Private Loans
Private loans are offered by many lending institutions and are designed to assist students and families with meeting college expenses. Private loans are credit-based and should only be considered after exhausting all federal loan options first, if the student is not eligible for federal aid, or for covering tuition for a certificate program*. Borrowers should carefully compare interest rates and borrower benefits offered by each lender before making a selection. The maximum amount that a student may borrow in a private loan is the cost of attendance minus all financial aid received.
We recommend that students apply for a private loan with a co-signer. A co-signer assumes responsibility for a loan should the borrower fail to repay. Having a co-signer on the loan often results in a lower interest rate and reduced fees. What makes a good co-signer?
Students will need to provide the lender with a Private Loan Self Certification Form before the loan can be disbursed. The lender may have this form as part of the application process. If not, please download it here and submit it to the lender with your application.
Private Loan Self Certification Form
Lender Information
The following is a list of lenders whom W&M students have used during the past 5 years. This list is in alphabetical order and thus has no ranking. You may wish to use a lender that does not appear on this list and you are welcome to do so. Our office will certify a private loan from any lender that the student chooses. Please allow at least 4 weeks for your private loan to be processed.
Ascent Funding
Chartway Federal Credit Union
CollegeAve Student Loans
Citizens Student Loans
Custom Choice powered by Cognition Financial
Discover Student Loans
Earnest Student Loans
KHEAA Advantage Education Loan
Langley Federal Credit Union
MPOWER Financing (international students w/o U.S. Cosigner)
Massachusetts Educational Finance Authority (MA residents)
Nelnet Bank
New Jersey Class Loan (NJ residents)
PNC Bank
Prodigy Finance (international students w/o U.S. Cosigner)
Rhode Island Student Loan Authority (RI residents)
Sallie Mae Student Loans
SoFi Student Loans
South Carolina Student Loan
Thrivent Federal Credit Union
Union Federal powered by Cognition Financial
*Loan options for students enrolled in Certificate Programs
PNC Bank
Sallie Mae Student Loans
SoFi Student Loans
Private Loans for Bar Exam expenses
CollegeAve Bar Study Loan
Discover Student Loans Bar Exam Loan
PNC Bank Bar Study Student Loan
Sallie Mae Bar Study Loan
