Student Loans
Encouraging Responsible Borrowing for tomorrow’s future.
Responsible Borrowing
We encourage students and families to supplement their savings by exploring grants, scholarships, federal and state student loans, and to consider the anticipated monthly payments on their total student loan debt and their expected future earnings before considering a private education loan.
It’s important to note that we don’t believe in taking advantage of people when they encounter a bump in their financial road. While other financial institutions impose “default rates” which may be a lot higher than our fee if a loan or credit payment is late, our rates do not change just because of a late payment. And our late payment charge is significantly lower than the big bank fees.
We work to make your lending experience as easy as possible.
Student Loans
The first step in the financial aid process is to complete and submit the free FAFSA application for Federal Student Aid. This form is available at studentaid.gov or by calling 800.433.3243.
If you need assistance you can go to studentaid.gov. Typically, this form needs to be filled out soon after Jan. 1 of your senior year of high school and before your college’s financial aid priority deadline. Deadlines from state to state do vary. FAFSA needs to be filled out every year you want to be considered for financial aid.
Student Loan Partnerships
We work with Iowa Student Loan to offer supplemental private loans to help you pay for college as well as refinance existing student loan debt. As an Iowa non-profit and the state’s student loan experts, Iowa Student Loan offers competitively priced loans.
The Partnership Advance Education Loan (Partnership Loan) and College Family Loan were created to help you pay college costs while you or your student are in school.
- The Partnership Loan is for students and their cosigners.
- The College Family Loan is for parents, family members and others who wish to borrow on behalf of a student.
The Reset Refinance Loan can help you simplify repayment or pay lower interest costs on existing student loans after college.
With these loans, you know what you’re getting before you apply as all terms and conditions, including credit score requirements for specific rates, are provided upfront. In addition, there are no upfront origination fees and you can earn an interest rate reduction for making payments by auto-debit in repayment. Note: These loans are subject to credit approval.
About Iowa Student Loan
Iowa Student Loan was established in 1979 as a private, nonprofit corporation, and its mission is to help Iowa students and families obtain the resources necessary to succeed in postsecondary education.
*Cedar Falls Community Credit Union is compensated for the referral of Smart Option Student Loan customers and by Iowa Student Loan for the referral of student loan customers.
RESOURCES FOR PARENTS AND STUDENTS
As students progress through high school, the pressure builds to help them discover a path for success after high school graduation. Is college, a certificate or a skilled trade right for your student? What should students do when, and what can parents do to help them with those tasks? How does all this affect family finances?
A new free service from Iowa Student Loan® can help parents with all these questions and more. By registering for the SP³ – Student Planning Pointers for Parents service, you will receive twice-monthly emails providing tools, tips and conversation starters for your students in eighth through 12th grades.
All information is based on grade level and is appropriate for the time of year. Written and compiled by the professionals at Iowa Student Loan, a non profit commited to helping families successfully pay for education after high school, the emailed information is designed to be simple but effective.
In addition, registered participants are entered into quarterly drawings for contributions to a College Savings Iowa 529 plan.
Interested parents can sign up here.