2009-2010 Financial Aid Award Guide

Other Financing Options

Private Loans

Private loan costs vary widely between programs. All private lenders will review the borrower’s credit history and some will require a loan co-signer. Private educational loan programs traditionally offer higher borrowing costs than federal loan programs. For more information, please visit the Student Financial Service center (1135 Lee Building) or our web site at http://www.financialaid.umd.edu.

Due to the higher borrowing costs, you generally should not consider borrowing private student loans unless any of the following situations apply:

• You are unable to borrow federal student/parent loans because you do not meet the Federal Eligibility Requirements.
• You are willing to pay higher borrowing costs for the option to borrow a loan that may be deferred while you are in school. (PLUS loan payments usually cannot be deferred while the student is in school, but many private loans offer this option.)
• You need to borrow funds for a previous academic year and it is too late to borrow federal loans.
• You have exhausted federal loan options and need to borrow additional funds to meet your Cost of Attendance.

Terp Payment Plan

UM offers a convenient, affordable alternative to lump-sum tuition payments. The Terp Payment Plan enables you to divide your yearly educational expenses into eight or ten manageable monthly payments.

One Semester 5 & 4 month plans are also available.

Call 301-314-9000 to enroll. Check the Office of the Bursar web site for terms and conditions and plan information.