Private Student Loan FAQs

Private student loans are intended to be used to fill the gap between your resources, awarded financial aid (scholarships, grants, federal loans, etc.), and your annual cost of attendance. If all these sources are not sufficient to finance your education, you may want to consider a private loan.

Private student loan eligibility is based on your credit history and, if applicable, your cosigner’s credit. You can be proactive in checking your credit health by going to AnnualCreditReport.com and requesting your free credit reports from Transunion, Experian, and Equifax.

You can also visit AccessLex’s Private Loan eXchange for webinars and other helpful resources.

The maximum you can borrow is your cost of attendance minus all sources of financial aid received. However, we recommend borrowing only what you think you will need. If you have any questions determining your eligibility, the Financial Aid Office can help you.

Please see our Student Loans page. You may also visit our new FastChoice site, which features a searchable lender list, private loan education, repayment calculator, and a comparison tool.

Very few U.S. banks offer private loans to international students, and as far as we know the ones that do, require a creditworthy cosigner who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

More Loan Options

We recommend that you apply for pre-approvals in April/May to ensure you qualify for a private loan for the upcoming academic year. Some lenders on our FastChoice site offer a pre-qualify button. You should wait to submit your actual loan application until July, after you receive your official financial aid notice, which will provide your “Alternative Loan Eligibility” amount.

Most lenders offer an online application process. To ensure proper processing, your application must be certified by the school before any lender will disburse funds. In most cases, the lender will reach out to us directly.

Loans typically have multiple disbursements (a percentage released each semester). If your loan application is submitted at least one month prior to the beginning of classes, your first disbursement should be available by the first day of classes.

You can request a free copy of your credit report once every 12 months at www.annualcreditreport.com. Any of the following national credit bureaus will send you a copy for a small fee:

• Experian: 1-888-397-3742
• TransUnion: 1-800-888-4213
• Equifax Credit: 1-800-685-1111