FinAid | Loans | Private Loan Lenders (Graduate)
Date: 1972-01-01

|  |  | Additional Lenders Who Offer Private Loans to Graduate Students
| NATE: Remove this cell Access Group |
& " < > (See the separate list of private loans for undergraduate students) Access Group français Québec The Access Group is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing access to education through affordable financing and related services. The Access Group provides federal and private loans to graduate and professional students. The Access Group offers the following loan programs of interest to graduate and professional students: Federal Stafford Loan (Subsidized and Unsubsidized) Law Access Loan and Bar Examination Loan Business Access Loan Medical Access Loan and Medical Residency Loan Dental Access Loan and Dental Residency/Board Exam Loan Graduate Access Loan Key Eligibility Requirements: Among other requirements, borrowers must be a US citizen, national or eligible noncitizen, must not be in default on any education loan or owe a refund on an education grant (Federal loan only), and must be attending an approved, accredited school. Loan Limits: All Access Group loans have a minimum loan amount of $500. Loan maximums vary by program, and are generally limited to the cost of attendance less other aid received, though there may be other limits depending on enrollment status and school. Maximums include all outstanding undergraduate and graduate educational debt. The aggregate limits are $120,000 for Graduate Access and Business Access, $130,000 for Law Access (including Bar Examination Loan), $195,000 for Medical Access (including the Medical Residency Loan) and Dental Access (including the Dental Residency/Board Examination Loan). Interest Rates: Interest may be deferred while the borrower is in school. Deferred interest is capitalized once, at repayment. Interest rates vary quarterly, and are based on the 91-day T-bill rate plus a spread. The spreads are 2.5% for Medical Access, 2.75% for Dental Access, 2.9% for Law Access, 3.0% for Business Access, and 3.4% for Graduate Access. Loan Fees: The guarantee fee for Access Group private loans is 6.0% at disbursement for all borrowers. A supplemental guarantee fee is added to the principal balance immediately prior to repayment. This fee is significantly determined by the borrower's past credit behavior and ranges from 1.5% to 6.9%. (For any loan for which a cosigner is required, the supplemental guarantee fee is 6.9%.) Repayment: Repayment begins 9 months after graduation or when enrollment status drops below half-time. Borrowers may take up to 20 years to repay the loan. The minimum monthly payment is $50. There is no penalty for prepayment. To apply for a loan, or for more information on any Access Group product or service, call the Access Loan Line at 1-800-282-1550 weekdays 9-8 ET. Use the new online loan application or place an order for a paper application using the materials order form. You can also fax 1-302-477-4080, write to the Access Group, 1411 Foulk Road, Box 7430, Wilmington, DE 19803-0430, or send email to general@accessgroup.org. College Funding Company College Funding Company is a coalition of four Nebraska nonprofit organizations involved in educational financing. CFC's "Flexible College Funding Loan" is available to parents of undergraduate and graduate students. The term of the loan is up to 15 years, and it offers an in-school interest-only repayment plan in addition to a standard repayment plan in which interest and principal payments begin upon disbursement. The interest rate is prime plus 1.5% (prime plus 1.75% during any interest-only payment periods). Parents may borrow up to the full cost of education less any financial aid received, with a cumulative limit of $100,000 plus fees. The minimum loan amount is $1,000. For more information, call 1-800-745-6646, send email to loaninfo@nebfef.com, or use the contact form on their website. Citibank Student Loans Citibank offers a variety of private graduate student loans, including: Citibank GradAssist Loan Citibank MBAAssist Loan Citibank MedicalAssist Loan (allopathic or osteopathic medicine) Citibank EngAssist Loan Citibank Nursing Loan The eligibility requirements require borrowers to be US citizens or permanent residents. International students can apply if they have a US citizen or permanent resident cosign the loan. Borrowers must also meet certain credit criteria and income standards. These loans are only available at accredited schools with a federal default rate of less than 15%. All of the loans have a minimum loan amount of $500. Annual maximums are $15,000 for the GradAssist and MBAAssist loans, $20,000 for the MedicalAssist Loan, and $8,500 for the EngAssist and Nursing loans. Cumulative maximum limits include the Citibank loans and are $100,000 for the GradAssist and MBAAssist loans, $135,000 for the MedicalAssist Loan, and $80,000 for the EngAssist and Nursing loans. Interest may be deferred