Financing your Education with Student Loans

One of the biggest challenges with studying abroad is funding your education. As application numbers are increasing there are a decreasing number of scholarships available for international students. Taking out a loan is a great option to fund your education. However, Indian banks only give a limited amount of money which is usually not enough to cover the high costs a foreign education, and loans in forged countries becomes challenging since you have no prior documentation in that country. 

Unless you have a guarantor in the country you’re going to, the chances that you can get a loan are slim (though some universities have loan offices which do lend money). Another option is through up and coming Fintech companies. Here are three companies that are great options for get loans from and in our experience, have been quite pain free!

Avanse Education Loans 

Avanse is a new age education finance company and an associate company of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL). International Finance Corporation (IFC), an arm of the World Bank holds 20% equity stake in Avanse and promises a litany of services than any other Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFC): 

• 100% Tuition Fee as determined by the Institute or University

• Living Expenses including purchase of Books, Computers and other expenses essential to complete the course (up to 75% of total living cost though not exceeding 20% of the total tuition fee)

• Caution Deposit / Building Fund / Refundable Deposit supported by Institution Bills / Receipts but not exceeding 10% of the total tuition fee.

• Travel expenses / passage money up to Rs. 75000/- for students traveling abroad.

Learn more here 

The Paras Education Foundation

Another Indian based fintech company that gives students a lot of autonomy . 

• 100% loan for the amount certified by the school

• Pre-approved loans to avoid processing delays while you decide on the best school

• 3% to 6% per annum interest rate

• Repayment tenure of up to 10 years

To know more, go check out their page 

Prodigy Finance (Great for Grad Schools)

Prodigy Finance, a crowdlending platform launched in 2008 by Cameron Stevens (current CEO) and two of other INSEAD MBA students, who, being from South Africa and Slovenia, had experienced first-hand the difficulty of financing their post-graduate education across borders. They created Prodigy Finance, a lending marketplace which breaks new ground in cross-border lending and community lending.

Prodigy Finance focuses on the crème de la crème: facilitating loans for students enrolled in post graduate programs at 104 of the top schools of the world. The qualifying programs include: MBAs, Masters in Management or Finance at business schools like Harvard, INSEAD, London Business School, HEC, Stanford and Wharton; as well as Masters of Law, Public Policy, Public Administration and MS Engineering degrees at top US schools and universities.

Prodigy Finance does not require from borrowers a co-signer or collateral. To gauge the loan risk, the company analyzes standard data points such as credit reports. But its main competitive advantage in the underwriting process lies in its unique knowledge of the asset’s risk. Prodigy Finance owns 10 years of statistical data and analysis of the financial outcome and loan default rate of each academic program and type of international student.

Loans are offered in dollars, pounds and euros, depending of the school the student is going to.

Prodigy finance is a true community lender, rather than an open crowdlender. Wealthy alumni, alumni-related family offices and the school themselves brings the bulk of the funds used to finance the loans. Credit Suisse acted as a conduit to reach this community in 2014, raising $25 million for an Education Bond to finance loans on Prodigy Finance. Further, the company invests by issuing bonds on the Irish stock exchange with a committeemen in impact investing that bring social benefits. 

To know more, click here.