Student loans in Australia
Higher education fees in Australia are charged to all students, but Australian citizens and (with some limitations) permanent residents are able to obtain interest free loans from the government under the Higher Education Loan Programme (HELP) which replaced the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS). Most students are Commonwealth supported, which means the Commonwealth Government pays a contribution to the fees and students are able to defer payment of the remainder of the fees, which for Commonwealth supported students are called the "student contribution". Some domestic students are full fee-paying (non-Commonwealth supported) and while they are able to obtain subsidised loans from the Government up to a lifetime limit of $100,000 for medicine, dentistry and veterinary science programs and $80,000 for all other programs, they receive no other direct government contribution to the cost of their education. Overseas students are charged fees for the entire cost of their education and are ineligible for any loans from the Commonwealth.
Student loans in Canada
Canadian citizens, permanent residents of Canada, and protected persons (including convention refugees) are normally eligible for loans provided by the federal government, through the Canada Student Loans Program (CSLP), in addition to loans provided by their province of residence. Loans issued to full-time students are interest free while a student is in full-time studies, (as long as the maximum number of eligible weeks has not been reached) - the interest is paid by the government during the interest free period. When they are no longer in school, the loans immediately begin to accumulate interest. Repayment usually begins after 6 months at which time the accumulated interest is added to the loan amount. In most cases, the loan(s) must be repaid within 10 yrs after completion of studies.
Funding is available for part-time students through the CSLP (provincial student loans are not available). Part-time students must make interest payments while in study and begin payments of principal and interest when they cease to be a part-time student. Grants may supplement loans to aid students who face particular barriers to accessing post-secondary education, such as students with permanent disabilities or students from low-income families.
Students must apply for the Canadian and provincial loans through their provincial government. The rules for what determines your province of residence vary, but normally it is defined as where you have most recently lived for at least 12 consecutive months, not including any time you spent as a full-time student at a post-secondary institution. In most cases, the province of residence is the province one lived in before becoming a post-secondary student.
Canada Student Loans (CSL) of up to $210 per week of full-time study or 60% of the student's assessed need (the lesser of these) can be issued per loan year (August 1–July 31). Loans issued through provincial programs will normally provide students with enough funding to cover the balance of their assessed need. Part-time loans of up to $4,000 can be made, but a student cannot be more than $4,000 in debt on part-time loans at any one time. All Canadian students may also be eligible for the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation Bursary (CMS Grant), and other grants provided by their province of residence.
For example, students in British Columbia may be eligible for a maximum of $14,300 combined loan and grant funding per year.
Student loans in India
Study loans from various banks in India are encouraging more and more students to take up higher education despite their financial shortcomings. Many nationalized banks have come up with various educational loan schemes that students can benefit from.
Here, we have tried to list the name of banks and the details about various educational loans provided by them.
