disclosures: Those who have accepted a Health Professions Loan will receive an email from Heartland ECSI (Drake’s loan servicer) with instructions for completing entrance counseling and Regulation Z Disclosures.
  4. Complete a Master Promissory Note: Those who have accepted a Health Professions Loan will receive an email from Heartland ECSI (Drake’s loan servicer) with instructions for completing a Master Promissory Note.

We encourage students to compare loan offers from multiple lenders to get the best terms available to them. In an effort to help students find the best private loan terms available to them, Drake maintains a ranked list of preferred lenders. These lenders are evaluated annually based on loans made to Drake students with respect to interest rates, fees, approval rates, and other loan features.

Information from our most recent lender evaluation for undergraduate borrowers is published in Drake’s Undergraduate Private Lender Ranking and Methodology - 2025. (Graduate and professional students at Drake primarily utilize federal student loan options. Due to low private loan volume at the graduate level, a similar evaluation is not possible.)

You can visit Drake’s Preferred Lender List to compare loan products and access loan applications. When selecting a loan product, ensure that its repayment terms align with your educational plans. (For example, if you are in a 6-year program or plan to attend graduate school, you may wish to avoid a loan product that has a maximum in-school deferment period of 5 years, as the loan will enter repayment before you finish school.) Students may borrow from any private lender of their choosing (including those not named on Drake’s Preferred Lender list) without fear of penalty or unnecessary delay.

The current APR on Federal PLUS Loans is approximately 9.74%*. We recommend reviewing private student loan options (above) that may offer lower cost borrowing options.

  1. Parent completes a Direct PLUS Loan Application for Parents by logging in at studentaid.gov (with the parent’s Federal Student Aid account). Under the Loans and Grants menu, click "PLUS Loans: Grad PLUS and Parent PLUS". In the section for parents, Click "Learn More" and follow the on-screen instructions to apply.
  2. If a Parent PLUS Loan has been approved and you do not have an active Parent PLUS Master Promissory Note (MPN) on file, the parent should complete a Parent PLUS MPN at studentaid.gov. Under the Loans and Grants menu, click "Master Promissory Note (MPN)". In the section for parents, click "Log In To Start" and follow the on-screen instructions.

*Based on a $15,000 Parent PLUS Loan at current interest rates and fees, with a repayment term of 10 years.

  1. Student completes a Grad PLUS Loan Application by logging in at studentaid.gov (with the student's Federal Student Aid account). Under the Loans and Grants menu, click "PLUS Loans: Grad PLUS and Parent PLUS". Under the Graduate/Professional student section, click "Learn More" and follow the on-screen instructions to apply.
  2. First-time Grad PLUS Loan borrowers must complete entrance counseling as a graduate student at studentaid.gov. Under the Loans and Grants menu, click "Loan Entrance Counseling". In the Graduate/Professional student section, click "Log in to Start" and follow the on-screen instructions.
  3. If a Grad PLUS Loan has been approved and you do not have an active Graduate PLUS Master Promissory Note (MPN) on file, the student should complete a Grad PLUS MPN at studentaid.gov. Under the Loans and Grants menu, click "Master Promissory Note (MPN)". In the Graduate/Professional student section, click "Log In to Select MPN Type" and follow the on-screen instructions.

The administration of loan programs are governed by the Code of Conduct for Educational Loans at Drake University.

Student Loan Refinance and Consolidation

Student Loan Refinance

Student loan refinancing offers borrowers the opportunity to pay off one or more existing loans with a new private loan, ideally with a lower interest rate. While this has potential to lower payments and/or save students a significant amount of money, there are many factors that need to be carefully considered.

Federal loan consolidation allows students with more than one qualifying federal student loan to combine those loans into a single new federal consolidation loan with an interest rate equal to the weighted average of the loans being consolidated. Federal loan consolidation can make other federal loans (such as Perkins, Health Professions, or FFELP) eligible for benefits associated with Federal Direct Loans, such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness and income-driven repayment plans.

However, there can also be negative implications of refinancing, including the loss of any borrower benefits associated with your current loans (and particularly federal student loans), such as loan forgiveness/cancellation/discharge, temporary repayment relief (deferment/forbearance), or flexible repayment plans (income-driven repayment plans). Before refinancing federal student loans, borrowers should carefully consider the loss of these benefits.

When considering student loan refinance, ask yourself these questions: What is my primary objective? (ex. lower my total interest payments, lower my monthly payments, etc.) Are there fees for the loan refinance, and does paying those fees in exchange for a lower interest rate make sense? Will it take me longer, shorter, or the same amount of time to pay off my debt, and how will that affect my total loan payments? Student Loan Hero’s Student Loan Refinancing Calculator may be helpful in answering these questions.

We encourage students considering student loan refinancing to compare offers from multiple lenders. Credible provides a free student loan refinancing comparison tool that allows students and parents to compare prequalified rates from participating lenders, with no impact to their credit (think Priceline or Kayak but for student loan refinancing). Please note that Drake University has no control over the lenders who participate with Credible or the way in which Credible displays loan refinance products. To learn more, visit credible.com/drakerefi.

Federal Loan Consolidation

Federal Loan Consolidation allows students with more than one qualifying federal student loan to combine those loans into a single new federal loan with an interest rate equal to the weighted average of the loans being consolidated. Loan consolidation may help to lower your monthly payment, but it may also result in you paying more in total interest.

Consolidation may cause you to lose certain borrower benefits—such as interest rate discounts, principal rebates, or some loan cancellation benefits—that are associated with your current loans. However, it can also make other federal student loans (such as Perkins, Health Professions, or FFELP) eligible for benefits associated with Federal Direct Loans, such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness and income-driven repayment plans.

More information and guidance about Federal Loan Consolidation is available at studentaid.gov.