1. What are the criteria for getting a higher education loan?

The criteria based on which you will get a higher education loan varies from lender to lender. The lender wants to verify your requirements for the loan, your potential for utilizing the degree, and your ability to repay the loan. So lenders will want to know the borrower’s academic standard, course accreditation and financial status. As said before, the criteria will be different from one lending organization to another. Still, there are some common criteria such as the borrower’s nationality should be the same as where the bank is registered, at the time of applying for the loan the borrower must have confirmed to get admitted to an institution (either in the country or abroad), and others.

2. What is the process of availing a higher education loan?

After you have decided to get admission to a particular institution and cleared its admission test, you should take an estimate of the complete cost of the course including supporting variables. After this base work, you must zero down on the bank or financial organization where you want to apply for the loan and apply and then follow their guided steps till loan disbursal.

3. Is it mandatory to have a co-borrower or co-signer?

In most cases, it is absolutely required to have a co-signer or co-borrower who will also be the guarantor for repayment. This is especially true for availing higher education loans with collaterals. However, you can also avail of higher education loans without a co-signer and collaterals. There it’s not mandatory.

4. What happens to the students who cannot furnish securities for higher education loans?

For students from average to middle-class families, higher education loans are a necessity to move to the next stage of their academic pursuance. Also, they are the ones whose parents might not have any substantial securities against which they may expect a loan. It’s a very challenging situation because other students can provide the needed collateral as securities and get their loans approved; they may also afford the entire cost. Worry not, there are many banks and financial institutions that offer co-signer and collateral-free higher education loans. You need not have a co-signer or collaterals for applying for higher education loans but they may need other essential documents.

5. What is the charged rate of interest for higher education loans and what are the possible processing charges?

The rate of interest varies from one country to another and even from one bank or financial institution to another. Also, you must check with your bank to see whether they charge processing fees for higher education loans or not because even this varies based on the bank’s or financial institution’s policies.

6. What are the possible higher education loan tenures?

It’s the banks or financial institutions that decide the tenure in compliance with the rules and laws of their respective countries. Whatever the loan duration is, it will cover your course duration and allow you a time gap between finishing your course and starting repayment. It’s essential and less stressful for the students.

7. Is the process, amount sanctioned, and criteria for availing higher education loans for domestic institutions and international institutions different? If yes, what are the differences?

Primarily, there is no difference except the loan amount will be more, and based on that the interest can also increase. However, there can be some additional documents that need to be furnished while applying for a higher education loan in an international university or organization.