Alternative Loans for Undergraduate, Graduate & Law Students

Undergraduate & Graduate lender list , Law lender list

In May, 2008 the University of Missouri-Columbia solicited through a Listserv maintained by the Missouri Association of Student Financial Aid Professionals (MASFAP) a Request for Information (RFI) from lenders for the purpose of promulgating a list of alternative loan lenders for the benefit of our students and their parents. Responses to the RFI were received in June, 2008. The following is a list of criteria, in relative rank order, used to determine which lenders were selected to appear on our list:

1) Customer Service: To determine relative customer service levels for each lender the financial aid director sent an email to the entire financial aid staff requesting feedback based on personal contact with the lenders and student feedback about customer service. Staff was then asked to recommend whether or not a lender should be placed on our alternative loan lender list;

The following items were reviewed by the financial aid director and loan staff personnel:

2) Interest Rates: Interest rates charged during loan repayment;
3) Fees: The percent of fees, if any, charged to borrow an alternative loan;
4) Approval Rate: The relative approval rates of loan applicants;
5) Co-Signer Release: Whether or not a co-signer can be released from repayment responsibilities after a certain number of repayments;
6) Duplicative Benefits: To maintain a manageable list of lenders, if more than one lender offered basically the same benefits only one lender was chosen;

Students and Parents should also know the following:

1) You have the right and ability to select the alternative loan lender of your choice whether or not that lender appears on this list and you will not suffer any penalty for choosing a lender that is not on this list;
2) The decision to include a lender on this list is based solely on consideration of the best interest of students and parents;
3) This lender list shall be reviewed no less than annually;
4) Lenders appearing on this list have not provided -- for the purpose of appearing on this list -- any benefit to the University, its employees or its students;
5) Lenders appearing on this list have adopted or agreed to abide by a lending code of conduct that contains principles similar to those adopted by the University in Executive Order No. 36,10-22-07; 240.035 -- Relationships with Student Loan Lending Institutions;
6) Lenders appearing on this list have agreed to all other conditions required by the University as listed in: University in Executive Order No. 36, 10-22-07; 240.035 -- Relationships with Student Loan Lending Institutions which can be viewed at: http://www.umsystem.edu/ums/departments/gc/rules/programs/240/035.shtml

THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE BORROWING AN ALTERNATIVE LOAN:

Alternative loans are designed to help students with educational expenses after all federal, state, and institutional aid has been received.
Students are responsible for all interest charges.
Most alternative loans will require a creditworthy co-signer.
Alternative loans have higher interest rates than federal loans. For the current prime and LIBOR rates, go to www.bankrate.com/brm/ratehm.asp
Interest rates change often and have no cap.
Alternative loans cannot be included in a federal consolidation loan.
Each time you apply your credit is reviewed.
If you plan to attend graduate school, check with your lender to determine if your loan can be deferred.

CHOOSING A LENDER AND APPLYING FOR A LOAN

If you are interested in borrowing from a lender on this list, click on the website link provided to access their online application. Approval time for online applicants is typically less than five minutes. Each lender listed below offers repayment benefits, however, you will need to confirm the available benefits with your lender.

APPLICATION TIPS

When completing the application, you will be asked to supply a loan period. Common loan periods for the 2008-2009 aid year include:

August 2008 to May 2009 for the full year;
Auguest 2008 to December 2008 for fall 2009 only;
January 2009 to May 2009 for spring 2009 only;
May 2009 to August 2009 for summer 2009 only;

Note, summer term always requires a separate application.

