Private loans, sometimes called alternative loans, are available from private lenders and offer additional financial assistance. A credit check is required for private loans and some of the loan terms and conditions may be based upon your credit standing. If you are a student, please know that most lenders will require a co-signer.

Carefully consider your needs before you borrow. We recommend that you exhaust all federal grant and loan programs before you consider a private loan.

Student Financial Services will process a private loan from any lender of your choosing. The lender is not required to be listed in the links below. The lenders reflected in the links below are those being utilized by students attending Manchester University. Manchester University has no affiliation with any private lenders and financial aid employees abide by an established Code of Conduct.

Unlike federal loans, private lenders set the terms for the loans, which can mean they have different criteria for both loan eligibility and loan rates. Before you decide to apply for a private student loan, we encourage you to research all of your options and keep a few things in mind:

• Private student loans have a range of interest rates, fees and repayment options.
• We strongly encourage you to apply with a credit-worthy cosigner to both increase your chances of being approved for the loan and to obtain a better interest rate.
• Interest rates can either be fixed or variable:

• Variable rates can increase or decrease over time, depending on market conditions.
• Interest rates on private loans may depend on your and/or your cosigner’s credit rating.

• Before accepting any private student loan, you should determine the interest rate and any fees associated with the loan.
• Borrowers who choose more than one lender to fund their postsecondary education will have multiple student loan payments upon leaving school. It can be advantageous and economical to consider using the same lender for all of your private education loan needs.
• Initially apply to multiple lenders. Student loans are provided special protections under the credit reporting rules as long as long as students conduct their ‘shopping’ within a 30 day period, there should be no impact on their credit rating and no impact on their loan terms.

If you have general questions about private loans, please contact our office. However, please remember that we cannot offer assistance on choosing a lender or product. Each family’s circumstances are unique and the loan terms and benefits offered to you may be dependent upon your specific credit standing.

The Truth in Lending Act requires a lender to obtain a self-certification signed by the applicant before disbursing a private education loan. If you have not provided a signed copy of the Applicant Self-Certification form to your lender, click here to obtain a copy of the form.

INvested and ElmSelect are provided to the right for your use. Each allows you to compare lenders. These are not comprehensive listings of lenders and you can use any lender of your choosing. These are provided to assist you in the process.