while the borrower is in school. Deferred interest is capitalized once, at repayment. Interest rates are based on 91-day T-bill rates plus a spread. The rates for the GradAssist Loan are T-bill plus 4.00% before repayment and T-bill plus 4.50% during repayment. The rates for the MBAAssist loan are T-bill plus 3.40% and T-bill plus 4.25%. The rates for the MedicalAssist loans are T-bill plus 2.60% and T-bill plus 2.85%. The rates for the EngAssist loan are T-bill plus 3.25% and T-bill plus 3.50%. The rates for the Nursing loan are T-bill plus 3.50% and T-bill plus 4.00%. The guarantee fee is 6.00% at disbursement if the loan is borrowed with a cosigner, 9.00% if there is no cosigner. The guarantee fee for MBAAssist and MedicalAssist Loans is 8.50%. Repayment for all loans begins 6 months after graduation or when enrollment status drops below half-time. You have up to 15 years to repay the loan, 20 years for MedicalAssist loans. MedicalAssist borrowers may request a second deferment for residency and internship, and have the option of paying three years interest-only upon enterring repayment. The minimum monthly payment is $50. There is no penalty for prepayment. Fluctuations in interest rate are reflected in the length of the repayment term, not in the monthly payment amount, unless an increase in monthly amount is needed to keep the payment period within the program maximum. Citibank offers three repayment options: Pay interest-only during the in-school and 6 month grace period. Pay 15 years of principal and interest, capitalizing the interest during the in-school period. Pay two years of interest-only plus 13 years of principal and interest, capitalizing the interest during the in-school period. For more information, call 1-800-692-8200 x144 (1-800-846-1298 TDD), fax 1-716-248-7007, write to Citibank (NYS) Student Loans, PO Box 22948, Rochester, NY 14692. Graduate students may call 1-800-967-8677. Educap Inc. Educap Inc., (formerly known as University Support Services, Inc.), is a non-profit corporation founded in 1986. They offer several loan programs: The P.L.A.T.O. student loan program, which lets you borrow from $1,500 up to $25,000 a year with a $100,000 cumulative borrowing limit. The loan can be used to pay educational expenses incurred during the previous year in addition to expenses from the current year. Up to $5,000 can be borrowed for purchasing a personal computer. The loan has a repayment term of up to 15 years with no prepayment penalty. If the student does not earn $15,000 per year, a co-signer will be required. Students have the option of deferring payments of principal for up to five years or graduation, whichever comes first. The interest rate is the Prime rate plus a 1.90% spread during the in-school period and the Prime rate plus a 2.90% spread during repayment. There is an 8% origination fee. US citizenship or permanent residency is required. A good credit history is also required. They also offer an introductory rate of 7.9% with a 7% origination fee. The Merlin loan consolidation program, which lowers monthly loan payments by as much as 45% by using a 20 year repayment period. You can consolidate between $5,000 and $100,000 in loans, and you can borrow up to an additional $25,000 in student loans. There is no prepayment penalty. US citizenship or permanent residency required. The Merlin Consolidation Loan program can be used to consolidate all education-related debt to include both private and US federal loans and credit card debt. There is a 5% origination fee and the interest rate is the Commercial Paper Rate plus 6.0%. The P.L.A.T.O. Junior Education Loan, which is similar in structure and requirements to the P.L.A.T.O. loan, but is aimed at families with students in private schools grades K-12. The main difference is an interest rate of prime plus 3.7% and a 6% origination fee. For more information, call 1-800-230-4080, write to Complete Source for Financing Education, 205 Van Buren Street, Suite 200, Herndon, VA 22070, or send email to <ussinfo@aol.com. Education Funding Services, Inc. (EFS) In conjunction with TERI, EFS offers the Chiroloan for chiropractic study (Canadian Chiroloan for Canadian citizens attending ACC accredited chiropractic institutions in US), the OpLoan for optometry, and the VLoan for veterinary school. The Chiroloan program lets the student borrow from $1,000 to $8,000 annually. The OpLoan and VLoan programs let the student borrow from $1,500 to $20,000 annually. The Canadian Chiroloan programs let the student borrow from US$1,000 to US$10,000 annually. The Chiroloan, OpLoan, and VLoan programs have a variable interest rate based on the 91-day T-Bill rate plus 2.5% during the in-school period and the 91-day T-Bill rate plus 2.9% during repayment. The Canadian Chiroloan program has a variable interest rate of Prime plus 1.5% during in-school and deferment periods, and Prime plus 2% during repayment. The term of all four loan programs is up to 20 years, with