Loan
Programmes for Study in the US
Overview
This
document provides an overview of loan programmes available
in the UK and in the US for non-US students planning
to study in the US.
One
way to finance your US education is through loans
from either UK or US sources such as banks and loan
services. Loan amounts and repayment options vary
depending on the field, level and length of study
as well as other factors.
Please
keep in mind that you will have to pay back all
of the money you borrow. When considering a loan
to finance education, be sure to examine carefully
all of the terms and conditions of the loan. Explore
repayment options, as the conditions of each loan
scheme will vary. Look closely at the costs of taking
out a loan. Interest rates may make the loan more
costly than you might have originally thought. Although
you might find all of the general information about
costs and interest rates when enquiring about a particular
loan scheme, it is important to read the fine print
before signing any agreement.
Loans
from Sources in the UK
Bank
Loans
Several
banks in Britain offer loans for study to existing
customers. Most banks do not have a special student
loan scheme for those wishing to study in the US,
but check with your bank about taking out a personal
loan to finance study.
Career
Development Loans
These
loans are intended for students who are following
a professional course. Contact Career Development
Loans or the participating banks to find out if your
course qualifies.
Career
Development Loans are available to anyone with residency
in the European Union. The length of the course is
limited to two years plus up to one year's practical
work experience. Upon completion of your course, you
must intend to work in the EU (including Norway, Liechtenstein
and Iceland). With a Career Development Loan, you
can borrow between £300-£8,000 and the
loan repayment does not start until one month after
the training has finished. Loans are available through
four major banks: Barclays, Clydesdale, The Co-operative
and The Royal Bank of Scotland.
To
find out more about this loan programme you may consult
a copy of the Career Development Loans brochure in
the US Educational
Advisory Service (EAS) reference library, request
a brochure and application directly by calling 0800
585 505 or visit the Career Development Loans website
at www.lifelonglearning.dfee.gov.uk.
Another
UK-based loan can be found in the section below on
loans for MBA study.
Loans
from Sources in the US
The
availability of US-based loans for non-US citizens
is limited. In almost all cases, US-based loan programmes
require non-US citizens to have a creditworthy US
citizen or permanent resident to act as a co-borrower.
The
Access Group
PO Box 7430, Wilmington, DE 19803-0403, US
Tel: 001 302 477 4190, Email general@accessgroup.org
Website: www.accessgroup.org
Offers
loans for international students attending one of
the following schools: Columbia, Yale, or Carnegie
Mellon School of Industrial Administration. Borrowers
must have a creditworthy US citizen as a co-borrower.
Chela
Financial
PO Box 64768, St. Paul, MN 55164-0768 US
Tel: 001 800 366 0032, Email: info@chelafin.com
Website: www.academicedge.chelafinancial.com
AcademicEdge
loans are available to international students enrolled
in an undergraduate or graduate degree program at
a US college or university with a US resident co-signer.
Although their website states that you must be a US
citizen to apply for an AcademicEdge loan, we have
confirmed that they do offer loans to international
students on the basis stated above.
Educaid®International
Student Loan Program (ISLP)
Joe Cronin, 67 Coddington Street, Suite 201, Quincy,
MA 02169, US
Tel: 001 617 328 1565, Fax: 001 617 328 0615
Email webmaster@internationalstudents.com
Website: www.InternationalStudentLoan.com
Provides
loans to undergraduate and postgraduate students enrolled
in US universities/colleges. You must have a creditworthy
US citizen or permanent resident as a co-borrower.
ISLP loans are administered in co-operation with The
Education Resources Institute (TERI - see below) and
applications are therefore sent directly to TERI.
Minimum
loan amount $500 and you can borrow up to the cost
of your entire undergraduate education minus other
financial aid received.
