<p>We applied very late for financial aid and are now thinking we probably won't get it (even though ets recommends > 90% FA). So it looks like a loan is our best bet. I'm wondering if all BS loans have to come through the school itself? Do those programs have the best rates? Are their other options besides a home equity loan? I'd very much appreciate hearing from anyone with experience in this area. Thanks.</p>
<p>A couple thoughts:</p>
<p>1) Very few (if any) boarding schools are in the financing business. Thus, you most likely won’t find any loans that “come through the school itself”. Most schools have information about financing options (with outside companies) on the “Financial Aid” section of their web site. </p>
<p>2) A couple of institutions known for K-12 private school loans are KeyBank and SallieMae. I dealt with both last year and found KeyBank to have better rates. KeyBank had some low-rate loan options called “Achiever Loans”, however, in checking their web site recently it looks like these have been discontinued. I did see that they have a feature where you plug in what school you’re likely to attend; the amount of the loan you want; and it tells you what your monthly repayment number would be. If you can’t find this, let me know and I’ll find the link.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>thanks daddywarbucks, we may need this info too!</p>
<p>Also try monticello loans, check on bsr</p>
<p>Thanks so much for this info. I looked quickly at Key Bank–it’s somewhat confusing. I think phone calls are in order. (Meanwhile, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for some amount of FA.) Thanks again.</p>
<p>We have a loan through NMH from when my older son was there. I believe the rate was 5%. It was offered as part of a fa package. I do still see it offered on the 2008-2009 financing sheet as well as information for obtaining loans from SallieMae K-12 Family Education, Key Achiever, and prepGATE (I feel like we were told last year that prepGATE would no longer be in handling these types of loans). This is last year’s info…we have not yet been sent anything for this year, so I am not certain if all is the same.</p>
<p>1) Yes, prepGATE bit the dust last year. If you try to go to their old web site address you get routed to Monticello Student Loans. I haven’t heard of these folks before. The web site looks like it’s geared toward college loans but perhaps they do loans for BS as well. </p>
<p>2) The new KeyBank site is indeed confusing. I don’t know what happened with these folks. We went through them last year and everything (including the web site) could not have been clearer. These people aren’t stupid so I’m sure there’s a reason they’ve gummed up the works with a lot of gobbly-gook. I may have to dive into this further to see what’s up.</p>
<p>Keybank Achiever loans are no longer being offered either! I just got off of the phone with them!</p>
<p>Looks like Sallie Mae is also out of the K-12 education loan business! Where to go now?</p>
<p>Sallie Mae is out? Are you sure? Their K-12 loan site is still up: [K-12</a> Family Education Loan - Sallie Mae’s K12 Private School Loan](<a href=“http://www.salliemae.com/get_student_loan/find_student_loan/parent_loans/private_student_loans/k12/]K-12”>Student Loans for College & Graduate School | 4,000+ Eligible Schools)</p>
<p>skidad–it appears they’re offering loans, but if you try to choose a private school from the drop-down menu, only colleges or trade schools come up. There is a message on that page that they have stopped offering “Direct to Consumer” K-12 loans. Our Keybank Achiever was always paid directly to the school, so perhaps this is different? I tried calling Sallie Mae but only get the computer and no answer to the question!</p>
<p>I just pulled up the sallie mae site and it does list phillips exeter on the drop down menu… be sure you enter the state for the prep school’s location and not the state you live in…</p>
<p>I just poked around again on the sallie mae site. A few schools are listed, but nowhere near all of the preps. It states that the school needs to have established a relationship with sallie mae, so it’s hit or miss. In our case, it’s a miss :(</p>
<p>It was obvious to me last year that KeyBank’s Achiever loan was the way to go…and I looked at everyone. I’m concerned that they’re no longer offering the program. Their new web site looks like it’s designed to frustrate people and turn them away. </p>
<p>There’s no doubt about it, the amount of quality options available for financing a boarding school education are rapidly dwindling to practically nothing.</p>
<p>Ah yes…Sallie Mae doesn’t do all the schools. You could also try [Your</a> Tuition Solution - Student Loans for Private Elementary and High School Education](<a href=“Your Tuition Solution”>http://www.yourtuitionsolution.com/), though. They have some schools that Sallie Mae doesn’t cover. The search page is <a href=“Your Tuition Solution”>Your Tuition Solution;
<p>Not easy to get money in this economy! Another question: has anyone applied for FA after being FP for a year and gotten/not gotten it? We’re coming from the NYC private schools, where the deal is usually that if you don’t apply for and get FA when you first get in, you can never get it later, barring some major disaster. The feeling being (I think) that if you came up with the tuition once, you can keep coming up with it. I asked the BS where my son wants to go if we don’t get FA this year, could we apply for it next year and she said yes, but I’m a skeptic; applying for FA and getting it are two different things! We probably couldn’t manage more than a year’s worth of loans.</p>
<p>NMH stated back in February that current students whose financial situations changed and were requesting aid for the first time would be given priority over newly admitted students. That is not generally thier policy, but the current situation has softened the rule. I would not recommend bait and switch as a tactic.</p>