Private Education Loan

Why borrow a Private Education Loan?

Students and parents should explore and exhaust their eligibility for loans offered by the federal government before considering a loan from a private lender. That being said, there are a number of reasons why you might need to consider borrowing a Private Education Loan.

  • You are an international student attending CBU on a student visa. and as such you are not eligible for federal or state financial aid programs
  • You are not eligible for federal financial aid because you have not met our standards of academic progress
  • You are attending CBU in a program that is not eligible for federal or state financial aid, such as a certificate program.

Private Education Loan

It is important that you pursue your best borrowing option. If you meet the eligibility requirements, the federal student loan programs are almost always a better option than a Private Education Loan. Learn more information about the two options at the Federal Aid First website. You can also learn about the maximum amounts of federal aid that you may be eligible to receive by visiting CBU’s Scholarships and Loans webpages.

Application Steps

You are welcome to use any lender of your choice for a a Private Education Loan. As an option, CBU has partnered with FASTChoice to offer an online application process that provides a lender list and allows students to view side-by-side loan comparisons. FASTChoice also provides students with the financial literacy counseling components of “Borrowing Essentials” and “Repayment Essentials” to help students make responsible financial choices.

To assist you in completing the self-certification form your personal COA can be found by logging into BannerWeb. From BannerWeb, you can get to COA information by clicking Financial Aid, Award Information, Select and Submit the appropriate Aid Year. Finally, click Award Overview to view your COA. If you still require assistance completing the self-certification form, you may contact the Office of Financial Aid directly.

Some lenders provide a paper application to the student with a section that is to be completed by the school. These applications should be submitted to the lender without the school’s section completed. The lender will then contact the school electronically for the information needed to process the loan application.

Choose Your Lender

You should research several lenders that will best meet your needs and circumstances before submitting an application. You are encouraged to compare loan programs based on:

  • Interest rates
  • origination fees
  • prepayment fees
  • annual and lifetime borrowing limits
  • repayment terms and grace periods
  • co-borrower requirements
  • citizenship status

You should review the loan program’s general eligibility requirements to determine if the program meets your specific circumstances, such as:

  • Undergraduate or graduate student
  • CBU admission status
  • Enrollment level (i.e. less than half-time)
  • Satisfactory Academic Progress **

Some lenders require that the school certify that the student is making academic progress towards a degree.