a $50 minimum monthly payment. Except for the Chiroloan program, which has an in-school deferment period of 5 consecutive years, all of the programs have an in-school deferment period of 4 consecutive years, with interest capitalized at graduation. Repayment begins 12 months after graduation or withdrawal from school. All loans have interest-only and interest and principal payment options for the in-school period. The Chiroloan has a $10 application fee and a 10% guarantee fee (6% with cosigner). The Canadian Chiroloan program has a $10 application fee and an 11% guarantee fee. The VLoan and OpLoan have no application fees, but a guarantee fee of 6% at disbursement and 1% at repayment. For schools with high default rates, the guarantee fees are 7% and 2%, respectively. For more information about these programs and a list of participating schools, contact EFS at 1-800-252-2041. International Health Education Loan Program (IHELP) The IHELP loan program provides loans for US graduate health profession students who are studying outside the US for an MD or DVM. US citizenship or permanent residency is required. Non-citizens must submit valid INS 151 or INS 551 forms with their applications. The IHELP program lets students borrow from $1,500 to $15,000 per year, with an aggregate limit of $75,000. The interest rate is the 91-day T-Bill rate plus 3.5% during the in-school and repayment periods. There is a 10.5% guarantee fee. Repayment begins 12 months after graduation. There is a 4-year deferment period for medical students and a 1-year deferment period for veterinary students during residency. The term of the loan is up to 20 years, with a $50 minimum monthly payment. This loan program is administered by International Education Finance Company (IEFC), division of Education Funding Services, Inc. (EFS). IHELP federal loans are guaranteed by USA Funds and IHELP alternative loans by TERI. For more information, call 1-800-255-TERI (1-800-255-8374), write to The Education Resources Institute (TERI), 330 Stuart Street, Suite 500, Boston, MA 02116-5237, or send email to custserv@teri.org. Customer service is x4210, school relations is x4262, lender relations is x4218, claims and collections is x4270, and loan origination is x4287 (fax 1-617-695-3637). Financial aid administrators should call 1-800-TERI-FAO (1-800-837-4326) or 1-617-422-8800. Key Education Resources Key Education Resources offers several private loan programs for graduate and professional students: Alternative DEAL(DEAL = Dental Education Assistance Loan), a private loan for students pursuing dental or post-doctoral dental degrees. Repayment may be deferred during school and a 24-month grace period by capitalizing the interest, and the borrower may choose an optional interest-only repayment for the first three years. MedAchiever, a private loan for full-time students pursuing allopathic or osteopathic medical degrees. Repayment may be deferred during school and a 48 month grace residency/intership period by capitalizing the interest, and the borrower may choose an optional interest-only repayment for the first three years. GradAchiever<, a private loan for full-time graduate students in most fields of study. Repayment may be deferred during school and for a 9 month grace period after graduation by capitalizing the interest. MBAchiever, a private loan program for full time graduate business students. Repayment may be deferred during school and for a 9 month grace period after graduation by capitalizing the interest. LawAchiever, a private loan program for any student attending an ABA-approved law school at least half-time pursuing a J.D., J.S.D., LL.M., or joint degree program. There is an aggregate loan limit of $130,000. The interest rate is the 91-day T-Bill rate plus 3.25% during the in-school and grace period, and the 91-day T-Bill rate plus 2.50% to 3.25% during repayment depending on the borrower's choice of payment plans. There are loan fees of 6% at disbursement and up to 3% at repayment. All loan payments are deferred during the in-school period and for 9 months after graduation. There is no penalty for prepayment. Each month the borrower may choose a payment tied to a 10, 15, or 25 year repayment schedule, with shorter repayment periods having a lower interest rate. (The 10, 15, and 25 year interest rates are the 91 day T-Bill rate plus 2.50%, 2.90%, and 3.25%, respectively.) The Select/2 Repayment Option allows students to make interest-only payments for the first two years, followed by principal and interest payments for the balance of the loan term. Students who have their monthly payment automatically debited from their checking or savings account are eligible for an additional 0.25% reduction in the interest rate. Key Education Resources is the largest educational lender to law schools. The annual loan limit for these loans is the cost of education less other financial aid received ($7,500 for LawAchiever BarLoan). For more information, call 