At Sacred Heart University, we understand that a University education is a significant investment for any student and that today more then ever, a degree has become a necessity.  We would like to take this opportunity to inform you of the options available for financing your education.   We recommend exploring and taking advantage of any scholarships, grants, work-study that you may be eligible for first, then borrowing your maximum Federal Stafford Loan.  If you are still in need of additional financing to fill the remaining gap we have also provided a list for PLUS loans and alternative financing options.  Sacred Heart University provides a list of suggested lenders that we hope will assist you in your research. We evaluate a wide range of lenders and guarantee agencies and negotiate on behalf of our families for competitive interest rates/benefits followed by excellent customer services.  Our evaluation is based on the opinions of our staff on what constitutes the best options for student/parent borrowing.   

Our evaluation is based on (but not limited to) the following criteria:

• reduced default/origination fees
• reduced interest rates
• cash back/rebate programs
• reasonableness of on-time/late payment criteria
• efficiency of origination, guarantee, and payment of proceeds
• optimal levels of customer service in school, in grace, and in repayment
• cohort default status
• mission of the organization
• reputation of lenders from an industry standard and borrower perspective
• Sacred Heart University borrower experience  

We review our lender list yearly.  We do not receive any form of payment for inclusion on our suggested lender list. Our suggested list is designed as an optional service for our families--helping them find competitive market rates combined with excellent customer service.  Students and parents are free to work with any lender they choose and we will process any federal loan with any lender at the family’s request.  Sacred Heart University is happy to assist you in researching the lender of your choice by providing you with a link to ELM Resources, the same system that the University uses to process and track loans.  Simply point your web browser to www.elmresources.com/s-about-lenders.php.  This link provides a list of all participating Stafford lenders and, in some cases, a direct link to that lenders web site.  If you do not see the lender you are interested in, please utilize your favorite internet search engine to locate the lender of your choice where you can then search their web site for all your loan needs.  We invite all our students and families to contact our office at any time to assist you through the process.