Study Now, Pay Later: Where To Get A Student

Loan
Covid-19 affected many things, including one’s financial state. Since you’re back
in the Philippines, you might find it challenging to look for other sources of
income. Unfortunately, lack of funds isn’t limited to lack of cash for groceries or
payment of bills. This could also adversely affect your kids’ tuition fee.

Because of the pandemic and the sudden shift to online classes, you have no choice
but to also spend on laptop or tablet, upgrade your Internet connection, and
dedicate a space for your kids’ learning, which also means additional expenses.

The thing is at the end of the day, education is important. In case you are short in
funds, student loan is something you can consider.

Here are some educational assistance programs you can look into to finance your
child’s education:

CHED’s Unified Student Financial Assistance System For Tertiary

Education
Also known as UniFAST, the CHED Student Loan Program is open to
all Filipinos who are undergraduate, graduate, medicine, and law
students enrolled in public or private schools or universities. You can
also borrow up to P60,000 per academic year, payable for one year.

Interest rate is zero percent IF the loan is paid before the semester ends.
Otherwise, six percent interest will be imposed.

As of this writing, CHED Student Loan Program offers the lowest

student loan in the country. To apply, make sure you submit the
following documents:

 Three copies of accomplished Application Form. You can access

it here.
 Photocopy of the applicant’s Certificate of School Registration
 Photocopy of applicant’s school ID
  Income Tax Return, payslip, Certificate of Employment, audited
financial statements, or other proof of income of the applicant or
applicant’s parents
 Co-maker’s ITR, other proof of income, and government-issued ID
 Two 1×1 photo of both the applicant and co-maker

Once you have all the documents prepared, submit the requirements to
the office in charge of student loan applications in your child’s school.
Thereafter, the school will forward the application to CHED.

If approved, then you will also be asked to open an account with the
Development Bank of the Philippines since this is where the proceeds
will be credited.

You can also learn more about the program here.

SSS Educational Assistance Loan Program

Known as EDUC-ASSIST, this student loan program is open to all SSS

members below 60 years old, with monthly income of P25,000 or
below, and with at least 36 posted SSS contributions, with six of
which must be posted within the last 12 months.

You can borrow up to P20,000 per semester and payable up to five

years for four- or five-year course OR up to P10,000 per semester and
payable up to three years for two-year or vocational courses.

Interest is six percent per year. Take note that there is also a
maintenance charge of two percent and penalty of one percent per
month in case of late payment.

Below are the requirements:

 Accomplished application form. You can access it here.

 Valid ID
  Assessment or Billing Statement from the applicant’s school
 Proof of relationship to the applicant such as birth or baptismal
certificate
 Proof of monthly income such as latest payslip, Certificate of
Employment, ITR, or notarized Affidavit of Source and Amount of
Monthly Income
 In case you cannot provide proof, you can issue a notarized
Affidavit of No Income

You can submit the requirements to SSS branch near you. Make sure to
present the original and photocopies of the mentioned documents. If
approved, then you can claim the check from the Administrative Section
of the SSS branch where you applied.

Unfortunately, this educational assistance program is only limited to one

beneficiary. Also, online application is not yet available, which means
you have to personally submit the application.

PAG-IBIG Multi-Purpose Loan

The agency’s Multi-Purpose Loan can be used for variety of needs,

including payment for tuition fee and other school expenses. So if you
are an active PAG-IBIG member with at least 24 months contribution,
then you can apply for a multi-purpose loan to cover school expenses of
your kids.

You can borrow up to 80 percent of PAG-IBIG regular savings

with 10.5 percent interest per year. The loan is payable for up to 24
months with two-month grace period.

You can learn more about PAG-IBIG’s Multi-Purpose Loan here.

LandBank I-Study Program

If you need bigger amount for your children’s education, then Landbank
can help. Through the I-Study Program, parents who are struggling in
sending their children due to the pandemic can still do so to ensure
education.

The bank’s I-Study Program allows you to borrow up

to P300,000 with five percent per year interest. You can pay the loan
in one year in case of short-term loan but for longer term loan, the
amount plus interest is payable up to three years with one year grace
period for the principal.

Other charges include loan processing fee, Documentary Stamp Tax of

P1.50 for every P200, and penalty charges in case of late payment.

The good thing about this educational loan is that it covers all levels and
not restricted to kids who are in college. In case you’re interested, you
must prepare the following documents:

 Accomplished loan application form

 Valid ID of the borrower
 Proof of income such as Certificate of Employment, pay slip for
the last three months, and ITR
 Proof of billing address from at least two utility companies
 Enrollment or registration form from the school of the beneficiary
 Form 138 or Certified True Copy for the previous semester or
quarter
 Certificate of Good Moral Character from the school
 Schedule of payment of school fees and other expenses related to
enrollment for each semester or the entire year

To apply, simply visit any Landbank branch near you. Make sure to
bring all documents for verification. If approved, then you will be
required to open a deposit account from Landbank for disbursement of
funds. You can also check this link for more details.
There are still several banks and private institutions that offer student
loans but so far, the ones enumerated here have the most affordable
rates. Check them out and see which one suits best for your child’s
needs. Don’t hesitate to ask for sample computations. More importantly,
prepare all documents and make sure that you have a copy of the
originals.

Although it may not seem a lot, the amount you can get can be helpful in
getting your kids back to school.