The
Education Resources Institute (TERI)
330 Stuart Street, Suite 500, Boston, MA 02116-5237,
US
Email: custserv@teri.org
, Website: www.teri.org
TERI
loans are available to students pursuing postgraduate
or professional study. Loans are available through
the TERI Professional Education Plan (PEP). You must
have a creditworthy US citizen as a co-borrower. Loans
are made through participatory banks, which include
Citibank, Bank of Boston (P.O. Box 312, Boston, MA
02117-0312) Baybank (P.O. Box 510, Dedham, MA 02026,
Tel: 001 617 320 2422) and Nellie Mae. You can borrow
up to the cost of your education (maximum $80,000
over four years).
GATE
Student Loan Program (Guaranteed Access to Education)
7 Tucker's Wharf, Marblehead, MA 01945, US. Tel: 001
617 639 4583
Email: nctgate@aol.com or nctgate@gate.com
Loans
are available to full-time undergraduate students
with a creditworthy US citizen as a co-borrower. The
loans are offered through participating schools in
conjunction with Bank of America, Bank of Boston and
the National Collegiate Trust (NCT).
Global
Student Loan Corporation (GSLC).
350 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2416, New York, NY 10118 USA.
Tel 1-212-736-9666
Email: info@globalslc.com
, website: www.globalslc.com
GSLC offers student loans for international students
that do not require a US citizen or permanent resident
to co-sign the loan. (A co-signer in the student's
home country may be required. Often this co-signer
is the student's parent or guardian.) GSLC works with
financial institutions and banks located in the student's
home country to provide financing for the student's
education.
Massachusetts
Educational Financing Authority (MEFA)
125 Summer Street, Suite1450, Boston, MA 02110, US.
Tel: 001 617 261 9760, Email: info@mefa.org , Website: www.mefa.org
Loans
are available to foreign students pursuing study in
one of more than 80 participatory colleges and universities
in Massachusetts. You must have a creditworthy US
citizen as a co-borrower and may borrow up to the
entire cost of your education.
Nellie
Mae
50 Braintree Hill Park, Braintree, MA 02184, US
Email: info@nelliemae.com , Website:
www.nelliemae.com
Nellie
Mae has three private loans that are available to
international students: Student EXCEL Loan, EXCEL
Grad Loan and EXCEL Grad Extension Loan.
All
Nellie Mae Loans require that the borrower or co-borrower
is a US citizen or eligible permanent resident and
that the borrower and co-borrower have US social security
numbers. Contact Nellie Mae and the international
student office at your university to find out about
applying for a social security number as a non-US
citizen.
-
Student
EXCEL Loan: For students pursuing an undergraduate
degree.
-
EXCEL
Grad Loan: For students pursuing a postgraduate
degree.
-
EXCEL
Grad Extension Loan: For current Nellie Mae borrowers
in their final year of postgraduate medical, dental
or law school.
Loan
amounts, interest rates and fees will vary depending
on your eligibility for a particular loan.
Sallie
Mae
Corporate Borrower Services, 11600 Sallie Mae Drive,
Reston, VA 20193, US. Tel: 001 850 767 7471 (reverse
charges)
Email: collegeanswer@slma.com ,
Website: www.salliemae.com
Offers
private loans under the Signature Student Loan programme.
Borrowers must be in good academic standing and enrolled
in or admitted to a Sallie Mae approved four-year
non-profit college or university. Borrowers must have
a creditworthy US citizen as a co-borrower. Loan amounts
vary, but can be up to the cost of your education
minus other financial aid received. Applications can
be submitted online. Check with your college/university
to find out if it administers loans in co-operation
with Sallie Mae.
Loans
for MBA and Law Study
A
small number of business schools are now offering
loans to international students. In some cases the
school will act as co-borrower for the loan. Check
with the institution(s) to which you are applying
to find out if this option is available to you.
Association
of MBAs
For more information call NatWest on 0800 200 400
or contact The Association of MBAs, 15 Duncan Terrace,
London N1 8BZ
Tel: 020 7837 3375, Website: www.mba.org.uk
.