1-800-KEY-LEND or send email to Key Education Resources at EducationRes@KeyBank.com. International Student Loan Program (ISLP) ISLP is an alternative loan program for US students studying abroad or enrolled at foreign colleges or universities. It is also available to international students for study in the US with a US citizen or permanent resident as co-signer. The program for US students combines FFELP (Stafford and PLUS) loans with supplemental loan financing into single package. Graduate students may borrow up to the full cost of education, including tuition, fees, and room and board, subject to a $15,000 maximum. The minimum loan amount is $1,000 per academic year for US students, $2,000 per academic year for international students. Students may take up to 25 years to repay the loan (20 years for Canadian students). There is a $50 minimum payment and some deferment provisions. The interest rate is variable, and is pegged to the prime lending rate. There are different interest rates and fees depending on whether the student is engaged in a study abroad program or is actually enrolled at a foreign institution. For study abroad programs the interest rate is the prime rate and there is a 9% guarantee fee. For graduate students enrolled in a foreign school the interest rate is the prime rate plus 0.25%, and there is a 10% guarantee fee and a 0.5% origination fee. For Canadian students the interest rate is the prime rate plus 1.5%, and there is a 7% guarantee fee with co-signer or a 9% guarantee fee at disbursement and a 2% guarantee fee at repayment without a co-signer. For international students the interest rate is the prime rate and there is a 6% guarantee fee. For more information, call 1-617-696-7840, fax 1-617-698-3001, write to Joe Cronin, VP/IEFC, 424 Adams Street, Milton, MA 02186, or send email to iefc@aol.com. Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority (MEFA) MEFA is a not-for-profit state authority that provides college financing for students attending Massachusetts colleges and universities. They offer some of the lowest cost college loans available, including GEL, a fixed rate graduate education loan program available at many participating Massachusetts colleges and universities (7.65% for the 1996-97 academic year), and PRISM, a fixed rate international student loan program for students from Canada or Argentina attending one of 65 participating schools in Massachusetts. MEFA is able to offer one of the lowest interest rates on their loans because they are non-profit and exempt for federal and state tax. Students can borrow up to the full cost of education. These loans have a term of up to 15 years and there is no penalty for prepayment. Payments may be deferred while the student is in school for a maximum of three years. The interest can be made tax-deductible through their Home Equity Option. For more information about MassPlan, GEL, or U.Plan, call 1-800-449-MEFA (6332) or 1-617-261-9760. For more information about PRISM, call 1-800-842-1531 or 1-617-261-9760, or fax 1-617-261-9765. You can also write to MEFA, 125 Summer Street, Boston, MA 02110. MedFunds MedFunds is a not-for-profit lender of Stafford, HEAL, and alternative loans for students in various medical curriculums. They are a division of the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine. The MedFunds Alternative Gradute Loan is offered for graduate students in Allopathic, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Podiatry, Physical Therapy, Public Health, Occupational Therapy, Optometry, Osteopathy, Veterinary, Nursing, Nutrition, and Physician's Assistant disciplines. The eligibility requirements include a credit check and the debt-to-income ratio for all applicants as a group must not exceed 40% after including the loan. Debt includes a percentage of credit lines on credit cards, regardless of the current balance. The loans are restricted to US citizens, nationals, and permanent residents, and the student must also have applied for a MedFunds Stafford Loan. Students may borrow from $1,000 up to the cost of education or $20,000, whichever is less, with a cumulative maximum of $80,000. There is an aggregate education debt limit of $152,500 with the Medfunds Option. (The MedFunds Option allows students to borrow an additional $10,000 during the final year of graduate studies to cover internship and residency interviewing and relocation costs.) Repayment begins 9 months after graduation or when the student's enrollment status drops below half-time. An additional deferment of up to four years is available for residency and internship. Interest is capitalized once, at repayment. The interest rate is based on the 91 day T-bill rate plus a spread. The spread is 2.4% before repayment and 2.7% during repayment. The guarantee fee is 6.00% at origination, plus an additional 3% at repayment if there is no cosigner. The term of the loan is up to 20 years, and there is no penalty for prepayment. For more