Our loans are interest-free and we do not charge any loan origination or other fees of any kind.

Family income of up to $100,000, with little or no savings and little or no home equity. We do, however, consider special circumstances on a case by case basis.

The primary borrower is the higher-earning spouse in a couple.

No. Only U.S. citizens/residents should fill out the application form.

Only the custodial parent should complete the form. If parents have joint custody, the higher-earning parent should be the borrower. (If parents are divorced both parents’ incomes are elicited by the FAFSA and impact the EFC.)

Cost of attendance, reflected on the student’s Financial Aid Award Letter, is the school’s official estimate of a student’s aggregate cost of attending school for one year. It includes tuition and fees as well as room and board, transportation, books and supplies and other expenses.

HFLS funds up to two years of graduate or professional education. Eligible students enrolled in programs that are longer than two years, may choose which two years to apply for Student Loans.

The check is made out to the borrower.

Your Student Loan amount for the academic year will be determined as set forth in the Program Description for undergraduate students or for graduate students. If your first semester gap--Tuition/Cost of Attendance- [Expected Family Contribution+ all government and school grants and scholarships +Perkins loans +Subsidized Stafford loans]-- equals or exceeds your Student Loan amount, we will disburse the entire Student Loan in the first semester. If your first semester gap is less than your Student Loan amount, we will disburse the Student Loan in part in the first semester and in part in the second semester.

Please note: All repayments are applied to Student Loans in the order in which the loans were issued. Thus, if a borrower borrows an aggregate of $30,000 over four years, the first $7,500 repaid is applied to the initial Student Loan made in freshmen year, etc.

Your monthly loan payments will be made by electronic debit of your checking account. You will be given an Automated Clearing House(ACH) form to sign that allows us to debit your account.

HFLS’s Loan Committee, in its discretion, may decline to make a loan, make a loan in an amount less than that requested, or require different or more cosigners.

Yes. You will not be penalized if we determine a prospective cosigner does not meet our criteria.

Yes. Follow-on Student Loans may have different cosigners from the initial Student Loan.

Please note: All repayments are applied to Student Loans in the order in which the loans were issued. Thus, if a borrower borrows an aggregate of $30,000, the first $7,500 repaid is applied to the initial Student Loan made in freshman year, etc.

Yes. When making decisions about follow-on Student Loan applications, the Loan Committee takes into account your payment history on any existing Student Loans including any late payments, missed payments, or other defaults.

If you can afford HFLS’ monthly “pay as you go” repayment of $300 starting the month after the initial Student Loan is disbursed, and do not need to defer repayment because of economic reasons until after your daughter graduates, then interest-free no-fee HFLS undergraduate Student Loans will save you thousands of dollars. Thus, for example, if you borrow $30,000 over four years from HFLS, you will repay HFLS only $30,000 and complete repayment in a little over four years after your child graduates from college. If you borrow $30,000 from the Parent Plus Program over four years, defer payment of both interest and principal until after your child graduates and then repay post-graduation over the standard ten year repayment period, you will repay almost $52,000, with a monthly repayment of $443 a month. To give another example: If you borrow $7,500 each academic year from the Parent Plus Program for an aggregate of $30,000 over four years, choose the “pay as you go” mode of repayment, consolidate all your loans once your child graduates and elect to repay the then-outstanding balance over ten years post-graduation, you will end up repaying $46,500. Your monthly repayment amount will vary, with monthly repayments less than $300 until the final loan disbursement, and then somewhat more than $300 over the ten year post-graduation consolidated loan repayment period.

If you are currently unemployed, or otherwise cannot afford the HFLS Student Loan “pay as you go” monthly repayment of $300, then deferred Parent Plus loans may be a better option.

The table below summarizes the examples above:

While the initial interest rate on private loans is often low, in most cases the rates are variable and rise substantially over the term of the loan. Also, the fees typically charged by private lenders significantly increase the total cost of the loan. By borrowing interest-free and without fees of any kind from HFLS, you will save a substantial amount of money.

Please Note: As a general rule, students should take the maximum in federal loans before considering private education loans. Federal loans carry fixed rates and flexible repayment terms. Private loans carry variable rates, which typically end up in double digits and offer little relief for borrowers who have trouble repaying.