Alternative Loans for Undergraduate & Graduate Students

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Lender	Degree Seeking	SAP*	Enrollment Minimum	Minimum Loan	Maximum Loan	Repayment Benefits	Interest Rate	Fees	Years to Repay	Co-Signer Release	Prepay Penalty
U.S. Bank	no	no	< 1/2 time	$1,000	Cost less Other Aid	yes, check with lender	Prime 0 to + 3.95%	None	15	yes	no
Contact: www.usbank.com/supploans/ phone: 1-800-242-1200
Wells Fargo	no	no	< 1/2 time	$1,000	Cost less Other Aid	yes, check with lender	Prime 0 to + 5.99%	None	15	yes	no
Contact: www.wellsfargo.com/student/apply phone: 1-800-658-3567
Citibank	no	no	< 1/2 time	$1,000	Cost less Other Aid	yes, check with lender	Prime - 0.5 to + 4.75%	0 to 5.0%	20	yes	no
Contact: www.studentloan.com/findstudentloan/citiassistundergraduateloan.htm phone: 1-800-967-2400
Chase	yes	no	< 1/2 time	$500	Cost less Other Aid	yes, check with lender	Prime - 0.5 to + 6.0%	None	20	yes	no
Contact: www.ChaseSelectLoans.com phone: 1-866-306-0868
SallieMae	yes	no	< 1/2 time	$1,000	Cost less Other Aid	yes, check with lender	Libor + 2.5 to + 9.5%	None	15 to 30	yes	no
Contact: www.salliemaeedtrust.com/signature/ phone: 1-888-272-5543
Wachovia	no	no	< 1/2 time	$500	Cost less Other Aid	yes, check with lender	Prime - 0.5 to + 4.0%	None	25	yes	no
Contact: www.wachovia.com/education phone: 1-800-338-2243

* Student must be making Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) as defined by Mizzou.

Alternative Loans for Law Students (Law Loan)

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Loan	Lender	Minimum	Maximum	Interest Rate	Fees	Repayment	Repayment Incentive
Citiassist	Citibank	None	Cost less Other Aid	Prime + .5% to 4%	No Fees	Up to 15 years. Begins 6 months after graduation or drop below half-time	.25% interest reduction for auto debit, .50 % reduction after 48 on-time payments.
Contact: www.studentloan.com/findstudentloan/loanforlawstudents.htm phone: 1-800-745-5473
Law Loan	Access Group	$1000	Cost less Other Aid	Libor + 2.75% to 6.45 %	No Fees	Up to 20 years. Begins 9 months after graduation or drop below half-time	.25% interest reduction for auto debit, .50 % reduction after 48 on-time payments.
Contact: www.accessgroup.org/Student-Loans/find-a-loan/student-loan-finder.htm phone: 1-800-282-1550
Lawloans	SallieMae	$1,000	Cost less Other Aid	Libor + 2.5% to 9.5%	No Fees	Up to 15 years. Begins 9 months after graduation or 6 months after drop below half-time with no prepayment fee	.50% interest reduction for auto debit.
Contact: www.salliemae.com/lawloans phone: 1-888-272-5543

Alternative Loans for Law Students (Bar Loan)

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Loan	Lender	Minimum	Maximum	Interest Rate	Fees	Repayment	Repayment Incentive
Lawloans	SallieMae	$1,000	$15,000	Libor + 2.5% to 9.5%	No Fees	15 to 30 years. Begins 9 months after graduation or 6 months after drop below half-time with no prepayment fee	.50% interest reduction for auto debit.
Contact: www.salliemae.com/lawloans/ phone: 1-888-272-5543
Citiassist	Citibank	None	$11,000	Prime + .5% to 4%	No Fees	Up to 15 years. Begins 6 months after graduation or drop below half-time with no penalty for early repayment	.25% interest reduction for auto debit, .50 % reduction after 48 on-time payments.
Contact: www.studentloan.com/findstudentloan/loanforlawstudents.htm phone: 1-800-745-5473
Law Loan	Access Group	$1000	$15,000	Libor + 2.75% to 6.45 %	No Fees	Up to 20 years. Begins 9 months after graduation or drop below half-time with no penalty for early repayment	.25% interest reduction for auto debit, .50 % reduction after 48 on-time payments.
Contact: www.accessgroup.org/Student-Loans/find-a-loan/student-loan-finder.htm phone: 1-800-282-1550