These
loans are available to suitably qualified UK applicants
to study for an MBA. Loans are administered by the
Association of MBAs in co-operation with NatWest Bank.
You must be at least 18, a permanent UK resident,
have a place at an AMBA accredited business programme
and have five years practical work experience (2 years
if you are a graduate). Loan amounts vary and could
cover the cost of your education and personal expenses.
Sallie
Mae - MBA LOANS - Tuition Loan Program
Corporate Borrower Services, 11600 Sallie Mae Drive,
Reston, VA 20193, US
Tel: 001 850 767 7471 (reverse charges)
Email: collegeanswer@slma.com ,
Website: www.salliemae.com
Offers
loans for business students enrolled in or admitted
to an approved postgraduate business school programme
(e.g. business administration, marketing, accounting,
economics, taxation, Executive MBA, etc.). Borrowers
must have a creditworthy US citizen or permanent resident
as a co-borrower. The annual minimum loan is $500
and you can borrow up to the cost of your entire education
minus other financial aid received.
Sallie
Mae - LAWLOANS PROGRAM - Law Student Loan
Corporate Borrower Services, 11600 Sallie Mae Drive,
Reston, VA 20193, US
Tel: 001 850 767 7471 (reverse charges)
Email: collegeanswer@slma.com ,
Website: www.salliemae.com
Provides
loans to cover the cost of your entire law education.
Borrowers must also apply for a Federal Stafford loan,
which can be done on the same application as the LAWLOAN
(Note: this is usually waived for international students
as they are ineligible for Federal Stafford loans,
but confirm this with Sallie Mae and your college/university).
Borrowers must have a creditworthy US citizen or permanent
resident as a co-borrower and be enrolled in an ABA
(American Bar Association) accredited law school programme.
Check with your college/university to find out if
it administers loans in co-operation with Sallie Mae.
The annual minimum loan is $500 and you can borrow
up to the cost of your entire education minus other
financial aid received. Sallie Mae also offers a private
Bar Study Loan.
OTHER
SOURCES OF FINANCIAL AID
The
institution in which you wish to enrol is the best
place to start your search for financial assistance.
Contact the university admissions office directly
to see if it offers financial aid to international
students. This can be in the form of a grant, loan,
scholarship, teaching/research assistantship (postgraduate
only), tuition waiver or work-study.
EAS's
reference library has several funding directories
that list individual awards for international students.
Most of the directories list postgraduate awards,
though there are some awards available for undergraduate
study.
The
Fulbright Commission offers awards for one year of
postgraduate study in the US. Also see the back of
the EAS Guide
to Postgraduate Study in the US for information
on scholarships given by award granting bodies other
than the Fulbright Commission. For undergraduate study
see EAS Guide
to Undergraduate Study in the US.
USEFUL
WEBSITES
www.edupass.org
: Edupass guide to studying in the US as an international
student. Includes information about financial aid
and scholarships.
www.nafsa.org
: Provides a list of some of the books and Internet
resources you may want to use while searching for
financial aid.
www.bibl.u-szeged.hu/oseas/europe.html : OSEAS-Europe
links page. A good reference for financial aid and
scholarship links for international students.
www.collegeapps.about.com/education/collegeapps/msub32.html
: Links to sites that offer information about financial
aid and scholarships for students wishing to study
in the US.
www.usinfo.state.gov : General information for
international undergraduate and postgraduate students
in the US (includes financial aid information).
www.iefa.org/public/search.html
: Database of scholarships available for study in
the US. Search by field of study.
www.globalgrant.com : Global
Grants offers a service that matches scholarships
and international students.
www.cashe.com/runsearch.html : Free online scholarship
search offered by Sallie Mae. Offers scholarships
in the form of grants, tuition waivers, fellowships,
internships, competitions, work co-operative programmes
and loans. Information for international students
can be found in the FAQ link. |
