Columbia University Student Financial Services

Eligibility

Generally, you must:

• Be a graduate or professional student or pursuing postbaccalaureate training or a postbaccalaureate certificate at Columbia University registered at least part-time
• Have a valid U.S. Social Security number
• Be a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident (International students may be eligible for a private loan with a creditworthy U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident or with at least 2 years of strong credit history
• Complete a loan application with your lender of choice
• Have a U.S. credit record with no bankruptcies, not be in default on any education loan or owe a refund on an education grant, and meet the applicable credit eligibility requirements.There is a cosigner option for some students that do not meet the credit criteria. We encourage you to read the Good Credit section for more information.

Application

You must complete a promissory note online directly with your lender of choice.Check with your school’s financial aid office for information about specific deadlines and to see if they require you to submit a copy of the application to their office.

 

Borrowing Limits

The student budget or cost of attendance represents the maximum aid you can be awarded through any combination of scholarships, fellowships, federal and private loans certified through Columbia University for the academic year. To determine the maximum amount you can borrow in alternative loans, take the student budget and subtract any other financial aid awards, and the balance is the amount you can borrow in an alternative loan.The minimum loan amount is generally $1,000.

PLEASE NOTE:You should first borrow the full amount for which you are eligible under the Federal Stafford Loan and any institutional loans.

Aggregate Borrowing Limits

Each lender has its own policy for aggregate loan limits.Please contact them for more information.

Interest Rate

The interest rate on a private loan will always be variable or floating.Your rate will change every month or quarter depending on your lender.Each lender uses their own pricing models based on either the 3-month LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate) or the Prime Rate (as published in the Wall Street Journal) and is based on the strength of your (or your cosigner’s) credit score and history.

Interest accrues from the date of disbursement.Interest can be paid while enrolled or deferred and capitalized at the time of repayment.

Fees

There are no origination or guarantee fees, even for cosigned loans. For more information on fees, contact the lender or your financial aid office.

Disbursement

Private educational loans are disbursed in a variety of ways. Some lenders send checks that are payable directly to the student borrower, others send checks that are co-payable to the student borrower and Columbia University or transmit funds electronically directly into the student’s University account. If the check is made payable directly to you, the student borrower, please contact your school’s financial aid office. If the check is co-payable to you, the student borrower and Columbia University, the check must be endorsed for deposit into your University account.

Graduate PLUS vs. Private Loans

If you are still trying to decide between a private and Graduate PLUS loan, below are some things to consider.

You may prefer the Federal Graduate PLUS loan if you:

• Like the certainty that a fixed-rate loan provides
• Your credit is Good, Fair, or Poor; your cost will likely be lower given the current Prime & LIBOR rates
• Like the protection of greater deferment and forbearance options
• You prefer repayment incentives that reduce your interest rate to less than the 8.5%
• Do not mind an initial 3% origination fee
• Need at least 10 years to repay the loan

You may prefer the Private loan if you:

• Are comfortable with the possibility of variable interest rates
• Have Superior credit. You may be charged less interest now and there is no fee on the private loans
• Believe there is little possibility that you may use the deferment or forbearance options
• Plan to borrow the loan only for a short time and plan to repay it quickly

Suggested Lenders

Please see the Suggested Lenders section.

Other Lenders

Loan Comparison Resource