Listing Your Funding: Why It’s Important When Applying for an International Student Loan
Studying in the United States can be an exciting and enriching experience. Before you can start taking classes, you’ll need to come up with a financial plan. Many students use a variety of funding sources, including savings, scholarships, and international student loans, to cover college costs.
In fact, MPOWER Financing asks you to list your various sources of funding when you apply for an MPOWER loan. That way, MPOWER will have a better sense of your finances and help you take out the right amount in loans — and avoid borrowing more than you need.
Applying for an international student loan with MPOWER
MPOWER Financing offers international student loans without requiring a cosigner or collateral. That means you can obtain the funding you need for your degree on your own. You won’t have to burden your parents with debt or risk any of your assets to take out a loan.
You can borrow between US$2,001 and US$100,000 from MPOWER. Student loans for undergraduate and graduate students have fixed interest starting rates of 12.99% (13.98% APR).
You can complete your loan application online, but make sure you have your passport ready when you start applying, as well as information about other sources of funding you’ll be using to pay for school.
The importance of listing your funding
Before taking out a student loan, it’s important to figure out exactly how much you should borrow. You need enough to cover your cost of attendance, but you also don’t want to over-borrow.
Taking on too much debt can lead to unaffordable payments after you graduate. Since you have to pay student loans back with interest, it’s a good idea to keep borrowing to a minimum.
MPOWER Financing helps you determine the right loan amount by asking you to list your funding sources during the application process. It considers your school’s cost of attendance, minus other funding you already have, to help you determine your loan amount.
When you fill out your international student loan application, MPOWER will ask about your personal accounts, scholarships, sponsor funding, and any other sources of funding.
Personal accounts and earnings
First, you’ll need to indicate whether you have funding from any of the following sources:
- Savings
- Investments
- Wages/earnings
- Checking
- Retirement / provident funds
- Other sources
You can select any category that applies to you. Make sure to enter the total amount of money you have in each category. If you have two separate savings accounts, for instance, add them together to fill in your total savings amount.
The application asks you to enter the amount in U.S. dollars (USD), so you may need to use a currency conversion calculator to convert your country’s money into USD.
Grants and scholarships
You’ll also share information on any grants or scholarships you’ve received. In this section, you’ll list each grant or scholarship separately, along with its dollar amount. If you’ve received two scholarships, for instance, you’ll list each one individually.
Sponsor funding
Next up is sponsor funding. You can select whether you’re receiving sponsorship from any of the following:
- Employer
- Business
- Government
- Other
You’ll list each sponsor separately and include the total amount you’ll be receiving from each one over the course of your education. If your employer offers US$12,000 per year for two years, for instance, you’ll fill in US$24,000 from that employer.
You’ll need to provide proof of sponsorship later on in the application. MPOWER has a template you can use to meet this requirement.
Other sources
If you have any other sources of funding, you’ll also list these in your application. For instance, you’ll be asked to indicate whether you’re getting money from friends or family or are using a non-MPOWER student loan to pay for your education. The application also asks if you’ve paid in advance for your program.
Cost of attendance
Finally, you’ll provide the annual cost of attendance for your program. Cost of attendance includes all your expenses, from tuition to housing to food to books.
Your school will provide an estimated cost of attendance on its website or your admissions paperwork. The MPOWER application asks you to list:
- Tuition costs
- Cost of living
- Health insurance cost
- Other additional costs
After you’ve entered all this information, MPOWER subtracts the funding you already have from your cost of attendance to determine your gap in funding. This amount represents an estimate of how much to borrow in student loans. Please keep in mind that if you’re studying in Canada an MPOWER loan can cover tuition costs, if you’re studying in the U.S. it could cover tuition along with other living expenses.
List all your funding for an accurate financial plan
Listing your funding is important for preparing your financial plan for college or graduate school. By comparing the funding you already have with your cost of attendance, you’ll have a clear sense of how much more money you need to cover your expenses.
Make sure to list all your funding when you apply for a loan so you don’t accidentally take on more debt than you need. Review your MPOWER application carefully before you hit submit to ensure you’ve shared a complete and accurate picture of your financial situation.
