Students are encouraged to research the terms and conditions of private loan options before making borrowing decisions. When selecting a private loan, consider using FASTChoice, a compilation of lenders who are selected by our staff because of their friendly lending practices.
Private Loan Process
Once a student selects a lender, the student will need to apply for the loan itself. If the student is approved for a loan, the lender will contact Illinois Tech requesting that we certify the loan.
Consider your Cost of Attendance (COA). Private loans, certified by the Office of Financial Aid, are for educational purposes and are certified up to a student's COA. For reference, the COA estimates the expenses for an academic year. It is broken down into multiple components for planning purposes such as tuition and living expenses. The maximum aid - institutional, federal, state, private loan(s) and any other aid the university can offer - that can be disbursed to a student’s account is up to the COA in a given academic year. Below are the standard enrollment hours included in the cost of attendance. Students who enroll in more or less credit hours than what is listed below should contact the Office of Financial Aid at finaid@iit.edu.
- Undergraduate Students: Assume 12+ credit hours per semester.
- Graduate Students: Assume 9 credit hours per semester and living off campus.
Loan Periods*:
- Summer 2024 Semester: 05/13/2024 - 08/03/2024
- 2024-25 Academic Year: 08/19/2024 - 05/10/2025
- Fall 2024 Semester Only: 08/19/2024 - 12/07/2024
- Spring 2025 Semester Only: 01/13/2025 - 05/10/2025
- Summer 2025 Semester: 05/19/2025 - 08/09/2025
*Must be enrolled in classes for the semester in which the loan certification is requested.
*Not all lenders will approve a loan for a past due balance. For a past due balance loan, student must ensure the lender is aware of the loan period dates in which the loan is requested. Example: Spring 2023 Semester - loan period dates of 01/08/2023-05/04/2023.
Students receiving federal financial aid awards will need to either Accept or Decline their Offered awards through their Financial Aid Dashboard of within the Illinois Tech Portal.
Depending on when the certification request is received, it can take 1-2 weeks for a certification request to be certified by our office. Upon certification of the loan, the student will receive a confirmation email to their student Hawk email within 24 hours.
The loan will disburse to a students account within three weeks of certification, presuming courses are in session and assuming no additional information is required by the lender or the Office of Financial Aid.
Please note: should a students actual enrollment be less than what the loan was originally certified for, the students cost of attendance will be adjusted to reflect the actual enrollment and the excess funds will be returned to the lender.