Private Education Loans

Private education loans may be available to students seeking loan assistance above and beyond the federal financial aid programs. They are used to cover "gaps" that may exist between education costs and the amount of financial aid received (if any). Charter Oak State College requires all students to apply for federal financial aid first, exhausting all student financial assistance options, prior to borrowing a private education loan.

Charter Oak State College does not have a preferred lender list for private education loans. Students and their families need to do their own due diligence to determine what loan best suits their borrowing needs. There are many types of private education loans, each are calculated with different interest rates, fees, deferment options, repayment terms, co-borrower, and credit criteria.

As a convenience to our students, there is an independent research firm called Student Lending Analytics who have developed an unbiased list of loan options for students who need a resource to assist them with finding a private education student loan. Inclusion on this list is not an endorsement or recommendation by Charter Oak State College. Nor is the list inclusive of all education loan programs (private and state loans) that may be available.

Effective February 14, 2010, all private education loan borrowers, pursuant to revisions in the Truth in Lending Act, are required to complete a Private Education Loan Applicant Self-Certification Form before their loan can be approved. The lender will provide the student with this form. The form can also be downloaded using the above link. However, the Office of Financial recommends that the applicant complete the self-certification form that the lender provides. The self-certification form should be completed promptly and returned to the lender and not to the Office of Financial Aid. Some lenders may ask you to provide Charter Oak's OPE ID # which is 03234300.

In order to complete the self-certification form, the private loan applicant will need to know their cost of attendance and estimated financial aid assistance (if any) for the period of enrollment covered by the loan. This information is available by logging into ACORN, clicking on the "financial tab" and accessing "My Financial Aid".

* Students seeking private loan funding are subject to the same terms and conditions that govern the college's satisfactory academic progress policy and refund policy. The Office of Financial Aid, on a case-by case basis, reserves the right to reduce the amount of private loan dollars requested.