information, call 1-800-665-1016, fax 1-216-231-0453, write to MedFunds, 10515 Carnegie Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44160, or send email to ccorr@ocpm.edu. Servicing questions should be directed to SLSC at 1-800-233-0557. Mohela Mohela is a secondary market for student loans in Missouri and neighboring states. Established in 1981, they have $1 billion in assets and serve more than 125,000 student and parent borrowers and 83 lenders. More than three-quarters of all student loans in Missouri are purchased by Mohela. They offer the CASH LOAN private loan program as a supplement to FFELP and FDSLP loans for graduate students. These loans include the MedCash, LawCash, BarCash, MBACash, and GradCash loan programs. US citizenship is required. Under the MedCash program, medical school students can borrow up to $20,000 per year, with an aggregate maximum of $80,000 and a total educational debt limit of $128,500 (including MedCash loans). The interest rate is the 91-day T-Bill rate plus a spread of 2.50% while the student is still in school and 2.85% during repayment. There is a 5% guarantee fee, and an additional 2% guarantee fee is added when the student enters repayment. Repayment begins 36 months after graduation or 9 months after the student withdraws to less than half-time enrollment without graduating. No payments are required while the student is in school, and the term of the loan is up to 20 years. Under the LawCash program, law students can borrow up to $15,000 per year, with an aggregate maximum of $45,000 and a total educational debt limit of $90,000 (including LawCash loans). The interest rate is the 91-day T-Bill rate plus a spread of 3.25% while the student is still in school and 3.40% during repayment. There is an 8% guarantee fee at disbursement, and an additional 2% guarantee fee when the student enters repayment. Repayment begins 9 months after the student either graduates or withdraws. No payments are required while the student is in school, and the term of the loan is up to 15 years. For more information call 1-800-6-MOHELA (1-800-666-4352) or 1-314-469-0600, TDD/TT 1-314-469-6390, fax 1-314-469-4561, or write to Mohela, 14528 South Outer Forty Road, Suite 300, Chesterfield, MO 63017. Nellie Mae LOAN LINK Nellie Mae, established in 1982, is the largest nonprofit provider of student and parent education loan funds in the US. Nellie Mae offers the EXCEL Education Loan Program for parents and spouses of undergraduate and graduate students and the GradEXCEL, LawEXCEL, MBA-EXCEL, and MedDent-EXCEL Education Loan Programs for graduate and professional students. The Nellie Mae EXCEL Education Loan Program lets parents and spouses borrow from $2,000 up to the cost of attendance less other financial aid received each year. Repayment options include paying interest only while the student is in school or making monthly payments of principal and interest while the student is in school. You can take up to 20 years to repay the loan depending on the amount borrowed (15 years for a $10,000 loan). The GradEXCEL, LawEXCEL, MBA-EXCEL, and MedDent-EXCEL Education Loan Programs lets graduate and professional students borrow from $2,000 to $10,000 a year (up to $12,000 for law students) on their own, or up to the cost of attendance with a cosigner. Medical and Dental students have the option to borrow an additional $5,000 in the final year of medical or dental school for use during residency interviews or relocation expenses. Repayment options include defering principal and interest until six months after leaving school (MedDent-EXCEL borrowers can continue to defer principal during residency or internship, but must pay interest), making monthly payments of interest only while the student is in school, or making monthly payments of principal and interest while the student is in school. You can take up to 20 years to repay the loan depending on the amount borrowed. Interest rates are the same for all loans and are pegged to the Prime rate. You can choose either a monthly variable rate of Prime plus 0.5% during the first year and Prime plus 1.0% during subsequent years, or a one-year renewable rate of Prime plus 2-3%. There are no origination fees. EXCEL Loans have a 7% guarantee fee. With a cosigner, the GradEXCEL, LawEXCEL, MBA-EXCEL, and MedDent-EXCEL loans have a 7% guarantee fee. Without a cosigner, the guarantee fees are 9% for MBA and medical students and 10% for graduate, law, and dental students. You can request an application through their online form. For more information, call 1-800-9-TUITION (1-800-988-4846), 1-800-634-9308, or 1-617-849-3447, fax 1-617-849-6006, write to Nellie Mae, 50 Braintree Hill Park, Suite 300, Braintree, MA 02184, or send email to info@nelliemae.org. Sallie Mae Sallie Mae is the nation's largest secondary market and holds approximately one third of all educational loans. Sallie Mae buys student loans from lenders and administers them from origination through