Private Student Loans (alternative loans)
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As you pursue your educational goals, we understand that meeting the cost of your education can be a major concern. We first encourage you to complete a FAFSA to determine your eligibility for federal, state, and institutional aid. If your awards are lower than your COA, you may want to consider an private student loan. Some courses of study such as the Aeronautical, Architecture, and Law Programs are more costly.
Your loan application should reflect the amount of funds you wish to borrow for your actual period(s) of enrollment. Approved loan amounts will be disbursed half in the fall and half in the spring if you enroll for the academic year (fall and spring). Please apply for a single term loan if you only plan to enroll for a single semester in the academic year. The approved loan will disburse in that semester. For students graduating in the fall, notify us in writing that you plan to graduate and will only need your loan for one semester. If we are not notified the award will be split over the full year.
Two Disursments Will Occur
If your loan period is for both the fall and spring semester, the first half of your funds will disburse in the fall semester. The second half will disburse in the spring semester.
If you are a fall/spring student and you apply for a fall only loan, funds will be disbursed as a fall/spring loan (half in the fall and half in the spring). Students attending one term only are the only students eligible to apply for a single term loan.
How to Apply
To begin the application process, choose a lender. ASU is committed to processing all loans and does not endorse nor accept any incentives, financial or otherwise, to work with any specific lenders. When choosing a lender it may be helpful to ask if they are compatible with ELM, an electronic student loan management system used to expedite loan applications and disbursements. Lenders not compatible with ELM may take additional processing time. Whichever lender you select, we will do our best to expedite the processing of your student loan application.
To assist you in choosing a lender there are several online resources which may be helpful. These sites operate independently of ASU:
General information about student loans including definitions on the types of loans that are available:
Considerations when choosing a lender - cost, flexibility and customer service to name a few:
- Finaid.org outlines some of the major considerations when choosing a lender and some background information on student loan discounts that lenders may offer to help you make an educated choice.
- The Project on Student Debt site gives student loan shopping tips and also has a comparison of student loan discounts.
List of lenders from Finaid.org
Borrower Eligibility Criteria
Private student loans are offered by private lenders and there are no federal forms to complete. Eligibility for private student loans often depends on your credit score. You must qualify for and be approved for these types of loans by an outside lender of your choice.