Office of Financial Aid

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 number of reasons why you might need to consider borrowing a Private Education Loan.

• You are an international student attending UTD 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 UTD 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 UT Dallas’ Types of Financial Aid Programs webpage and clicking on “Federal Financial Aid”.

Application Steps

1. Choose your lender

2. Complete the lender's application process

3. Receive the funds from the lender

To assist you in completing the self-certification form, cost of attendance estimates can be found on the Office of Financial Aid Estimated Costs of Attendance page.

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. UT Dallas uses this process due to the volume of application received.

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
•  UT Dallas admission status *
•  Enrollment level (i.e. less than half-time)
•  Satisfactory Academic Progress **

Lenders

Each year, UT Dallas asks lenders of private education loans to provide an overview of their loan products for consideration on our Recommended Lender List.  Each lender responds to the same survey that is created by the Office of Financial Aid. The survey requests information about each lender’s practices in the following areas:

See additional information here.

Students enrolled in courses preparing for CPA Certification should apply for private loans that do not require school certification.

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

UT Dallas advises its students to first exhaust all possibilities for federal and state financial aid programs before seeking private loans. The Office of Financial Aid strongly suggests that you should always borrow conservatively and budget your expenses. For further information on financial management please visit our Financial Responsibility page.