Economic Hardship - A period during which the borrower is working full time but is earning an amount that does not exceed the greater of the minimum wage or the poverty line for a family of two. Economic hardship also exists if a borrower's monthly payments on federal education loans are equal to or greater than 20 percent of the borrower's total monthly gross income, as defined in FFELP regulations.

ED - The US Department of Education.

ED Form 799 - Lender's Interest and Special Allowance Request and Report, a federal form that a lender uses to report loans made (and resulting origination fees owed) by the lender to the Department of Education and interest benefits and special allowance earned by the lender. The fees owed are usually deducted from what the Department of Education owes the lender for interest benefits and special allowance.

EFA - See Estimated Financial Assistance

EFC - See Expected Family Contribution

Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) - The electronic transfer of Stafford or PLUS loan proceeds from the lender to an account at the school or the school's financial institution.

Electronic Signature (E-Sign) - A method of legally signing a document electronically.

Eligible Borrower - A borrower or potential borrower who meets federal eligibility criteria for a Federal Stafford loan or, in the case of a parent borrower, a Federal PLUS loan.

Eligible School - A post-secondary institution of higher education or a vocational school declared eligible by the Department of Education to participate in the FFELP. Some guarantors may require schools to complete a separate agency-specific participation agreement.

Eligible Student - A student who meets federal student eligibility criteria.

Eligibility Letter - A term used to describe the materials the Department of Education's Institutional Participation Division sends to a school that has received federal approval for participation in the Title IV programs. The "letter" includes an Approval Notice and a copy of the school's Program Participation Agreement.

Emergency Action - A special action taken by the guarantor or the Department of Education to temporarily immediately suspend a school, lender, or servicer from participation in the guarantor's programs prior to the initiation of formal Limitation, Suspension, and Termination procedures.

Endorser - A signer of a promissory note who is secondarily liable for a loan obligation, i.e., who agrees to pay if the borrower does not. A lender may require a PLUS borrower with adverse credit to obtain a creditworthy endorser in order to receive the loan.

Enrolled - The status of a student who has met either of the following requirements: Completed the registration requirements (except for the payment of tuition and fees) at the school the student is attending. Has been admitted into an educational program offered predominantly by correspondence and has submitted one lesson, completed by the student after acceptance for enrollment and without the help of a representative of the school.

Enrollment Update Report - See Loan Transaction Statement

Entity - Any organization, institution, government agency, nonprofit corporation, or other group that participates in federal student financial aid programs.

Entrance Counseling (or Entrance Interview) - See Debt-Management Counseling

Equity - The difference between the value of the property and what is owed on the property. You can “build” equity by making improvements (“sweat equity”), by paying your mortgage each month, and by buying a home that appreciates in value over time.

Escrow Agent - A guarantor or other eligible lender that receives the proceeds of a FFELP loan as an agent of an eligible lender for the purpose of transmitting those proceeds to the borrower or the borrower's school.

E-Sign - See Electronic Signature.

Estimated Financial Assistance (EFA) - The school's estimate of the amount of financial assistance from federal, state, institutional, or other sources that a student (or parent on behalf of a student) will receive for a period of enrollment. This may include scholarships, grants, financial need-based employment, or loans. EFA does not include certain loans used to replace the expected family contribution or Federal Perkins Loans or Federal Work-Study funds that the student has declined.

Exit Counseling (or Exit Interview) - See Debt-Management Counseling

Expected Family Contribution (EFC) - The amount a student and the student's spouse or family are expected to pay toward the student's cost of attendance. The Federal Need Analysis Methodology must be used to calculate the EFC.