Financial guidance

Education Loan in times of Lockdown

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Sumeet Jain
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"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible." 

What’s the most Certain thing in this Uncertainty? It’s obvious your willpower to go abroad to fulfill your dreams. Here COVID - 19 is just an obstacle which we’ll certainly overcome and move ahead. We don’t want to bore you with all the details about it, as that part is already covered by daily News you watch/read. 

I would just say that “Prepare for the worst & hope for the best” it means that we are unaware of what is going to happen. All we can do is act wisely in a situation like this and not go by here say which might affect you later on. We would like to place two scenarios in front of you : 

Scenario A - Where Fall 2020 starts online and you don’t wish to continue with online semester due to issues with the CPT later on. So even if you get a Loan sanction letter today there’s no harm involved in it. Surprised? Read further to get to know-how. 

Scenario B - Where there is a sudden reduction in cases & everything normalizes by this July & Visa process starts; It’s you who would have the upper edge because you’re ready with your documentation process required to get a Visa. But if you delay then…. you should start your loan application and save your 12 months. To secure your I20, you’ve to be ready with your Financial proof. 
 

What’s the catch in going for Loans during Lockdown?  

Rate of Interest - As most of the students decide to opt for wait & watch policy, many others are getting their Education Loan sanctioned at Discounted rates. Many of the students who’re applying now are getting interest rates starting from 7.99%, Unbelievable isn’t it? It’s because most of the Education Loan providers have cut their rates due to COVID - 19 Lockdown & when everything normalizes then they may increase the rates again. So just to be on safer ground freeze your rates now by simply checking your eligibility and getting your loan sanctioned. 

Documentation - You’re aware that the Cost of Education for a Master's study is a bit high, so to secure that amount through loans there is a checklist of documents that are required to be fulfilled. As most of the students opt for Non-collateral loans, various documents are asked by the loan providers. Now that you’ve some free time in your hand, you should utilize it to accumulate all the necessary documents. Here your Personal, as well as Co-borrower docs, are required for evaluation of loans. It might be a time taking process but you should start now. 

Comfort Zone - Currently you must be busy with Work from Home (WFH) so don’t disturb yourself & let our Loan Advisors assist you with your requirement. You just have to submit a scanned copy of your documents -OR- with some lenders you’ve to simply apply online. Now due to Lockdown, you’ve sufficient time in your hand to act rather than delaying it.

Turn Around Time - It means the processing time required for any loan to get a result. Let’s be affirmative in this quarantined situation and believe that everything normalizes soon then Fall'20 would be happening on-campus rather than online. So once this news is out there, it would lead to a huge rush in the market to secure a loan after which there might be a delay in processing it. During that period we won’t be having the liberty of time in our hand, but nowadays you can get a sanction within 5 days upon submission of the required documents. 

Safeguarding i20 - I do agree that there are a lot of cases in the USA but they’re confident enough to rise from this very soon. The USCIS already has started to take the necessary measures like making the i20 available digitally to the aspirants. So, as soon as the Visa Consulates start to Process, it will be easier to book an appointment and attend the interview for the F1 visa. Also, if there’s a sudden fall in the no. of cases by June then we can expect that Visa interviews will start in July. Here the students who have got their i20 letter will be ahead from the crowd to finish their Visa process and fly soon.

Defer your Loan - I hope you knew about this, ‘Yes’ you can defer your Education loan for next Intake also. Isn’t that convincing news for you to lay off your worries regarding loans. No worries even if you've paid a processing fee to obtain a loan sanction letter for I20, loan providers are flexible to defer your loan up to 1 year. So next year once you finalize to go, there would be a fulfillment of just some minor documentation from your end and then the loan provider can give you a revised letter without any additional cost. 

Free of Charge - Yes, you heard that thing right! You don’t have to pay a single penny to get your loan sanctioned. No loan provider charges you to check a quote from them. This is why we advise you to get this thing ticked off because of sufficient time available to you. 

So you must be thinking what are the next steps? It’s simply a 5 step process! 

Step 1 - Sign Up for loan assistance

Step 2 - Check your eligibility over solving a small questionnaire game. 

Step 3 - You’ll be provided with various Loan options, choose among them. 

Step 4 - If you can’t decide upon those options, no worries our Loan Advisors would connect to assist you with the same. 

Step 5 - By doing the necessary get your loan sanctioned, hurrah! 
 

Don’t just rely on what others say about this situation, instead read our articles which would help you understand better: 

  1. COVID - 19’s effects on Education in the US
  2. Comprehensive COVID-19 updates for Study Abroad
  3. COVID-19: Official Status of Universities and Webinar Binge

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