All graduate students who are U.S. domestic or international students can apply for private educational loans. While U.S. citizenship is not a requirement, the majority of private educational loan lenders require that the borrower designate a co-signer who is a U.S. citizen/permanent resident with favorable credit history.
Students have the right to pursue and borrow from any private lender of their choosing. Students must complete any private loan application through the lender and not through Brown. The application processes for private loans vary by lender.
Eligible graduate students are encouraged to exhaust need based Federal Student Loans before applying for credit-based loans.
When applying for a private educational loan:
- Be sure to select Brown University Graduate Financial Aid on the lender’s website, and not simply Brown University as your school choice.
- You will be eligible to borrow up to your program’s annual cost of attendance.
- Note that interest rates, terms and conditions vary by lender.
- Visit Brown’s Loan Office website for information and a historical list of private educational loan lenders.
- Review the recommended loan filing dates based on the initial billing date of your program.