3 Key Student Loan Forgiveness Opportunities May End

Soon

In recent months, the Biden administration has approved

billions of dollars in student loan forgiveness for hundreds
of thousands of borrowers. And more may be on the way.
But several of these initiatives are temporary, and
borrowers have only a limited time window to apply or
benefit from the relief before it ends. In many cases,
borrowers may have to take action before a specific
deadline to qualify for student loan cancellation.
In October, the Biden administration enacted a new fix for
the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.
PSLF is a student loan forgiveness program that can wipe
out the federal student loan debt for borrowers who work
for 10 years or more in qualifying nonprofit or government
careers. To address years of poor oversight and
mismanagement, the administration established the
Limited PSLF Waiver program.
Under the Limited PSLF Waiver, past periods of
repayment that otherwise would have been ineligible
(including payments made under non-qualifying
repayment plans, or on older FFEL loans) can be counted
towards PSLF, provided the borrower was working in
qualifying employment at the time. But the program is set
to end on October 31, 2022 (advocates are urging the
Biden administration to extend the relief, but there are no
indications that officials will do this).
Tens of millions of Americans are waiting to see if President Joe
Biden will deliver the widespread student debt forgiveness he
endorsed as a presidential candidate. He talked of canceling
$10,000 per borrower, but the plan stalled when he
asked Congress to pass the relief. With that body gridlocked,
Biden recently said he’s still taking a “hard look” at the
question.
Any course of action carries tremendous stakes.
More than 43 million Americans owe a combined $1.6 trillion in
student debt to the federal government, according to the latest
data from the Education Department. That makes it one of the
nation’s leading sources of consumer debt.
If Biden forgives $10,000 for all borrowers, it would eliminate
federal student debt for a third of them, about 13 million people.
Another 20% would see their debt cut by half or more.
LOCALIZING TIPS
—A key question to explore: Who would debt cancellation help
in your area? Find people with student debt and ask what
cancellation would mean for them.
—Think about the spectrum of people who would benefit from
blanket forgiveness: It would help blue-collar workers who
borrowed money to get associate degrees, or who dropped out
without finishing, but it would also help white-collar workers
who have debt from advanced degrees. What impact would
forgiveness have for each group? Do higher-earning graduates
think they deserve cancellation? And what if the White House
moves forward with an income cap? Who are the borrowers who
would miss out? Are lower-income borrowers prepared to prove
their earnings?
—Some borrowers owe a few thousand dollars in student debt,
while some owe more than $100,000. Think about exploring the
impact of debt forgiveness across that spectrum. For the millions
of borrowers who owe less than $10,000, what would it mean to
have their debt erased entirely? How much would $10,000 in
cancellation help borrowers with $50,000 or more? Finding
local borrowers and telling their stories can help show the
human impact at the heart of the debate.
—Supporters of debt forgiveness say it’s a matter of racial
justice. Black Americans are more likely to have student debt,
and in larger amounts, than white borrowers. A 2016 Brookings
study found that, four years after graduation, the average Black
borrower had $53,000 in student debt — almost twice as much
as their white counterparts. Consider exploring the topic with
Black borrowers and leaders in your community. The local
NAACP, Black Lives Matter or Black Student Union chapter
could help you get members’ perspectives and put you in touch
with borrowers. If your newsroom has someone skilled with
Census data, consider exploring whether neighborhoods with
higher concentrations of Black residents are also more likely to
have more households with student debt.
—The gridlock in Congress extends to the issue of student debt
forgiveness. Some Democrats oppose cancellation and say the
money would be better spent increasing money for federal Pell
grants, for example. What positions have your senators and
representatives in Congress taken? Do they believe Biden has
the power to erase debt? If they favor debt forgiveness, how
much do they think should be erased, and should there be
income limitations? If they oppose it, do they have alternative
proposals to help indebted borrowers?
—Experts say the student debt crisis is most troublesome for the
millions of Americans who ended up with student debt but no
degree. They can end up with large sums of debt but no
credential to land a higher-paying job. Think about finding
borrowers in your area who have debt but never graduated, and
ask how cancellation would affect them.
HELPFUL RESOURCES
State-by-state statistics:
The Education Department releases regular reports on federal
student loans. The data can be used to analyze the growth of
student debt over time and how many borrowers have loans of
various sizes. There are also geographic breakdowns with state-
by-state statistics.
The Institute for College Access and Success publishes an
annual report showing average debt loads for each state. The
most recent report, for the class of 2020, found that the average
student debt ranged from $18,350 in Utah to $39,950 in New
Hampshire. TICAS also has experts who can talk about the
impact of student debt.
What forgiveness could cost:
The Committee for a Responsible Budget, a group that
advocates for lower deficits, argues that cancellation is too
costly. Its estimates can provide a look at how much taxpayers
might end up paying to cover debt forgiveness.
Who might benefit from forgiveness:
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York issued a report in April
examining who would benefit from debt cancellation. It found,
for instance, that if $10,000 was erased for all borrowers, 29%
of the relief would go to high-income areas, while 25% would
go to low-income areas
Help finding borrowers:
The Debt Collective is a national union of debtors that supports
debt forgiveness and also purchases portfolios of debt and
cancels them. The group can explain arguments in favor of
cancellation, and it can connect you with local borrowers.
Young Invincibles is a student-founded nonprofit that advocates
for debt cancellation. The group’s executive director, Kristin
McGuire, has shared her story of taking out $20,000 in student
debt that has now grown to $50,000.
The Student Debt Crisis Center is a national nonprofit that
advocates for debt cancellation and can help find borrowers in
your area.
More experts:
A number of scholars have studied debt forgiveness and come
down on either side of the issue. Those who support it include
Charlie Eaton at the University of California, Merced, and
Adam Goldstein at Princeton University. Those who oppose the
policy include Jason Furman at Harvard University and Miles
Spencer Kimball at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Most
universities are likely to have an economist or other scholar who
can explore the potential impacts.