repayment. Sallie Mae is affiliated with several lenders (currently Norwest Bank and Household Bank fsb) who offer private loan programs. The private loan programs include: LAWLOANS: Law Student Loans and Bar Study Loans MEDLOANS: Alternative Loan Program (for allopathic medical students) and MEDEX (for residency interviews and relocation) MBALOANS: Tuition Loan Program (for students attending approved business schools) and Executive MBA Loan (for students enrolled in non-traditional MBA programs) Borrowers under these loan programs may be required to apply for federal student aid first. Eligibility is restricted to US citizens, nationals, and permanent residents. The LAWLOANS and MBALOANS require permanent residents to have a US citizen as cosigner. The MBALOANS requires international students to have creditworthy cosigners and to make interest payments during the in-school period. All loans have let you borrow a minimum of $1,000 ($500 for continuing borrowers). Each program has a different maximum loan amount. The LAWLOANS maximum is $60,000 without a cosigner, $100,000 with a cosigner. The Bar Study Loan lets you borrow up to $7,500. The MEDLOANS lets you borrow up to $20,000 per year. The MEDEX loan lets you borrow up to $7,000. In addition, the LAWLOANS has an aggregate maximum for all educational loans of $102,500 without a cosigner, $150,000 with a cosigner. For MEDLOANS the aggregate maximum is $142,500. The interest rates are based on the 91-day T-bill rates, plus a spread, and vary quarterly. For LAWLOANS the interest rate for FFELP borrowers is T-bill plus 3.25% during the in-school period and for FDSLP it is T-bill plus 3.50%. During repayment the rate for both is T-bill plus 3.50%. For MEDLOANS it is T-bill plus 2.5% during the in-school period, and T-bill plus 2.85% during repayment. For MBALOANS the rate for FFELP borrowers is T-bill plus 3.25% during the in-school period, T-bill plus 3.40% during repayment, and T-bill plus 3.50% for FDSLP borrowers. Interest is capitalized at the beginning of repayment, except for MEDLOANS where the interest is capitalized upon leaving medical school and annually until repayment begins. Loan fees for LAWLOANS are 7.5% at disbursement, plus an additional 4.25% at repayment if there is no cosigner. Loan fees for MEDLOANS are 7% at disbursement, plus 2% of principal and accrued interest at the beginning of repayment. The MEDEX loan has an additional origination fee of 1.5%. Loan fees for MBALOANS are 7.5% at disbursement, plus an additional 2.5% at repayment if there is no cosigner. The minimum payment for all loans is $50. The loan term for LAWLOANS is up to 15 years and begins following a 9 month grace period after leaving school or 4 years after disbursement, whichever comes first. The loan term for MEDLOANS is up to 20 years, and begins 3-4 years after graduation (depending on length of the residency program) or 9 months after withdrawal. MEDLOANS offers a repayment option of 3 years of interest-only payments and 17 years of interest and principal payments. The loan term for MBALOANS is 12-15 years, depending on the loan balance, and begins 6 months after leaving school or 3 years after disbursement, whichever comes first. The MBALOANS offers level or graduated repayment options. Borrowers of these private loans get access to Sallie Mae discounts, including a 0.25% interest rate reduction for authorizing an automatic monthly deduction of the education loan payments from your check or savings account (Direct Repay) and a 0.5% interest rate reduction for Law Student or Bar Study loan borrowers who make their first 48 scheduled monthly payments on time (Law Rewards). Call 1-800-239-4211 to request copies of Sallie Mae brochures or to talk to a College Answer[sm] representative. Customer service telephone numbers are 1-800-366-5626 for the LAWLOANS, 1-800-858-5050 for MEDLOANS, and 1-800-366-6227 for MBALOANS. TERI Alternative Loan Program The TERI Alternative Loan Program program provides loans for graduate students who are enrolled at least half-time in a degree-granting program at a TERI-approved school. Approval is based on creditworthiness, not financial need. This program lets you borrow from $2,000 up to the cost of education, less any financial aid received. You can borrow to cover past due balances owed to the school from a prior loan period. Repayment begins 45 days after disbursement. There is an alternate deferred repayment option in which payments are interest-only while the student is in school (for up to four consecutive years), with repayment of interest and principal beginning 45 days after graduation or withdrawal from school. There is a $50 minimum payment. The term of the loan is for up to 25 years, depending on the amount borrowed, and there is no penalty for prepayment. There is a 5% guarantee fee. The interest rate depends on the lender, and is variable, ranging from a low of Prime plus 0% (Bank of Boston, Household Bank, and PNC Bank) to a high of