Private Educational Loans
Learn more about Private Educational Loans
Students who find they need more financial assistance than is offered in the financial aid offer prepared by the Student Financial Services Office may want to consider a private educational loan. These loans allow students to borrow up to their total cost of attendance less any financial aid they have been awarded. Students are strongly encouraged to use all available Federal Direct Loans first as they generally offer more favorable loan terms and repayment options.
Eligibility for private educational loans is credit-based; it is not based on need. Interest rates are generally variable, and interest accrues while the student is in school. Generally, repayment of the loan can be deferred until the student graduates, leaves school or drops below half-time enrollment.
Eligible students may borrow up to the total cost of attendance, less any financial aid received, each academic year.
Most private educational loans require the borrower to be a degree-seeking student who is registered at least half-time (6 credits as an undergraduate; 3 credits as a graduate student). However, some private education loans, known as "Continuing Education Loans," are available for enrollment that is not degree-seeking and/or is less than half-time. Some lenders also require students to be meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress. Contact lenders directly for academic requirements.
To ensure that the amount needed is available when it is needed:
- Student borrowers who need assistance determining how much they are eligible to borrow (cost of attendance minus estimated financial assistance) should contact the Student Financial Services Office.
- Unless students specifically instruct otherwise, Student Financial Services certifies loans to be evenly disbursed over the quarters students indicate on their loan applications. Students who know they will have uneven costs should tell Student Financial Services so their loans can be awarded and disbursed to their student accounts accordingly.
- Regulations require student borrowers to complete a loan self-certification and submit it to their lender. Because this step adds to processing time, the Student Financial Services Office recommends that students apply for private loans a minimum of six weeks before the tuition payment deadline for their first term of enrollment each academic year.
- It can take as long as four weeks following loan approval for students to receive their loan funds. Students who know they will need a loan for the entire year are encouraged to apply early and for the entire year rather than quarter-by-quarter.
- Students must be registered for the term they are requesting for the Private Educational Loan. If you apply, and are approved for the loan before you register, please contact Student Financial Services at financialservices@seattleu.edu once you have registered so that we can continue processing the loan.
Most lenders participate in ELM, an automated web-based certification system. Students should ask their lenders if they participate using the ELM process. If they do, the student's loan certification will be posted electronically on ELM for certification by the Student Financial Services Office. If a lender doesn't participate through ELM, the student's application will be completed as a paper document that is submitted by the lender to the Student Financial Services Office for certification. For this reason, processing paper applications and certification generally takes longer.
Credit balances on the student accounts of students who apply for loan amounts in excess of the total due to Seattle University will be refunded to those students.
In some cases, a private lender will allow you to borrow a loan to pay a past due balance. Once approved, if you are borrowing to cover a past due balance, please contact Student Financial Services at financialservices@seattleu.edu to let us know how much and what term you are using the loan to repay.
Interested students can go to the Private Loan Lender List for more information including a comparison of interest rates, fees and other incentives lenders provide.
For information about how lenders were selected for this list, please review the Private Educational Loan Policy Please note that the Office of Student Financial Services does not recommend a specific lender or lenders. This list is offered as a way for students to compare their private lending options after they have fully investigated their federal student loan eligibility.
The Student Financial Services Office will certify a private educational loan for any lender a student selects, regardless of whether or not that lender appears on this list and regardless of whether or not the student has chosen to apply for federal loans or other financial aid.
Relationship with Lenders Code of Conduct
The Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) adds to the Program Participation Agreement (PPA) a requirement that an institution participating in a Title IV loan program must develop, publish, administer, and enforce a code of conduct. Seattle University adheres to this code of conduct as it applies to the officers, employees, and agents of the institution.
In addition to standards of behavior set out by the University, the Enrollment Services Division, and Student Financial Services, employees of Seattle University and, in particular, employees within Student Financial Services, are subject to the following restrictions.
A ban on revenue-sharing arrangements with any lender.
The HEOA defines "revenue-sharing arrangement" as any arrangement between an institution and a lender under which the lender makes Title IV loans to students attending the institution (or to the families of those students), the institution recommends the lender or the loan products of the lender and, in exchange, the lender pays a fee or provides other material benefits, including revenue or profit-sharing, to the institution or to its officers, employees, or agents.
A ban on employees of the Student Financial Services receiving gifts from a lender, guaranty agency or loan servicer.
No officer or employee of Seattle University's Student Financial Services (or an employee or agent who otherwise has responsibilities with respect to educational loans) will solicit or accept any gift from a lender, guarantor, or servicer of education loans. A "gift" is defined as any gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan, or other item having monetary value of more than a de minimus amount. However, a gift does not include:
- a brochure, workshop, or training using standard materials relating to a loan, default aversion, or financial literacy, such as a brochure, workshop or training;
- food, training, or informational material provided as part of a training session designed to improve the service of a lender, guarantor, or servicer if the training contributes to the professional development of Seattle University's officer, employee or agent;
- favorable terms and benefits on an education loan provided to a student employed by Seattle University if those terms and benefits are comparable to those provided to all students at Seattle University;
- entrance and exit counseling as long as Seattle University's staff is in control of the counseling and the counseling does not promote the services of a specific lender;
- philanthropic contributions from a lender, guarantor, or servicer that are unrelated to education loans or any contribution that is not made in exchange for advantage related to education loans, and;
- State education grants, scholarships, or financial aid funds administered by or on behalf of a State.
A ban on contracting arrangements.
No officer or employee of Seattle University's Student Financial Services (or employee or agent who otherwise has responsibilities with respect to education loans) will accept from a lender, or an affiliate of any lender, any fee, payment, or other financial benefit as compensation for any type of consulting arrangement or contract to provide services to or on behalf of a lender relating to education loans.
A prohibition against steering borrowers to particular lenders or delaying loan certifications.
For any first-time borrower, Seattle University will not assign, through the award packaging or other methods, the borrower's loan to a particular lender. In addition, Seattle University will not refuse to certify, or delay the certification, of any loan based on the borrower's selection of a particular lender or guaranty agency.
A prohibition on offers of funds for private loans.
Seattle University will not request or accept from any lender any offer of funds for private loans, including funds for an opportunity pool loan, to students in exchange for providing concessions or promises to the lender for a specific number of Title IV loans made, insured, or guaranteed, a specified loan volume, or a preferred lender arrangement. An "opportunity pool loan" is defined as a private education loan made by a lender to a student (or the student's family) that involves a payment by the institution to the lender for extending credit to the student.
A ban on staffing assistance.
Seattle University will not request or accept from any lender any assistance with call center staffing or Student Financial Services staffing, except that a lender may provide professional development training, educational counseling materials (as long as the materials identify the lender that assisted in preparing the materials), or staffing services on a short-term, nonrecurring basis during emergencies or disasters.
A ban on advisory board compensation.
An employee of Seattle University's Student Financial Services (or employee who otherwise has responsibilities with respect to education loans or financial aid) who serves on an advisory board, commission, or group established by a lender or guarantor (or a group of lenders or guarantors) is prohibited from receiving anything of value from the lender, guarantor, or group, except for reimbursement for reasonable expenses incurred by the employee for serving on the board.