Institutional Aid & Private Loans

Private Student Loans for College

When federal financial aid doesn’t cover the cost of tuition, you may need to fill the gap with a private student loan. Franklin can help you understand how to get a student loan to pay for college if you need it.

Student Financial Services

Institutional Aid

We know college tuition is a big expense. We also know the end-goal -- your degree -- is worth it. So we offer need- and merit-based institutional aid to help making paying for college a little easier.

Private Loans

What are private loans? 

Banks and other independent lenders offer private loans to help pay for the costs of college not covered by financial aid, including current tuition and past-due balances. Private loans are subject to lender approval based on a credit review and other lender-specific requirements.

Before you apply for a private loan, we recommend that you pursue eligibility for federal loans, such as Federal Direct, PLUS and Grad PLUS. Federal loans are usually less expensive than private loans and offer more flexible repayment options.

Selecting a Student Loan Lender

Franklin reviews its list of private education lenders each year. Our Director of Financial Aid provides comparative information of borrower benefits for Private Education loans to the Executive Director of Student Affairs Operations, and makes recommendations that include at least three unaffiliated lenders.

Selection criteria are based on the following:

  1. Competitive interest rates    
  2. Competitive front-end and back-end benefits    
  3. Efficiencies in processing loan transactions through Scholarnet.    
  4. That lender scopes loan information in Nelnet FastChoice and makes updates as necessary    
  5. Must be able to certify the loan through the Scholarnet system    
  6. Loan funds are disbursed through CDS at Nelnet, Inc.   
  7. At least three lenders are unaffiliated with other preferred lenders, meaning they are not
    • Under the ownership or control of the same entity or individuals;
    • Wholly or partly owned subsidiaries of the same parent company;
    • Under the direction of directors, trustees, general partners or individuals exercising similar functions, who constitute a majority of the persons holding similar positions with the other lender; or
    • Making loans on their own behalf and also holding loans as a trustee lender for another entity.

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