Prime plus 2% (Citibank). First Union National Bank offers the loan at Prime + 1.25%. On the variable interest rate loans, any fluctuation in the interest rate will be reflected in the length of repayment, not in the size of the monthly payment, unless an increase in the monthly amount is needed to keep the repayment period within the 25 year maximum. The Maine Education Loan Authority offers the MELA loan for Maine students and Maine residents. There is a $50 application fee, and the loan is offered with either a fixed interest rate or a variable interest rate based on the 91-day T-Bill rate plus a spread determined by the lender. For more information, call 1-800-255-TERI (1-800-255-8374), write to The Education Resources Institute (TERI), 330 Stuart Street, Suite 500, Boston, MA 02116-5237, or send email to custserv@teri.org. Customer service is x4210, school relations is x4262, lender relations is x4218, claims and collections is x4270, and loan origination is x4287 (fax 1-617-695-3637). Financial aid administrators should call 1-800-TERI-FAO (1-800-837-4326) or 1-617-422-8800. TERI Professional Education Program (PEP) The TERI PEP program provides loans for graduate and professional study. It lets graduate and professional students borrow up to $7,500 ($12,000 for law students) annually on their own credit. If the borrower is creditworthy or has a creditworthy cosigner, the TERI PEP program lets the student borrow annually up to the cost of education less any financial aid received or $20,000, whichever is less, with a cumulative limit of $80,000. There are aggregate borrowing limits depending on the profession. These aggregate limits include all education debt, undergraduate and graduate. Graduate students who are creditworthy or who apply with a creditworthy cosigner are not subject to these limits. The aggregate limits are: $90,000 -- Medicine (MD degree) $90,000 -- Osteopathic Medicine $77,000 -- Law $70,000 -- Pharmacy (PhD degree) $45,000 -- Business $44,000 -- Dentistry $44,000 -- Engineering $44,000 -- Physical Sciences $33,000 -- All other graduate/professional programs. The student makes no payments for up to 4.5 consecutive years while still in school. Unpaid interest is capitalized at repayment. Medical school students may request a second deferment on the new principal balance after the interest has been capitalized, for up to 4 years while completing a medical internship or residency (with capitalization at repayment). There is a $50 minimum monthly payment and the term of the loan is for up to 20 years. Fluctuations in the interest rate will be reflected in the length of repayment, not in the size of the monthly payment, unless an increase in the monthly amount is needed to keep the repayment period within the 20 year maximum. A guarantee fee is deducted at origination. The guarantee fee is 6% with a cosigner, 9% without. The interest rate is variable, and depends on the lender. The Bank of Boston, Household Bank, and PNC Bank offer the TERI PEP loans at an interest rate of Prime + 0%. The Bank of Boston charges a origination fee of 0.5%, with a $50 cap. First Union National Bank offers TERI PEP loans at Prime + 1.25%. Citibank offers the Citibank PEP loan at Prime + 2%. For more information, call 1-800-255-TERI (1-800-255-8374), write to The Education Resources Institute (TERI), 330 Stuart Street, Suite 500, Boston, MA 02116-5237, or send email to custserv@teri.org. Customer service is x4210, school relations is x4262, lender relations is x4218, claims and collections is x4270, and loan origination is x4287 (fax 1-617-695-3637). Financial aid administrators should call 1-800-TERI-FAO (1-800-837-4326) or 1-617-422-8800. TERI Continuing Education Loan Funded by the Bank of Boston, the TERI Continuing Education Loan program provides loans for continuing education students for undergraduate, graduate, and certificate program study. Approval is based on creditworthiness, not financial need. There are no enrollment status requirements - you do not need to be enrolled at least half time, as with other private loans. The minimum loan amount is $500 and the maximum is $5,000 per year. You can borrow for past due balances owed to the school from a prior loan period. No school certification is required. The interest rate is Prime plus 1.5% and there is a 5% guarantee fee and no application fee. Repayment of interest and principal begins six months after disbursement. There is a $25 minimum monthly payment, and you have up to 10 years to repay the loan. For more information, call 1-800-255-TERI (1-800-255-8374), write to The Education Resources Institute (TERI), 330 Stuart Street, Suite 500, Boston, MA 02116-5237, or send email to custserv@teri.org. Customer service is x4210, school relations is x4262, lender relations is x4218, claims and collections is x4270, and loan origination is x4287 (fax 1-617-695-3637). Financial aid administrators should call 1-800-TERI-FAO (1-800-837-4326) or 1-617-422-8800. |