Studying abroad is a dream for many students Unfortunately, to be able to study abroad, parents have to spend quite a lot of money to pay for education costs, as well as living expenses while living abroad.
Student Loan, Study Abroad Loan
Finally, some students and students who really intend to study abroad then rely on scholarships from these universities. Because some universities abroad provide limited scholarship opportunities several times, but there are also countries that provide free tuition, such as Germany.
Is it possible to study abroad without a scholarship? Of course it's possible. For those of you who don't get a scholarship opportunity but want to continue studying abroad, you can apply for a Student Loan.
This Student Loan is a loan that is used specifically to fund education during college. So, it's very different from scholarships. Scholarships do not require students to return funds during their studies.
While the Student Loan is binding and you are required to pay off the loan when you are working. Well, abroad and some countries there are several types of student loans that you can use. Here are some types of student loans that you need to know:
1. Perkins Loans
Perkins Loans will allow you to borrow a large amount of study abroad funds. Even up to 20,000 USD per person. While the interest is 5 percent. You also have to pay it off in accordance with the agreed time.
If you choose this type of loan, you can choose a prestigious faculty so that when you graduate and get a job later in a bona fide company, you can immediately pay off your education fund debt during college with a fantastic salary.
2. Private Student Loans
These Private Student Loans are negotiable, you can make loans with fairly flexible terms. For example, you can set your average interest rate. If other education fund loans have up to 10 percent interest, you can get far from 10 percent with Private Student Loans.
Usually banks, non-government institutions and private parties provide this type of loan.
3. Federal Stafford Loans
Federal Stafford Loans provide an opportunity for students or students to borrow money from the State where they study. Of course with terms and conditions that must be obeyed.
Especially about the interest on the loan, you are required to pay it. Meanwhile, the amount of the loan depends on the length of the student's study. So the loan amount approved will differ between freshmen and sophomores.
4. Parent PLUS Loans
Parent PLUS Loans provides loans for study abroad through parents. Thus, tuition fees are not given directly to students. For this reason, these loans are usually given to students and parents who are also domiciled abroad.
The amount is also unlimited, so you can borrow large amounts at once. Don't forget to always be observant of the interest payments, because there are several Parent PLUS Loans that offer quite high interest rates. But the average is 7.21 percent every year.
5. Intra-Family Loans
This Intra-Family Loans loan allows you to borrow from your own family in a professional manner. So even if you borrow from your own brother, you still have to be disciplined about paying interest and deadlines.
Low interest and fairly easy terms are the advantages of this type of loan. This family loan will be regulated by certain parties. Thus, students cannot use education funds for other things outside of lectures.
6. Student Loan Overseas Zone
This Student Loan Overseas Zone program provides financing to help students study abroad. The fees paid include registration fees, study fees, operational costs and living costs. Meanwhile, the payment mechanism depends on each financial service institution that provides it.
If you are interested, there are several advantages of the Student Loan Overseas Zone program, including the requirement that sponsors (loan applicants) can be from close family if the student wants to go abroad.
If the loan amount is below 25 million, there is no collateral. As for the guarantee for the certificate of the house/building/car BPKB for loans above Rp. 25 million. The amount of loan funds that will be approved is around Rp. 15 million to Rp. 300 million with a choice of installments of one to three years.
Thus, there are several options for overseas tuition loans that you can consider using. If you are interested in studying in Germany, you can also try contacting these universities for student loans:
1. University of Mannheim
The university has received the National Excellence Initiative, so the Graduate School of Economics and Science receives sponsorship assistance. Help that you may be able to access is as follows:
- Vodafone Chancen Stipendium: Assistance with a stipend of 1000 euros/month for first-year freshmen pursuing an undergraduate program.
- The Graduation Scholarship (Studienabschlussstipendium): This assistance is used for students who are in the process of working on their thesis/thesis, so that students can focus more on how to finish college without thinking about how much it costs to live.
2. Heidelberg University
The university is ranked 38th and is one of the oldest of the oldest universities in Germany. The Heidelberg University campus is research-oriented, it will be suitable for those of you who want to continue their master's or doctoral degree at this university.
3. Jacobs University of Bremen
You can get student loans on campus, which is a non-profit university. To get it, it is recommended to have an Admission Letter from the university. Because, getting a student loan on this campus is very limited.
It is better if you also make sure beforehand whether you have been accepted at Jacobs University before applying for a student loan. The amount of the student loan will be adjusted to your family's income.
4. Technische Universitaet Munich
For those of you who love the world of science, this university will be suitable because it has given birth to many famous scientists. Here you will get loan offers, including:
- Loan from private bank / bank loan.
- Special educational loan/education loan for mid-semester students.
- Final Semester Loan / Final Semester Loan.
- Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau / KFW loans for new students who are registering for the first time.
Loan Scheme For Study Abroad
In general, each country has different rules regarding education credit. However, in general, the loan scheme for studying abroad, especially regarding the obligation to pay in installments, is divided into two categories, namely as follows:
Paid Immediately
Funds that you have borrowed to study abroad must be paid immediately, complete with interest. This is a must, even if you haven't found a job yet.
Installment Immediately
The loan can be repaid immediately after you get your salary, whether you get this job immediately after graduation, or some time after graduation.
Well, loan interest schemes abroad follow different patterns. Because, there are countries that provide education credit without interest. However, there are also educational credits with interest for different segments of society.
As for the education credit itself, some are included in the group of unsecured loans. Of course you will automatically get a fairly high interest. Well, you have to be more observant to see in detail the amount of interest and proportional calculations.
The reason is that in the United States there are some sad stories about students who have to pay off endless debts of education funds. Because the money from their salary income is prioritized to pay off debts during college, they don't have extra money to buy a house.
Borrower Status
Borrower and guarantor are statuses in education loan schemes that you must understand as well. This is because in the education fund loan scheme, the most important thing is the status of the borrower, namely the student and prospective students themselves, not their parents.
Meanwhile, parents can act as guarantors or help pay installments in the future, so students have the responsibility to pay them off after graduation.
Campus Track Record
Some time ago, it was reported that a university was in debt with a student loan with a financial services institution of up to hundreds of billions. This happened because the campus could not pay the amount of bills that should have been paid.
So, the thing you need to make sure when choosing a student loan is a campus that really has adequate capacity in terms of finance and education. Make sure the campus you choose has good accreditation and a good track record.
Well, you also need to pay close attention to this aspect if you want to apply for a loan to study abroad. Make sure the university where you will study is a campus that has a track record and of course operates well.
If you are already working and have your own income, to get a study loan abroad you can consult several banks that have credit options without collateral. Of course, before applying for credit, make sure it is according to your ability when paying later, this includes your living expenses abroad as well.