Private Loans
Private loans are made by banks and other lending institutions to provide students with additional funding for unmet college expenses.
Eligibility Criteria
Your eligibility for these loans is determined by a variety of factors, including, but not limited to: cost of attendance, academic rank, scheduled hours, credit history, or co-borrower information.
Private loans can vary widely in interest rates, repayment terms, and eligibility criteria.
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Application Process
Many lenders provide online applications for your convenience. We strongly encourage you to apply for private loans using an electronic application. OSFA will receive electronic certification rosters from the lenders and can process these applications much faster.
If you apply online for a private loan, in most cases you do not need to give a copy of the application to the OSFA. You can send the promissory note and any other required documentation directly to the lender. Many lenders are now offering electronic signatures to speed up the process.
If you plan to file a FAFSA, do not submit your private loan application until you have received your official award notification from the Office of Student Financial Aid. In order to ensure receipt of maximum federal, state and university aid, we will usually not process a private loan application until your award package has been completed. If you apply too early, your application could expire, which would cause you to have to go through an additional credit check when you reapply.
Loan Periods
The application process will request that you specify a loan period for your private loan. It is important that you are aware of the start dates for your college or program. Failure to approximate a valid loan period can result in a delay in processing your application. Please refer to the Registrar's Academic Calendar for approximate term start and end dates. If you are a professional student, check with your individual college to identify non-standard start and end dates. The start and end dates should correspond to the academic year and not the calendar year.
Disbursement of Funds
Because the university is committed to continuous processing improvements, the procedures for disbursement of your private loan funds may vary from lender to lender, and may change based on internal processing reviews.
It is essential that you review your Statement of Account on your Student Center, accessible via Buckeye Link, and your Buckeye Mail regularly for any important updates or messages that could impact your private loan funds. Please see the Office of the Bursar's Alternative Loan FAQ's at Bursar > Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) > Alternative Loan FAQ's for more information.
Helpful Hints
- We strongly advise that you accept your Federal Direct Subsidized Loans before applying for private loan funds, because of the lower interest rate and ability to defer repayment. Please be aware that your total Subsidized loan amount will be counted when your private loan eligibility is calculated.
- While we also recommend that you accept your Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan, if you choose to decline it in favor of the private loan, you may be required to submit a statement declining the Unsubsidized Loan.
- Any previously awarded aid that has not been declined will reduce your eligibility for a private loan. If you do not plan to use certain aid programs that you may have requested on your FAFSA, such as the Federal Work Study Program (FWS) and the Federal Perkins Loan, please decline them online, or notify our office before applying for a private loan. If you have a PLUS application on file, that PLUS loan will be awarded and the total award amount will be counted when your private loan eligibility is calculated.
- In some cases, dropping below half-time enrollment at any time during the quarter may result in the lender canceling future disbursements of your private loan. Contact your lender for specific details on how to re-establish eligibility.
Private Loan Lenders
Neither The Ohio State University nor the Office of Student Financial Aid intends any specific endorsement of these products by including them on this page.
Undergraduate/Graduate/Professional
Lending Options without In-School Deferment |
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Fifth Third Bank
www.53educationlending.com |
Sallie Mae
www.salliemae.com |
The Smart Option Student Loan program requires interest-only payments during the school period and 6-month separation. Please check with your lender if you have previously borrowed under the Signature loan program and are interested in remaining with the Signature product.
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