AFC Focus Loan
Academic Finance Corporation of Worcester, Massachusetts, in
conjuction with Education Finance Partners, offers an alternative
loan which can be used as a sponsor loan. A parent or other person
may borrow on behalf of a student and the student does not sign for
the loan. The sponsor takes full responsibility repaying loan.
FOCUS LOAN AT A GLANCE:
* Parent or other person may borrow loan on behalf of a student;
student does NOT sign loan documents;
* interest rate is variable and changes every three months;
* rate is based on the LIBOR interest rate plus a margin;
* this is a tiered interest rate loan; the margin ranges from 2% to
11%, depending on the credit history of the borrower; before
borrowing, know your margin!
* no interest rate cap;
* fees range from 0% to 11%; fees charged on the amount borrowed;
fee amount is determined by credit history of borrower; know what
your fee will be before you borrow!
* 20 year repayment term, or $50 minimum payment;
* repayment options include in-school deferment option with no
payments due while in school; or interest only payments made while
in school; or immediate repayment option;
* 6 month grace period after student leaves school before payments
begin;
* 0.25% interest rate deduction if paid through auto-debit;
* no aggregate loan amount;
* payments may be deferred for an additional 12 months--this is in
addition to the in-school deferment (total of 60 months);
* can be used for past due balances, up to 12 months in arrears;
* no pre-payment penalty.
LOAN SERVICER:
ACS of Los Angeles, California
PROS & CONS OF THE FOCUS LOAN:
Pros: Sponsor is totally responsible for repaying the loan--student
is not on the loan; six month grace period; excellent margin over
the interest rate index for borrowers with excellent credit.
Cons: This is a tiered pricing loan--the fees and the margin over
the interest rate index are determined by the credit history of the
borrower; the lower the margin the better, be sure you know what
your fee is and what the margin over the interest rate index is
before you sign the promissory note.
HOW TO APPLY:
Apply on-line (click on Focus Consumer Education Loans), or
Apply over the phone at 1-866-362-8702, or
Request a paper application by calling 1-866-362-8702 or print an
application at www.academicfinancing.com/FOCUS
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