Private Student Loan FAQ's

General Questions

What is a Private Student Loan?
Private student loans serve as a way for students to fill the funding gap between the cost of attending school and the amount available via federal loans, grants and available scholarships.  A Private Student Loan can be used to pay for qualifying educational expenses including tuition, room and board, books, and other school related expenses..

What is the difference between a private student loan and a federal student loan?
Federal student loans follow guidelines set forth by the U.S. Dept of Education.  Typically, they offer fixed interest rates which are lower than those offered with private student loans. However, unlike most private loans, Federal loans have borrowing limits, which may prohibit a student from borrowing enough to cover the entire cost of his or her education. Private loans help students fill the funding gap between the cost of attending school and the amount available via federal loans, grants and scholarships. Both private and federal student loans typically allow students to defer payments while in school.  Some offer economic forbearance options once a student completes school. Unlike federal loan programs, private lenders assess the credit history of the borrower and cosigner before issuing a loan

Application Process

When should I begin the application process?
We encourage you to start early. Once you know what school you will be attending and are able to provide proof of enrollment (letter of acceptance or tuition bill), start the loan application process.

How much can I borrow?
The minimum loan amount you can borrow is $2,000 per year. The maximum is the certified amount determined by your school, up to up to Cost of Attendance (COA) per year. The school certified amount is typically the Cost of Attendance less any other financial aid received.

What proof of enrollment do I need to provide?
You will need to provide an unofficial copy of your most recent transcript. Freshman must also supply either an acceptance letter or class schedule for the upcoming semester.

Will this loan be certified?
Yes, all loans are certified with the school.

Private Student Loan Terms

What is the repayment term of my Private Student Loan?
The repayment term begins 6 months after the borrower graduates or ceases to be enrolled at least half-time in an eligible degree granting program. Once repayment begins, the borrower has 10 years to repay the loan.

How soon will a borrower receive the loan proceeds?
The loan proceeds will be sent to the school via check or electronic funds transfer (EFT) within 6-10 business days of our approving your application.

Do you offer any borrower benefits?
Yes. Borrowers are offered a 1% interest rate reduction once they have repaid 10% of the principal on their loan. For example, on a $10,000 loan, after making enough loan payments to have a $9,000 principal balance, the interest rate would be reduced by 1%.

How often is accrued interest capitalized?
Unpaid interest accrues while the borrower is in school. Upon entering full repayment, all accrued and unpaid interest is capitalized (or added) to the principal balance once at the time repayment begins. All unpaid interest also accrues during the in-school period and is capitalized once at the time a loan enters full repayment.

What documentation is provided to borrowers?
Borrowers receive electronic monthly statements summarizing all account activities. Each borrower and cosigner also receives a copy of the Promissory Note, applicable Disclosure Statements and an annual privacy policy. All documents are made available to the borrower and cosigner electronically.

What are the Forbearance policies?
Borrowers may request Forbearance due to economic hardship, for up to 18 months over the life of the loan. More specifically, borrowers are eligible to receive three Forbearance periods of up to 6 months each. Only one Forbearance period may be requested in a calendar year. Interest continues to accrue during Forbearance and the term of the loan is not extended.

Are there any scholarships available?
We recommend this list of easy scholarships to enter.