Allahabad Bank
http://www.allahabadbank.com/educationloan.htm
Bank of Baroda
http://www.bankofbaroda.com/pfs/eduloans.asp
Punjab National Bank
http://www.pnbindia.com/c_vidya.htm
Indian Bank
http://www.indianbank.in/educational_loan.htm
State Bank of Mysore
www.statebankofmysore.co.in/gnanamitra.htm
Andhra Bank
http://andhrabank.in/
Bank of India
http://www.bankofindia.com/Home/productsservices/eduloans.asp
State Bank of Indore
www.indorebank.org
Karnataka Bank
www.karnatakabank.com
Bank of Maharashtra
www.bankofmaharashtra.in/
Bank of Rajasthan
www.bankofrajasthan.com
Canara Bank
www.canbankindia.com
Catholic Syrian Bank
www.csb.co.in/
Central Bank
www.centralbankofindia.co.in
Dena Bank
www.denabank.com
Development Credit Bank
http://www.dcbl.com/index.html
Federal Bank
www.federalbank.co.in
HDFC Bank
www.hdfcbank.com
IDBI
www.idbi.com/products/educationalloan.asp
Mysore Bank
www.statebankofmysore.co.in/gnanamitra.htm
Oriental Bank of Commerce
www.obcindia.com
Indian Overseas Bank
www.iob.in
Punjab and Sind Bank
www.psbindia.com
State Bank of Hyderabad
www.sbhyd.com
State Bank of India
www.sbi.co.in
Syndicate Bank
www.syndicatebank.in
UCO Bank
www.ucobank.com/loan.htm#EDUCATIONALLOAN
United Western Bank
www.uwbankindia.com
Vijaya Bank
www.vijayabank.com
Vysya Bank
www.ingvysyabank.com/scripts/loans.aspx
United Bank Of India
www.unitedbankofindia.com/education-loan.asp
State Bank of Saurashtra
www.sbsbank.com/personal_loans.asp
Student loans in United Kingdom (UK)
PGCE students can apply for a loan through their local education authority (LEA) in England and Wales, the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS), or their local education and library board in Northern Ireland. The LEA, SAAS, or education and library board then assesses the application and determines the amount that the student is eligible to borrow, as well as how much tuition fees, if any, the students' parents must pay. The family's income; whether the student will be living at home, away from home, or in London; disabilities; and other factors are taken into account. 75% of the full loan (around £3,000) is available to all students in England and Wales, with only the final 25% being means-tested (taking the total available up to as much as £4,000). There is also extra money (currently roughly another £1,000) if you go to university in London, where it is deemed the extra cost of living necessitates a higher loan. Scotland has a slightly different assessment method where more of the loan is means-tested with a minimum loan of only £840. However much you get, it is paid in three installments during each year of the student's course (one per term). Special rules apply for some courses and for part-time courses.
Loans are provided by the Student Loans Company and do not have to be repaid until students have completed their course and are earning £15,000 a year (£10,000 until April 2005). The interest rate is updated annually and is tied to inflation (currently 3.1%), making the loan interest-free in real terms. The loan is normally repaid using the PAYE system, with 9% of the graduate's gross salary over £15,000 automatically being deducted to pay back the loan. There is no particular schedule for clearing the debt, but, if it has not been cleared 25 years after repayment began, or the student turns 65 years old, the remaining debt will be cancelled. For students beginning courses before 1998, the arrangements for repaying and deferring are different. Although Scottish students have their tuition fees covered by the SAAS during their time of study, much of this is actually repaid in a Graduate Endowment.
The Higher Education Act 2004 will make significant changes to the loans system in England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 2006. Upfront tuition fees will be abolished, with the fee being added to students' loans for them to pay back after their course is finished. However, instead of the tuition fee being fixed at around £1,150 for all universities (which, due to means-testing, not all have to pay), universities will be able to charge variable fees of up to £3,000. For students who have already started their courses and, as such, are still paying the upfront fees, can now add these fees to their loans if they want. Critics claim these top-up fees will create tiers of "expensive" and "cheap" universities and make university financially inaccessible to many students. As a result, there have been national demonstrations and protests by students' unions.
Student loans in United States (US)
While included in the term "financial aid" higher education loans differ from scholarships and grants in that they must be paid back. They come in several varieties in the United States:
- Federal student loans made to students directly: No payments while enrolled in at least half time status. If a student drops below half time status, the account will go into its 6 month grace period. If the student re-enrolls in at least half time status, the loans will be deferred, but when they drop below half time again they will no longer have their grace period. Amounts are quite limited as well.
- Federal student loans made to parents: Much higher limit, but payments start immediately
- Private student loans made to students or parents: Higher limits and no payments until after graduation, although interest will start to accrue immediately. Private loans may be used for any education related expenses such as tuition, room and board, books, computers, and past due balances. Private loans can also be used to supplement federal student loans, when federal loans, grants and other forms of financial aid are not sufficient to cover the full cost of higher education.
