Loans For Study Abroad

[zareka]

hi guys!

just want to know who among you has borrowed money, or knows someone who has done this, to finance studies at a foreign university? i am planning to study in the US kase and im planning to take out a loan to finance my education. here take a look at some of my options:

ISLP (http://www.internationalstudentloan.com/intl_student/index.htm)
citibank (http://studentloan.citibank.com/slcsite/fr_hloan.htm)
TERI (http://www.teri.org/main.html)

i'd really love to hear from people who have borrowed money for this purpose. in particular, i'd like to know how much you borrowed and how you expect to repay the loan. suggestions about good loan programs and the attached terms are also very much welcome.

i'd like to think that further education is a good investment pero medyo ninenerbiyos ako sa pangungutang. however, may nabasa akong article sa wall street journal about a filipino who borrowed- GASP!- $100,000 to finance his MBA at columbia university, and that article gave me hope.

your advice will be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance!

zareka

[rabbaddal]

I took a loan for my MBA at Columbia, but I didn't borrow the entire amount. A good part of it I paid off with my own savings from working for 5 years. Part of the remainder, I plan to pay off with the proceeds from my current job. Columbia and other leading business schools partner with banks to provide for MBA loans. After you borrow money, your debt is then sold off to Sallie Mae. In the case of Columbia, I believe their partner bank is Wells Fargo. You apply for the loan through the business school as soon as you are accepted into their incoming class. The challenge, however, is that it is usually the higher ranking schools that provide these loans bec. banks are willing to take risks with students that are perceived to possibly earn a high compensation after graduation.

Another way is to go through a third party like Citibank's Citiassist. Citiassist can extend loans to non-US citizens and green card holders, if the loan is co-signed by a US citizen or green card holder currently employed and residing in the US.

Personally, I recommend using the school's loan program instead of a third party. The financial aid office is much easier to deal with than a commercial bank's loan officer. In my case, my loan application was initially denied by the partner bank for some unexplained reason, but the school appealed in my behalf and the loan was eventually approved in the soonest possible time.

In terms of payment, I recommend paying for the entire loan if you are able to secure a permanent job in the US.